Our Planet

A desert tortoise (emerging from its den) may use the same burrow for many years.

Tunnel Vision

Arizona Naturalist Pinau Merlin celebrates life in the desert by keeping a close eye on it

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Getting in Deep

The unending quest for oil has now led drillers to vast reserves lying more than a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico

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Heavenly Harbingers

High altitude, night-shining clouds are becoming more common, which could signal climate changes

Breathing Fire

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Message in a Bottle

By studying objects cast up on our shores, researcher Curtis Ebbesmeyer traces the flow of ocean currents

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Seeing Science Six Miles Up

City patterns, farm history, ancient seabeds, old mountains and new, the why of clouds: take a look

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Master of the Deep

Before Smithsonian scientists do underwater research, Michael Lang makes them seaworthy.

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It's Camelot in the Desert

For Dromedary Trekkers in Australia's Outback, it's Camelot in the Desert

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Newton's Vice

Some say alchemy inspired our greatest scientist

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Kudzu: Love It — or Run

Aggressive weed that "grows like the devil" and will not die is manna for sheep, cows and folks who use it to cure hangovers, weave baskets and make jelly

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Turning a New Leaf

Every six months Smithsonian horticulturists give the Haupt Garden a makeover from the roots up

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Vostok: Looking for Life Beneath an Antarctic Glacier

In what may be the world's largest lake ever seen by a human eye, the search begins

Polyface Farm

Down on This Farm the Times They Are A-changin'

Tanks filled with water await possible use as a fire burns on the crest of a hill in Lebec, California, 2010

Battling the Orange Monster

Even with air power and satellite tracking, it still takes people with axes and shovels to stop a forest fire

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Whole Worlds to Order

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Wanted, Dead or Alive

When scientists go scavenging at a bioblitz, anything they can find that's organic is considered fair game

This SeaWiFS view reveals the colourful interplay of currents on the sea's surface

Evidence for a Flood

Sediment layers suggest that 7,500 years ago Mediterranean water roared into the Black Sea

Birds, Bees and Even Nectar-feeding Bats Do It

Across our fields, orchards and backyard gardens, the pollinators we rely on for the food we eat are facing threats on many fronts

A Second Wind

An unlikely alliance of Midwesterners says it is time to take another look at generating electricity through wind power

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When Permafrost Isn't

Slowly rising temperatures are melting the frozen ground that underlies most land at high latitudes

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