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The vagus nerve sprawls from the brain through the body, innervating our organs and managing life support and emotion.

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Longest Nerve in the Body

Like a highway system, the vagus nerve branches profusely from your brain through your organs to marshal bodily functions, including aspects of the mind such as mood, pleasure and fear

With a white frame around its eye and green feathers, this Swinhoe’s white-eye is easily camouflaged when flying from flower to flower.

See 15 Amazing Photos of Beautiful Birds

These Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest images celebrate our feathered friends

A young blackpoll warbler with a NanoTag on Borgles Island, Nova Scotia

Tiny Trackers Are Revealing the Secret Lives of Tens of Thousands of Birds

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System has put nearly 50,000 incredibly lightweight radio transmitters on birds, bats and insects. We caught up with an ornithologist to learn more about where these creatures are flying

The blind side of a Remo flounder's head as it was being dissected

These Fish Transformed Their Dorsal Fins Into Taste Buds

From tasting to hunting to hitching a ride, some fins have evolved for a variety of uses beyond swimming

Intense flooding continued on August 7, after the sudden draining of a glacial lake near the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska.

When a Glacial Dam Burst, an Alaskan Town Was Hit With a Sudden Flood

From Alaska to Peru and the Himalayas, glacial lakes are suddenly breaking free and causing deaths and millions of dollars in damages

Biocrust in Utah

Inside the Effort to Save Earth's Biocrusts

Think twice before stepping on that crunchy top layer of soil. It may be a vital ecosystem that you can help protect

A reconstruction of Lokiceratops in the 78-million-year-old swamps of northern Montana—as two Probrachylophosaurus move past in the background.

Why Did Dinosaurs Have Horns? It May Not Have Been Simply for Defense

Triceratops and its relatives may have evolved the structures for fighting, impressing mates, and more

Partially submerged trees are reflected in the waters of a dam lake.

Honor the Natural Beauty of These Tremendous Trees With 15 Photographs From the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Find your inner Lorax and enjoy the glory of the forest and the trees in these submissions

José Santiago of Palenque Don Lencho, in San Pablo Guilá village, with wooden vats of fermenting agave prior to distillation

The Race to Save Mezcal From the World

Climate change, corporate money, soaring demand—can Mexico’s local agave growers find a viable path for a beloved beverage?

Dotty, a female Bengal tiger, roams her territory in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park, where tigers are one of the biggest tourist attractions.

Learning to Live Beside Endangered Tigers May Be the Key to Saving Them

New programs in India are helping to reduce conflict between humans and the big cats by educating communities and helping those who have been affected by animal attacks

An unidentified fly from the order Diptera, which has more than 125,000 species and is one of the largest insect orders

These Stunning Portraits of Insects Reveal the Intricacies of an Amazing World

Photographer Thorben Danke combines hundreds of shots to create breathtaking images of the tiny creatures

Kids cool down at an animal-themed splash pad at Zoo Miami. Mist stations also help visitors avoid overheating on sweltering days.

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

By building a broad coalition of partners across the political spectrum, the Florida metropolis is doing all that it can to keep the city cool

Grave 109 at Oakington is a rare triple burial, holding the remains of a female infant, a young woman (left) and an older woman (center). 

Archaeologists Uncover the Real Story of How England Became England

New research is revealing how the Sceptered Isle transformed from a Roman backwater to a mighty country of its own

Did Hawaiian dancers traditionally wear grass skirts? 

What's the History of Hawaiian Grass Skirts? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

A 2023 commemorative stamp from Serbia’s postal service showing Milutin Milanković alongside illustrations of some of his scientific work.

This World War I Prisoner of War Solved the Mystery of the Ice Ages

Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković changed our understanding of Earth’s climate—and did a key part of his work while detained by Austro-Hungarian forces

Viruses known known as bacteriophages, or “bacteria eaters” in Greek, occupy the gut.

Inside the Hidden Kingdom of Viruses in Your Gut

Human innards are teeming with viruses that infect bacteria. Here's what scientists are learning about them

A rusty patched bumblebee, the first bumblebee species to be listed as endangered in the United States, clings to a flower.

Can the Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee Survive?

A new genetic study reveals secrets about the creature, which may help researchers make decisions to conserve the species

A model of the Smilodon fatalis skeleton (right) on display as part of a special exhibition in Schöningen, Germany, on April 12, 2017

‘Fearsome’ Saber-Toothed Cats Needed Their Baby Teeth and Mommies, Too

According to new research, two sets of sabers and unusual lower jaw anatomy show that the saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis delayed adulting with a long weaning period

Namibia's brown hyenas live in small clans but often travel and hunt alone.

Artificial Intelligence Could Soon Match Footprints to the Animals That Made Them

Scientists are working on a machine learning tool that could turn anyone with a camera into an expert tracker

Teflon’s unique molecular structure made it useful in myriad applications, from nuclear weapons laboratories to your kitchen.

The Long, Strange History of Teflon, the Indestructible Product Nothing Seems to Stick to

Chemists accidentally discovered the material in 1938, and since then it has been used for everything from helping to create the first atomic bomb to keeping your eggs from sticking to your frying pan

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'Don't Call the Blobfish Ugly

Don't Call the Blobfish Ugly

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Preview thumbnail for video 'Mesmerizing Reindeer Cyclone

Mesmerizing Reindeer Cyclone

Preview thumbnail for video 'Baby Piglet Struggles to Find Her Mealtime Place

Baby Piglet Struggles to Find Her Mealtime Place

Photo of the day

Brown bear siblings create a heart splash while play fighting on the Kenai Peninsula, AK. Sibling Love