After Decades of Searching, Are Physicists Closing In on Dark Matter?

With no conclusive laboratory results, researchers are turning to other methods to find the elusive substance

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/qyGCrIkWjGSWPZnhe-cXMTi7U9M=/420x240/filters:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/0e/28/0e28f9dd-3e1e-49ef-b8ca-312becf2c959/1e0657_web.jpg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/after-decades-of-searching-are-physicists-closing-in-on-dark-matter-180985246/ 

 Is Wildfire Smoke Causing Birds to Tend to Empty Nests?

New studies suggest smoke from western megafires may be damaging bird health and leading to strange behavior

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/i6FVNHqtRQ0y7M23ddJJ_tEH7tA=/420x240/filters:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7a/b0/7ab0740c-538b-4c8a-91d0-61949dca1232/gettyimages-1496628053_web.jpg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/is-wildfire-smoke-causing-birds-to-tend-to-empty-nests-180985131/ 

 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

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/Fp2BVObVt1rHdgPU63rsgmJuRBM=/420x240/filters:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/37/c0/37c0b833-783b-435a-8356-c1d526539247/main_vagusnerve-crsallycaulwell-lede_web.jpg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-longest-nerve-in-the-body-vagus-180985045/ 

 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

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/honor-the-natural-beauty-of-these-tremendous-trees-see-the-glory-of-the-forest-and-the-trees-in-these-15-smithsonian-magazine-photo-contest-submissions-180985002/ 

 Celebrate Winter in the Wild With 15 Photos of Animals Enjoying the Snow

These chilly but cute creatures will remind you what’s so wonderful about winter

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/celebrate-winter-in-the-wild-with-15-photos-of-animals-enjoying-the-snow-180983665/ 

 During Covid-19 Lockdowns, Fish Flourished in This Park

In the absence of tourists, the animals increased within Mexico’s Cabo Pulmo National Park

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/BHxEYPl5aDYHEHFltzFFUUwTp3k=/420x240/filters:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/33/9c/339c0070-04e6-43f2-8a20-32a317b08b59/coral-reef-monitoring-photo-credit-manuel-olan_web.jpg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/during-covid-19-lockdowns-fish-flourished-in-this-park-180983396/ 

 Amazing Fossil Preserves Teenage Tyrannosaur’s Last Meal

Stomach contents from a juvenile Gorgosaurus reveal it feasted on small, bird-like species 75 million years ago

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/YXa1bGjnGwV-MYPmibatWwLc6H8=/420x240/filters:focal(709x533:710x534)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/c3/42/c342a24b-02a4-47b5-be7d-0b14dfc10ab8/16-gorgosaurus-consumption-artist-julius-csotonyi-copyright-royal-tyrrell-museum-of-palaeontology_web.jpg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/amazing-fossil-preserves-teenage-tyrannosaurs-last-meal-180983398/ 

 Here's What We Know About Neanderthals So Far

Today, thanks to new artifacts and technologies, findings about our closest relatives are coming thick and fast

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/2ZMn-IvWkFEH-jdc_r-G0j5Ab_Q=/420x240/filters:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/1a/3f/1a3f8bfd-6bb5-4c3b-9cad-0186bd75439c/1_neanderthal-museum-cc_web.jpg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/heres-what-we-now-know-about-neanderthals-180983344/ 

 How an Ancient Practice Aids Marine Conservation

In French Polynesia, the art of rahui puts everyone in charge of protecting the sea

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/XvqAC287E3hgfr9tMIlzq1P_Y0w=/420x240/filters:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/ce/63/ce632b2a-06ca-47c8-962f-27be74f560de/header-uncropped-polynesian-rahui_web.jpg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/rahui-and-the-art-of-marine-conservation-180983179/