Smithsonian Magazine10h
These Male Octopuses Use Venom to Subdue Female Mates—and Avoid Being Eaten After Sex
Scientists observed male blue-lined octopuses injecting tetrodotoxin into females, which rendered them immobile for mating ...
Smithsonian Magazine11h
Newly Rediscovered, a Missing Fragment of the Bayeux Tapestry Is Returning to France
Likely removed by Nazi researchers, the scrap of fabric is a small but crucial part of the tattered tapestry's nearly ...
Smithsonian Magazine12h
A New Study Finds That Domestic Cats Traveled the Silk Road to China About 1,400 Years Ago
Per the study, China’s oldest known domestic cat lived in the central province of Shaanxi between 706 and 883, during the ...
Smithsonian Magazine13h
Smithsonian Scientists Discover That Traditional Agricultural Practices in the Amazon Helped Yield an Enduring Crop Clone
Genetic analyses and interviews with Indigenous farmers revealed that most manioc crops resemble each other across time and ...
Smithsonian Magazine15h
U.S. Butterflies Are Disappearing at Drastic Rates, With One in Five Gone Since 2000
A team of more than 30 researchers analyzed 12.6 million butterfly sightings across 76,000 population surveys. They found ...
Smithsonian Magazine19h
Tiny Antarctic Krill Benefit the Planet in Big Ways, but Face a Barrage of Threats
The bountiful creatures sequester carbon and are a vital food source for marine predators, but their future is uncertain ...
Smithsonian Magazine21h
A Composting Fly Could Significantly Reduce Organic Waste at the Smithsonian Institution
An innovative and low-cost project aims to bio-convert food scraps into fertilizer, animal feed and extractable oil using the ...