Four Important Questions About Bird Flu, Answered

The virus has killed tens of millions of birds and infected hundreds of species of animals, including dairy cattle in the United States. Here’s what you should know about it | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Why Leopold and Loeb Committed Cold-Blooded Murder in the 'Crime of the Century'

A century ago, two Chicago teenagers killed an acquaintance named Bobby Franks for the thrill of it. The case captivated the nation and continues to fascinate the public today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How a Bottle Served as a Living Room—and a Prison—for a 2,000-Year-Old Genie

The vessel from 1960s sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie,” now on display at the National Museum of American History, could not contain the exuberance of the beloved character | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

James Webb Telescope Detects Earliest Known Black Hole Merger, Just 740 Million Years After the Big Bang

The new observations could help explain how black holes became so massive in the early universe | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Why Is Chinese Art Full of Dragons, Phoenixes and Tigers?

A new exhibition showcases stunning mythical artworks of the Zhou Dynasty's "lost" kingdoms | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Why Are Tuna Crabs Swarming Off the Coast of San Diego?

Scientists are perplexed by the massive group of crustaceans, but they suspect the animals were pushed north by strong ocean currents originating near Mexico | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Why Do Humans Sing? Traditional Music in 55 Languages Reveals Patterns and Telling Similarities

In a global study, scientists recorded themselves singing and playing music from their own cultures to examine the evolution of song | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Get a Taste of South Africa Through These 15 Photos of Stunning Wildlife and Vibrant Communities

From desert landscapes to glittering beaches, see what this country has to offer | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

These Funky Spiders Are Lurking by the Water

Some make nests inside seashells, while others tote bubbles of air on their backs | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The Supermarket Scanner Changed the Way We Buy Groceries Forever

Invented 50 years ago, the curious box deciphered an arcane kind of code to offer shoppers a trip into the future | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Map Lets You See How School Segregation Has Changed in Your Hometown

The new interactive tool accompanies a study of school enrollment data, which shows that segregation has worsened in recent decades | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

An Absolutely Fabulous Celebration of History’s Greatest Divas

This heady, exquisitely delightful new book reveals the power behind the sequins | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

A New Leonardo da Vinci Biopic Is Coming to the Big Screen

The film will be an adaptation of Walter Isaacson's biography of the Renaissance painter, scientist and inventor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Some Dinosaurs Evolved to Be Warm-Blooded 180 Million Years Ago, Study Suggests

Researchers studied the geographic distribution of dinosaurs to draw conclusions about whether they could regulate their internal temperatures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The British Royals' Huge Staff Once Included Exotic Cat Wranglers, Rat Killers and Toilet Attendants

A new exhibition in London offers an inside look at the lives of the workers who served the monarchy between 1660 and 1830 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Orcas Sink 50-Foot Yacht Off the Coast of Morocco

The vessel's two passengers were evacuated onto an oil tanker in the Strait of Gibraltar. The incident marks the fifth vessel the mammals have sunk in recent years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Readers Respond to the April/May 2024 Issue

Your feedback on brilliant sea slugs, nostalgic drinks and hidden history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Charles III Unveiled His First Official Portrait as King. Is It Too Red?

Artist Jonathan Yeo's nontraditional approach to royal portraiture has drawn mixed reactions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Google Releases A.I. That Can Predict How the Human Body's Molecules Behave, Boosting Drug Discovery Research

Called AlphaFold 3, the latest update of the software models the interactions of proteins with DNA, RNA and other molecules for the first time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Seven of the Most Beautiful Roads in the United States

From Alaska to Florida, these serene and exhilarating stretches beg you to take the scenic route | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Journey Into the Fiery Depths of Earth’s Youngest Caves

What Iceland's volcanoes are revealing about early life on our planet | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Benjamin Franklin Was the Nation’s First Newsman

Before he helped launch a revolution, Benjamin Franklin was colonial America’s leading editor and printer of novels, almanacs, soap wrappers, and everything in between | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

A.I. Detects 40 Allegedly Counterfeit Paintings for Sale on eBay

Art Recognition's algorithm is trained to identify specific artists' patterns of style and composition | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

These Artworks Explore the Cultural Significance of Hair

A new exhibition at the Heide Museum of Modern Art in Australia examines what hair says about identity, gender, social status and more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Last Year, the Northern Hemisphere Had Its Hottest Summer in 2,000 Years

Researchers used tree ring data to compare temperatures from as far back as 1 C.E. to 2023 temperatures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Lightning Dazzles Onlookers Watching the Eruption of Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala

Volcanic lightning is so common that it's even earned its own nickname: dirty thunderstorms | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Geography Teacher in England Finds Stone With 1,600-Year-Old Inscriptions in His Garden

The rock is covered in ogham, an alphabet made up of parallel lines used for writing in the Irish language | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Hundreds of Starving Brown Pelicans Are Turning Up on California Beaches, Puzzling Wildlife Rescuers and Scientists

By all available accounts, there isn’t a lack of ocean forage | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Earth's Magnetic Field Nearly Collapsed 600 Million Years Ago. Then, Weird and Complex Life Evolved

A new study suggests more solar radiation reached Earth while the magnetic field weakened, leading to a rise in oxygen that drove an explosion of multicellular organisms during the Ediacaran Period | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Hike Through Ancient Roman and Biblical History in Turkey’s Rugged Mountains

In southern Turkey, an extensive new trail network spirits trekkers to Pisidia, home to many lost treasures and a true crossroads of civilizations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How the Airstream Hit the Open Road

This space-age sensation kicked the American road trip into high gear | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Who Were the Real Pirates of the Caribbean?

During the Golden Age of Piracy, thousands of sea dogs sought fame and fortune. But the reality of a pirate's life was less enticing than movies and television shows suggest | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Long-Distance Running May Have Evolved to Help Humans Chase Prey to Exhaustion

Scientists found hundreds of recent examples from around the globe of hunters using "endurance pursuits" to tire out their prey, furthering the debate over the hunting technique | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Scientists Are Investigating a Puzzling Underground 'Anomaly' Near the Giza Pyramids

Using remote-sensing technologies, researchers have discovered two connected structures in a previously unexplored area | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

These Ancient Skeletons Are Not Entwined Lovers, But a Daughter Embracing Her Mother

New research found that the two women, who were buried in Austria atop a horse, were first-degree relatives who died some 1,800 years ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How Do Elephants Say Hello? Reunions Lead to Ear Flapping, Rumbling and Trunk Swinging in Greeting

New research explores how African savannah elephants use vocalizations, gestures and secretions when they meet up with companions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

What the Broadway Musical 'Suffs' Gets Right (and Wrong) About the History of Women's Suffrage

The new show serves as an entertaining history lesson, but even that has its creative limits | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How the Soon-to-Reopen Folger Shakespeare Library Came to Be

A full 82 copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio will go on view as the renovated Washington, D.C. institution makes its debut | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Doctor Pioneered Counting Calories a Century Ago, and We’re Still Dealing With the Consequences

When Lulu Hunt Peters brought Americans a new method for weighing their dinner options, she launched a century of diet fads that left us hungry for a better way to keep our bodies strong and healthy | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How Scientists Are Protecting Plovers’ Beachfront Lifestyle

Camouflaged by the sand, these threatened shorebirds aim to hide from predators. Now conservationists are trying to give their breeding efforts a boost | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

More Than 1,000 Fossils, Including Rare Dinosaurs, Gifted to Brazil's National Museum Following Fire

The massive donation was made by Burkhard Pohl, a Swiss-German collector, as the museum works to replenish its collections after a devastating blaze in September 2018 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Monet's Thames Paintings Will Finally Go on View in London—Nearly 120 Years After the Original Exhibition Was Postponed

The artist hoped to display the works in the city where he painted them, but he was plagued with anxiety over their quality | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

See 12 Breathtaking Images of the Northern Lights, Spotted in Shocking Places Over the Weekend

A period of unusually strong solar activity meant the colorful aurora borealis could be seen much farther south than normal | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Five Movies You Didn't Know Were Filmed in Utah

State officials are staging a year-long exhibition to celebrate 100 years of filmmaking in the state | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

See the Reconstructed Face of a Mummy Stored in a High School Library Since 1915

A forensic artist hopes the sculpture will help humanize the mummy, which appeared at Australia's Grafton High School under mysterious circumstances | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Biodiversity Loss Increases the Risk of Disease Outbreaks, Analysis Suggests

Researchers found that human-caused environmental changes are driving the severity and prevalence of disease, putting people, animals and plants at risk | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How This Caribbean-Born Artist Became the Toast of 18th-Century France

A new exhibition in Massachusetts illuminates the success of Guillaume Lethière | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Tracking Humans’ First Footsteps in North America

At a site in New Mexico, a new discovery rewrites the human history of the continent | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago