Topics

Chemistry

Old, plastic fishing nets being collected into a pile on a trailer.

Environment

Hawaii is turning fishnets and other plastic trash into roads

Scientists are testing whether plastic pollution from the ocean can be transformed into safe and durable highways.

By Sara NovakMay 29, 2026

Chemistry

Tabletop lightning helps make an alcohol used for fuels and more

By Stephen OrnesMay 26, 2026

Materials Science

Scientists Say: Metal-Organic Framework

By Katie Grace CarpenterMay 25, 2026

Earth

Earth

Analyze This: A rocket reentry spiked metal levels in the atmosphere

Detection of lithium from a SpaceX rocket reentering the atmosphere offers new evidence that space debris could harm the ozone layer.

By Adam Mann and Carolyn WilkeJune 24, 2026

Thunderstorms hover over Lake Maracaibo at night. Lightning bolts flash from eerily lit clouds.

Earth

Could a storm last forever?

By Aaron TremperJune 22, 2026

A snow-capped mountain in the French Pyrenees with brown and green rolling hills in front. There's a clear snow line on the mountainside.

Earth

Scientists Say: Snow line

By Katie Grace CarpenterJune 22, 2026

Humans

a little girl drinks a babycino at a cafe, she is sitting with her mom (also drinking coffee) who is holding a baby

Genetics

Caffeine may dial down genes crucial for brain development, teen finds

Data from animal studies point to a troubling possibility: Caffeine may alter brain development.

By Katie Grace CarpenterJune 11, 2026

Brain

Imagination is not just replaying what we’ve seen and heard

By Nora BradfordJune 9, 2026

Brain

Scientists Say: Synesthesia

By Katie Grace CarpenterJune 8, 2026

Life

A night vision image of a margay crouched on a broad tree trunk.

Animals

This tree is the number one choice for forest mammals going number two

The strangler fig provides food and shelter for animals in the tropics. For at least 17 mammal species, it also serves as a toilet.

By Bethany BrookshireJune 25, 2026

Animals

Meet Bruce, the disabled kea parrot who is the boss of his flock

By RJ MackenzieJune 17, 2026

Genetics

Caffeine may dial down genes crucial for brain development, teen finds

By Katie Grace CarpenterJune 11, 2026

Math

Math

Scientists Say: Topology

This gamelike field of math probes the limits of families of shapes.

By Katie Grace CarpenterJune 15, 2026

A smiling teenage boy wearing a floral origami crane as a hat holds a geometric folded paper structure, with a Regeneron ISEF lanyard around his neck, posing against a concrete block wall.

Physics

Origami research takes top prize at 2026 Regeneron ISEF competition

By Katie Grace CarpenterMay 18, 2026

Brain

Brain scans offer clues to why math is harder for some kids

By Lily BurtonMay 1, 2026

Physics

Chemistry

Tabletop lightning helps make an alcohol used for fuels and more

Methanol is used in plastics, paints and as a race car fuel. It’s been hard to make. But engineers have found a simple trick: Add lightning to methane.

By Stephen OrnesMay 26, 2026

Materials Science

Scientists Say: Metal-Organic Framework

By Katie Grace CarpenterMay 25, 2026

Many orange rings represent primordial black holes in an illustration

Physics

Exploding black holes could solve a big cosmic mystery

By Emily ConoverMay 21, 2026

Science & Society

a photo of a smiling woman from the shoulders up. She has tan skin and brown hair and eyes standing in front of a colorful background

Science & Society

This evolutionary biologist fuses art into her science

Victoria Glynn is studying how high temperatures are affecting ocean plankton. She also makes art to help communicate science to the public.

By Aaron TremperJune 11, 2026

Numerous jars of varying sizes holding preserved animals sit on a shelf in the Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center

Life

Earth

Tech

Nature-inspired rocket-nozzle redesign stands by for liftoff

By Katie Grace CarpenterJune 3, 2026

Chemistry

Tabletop lightning helps make an alcohol used for fuels and more

By Stephen OrnesMay 26, 2026

Topics

Hawaii is turning fishnets and other plastic trash into roads

Tabletop lightning helps make an alcohol used for fuels and more

Scientists Say: Metal-Organic Framework

Analyze This: A rocket reentry spiked metal levels in the atmosphere

Could a storm last forever?

Scientists Say: Snow line

Caffeine may dial down genes crucial for brain development, teen finds

Imagination is not just replaying what we’ve seen and heard

Scientists Say: Synesthesia

This tree is the number one choice for forest mammals going number two

Meet Bruce, the disabled kea parrot who is the boss of his flock

Caffeine may dial down genes crucial for brain development, teen finds

Scientists Say: Topology

Origami research takes top prize at 2026 Regeneron ISEF competition

Brain scans offer clues to why math is harder for some kids

Tabletop lightning helps make an alcohol used for fuels and more

Scientists Say: Metal-Organic Framework

Exploding black holes could solve a big cosmic mystery

This evolutionary biologist fuses art into her science

Some of these Smithsonian secrets might just blow your mind

These 12,000-year-old Native American dice are the oldest in the world

Analyze This: A rocket reentry spiked metal levels in the atmosphere

Scientists Say: Snow line

Could a storm last forever?

Analyze This: A rocket reentry spiked metal levels in the atmosphere

Nature-inspired rocket-nozzle redesign stands by for liftoff

Tabletop lightning helps make an alcohol used for fuels and more

It’s a wonderful world — and universe — out there.

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