Could Eelgrass Be the Next Big Bio-Based Building Material?

On the island of Laeso in Denmark, one man is reviving the lost art of eelgrass thatching and, in doing so, bringing attention to a plant that has great potential | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Astronomers Are Watching for a Once-in-a-Lifetime Nova Explosion. When Will We See It?

A recurrent nova, known as the Blaze Star or T Coronae Borealis, is predicted to soon appear in the night sky. But the exact timing of the rare eruption remains unknown | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

A Monet Masterpiece That Hung in Churchill's Home Is Now Free of Grime From Cigar Smoke

The newly restored "Charing Cross Bridge," which once hung in the politician's drawing room, is now on display at London's Courtauld Gallery | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

How to Catch a Glimpse of the Draconid Meteor Shower

While the annual shower usually makes for a sleepy showing, it has been known to produce fantastic outbursts in the past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Metal Detectorists Unearth 1,000-Year-Old Viking Coins on a Small Island in the Irish Sea

Experts say that the trove of silver currency is official treasure and includes coins from England and Ireland | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Two and a Half Years After the Russian Invasion, Ukraine's Cultural Heritage Remains at Risk

A $1 million grant from the U.S. is the latest effort to support Ukraine's fight to preserve its rich past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Scientists Use Cold War-Era Spy Plane to Find Unexpected Gamma Rays in Thunderstorms

The new findings bring storm researchers one step closer to solving the mystery of how lightning forms | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

‘Pride and Prejudice’ Gets a New Adaptation: an Interactive A.I. Avatar

Lizzy, the avatar based on the novel’s Elizabeth Bennet, will hold period-accurate conversations with visitors at Jane Austen’s cottage home | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Scientists Unveil the First-Ever Complete Map of an Adult Fruit Fly's Brain, Captured in Stunning Detail

The brain diagram, called a connectome, could revolutionize researchers' understanding of the human brain, which has many parallels with a fruit fly's | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

What the Long History of Mail-In Voting in the U.S. Reveals About the Election Process

A recent exhibition shows how soldiers sent in votes during the Civil War and World War II, as many Americans would in 2020 following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Why a Minnesota Man Walked Around the World, Traversing 13 Countries and 14,450 Miles in Four Years

Fifty years ago, on October 5, 1974, David Kunst completed the first verified circumnavigation of the globe on foot. Along the way, he met Princess Grace of Monaco, raised money for UNICEF and lost a brother to bandits | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Discovery of a 5,000-Year-Old Society in Morocco Reveals an Ancient Farming Culture

At the site known as Oued Beht, archaeologists uncovered evidence of a large farming settlement where people used advanced techniques | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Montana Rancher Who Created Giant, Hybrid Sheep Sentenced to Six Months in Prison

Arthur “Jack” Schubarth cloned illegally imported genetic material from the Marco Polo argali to create hybrid sheep that would draw higher prices from hunting preserves | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Ants Farmed Fungi in the Wake of Dinosaurs’ Demise 66 Million Years Ago

A new study from Smithsonian scientists analyzes ant and fungus species, and uncovers the origins of their close partnership | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

This Newly Discovered Sunken Warship Served on Both Sides of World War II

The USS Stewart was purposefully sunk off the coast of California after the war | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Breast Cancer Cases Are Rising Among Younger Women, Report Finds

Though breast cancer mortality is declining overall, Asian American women and women under 50 have experienced an uptick in diagnoses of the disease | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Astronomers Discover a Small Exoplanet That's Our Cosmic Neighbor at Just Six Light-Years Away

Orbiting Barnard's star, the nearest solo star to Earth, the world is too hot to be habitable—a scorching 257 degrees Fahrenheit | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

A Junk Dealer Discovered a 'Horrible' Painting in a Cellar 60 Years Ago. It Might Be a $6.6 Million Picasso

For years, the owner's son had wondered about the artwork, which features the Spanish painter's signature. Now, some experts think it's the real deal | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Chonky Superstar of Fat Bear Week Is Missing, and the Competition Won't Be the Same Without Him

While other bears battled over fish in a prime spot, Otis would sit off to the side and wait for the fish to come to him. But so far this year, he hasn’t been spotted in Katmai National Park and Preserve | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Hurricane Helene Shutters 'Critical' Quartz Mines That Power the World's Electronics, Solar Panels and A.I.

The small town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, is one of the only sources of high-purity quartz on Earth, but it has been left battered by the storm's heavy rains | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

A Treasure Hunter Just Uncovered the $100,000 Prize Hidden in the Massachusetts Woods

Two weeks ago, organizers of Project Skydrop stashed a golden statuette in a secret location somewhere in the northeastern United States | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Coyotes Might Make 'Puppy Eyes,' Suggesting the Facial Expression Evolved for More Than Just Cuteness

The wild canines have the same muscles used by domestic dogs to create the wide-eyed, pleading look that captures humans' hearts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Two Comets Could Be Visible to the Naked Eye This Fall. Here's How to Get the Best View

While expectations are high for some special sightings, experts warn that comets are notoriously fickle and unpredictable | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Roman Republic Quashed a Rebellion So Completely That This City Became a Landfill

Researchers studying the ancient site of Fregellae reveal the consequences of challenging the Roman army | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

One Year After England's Famous Sycamore Gap Tree Was Illegally Felled, a New Exhibition Honors Its Legacy

The show coincides with an initiative that will give away 49 of the tree's saplings to individuals and communities across the country | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

How Did Two Bowhead Whales That Were 60 Miles Apart Sync Their Diving?

Researchers suspect the marine mammals may have been communicating across the vast distance | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Geologists Reveal a Surprising Reason Why Mount Everest Grows Taller Each Year

Earth's highest peak has gained as much as an extra 165 feet in elevation as the planet's crust adjusts due to erosion from a river, according to a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

This Green-Flashing Firefly Could Become the First Ever Listed as Endangered in the U.S.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will consider granting federal protections to the Bethany Beach firefly, which is rapidly losing its coastal habitat to development and climate change | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Ancient Statues Recently Returned to Yemen Are Now on Loan at the Met

The long-term loan is the latest agreement Yemen has made with a museum in order to protect its cultural heritage amid ongoing civil war | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

See a Newly Uncovered Throne Room in Peru That May Have Belonged to an Ancient Queen

Built by the Moche people in the seventh century, the stunningly painted space shows signs of heavy use, including an eroded throne and traces of human hair | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Divers in Mexico's Underwater Caves Get a Glimpse of Rarely Seen Artifacts, Fossils and Human Remains

Cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula are time capsules preserving remnants of Maya culture and fossils of extinct megafauna | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Nintendo Switches Things Up With a New Museum That Embraces Nostalgia and Celebrates Gaming History

The Kyoto museum will feature interactive exhibits, gaming artifacts, workshop spaces and oversized controllers inspired by iconic video games | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Astronauts Stranded in Space Are Now One Step Closer to Returning Home

A SpaceX mission arrived at the International Space Station with two astronauts instead of four to leave room for NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore on the return trip in early 2025 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

This Shipwreck's Location Was a Mystery for 129 Years. Then, Two Men Found It Just Minutes Into a Three-Day Search

The "John Evenson" tugboat was helping another ship enter the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal in Wisconsin when it sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan in 1895 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Amid Rising Temperatures, Sloths' Slowness May Put Their Survival at Risk

The world’s slowest mammal is at risk of extinction by the end of the century due to their low metabolic rate and climate change | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Rare Drone Footage Captures Orcas Feeding on Dusky Dolphins

The predatory pod hunts off the coast of Chile and is led by a matriarch called Dakota | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Workers Just Started Building the World's First 3D-Printed Hotel in the Texas Desert

In the dusty landscape surrounding the city of Marfa, a huge 3D printer is constructing 43 new rooms and 18 residential homes as part of an expansion of El Cosmico | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Is Wildfire Smoke Causing Birds to Tend to Empty Nests?

New studies suggest smoke from western megafires may be damaging bird health and leading to strange behavior | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Inside Disney's Controversial Plan to Open a Theme Park Inspired by American History

In the early 1990s, historians and the public alike questioned how Disney's America would accurately and sensitively document the nation's thorny past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Hours After the Protesters Who Threw Soup at a van Gogh Were Sentenced, Three More Activists Repeated the Stunt

Two members of Just Stop Oil staged the original demonstration in late 2022. Group members say the harsh penalties will not deter their efforts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

This 3,775-Year-Old Log May Hold the Secret to a Low-Cost Climate Solution

Researchers say burying wood could be a viable method to prevent carbon from reaching the atmosphere | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

These Fish Have Legs—And They Can Use Them to Taste Prey

Sea robins have 'the body of a fish, the wings of a bird and multiple legs like a crab' | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Explore Abraham Lincoln's Life and Legacy Through Rare Copies of Historic Books and Documents

A new exhibition in New York City uses more than 200 texts and artifacts to contemplate Lincoln's rise to the nation's highest office | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Colorful World of These Brazilian Identical Twins Bridges Dreams and Reality

The artists known as OSGEMEOS showcase the largest exhibition of their work in the United States at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Netherlands Has Returned 288 Stolen Artifacts to Indonesia

The Dutch seized the majority of the items in the aftermath of a brutal 1906 conflict that killed an estimated 1,000 Balinese | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Extinct Volcanoes May Be An Untapped Source of Rare Metals

Unexplored iron-rich magma could help power current and future technologies | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The World's Oldest Cheese Was Buried in a Chinese Tomb 3,600 Years Ago. Now, Scientists Have Sequenced Its DNA

New research has revealed that the mysterious white substance found alongside three ancient mummies was once a soft cheese called kefir | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Scientists Have Found Bacteria and Fungi 10,000 Feet Up in the Air

The discovery has implications for human health, since the microbes included some that were still viable, some that could be infectious to humans and others that carried drug-resistant genes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago