California’s Devastating Drought Conditions Are Starting to Lift
The severe drought that left California parched for five years has finally started to lift in more than a third of the state this week …
NASA Hopes to Make History With Its Latest Mission—to the Sun
No spacecraft will ever land on the surface of the sun–it’s a flaming ball of gas that reaches thousands of degrees even in its coolest …
What Solar Eclipses Have Taught Us About the Universe
Total solar eclipses like the one that will cross the U.S. on Aug. 21 have captured the attention of astronomers throughout history — and have …
Science Just Figured Out Why Your Shoelaces Keep Coming Undone
Why do shoelaces come undone as soon as they’re tied? It turns out the answer may be more than poor tying. Mechanical engineers at the …
Toxic Air Pollution Can Penetrate the Brain: Study
A toxic particle found in polluted urban areas can infiltrate the brain, potentially contributing to degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to new research. The study, …
Smithsonian Just Announced Its 2016 Ingenuity Award Winners
Smithsonian Magazine named the recipients of its 2016 American Ingenuity Awards on Thursday, honoring a wide range of innovators including Jeff Bezos and Aziz Ansari. …
How Climate Change Could Make Extreme Rain Even Worse
Climate change could drive a 400% increase in the number of extreme summer downpours in some parts of the United States by 2100, exacerbating flash …
Florida Faces Its First Hurricane in More Than a Decade
A hurricane warning for a part of Northern Florida remained in effect Thursday as federal officials warned that a tropical storm in the Gulf of …
Spend 24 Hours on Mars—Live
Greetings from Mars! Really! (Sort of.) More than 8,200 feet (2,500 m) up on the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii is the HI-SEAS simulated Mars …
Apparently New Zealand Might Be Part of a Lost Underwater Continent
A group of geologists believes New Zealand and several surrounding islands, including New Caledonia, should be reclassified as part of an eighth continent called Zealandia, …