Huge Cicada Broods Have Ripple Effects on Birds, Caterpillars and Trees

When Brood X emerged in 2021, scientists measured how the influx of billions of insects affected the ecosystem near Washington, D.C. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

You Can Eat Part of This Upcoming Feminist Exhibition at the Tate Modern

Visitors will eat pieces of a life-size family sculpted from cake in a restaging of Bobby Baker's 'An Edible Family in a Mobile Home' | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Biologists Find 13 Freeze-Dried Mouse Mummies Atop Andean Volcanoes

These cold, arid and oxygen-poor summits are akin to conditions on Mars, prompting questions about how the rodents got there—and how they survived | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Rapid Melting of West Antarctic Ice Shelves Is 'Unavoidable,' Study Finds

Even under a best-case climate scenario, global sea levels will likely rise because of this accelerated melting, scientists say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Christopher Columbus Letter Describing Journey to the Americas Sells for $3.9 Million

Copies of the letter have long been the target of thefts and forgeries, but Christie's says this one is the real deal | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

This Worm-Like Amphibian Eats Its Mother's Skin to Get Microbes

Caecilians are the only known amphibians to pass microbes from one generation to the next, according to a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Artist John Akomfrah Is Having a Moment

The works of the recently knighted filmmaker address contemporary issues in two different Smithsonian museums | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How Scientists Tracked the Movements of a 17,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth

Isotopes tell the epic tale of one ancient mammal’s odyssey across Alaska | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Dell O'Dell's Trailblazing Magic Show Cast a Spell on Early Television Audiences

Rare footage of the woman magician's act captures her magnetic stage presence and range of tricks | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Fifty Years After Their Release, Former Vietnam POWs Journey Back to Hanoi

A group of American veterans return to the infamous compound where they and hundreds of other service members were held captive and tortured during the war | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Rodin Sculpture Has Been Missing From Scottish Museum Collection for Nearly 75 Years

The piece is a plaster version of one of the figures from the French sculptor's "Les Bourgeois de Calais" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Eating Red Meat Is Linked to Type 2 Diabetes Risk, New Study Finds

Reducing daily intake of beef, lamb and pork could reduce your risk of developing the disease, researchers say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Moon Is 40 Million Years Older Than Thought, Lunar Rock Samples Suggest

A new analysis of crystals from the moon pushes its age back to just 110 million years after the solar system formed | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

This Augmented Reality Tool Could Change Communication for Some Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

TranscribeGlass attaches to any pair of glasses and projects real-time subtitles in the user’s field of vision | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Australians Are Growing to Appreciate These Loud and Smelly Bats

Once seen as a menace, the gray-headed flying fox brings new life after recent devastating wildfires | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Can Every Living Thing Be Traced to a Single Cell? And More Questions From Our Readers

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


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Meet the 3-Year-Old Who Visited All 63 U.S. National Parks

Journey Castillo and her parents, Eric and Valerie Castillo, started their quest during the pandemic | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Globe-Trotting Scholar Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aztecs

Anthropologist Zelia Nuttall transformed the way we think of ancient Mesoamerica | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Workers Unearth 19th-Century Shipwreck Beneath a Road in Florida

The 19-foot-long vessel was found alongside a kerosene lamp, leather shoes, coins and other artifacts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Ten Billion Snow Crabs Disappeared Off the Coast of Alaska

The unprecedented die-off represents roughly 90 percent of the eastern Bering Sea population | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Mars' Most Powerful Quake Likely Triggered By Tectonic Forces

Researchers searched for signs of a meteorite impact that caused the quake, but were unable to find any | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Metal Detectorist Unearths Bronze Age Jewelry in Swiss Carrot Field

Researchers suspect the trove may have belonged to a "rich woman with a passion for collecting" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Beautiful Barns Tell the Story of the United States

In 1935, the nation was home to 6.8 million farms, and most had at least one barn. By 2007, only about 650,000 of these structures remained. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why We Need to Understand Frederick Douglass Now More Than Ever

The great orator was a branding genius, and a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcases his motivations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Was Ancient Egypt's Most Lasting Influence in the Field of Fashion?

An exhibition in Cleveland showcases millennia-old designs and the more modern creations they inspired | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Hundreds of Unopened Wine Jars Unearthed in Egyptian Queen's Tomb

Archaeologists found the 5,000-year-old jars with well-preserved grape seeds and intact stoppers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Hoppy Beer Could Be Climate Change's Next Victim

Warming temperatures and drier conditions in Europe could continue to lead to declines in hop yields and hop quality, a new study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Ten Stunning Images Prove That Small Is Beautiful

Selects from Nikon’s Small World Photomicrography Contest capture the elegance of insects, slime molds and more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Here’s How to Watch The Orionid Meteor Shower This Weekend

The celestial show will peak on the night of October 21 to 22, with around 23 meteors expected per hour | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Mysterious Man Returns Six Stolen Paintings to Art Detective's Doorstep

The puzzling incident comes just weeks after an anonymous tipster delivered a stolen van Gogh to Arthur Brand's flat in Amsterdam | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Nearly 2,000 Items Are Missing From Welsh Museums

Museum officials say that many of the objects will likely be recovered as documentation work progresses | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Atlantic Hurricanes Are Getting More Dangerous, More Quickly

If such changes are in response to climate change, the future may feature more sudden, daunting storms | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Portraits Made a Bold Statement in 19th-Century America

A new exhibition exploring artistic representation of Black subjects includes a work that subverted cultural expectations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How the Osage Changed Martin Scorsese’s Mind

“Killers of the Flower Moon” sets a new standard in its nuanced portrait of Osage life. Decades of prior films about Native Americans didn't even try | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Early Europeans Ate Seaweed for Thousands of Years

Researchers found biomarkers of seaweed and other aquatic plants in samples of dental plaque | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Runestones Reveal the Secrets of a Powerful Queen in Viking-Age Denmark

An analysis of the carvings on four runestones sheds new light on Queen Thyra's influence | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Ecological Benefits of Rehoming a National Park's Booming Bison Population

In Theodore Roosevelt National Park, staffers are keeping the local ecosystem in balance by sending 300 bison to Native American tribes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The World Has a New Hottest Pepper

Pepper X is three times spicier than the previous record-holder, the Carolina Reaper | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Reduced Serotonin Levels Could Cause Long Covid Symptoms, Study Finds

Researchers identify a mechanism through which inflammation related to the virus leads to lower levels of the neurotransmitter | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

1,000-Year-Old Sword and Cemetery Unearthed in Finland

Researchers identified eight burials, but they say the graveyard may hold dozens—or even hundreds—waiting to be discovered | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Mars

Scientists have learned a lot since they started sending crafts and rovers to our red neighbor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Real History Behind 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Martin Scorsese's new film revisits the murders of wealthy Osages in Oklahoma in the 1920s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Painting Stolen in a Heist 30 Years Ago Has Returned to Glasgow

After vanishing without a trace in 1989, "Children Wading" appeared at an auction house in England | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

This September Was the Earth’s Hottest on Record

The scorching month follows the hottest June, July and August in recorded human history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Genetically Modified Silkworms Can Produce Spider Silk That's Stronger Than Kevlar

The sturdy, biodegradable fibers could one day be used for surgical sutures or armored vests | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Netflix Plans to Open Brick-and-Mortar Stores in 2025

Visitors will dine at themed restaurants and participate in immersive experiences | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What to Know About California's New Law Banning Food Additives, Including Red Dye No. 3

Already prohibited in multiple countries for its potential harmful effects in humans, the colorant's future is now in serious doubt in the United States | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Did Ancient Egyptians Know Meteorites Came From Space?

Hieroglyphic texts suggest they understood the rocks, which contained valuable iron, did not originate on Earth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago