Inside the Wild Ways Many Creatures Make Milk

Mammals aren’t the only animals that provide nutritious secretions for their young | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Where Do We Get Seeds for Seedless Fruit? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Uncover the Surprising History of Hilton Head Island’s 16th Century Capital

The Coastal Discovery Museum’s upcoming exhibit will highlight the untold story of Santa Elena, the first European Colonial Capital in North America. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Climate Activists Chip the Case Protecting the Magna Carta

The two protesters, who are both in their 80s, held up a sign that read, "The government is breaking the law" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

See Photos From the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition That Led to the Vanishing of Two Explorers

A century later, a new book captures the grand scale of the mountain and uncovers more about the expedition and the people at its center | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Scientists Imaged and Mapped a Tiny Piece of Human Brain. Here's What They Found

With the help of an artificial intelligence algorithm, the researchers produced 1.4 million gigabytes of data from a cubic millimeter of brain tissue | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Through Newly Installed 'Portals,' New Yorkers and Dubliners Can Wave, Dance and Inappropriately Gesture to Each Other in Real Time

New art installations connect the two cities through continuous silent video feeds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

A Modified Psychedelic Toad Toxin Reduces Signs of Depression and Anxiety in Mice, Study Suggests

Colorado River toads produce a psychoactive toxin that some have claimed has medical benefits. The new research suggests these benefits could be achieved without hallucinations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Belugas May Communicate by Changing the Shape of Their Squishy Foreheads

Scientists documented five different melon shapes among the marine mammals living in captivity: push, flat, lift, shake and press | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Spellbinding Cover Art for 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' Could Break Auction Record

The original watercolor illustration of a young wizard boarding the Hogwarts Express was artist Thomas Taylor's first professional commission | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Mail Carrier Drives for Five Hours to Hand Deliver Lost World War II-Era Letters

When Alvin Gauthier found several letters written by a veteran in the 1940s, he went on a mission to return them | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Celebrate Moms This Sunday and Everyday With Moving Photos of Motherhood

This Mother’s Day, these shots from around the world remind us why they’re so special | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

These American Women Left Their Country and Took Their Talents to Paris

A show featuring early 20th-century figures tells the story of how the city became a haven for artists | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Locks of Beethoven's Hair Are Unraveling the Mysteries of His Deafness and Illnesses

Researchers found high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the German composer's hair, which may help explain some of his many ailments | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Astronomers Discover an Atmosphere on a Hot, Rocky Exoplanet With an Ocean of Magma

It's the best evidence yet of an atmosphere on a rocky planet outside our solar system, researchers say, and studying the distant world could provide insight into Earth’s early days | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Spend the Night in the Musée d'Orsay's Clock Room on the Evening of the Olympics Opening Ceremony

Airbnb will allow two travelers to book a one-night stay in the storied Paris museum, where they will watch the ceremony from a balcony overlooking the Seine | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Dice Snakes Fake Their Own Deaths With Gory, Poop-Filled Theatrics

When attacked by a predator, the reptiles can play dead with convincing detail, employing blood and feces for the show | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Hallucinogenic Plant Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Maya Ball Court

Researchers have found evidence of a nearly 2,000-year-old ceremonial offering at the site in present-day Mexico | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

One of Monet's Late Haystack Paintings Could Sell for More Than $30 Million

The sale of "Meules à Giverny" (1893) will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Has the Term 'Keystone Species' Lost Its Meaning?

More than 50 years after Bob Paine’s experiment with starfish, hundreds of species have been pronounced “keystones” in their ecosystems | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Scientists Discover a 'Phonetic Alphabet' Used by Sperm Whales, Moving One Step Closer to Decoding Their Chatter

Researchers used artificial intelligence to spot patterns in recordings of the marine mammals' vocalizations, uncovering the "building blocks of whale language" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

From Dinner Parties to Restaurants, Cicadas Are Landing in the Kitchen

Professional and amateur chefs nationwide are preparing to serve cicada dishes as the rare double brooding begins | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Are Days Passing Too Quickly? Memorable Experiences Might Help Dilate Your Sense of Time, Research Suggests

How we process time is linked to things we see, according to a new study, which found memorable, non-cluttered imagery can make moments seem to last longer | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

English Family Finds More Than a Thousand 17th-Century Coins During Home Renovation

The hoard, which collectively sold for $75,000, was likely buried during the First English Civil War | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Watch the Trailer for 'Firebrand,' a New Drama About Henry VIII's Sixth Wife, Catherine Parr

Karim Aïnouz’s film features Alicia Vikander and Jude Law as the Tudor queen and king | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Why Did the Ancient Illyrians Place Helmets in Their Burial Mounds?

A 2,500-year-old helmet found in Croatia may have been a funerary offering. It offers insights into the rituals of a lesser-known culture that once occupied the Balkan Peninsula | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The Inside Story of the First Untethered Spacewalk

On February 7, 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless ventured out into space and away from shuttle Challenger using only a nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled backpack | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

At 200 Years Old, the London National Gallery Is Redefining What It Means to Be a 'National' Museum

Despite its decidedly traditional art collection, the British cultural institution is adopting a contemporary approach to public outreach and accessibility | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Almost All People With Two Copies of This Genetic Variant Develop Signs of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Finds

The research focused on a variant called APOE4 and largely looked at people of European ancestry—risk levels are different for other groups, the authors say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

A Canaletto Masterpiece Stowed in a Mine During World War II Returns to Wales

“The Stonemason’s Yard” was one of many paintings that officials took from the National Gallery in London and moved underground to keep safe from Nazi forces | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

French Bakers Set a New World Record by Making a 461-Foot-Long Baguette

The previous world record was set by a group of bakers in Italy in 2019 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Ellen Ochoa, Former NASA Astronaut and First Hispanic Woman in Space, Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

The former Johnson Space Center director logged four space shuttle flights and 1,000 hours in orbit over her 30-year career | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

When Were Blue Jeans Invented? These Paintings Suggest the Fashion Trend Dates Back to the 1600s

Ten paintings attributed to the "Master of the Blue Jeans" depict Italian peasants wearing the storied fabric | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Medieval Squirrels and Humans May Have Spread Leprosy Back and Forth

Archaeologists uncovered evidence of leprosy in a medieval red squirrel in England, and DNA evidence revealed the strain was similar to what was circulating in humans at the time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How a Fantastical Labyrinth Became a Crucial Habitat for Europe’s Bats

After scientists documented the flying mammals in the Piusa Sand Caves, dug by miners a century ago, conservationists strove to protect the vital habitat | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

These Historic German Cities Capture the Best Europe Has to Offer—All in One Country

From bucolic swaths of wine country to Parthenon-inspired architecture, you can expect to encounter the continent's highlights here | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Roman-Era Ship Was Carrying Jugs Full of Fish Sauce When It Sank 1,700 Years Ago

Discovered in the summer of 2019, the Ses Fontanelles wreck likely ran aground sometime during the fourth century | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Chicago Museum Unveils the 'Most Important Fossil Ever Discovered': the Feathered Dinosaur Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx provided the missing link between dinosaurs and the avians of today, serving as critical evidence for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Bumblebee Nests May Be Overheating With Rising Global Temperatures, Study Finds

Across various species and regions, bumblebee nests thrive between 82 and 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit—and climate change could make it harder to find habitats in that range | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Spain's Prado Museum Will Showcase a Lost Caravaggio That Nearly Sold for Under $2,000

The rediscovered painting is one of 60 known pieces by the Italian artist and “one of the most valuable old master artworks in the world” | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Meet Shanidar Z, a Neanderthal Woman Who Walked the Earth 75,000 Years Ago

After carefully piecing her skull back together, archaeologists and paleoartists have created a lifelike 3D reconstruction of the woman's face | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Ancient Building May Have Served as a Rest Stop for an Egyptian Pharaoh's Army

Found in the northern Sinai Peninsula, the multi-room structure may have housed Thutmose III's troops over three and a half millennia ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Scientists Discover 27,500 Asteroids in Old Telescope Images Using A.I.

While most of the team’s new finds are located in the main asteroid belt, about 100 are near-Earth asteroids that pass close to our planet's orbit | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

University Students in Hawaii Use Cutting-Edge Technology to Digitally Restore Historic Buildings Damaged by Maui Wildfires

A new course at University of Hawaii at Manoa rethinks historic preservation, having enrollees design digital twins of notable structures so that people can experience them virtually | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

More Than 1,000 Sea Lions Gather at San Francisco's Pier 39, the Largest Group in 15 Years

The pinnipeds came to the area to feed on anchovies and herring as they prepare for breeding season | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

An Ancient Maya Practice Could Be the Key to Growing Vegetables on Mars

Researchers are exploring whether intercropping—a technique of growing different types of plants in close proximity to one another—could be the secret to agriculture on the Red Planet | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Ship Mysteriously Vanished 115 Years Ago. Now, It's Been Found at the Bottom of Lake Superior

Nobody knew what happened to the "Adella Shores," which disappeared with 14 crew members aboard in 1909 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Why the Wartime Rescue of the Survivors of a British Shipwreck Ended in Betrayal

In 1813, an American sealing vessel, the "Nanina," promised to save the crew and passengers of the "Isabella," even though it was an enemy ship. Here’s how the British brig got stranded in the first place | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago