Why Were Medieval Monks So Susceptible to Intestinal Worms?

Friars in Cambridge, England, suffered from these parasites at nearly double the rate found among average unwashed citizens | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Shipworms Are Eating a Wreck That Could Be Captain Cook's 'Endeavour'

Marine biologist Reuben Shipway is sounding the alarm about the so-called termites of the sea | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

FDA Approves Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids

A new rule could save consumers $2,800 on a pair of hearing aids, officials say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

What the Inflation Reduction Act Hopes to Do About Climate Change

The spending bill aims to spur investment in renewable energy and slash greenhouse gas emissions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The True Story of Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol

Alice Sedgwick Wohl's new memoir pulls back the curtain on her celebrity sister's story | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

You May Have Borrowed These Terms from Black Feminism

Two curators have turned co-hosts in the podcast, “Collected,” a six-part examination of the origins of self-care, identity politics, and intersectionality | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

How Long Will It Take to Understand Long Covid?

Covid long-haulers experience a litany of symptoms, and researchers have proposed a variety of theories to explain them | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Stealth Swimmers Whose WWII Scouting Laid the Groundwork for the Navy SEALs

The Underwater Demolition Teams cleared coastal defenses and surveyed enemy beaches ahead of Allied landings | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Academy Apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather for Mistreatment at 1973 Oscars

Marlon Brando sent her to decline his Best Actor award in protest over Hollywood’s depiction of Native Americans | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Remembering James Lovelock, Whose ‘Gaia Theory’ Shaped Our Understanding of Global Warming

The British scientist and inventor who said Earth is a self-regulating system died earlier this summer on his 103rd birthday | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Iceberg That Sank the Titanic

The three-year-old chunk of ice had just weeks to live when it hit the cruise ship | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Rare Mickey Mantle Baseball Card Could Sell for $10 Million

The mint-condition copy could become one of the most expensive baseball cards ever sold at auction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Why Does a Long Day of Thinking Tire You Out?

New research suggests the buildup of a molecule in the brain might play a role | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Construction Crews Stumble Upon Mastodon Skeleton in Michigan

The massive animal was likely between 10 and 20 years old when it died roughly 12,000 years ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

A New Detection System Could Save Sperm Whales From Ship Strikes

Scientists have developed a computational technique that can track whales in real time—and potentially prevent collisions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Evolutionary Trait That May Have Led to Human Speech

“Vocal membranes” in primates make their speech grating and unpredictable, study suggests. Humans have no such thing | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

What Online Inflation Calculators Can—and Can't—Tell Us About the Past

Most of these tools are based on the Consumer Price Index, a measure of changing prices in the U.S. over time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Paintings From Andy Warhol's College Years Will Go Up for Auction

The collection includes "Nosepicker 1," which may be the artist's first self-portrait | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

NASA mission to 16-Psyche, a Metal-Rich Asteroid Maybe Worth $10 quintillion

In August, NASA is sending an orbiter to the space object, which may be the partial remains of planet-forming material made of nickel and iron | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Why Hikers Are Clamoring to Photograph a Volcanic Eruption in Iceland, Despite Risks

Toxic gas, hypothermia and fragile terrain are among the site’s dangers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Critically Endangered Sea Turtle Lays Eggs on Texas Beach

Conservationists were thrilled that the Kemp’s Ridley had nested in a new location, increasing its long odds for survival | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Sea Sponges Sneeze Sediment-filled Snot

New research reveals the animals expel mucus as a form of self-cleaning and other creatures eat the stuff up | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Who Was the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World?

When the National Air and Space Museum reopens October 14, Geraldine Mock’s Cessna C-180 soars in the new exhibition, "We All Fly" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Yosemite's Grove of Giant Sequoias Reopens After Month-Long Fire Closure

Park officials say that decades of prescribed burns helped keep the historic trees safe | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Gorillas Make a New ‘Snough’ Noise to Grab Their Keepers’ Attention

Researchers have never observed gorillas making the unusual sound in the wild, suggesting that captive gorillas can learn to make new noises | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

North Carolina's Oyster Trail Aims to Give the Farmed Shellfish Industry a Boost

In the tradition of wine and ale trails, the state’s new tourism offering highlights restaurants, farms, festivals and markets | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Charles Dickens Was a 'Fascinated Skeptic' of the Supernatural

A new exhibition explores the writer's enduring interest in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

King’s College, Cambridge Will Install Abstract Memorial to Alan Turing

Despite pushback, plans for a sculpture honoring the visionary mathematician have been approved | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

New Species of Deep Sea Isopod Discovered

The giant crustacean was originally mistaken for a different species at an aquarium in Japan | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Why Eelgrass in the Atlantic Ocean Faces an Uphill Battle

The Ice Age left the plant off our East Coast with less genetic diversity than its relative in the Pacific | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Denver Removes Plaque Inaccurately Describing Anti-Chinese Riot of 1880

The historical marker contained a number of falsehoods about the Mile High City's first race riot | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

These 18th-Century Shoes Underscore the Contradictions of the Age of Enlightenment

An exhibition at Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum examines fashion's role in supporting social hierarchies that emerged during the landmark intellectual movement | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

This 17-Year-Old Designed a Motor That Could Potentially Transform the Electric Car Industry

Robert Sansone's research could pave the way for the sustainable manufacturing of electric vehicles that do not require rare-earth magnets | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Dangers of Working in Hot Weather

New rules to aim to protect workers from heat-related illnesses during a summer of record-breaking heat | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Large Lyme Disease Vaccine Clinical Trial Begins in U.S. and Europe

If approved, it would be the first new shot to combat the misunderstood disease in the U.S. in 20 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

What the 'Unofficial Bridgerton Musical' Lawsuit Means for Fan-Created Content

Netflix has accused the songwriting duo behind the viral production of stealing copyrighted material for their own financial gain | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

How the Block Party Became an Urban Phenomenon

This Saturday, NMAAHC invites the nation to livestream its star-studded Hip-Hop Block Party | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Done-Up Bird Gets the Worm

Starling chicks apply their preening oil as a lipstick to get more food from their parents | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Scientists Bring Cells in Dead Pigs Back to Life

Scientists say the accomplishment may be the first step in making more organs available for transplant | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Excavations Shed Light on the Everyday Life of Pompeii's Middle Class

An ornate courtyard found in an otherwise humble home may have reflected the owners' aspirational vision of the future | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Record-Breaking Rains Flood Death Valley National Park

The damage blocked roadways and left visitors and employees stranded | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Colorful History Behind Panama's Mola

Made by hand, this clothing staple is an important piece of the country's rich culture | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Scientists Create a More Sustainable LED From Fish Scales

Researchers microwaved fish waste to produce a unique nanoform of carbon that could be used for LED devices in the future | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Lab-Grown Fish Sticks Are Coming

Berlin-based Bluu Seafood revealed fish sticks and fish balls made from cells cultured in a lab, without killing any real fish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

London's Horniman Museum Will Return Stolen Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

The 72 objects were looted from Benin City more than a century ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

On this day in 1908 Wright brothers’ unveiled their flying machine

Five years after Kitty Hawk, the Wrights finally showed the world their invention. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Tonga Volcanic Eruption Blasted an Enormous Plume of Water Vapor into the Atmosphere

NASA scientists say the intrusion could warm the Earth’s surface | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Have Scholars Finally Identified the Mysterious Somerton Man?

New DNA analysis suggests a body found on a beach in Australia in 1948 belongs to Carl Webb, an electrical engineer from Melbourne | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago