Archaeologists Discover 4,000-Year-Old Wall Built Around Oasis in Saudi Arabia

The nine-mile-long structure surrounding the Khaybar Oasis may have once protected against raiders | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Traps Scented Like Mink Butts Could Be Key to Removing the Invasive Species From the U.K.

A successful eradication trial in East Anglia has raised biologists' hopes for ridding Great Britain of the destructive creatures, which threaten native wildlife | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

DNA From the Ocean's 'Twilight Zone' Could Lead to New Lifesaving Drugs, Scientists Say

Researchers catalogued the genes of more than 300 million groups of marine bacteria, viruses and fungi in hopes that the database could lead to breakthroughs in medicine, energy and agriculture | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Humpbacks Have Rebounded in This Spot Decimated by Whaling

South Georgia Island’s Cumberland Bay has seen a resurgence of the marine mammals | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

As Empires Clashed During World War I, a Global Media Industry Brought the Conflict's Horrors to the Public

An exhibition at LACMA traces the roots of modern media to the Great War, when propaganda mobilized the masses, and questions whether the brutal truths of the battlefield can ever really be communicated | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

One Artist's Colossal Quest to Share Her Love of Roadside Americana

At her quirky outpost in Lucas, Kansas, Erika Nelson displays the world’s largest collection of the world’s smallest versions of the world’s largest things | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

This Museum Is Searching for Lost Artworks by Members of the Bloomsbury Group

The Charleston museum is launching a new initiative to acquire 50 privately owned works by 2030 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Works by Picasso, Rembrandt Damaged in Seattle Gallery Fire

Davidson Galleries had been preparing to move to a new location, so some of its works were especially vulnerable to smoke damage | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Doomed Lunar Lander Will Burn Up in Earth's Atmosphere on Thursday

Astrobotic, the company in charge of the mission, says its Peregrine spacecraft will not reach the moon, and burning it will ensure the lander doesn't end up as space debris | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Forgotten Tudor Wall Paintings Discovered in a Cambridge University Loft Space

Unseen for nearly 300 years, the art resurfaced during restorations at Christ's College | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tails? Scientists Examine the Endearing Behavior

Dogs communicate through tail-wagging, and humans may have selected for the trait during domestication | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

This Distant Exoplanet Has a 350,000-Mile-Long Tail, Like a Comet

A stream of particles flung from the planet's star is causing its atmosphere to boil away and lose 200,000 tons of mass per second | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

A Brief History of the United States' Accents and Dialects

Migration patterns, cultural ties, geographic regions and class differences all shape speaking patterns | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Elton John Just Became an EGOT Winner

With his victory at last night's Emmy Awards, the celebrated musician is the 19th person in history to take home an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Iceland Volcano Eruption Destroys Homes, May Signal a New Era of Frequent Activity

Fissures near Grindavík ejected lava for the second time in one month and engulfed three homes in the coastal fishing town | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

See the Face of Roman Britain's Only Known Crucifixion Victim

A forensic artist has reimagined what the man may have looked like 2,000 years ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

You Can Now Walk Down 'Rue David Bowie' in Paris

The city's 13th arrondissement honored the British musical legend on what would have been his 77th birthday | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

As the Planet Warms, Australia's Numbats Are at Risk of Overheating

The endangered, squirrel-sized marsupials forage for termites during the day—but they can become too hot after just ten minutes in direct sunlight, according to new research | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Court Rules Against Returning Nazi-Looted Pissarro Painting to Jewish Family

Sold in exchange for exit visas in 1939, the estimated $30 million masterpiece will stay at a Spanish museum | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Sharks Are Being Killed at Rising Rates Despite Increased Regulations

Global bans on finning have inadvertently opened up shark meat markets, prompting demand for threatened species, a new study reveals | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Inside Elephant Seal Pups' Race to the Depths

While northern pups dive right in, their southern cousins take their time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

What Happened to the Extinct Woolly Dog?

Researchers studying the 160-year-old fur of a dog named Mutton in the Smithsonian collections found that the Indigenous breed existed for at least 5,000 years before European colonizers eradicated it | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

What Are the 1,700 Items Missing From England's Museums?

Freedom of information requests have revealed more details about absent artifacts from the last 20 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Climate Change Is Melting Snowpack, Pushing Some Regions Past a 'Snow-Loss Cliff'

Some of the Northern Hemisphere's most populous areas are at risk of warming past a critical threshold, after which snowpack melts rapidly with even small rises in temperature, study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Cities Hidden in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Laser imaging has revealed an extensive network of settlements and roads that challenge historical understandings of the area | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Fossils Reveal a Possible New Tyrannosaur Species, the Closest Relative of T. Rex

The remains, dug up in the 1980s, might shed light on T. rex's mysterious origins, according to a new paper | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Construction Workers Discover Indigenous Burial Ground in Toronto

Researchers who investigated the site estimate that it's about 700 years old | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Ancient DNA From Eurasian Herders Sheds Light on the Origins of Multiple Sclerosis

Genetic variants linked to the risk of MS were brought to Europe during a migration around 5,000 years ago, a new study finds—and they might have helped herders survive | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

These Inviting Photos Capture the Beauty of the Caribbean

The stunning shots will make you wish you were there | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

The Eight Coolest Inventions From the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show

A solar-powered electric vehicle, an at-home “multiscope,” an office bike that charges your devices and more were unveiled at the annual Las Vegas trade show | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Surfers Play a Crucial Role in Ocean Rescue

During their lifetimes, surfers rescue an average of three people in trouble, according to a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

What Newly Digitized Records Reveal About the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The archival trove chronicles the extreme measures administrators took to ensure Black sharecroppers did not receive treatment for the venereal disease | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

What Caused the Mysterious Extinction of 'Giganto,' the World's Largest Ape?

The massive primates were unable to shift their diet to keep pace with a changing climate, according to a new study, forcing them to eat less nutritious bark and twigs | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Greece Reopens the Palace Where Alexander the Great Was Crowned

The 2,300-year-old Palace of Aigai—the largest building in classical Greece—had been under renovation for 16 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Iron Age Moat Discovered in Jerusalem Parking Lot

The structure's purpose is unclear, but researchers think it may have been used to divide the city in two | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

California Grizzlies Weren't as Big—or Bloodthirsty—as People Once Thought

The now-extinct bears were mostly vegetarians and measured about the same size as today's North American grizzlies | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Officials Reverse Plans to Remove William Penn Statue From a Philadelphia Park

The National Park Service had proposed replacing the statue with public resources showcasing the city's Native American history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Miners Discover Seven-Foot Mammoth Tusk in North Dakota

After coal mine workers found the 50-pound specimen, paleontologists studied the site and uncovered more than 20 additional bones | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

This 288-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Scrap of Skin Is the World's Oldest

The remains, found in an Oklahoma cave, belonged to a lizard-like reptile | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Twenty-Four Smithsonian Shows to See in 2024

Election-year items, truth serum, Nigerian art and a pioneering self-driving car are on display this year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Egyptian Tomb and Stunning Trove of Artifacts

Excavations at Saqqara revealed burials, colorful masks and statues of the goddess Isis | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

How Archaeologists Are Unearthing the Secrets of the Bahamas' First Inhabitants

Spanish colonizers enslaved the Lucayans, putting an end to their lineage by 1530 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

2023 Broke Temperature Records. Will 2024 Be Even More Extreme?

Climate scientists have confirmed that last year's heat was unprecedented, surpassing records by a wide margin—but it could be one of the coolest years to come | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Building Used by Marie Curie Saved From Demolition

Cultural heritage supporters are hoping to see the facility listed as a protected site | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

A.I. 'Completes' Keith Haring's Intentionally Unfinished Painting

Critics say the image is disrespectful of the original work, which the artist made as a commentary on the AIDS epidemic | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

NASA Delays Artemis 2, Artemis 3 Moon Missions for Safety Reasons

Artemis 2 has been pushed from later this year to no earlier than September 2025, and the Artemis 3 moon landing will not occur before September 2026 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Can Killing One Species of Owl Help Save Another?

Biologists and conservationists are grappling with a controversial plan to kill 470,000 barred owls in the Pacific Northwest over the next 30 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

These Entrancing Maps Capture Where the World's Rivers Go

Cartographer Robert Szucs uses satellite data to make stunning art that shows which oceans waterways empty into | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago