83 Items Tagged

Research

An <em>Aurelia aurita</em> bloom, as translucent as it may be, actually hosts a nutritional bounty for its lucky consumer.

Why Do Marine Animals Love Gobbling Up Gelatinous Jellyfish?

Moon jellyfish are mostly water—but one part of these slippery creatures is surprisingly nutritious.

Isaac Schultz July 15, 2020

Cities such as San Francisco are full of history—but there's opportunities for discovery everywhere.

How to Dig Into the History of Your City, Town, or Neighborhood

Even a short local walk can hold countless stories.

Lauren Vespoli June 9, 2020

A scuba diver with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studies bleached corals.

The Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Field Science

As scientists wait, worry, and hunker down, they’re also looking ahead to how their projects will need to adapt.

Claudia Geib April 3, 2020

Jonathan Green affixes a fin-mounted double satellite tag on the dorsal fin of an adult female whale shark.

The Ocean’s Largest Shark Has a Little Something to Say

An online video raised a strange question: Do whale sharks make sounds? And would it matter if they did?

Claudia Geib March 24, 2020

The archive has 3D models too!

objects of intrigue

Help Atlas Obscura Find the Smithsonian’s Weirdest Items

With 2.8 million new artifacts on view, there should be plenty to choose from.

Isaac Schultz March 19, 2020

In Oregon, Archaeologists Found Evidence of Children Learning to Hunt

More than a thousand years ago, coastal hunters started honing their skills early.

Isaac Schultz December 19, 2019

Where Scientists Play With Fire

A Visit to Buffalo's Lava Lab

Inside Ohio's Experimental Archaeology Lab

A close-up of the coffee berry borer, guaranteed to haunt your dreams.

Solved: The Mysterious Origins of Your Coffee's Worst Nightmare

Researchers inspected 18,667 plant specimens to track down a caffeine-eating beetle.

Reina Gattuso October 14, 2019

The Flesh-Eating Beetles of Chicago's Field Museum

Göttingen, Germany

Planetenweg Göttingen

A 1:2 billion-scale solar system leads visitors into this German university town.

Soup set to be disinterred in 1980, 2000, and 2050.

The Quest to Find a Lost Arctic Explorer’s Buried Soup

An "Arctic mystery" may lead to a future of food under the permafrost.

Tal McThenia August 19, 2019

A beautifully red sheet of Welsh <em>Porphyra</em>, nori's British cousin.

How Pink Slime Saved Sushi

Kathleen Drew-Baker’s study of British algae helped rescue Japan's nori industry.

Sabrina Imbler July 18, 2019

A lovely desert truffle.

As Israel’s Desert Truffles Become Scarce, a Researcher Works to Grow Them as Crops

Decades of work have led to a breakthrough.

Lela Nargi July 1, 2019

A sand tiger shark swims with the fishes, not far from one of the North Carolina shipwrecks.

Sand Tiger Sharks Are Drawn to North Carolina's Shipwrecks

They return to the same sunken vessels over and over again, and researchers are trying to figure out why.

Jonathan Carey April 23, 2019

Reactor Instituut Delft.

Delft, Netherlands

Reactor Institute Delft

A nuclear reactor created for Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" campaign is now used for research at a Dutch university.

Video • Gastro Obscura

Eating Lunch 14,000 Feet Below Sea Level