40th Anniversary

Adolf Hitler and his deputy Rudolf Hess

History of Now

Eight Historical Archives That Will Spill New Secrets

Declassified records and journals to be released in coming decades will shed new light on pivotal 20th-century figures and events

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Extreme Jellyfish

There are some 2,000 species of jellyfish. Some are tasty, others will kill you with the tap of a tentacle. Here are nine varieties that really stand out

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Five Species Likely to Become Extinct in the Next 40 Years

Experts estimate that one-eighth of all bird species, one-fifth of mammal species and one-third of amphibian species are at risk

Common Thresher Shark

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Cobras, sharks, lemurs, hermit crabs and more...

Angela Belcher got her powerful idea from an abalone shell.

Invisible Engineering

Chemist Angela Belcher looks to manufacture high technology out of viruses

Findings from the first major study on human-robot marital discord since the passage of the Automaton Marriage Act of 2050.

Married, With Glitches

Will human-robot interactions be undone by technical difficulties?

Kevin Kelly worries devices like Apple's iPad, shown here with Smithsonian's first cover, nurtures action over contemplation.

Reading in a Whole New Way

As digital screens proliferate and people move from print to pixel, how will the act of reading change?

Vinton Cerf, Internet pioneer, sees a need to separate Web fact from Web misinformation.

Vinton Cerf on Where the Internet Will Take Us

Google’s “Chief Internet Evangelist” talks about the direction of online connectivity and communication

The Solúcar facility's acres of heliostats, or mirrors, focus the sun's rays to create temperatures of 570 degrees, generating energy but not harmful emissions.

A Spanish Breakthrough in Harnessing Solar Power

Solar technologies being pioneered in Spain show even greater promise for the United States

Contact lenses that act as computer screens face an obstacle: power.

Embedded Technologies: Power From the People

Energy harvested from our bodies will make possible mind-boggling gadgetry

"The idea of musical chops—instrumental mastery—will still be around," says Laurie Anderson.

Laurie Anderson on the Sounds of the Future

The multi-faceted artist sees a future in which artists change our auditory experiences

Polymer fronds a few thousand nanometers long wrap around even tinier plymer spheres.

Can Nanotechnology Save Lives?

Harvard professor and scientific genius George Whitesides believes that nanotechnology will change medicine as we know it

The human race "has not been elevated" over the past 40 years, Carl Hiaasen says.

Carl Hiaasen on Human Weirdness

The satirist talks about the "curve of human weirdness" and the need for public outrage in the political arena

"Most people from the Western world would think that imagery is forbidden in Islam and that Islamic art is fact geometry—the arabesque," says Sabiha Al Khemir.

Sabiha Al Khemir on Islam and the West

The museum curator and author predicts that relations between the United States and the Muslim world will improve

Reservations "are strongholds of community," says Chris Eyre.

A Youth Renaissance for Native Americans

Filmmaker Chris Eyre says Native pride will embolden the next generation of first Americans

"I see it [comedy] changing by having the comedy club come to your house," says comedian George Lopez.

George Lopez on Comedy and Race

The late-night talk show host discusses how America's changing demographics will affect what makes people laugh

James Cameron, with Sigourney Weaver, Joel Moore and Sam Worthington, is in command on the set of Avatar.

James Cameron on the Future of Cinema

The director of Avatar and Terminator talks about future sequels, 3-D television and Hollywood in 2050

"Kids have fantastic ideas," says "wired composer" Tod Machover, holding an instrument from the Beatles version of Rock Band, the computer-based musical toy invented by his students at MIT.

Tod Machover on Composing Music by Computer

The inventor and MIT professor talks about where music and technology will intersect over the course of the next 40 years

Literature, says poet, novelist and playwright Rita Dove, will look "for different ways to distinguish itself from mass media."

Rita Dove on the Future of Literature

The Pulitzer-Prize winning poet discusses how new technologies will affect the creative process

Artists will move beyond the "four walls of established institutions," says Richard Koshalek, director of the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum.

Art's Bold New Direction

The director of the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum predicts how art will engage us as never before

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