You Can Call Him ‘Cute’ or You Can Call Him ‘Hungry’
The much-maligned weasel is always on the lookout for something to eat, and the rest of us should be grateful he usually finds it
Phenomena, Comment and Notes
As scientists probe deeper into whether animals really have consciousness, questions arise. If they think, do we want to know what they think about us?
Following the Footsteps of Fox and Bear
Naturalist-sleuth Susan Morse and her fellow conservationists at Keeping Track monitor wildlife in order to pinpoint critical habitat
Smithsonian Perspectives
In the ever-expanding field of anthropology, the Smithsonian still excels in research and exhibition
When One of the National Zoo’s Gorillas Goes In For Tests, It’s Not Just Standard Operating-Room Procedure
By discovering heart disease early, echocardiograms have improved life; now Washington cardiologists are using them to help great apes at the National Zoo
Feathered Fights of Fancy
No ordinary fowl, these birds have been bred for visual delight. For many an owner, they are just too pretty to eat
The Berry and the Poison
Methyl bromide makes our fields fruitful; it will soon be banned, not because it’s toxic and it’s very toxic but because it attacks the ozone layer
What’s in a Name? Sometimes More Than Meets the Eye
Jokes, puns, even insults when it comes to deciding what to call newly discovered species, scientists don’t always go by the book
Around the Mall & Beyond
Since her arrival in September, baby Chitwan has charmed visitors and curators alike. This is the first birth of a rhino at the National Zoo since 1974
Phenomena, Comment and Notes
Experiments at sea show we can cause phytoplankton to bloom in areas where it otherwise would not
A Onetime Rancher Wages Lonely War to Save Rare Plants
Working alone, by hand, one man is turning 100 acres of alien trees into a refuge for Hawaii’s endangered botanical treasures
The Dogs That Go to Work, and Play, All Day — for Science
Geneticist Jasper Rine and his colleagues launched the Dog Genome Initiative to elucidate both canine genes and behavior
Phenomena, Comment & Notes
Most Americans believe science and technology make their lives better, two out of five are “very interested” in them, but not many know how they work
Around the Mall & Beyond
NASM’s new “How Things Fly” gallery is hands-on to the max! At 50 visitor-operated displays, you can see and feel the basic principles of flight in action
At the ‘Mayo Clinic for Animals,’ the Extraordinary Is Routine
New York’s renowned veterinary hospital takes on almost anything, from a constricted boa to a mite-infested mouse to an anemic iguana
To Be a Champion, a Tree Must Measure Up to High Standards
If it is tall, wide and thick enough, it might qualify for listing on the National Register of Big Trees—but first someone has to find it
The Object at Hand
It took four years, a shipwright and help from the British to create the blue whale model installed in the National Museum of Natural History
If It Moves, Grab It, but Try Not to Get the End That Bites
That’s the advice researchers in Venezuela give volunteers who help them find and collect specimens of the world’s biggest boa
Let’s Hear It for the Lowly Sound Bite!
In which it is amply demonstrated that the sound bite, long a pariah of pundits and pooh-bahs, is really a help meet to man
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