Articles

Spotlight

What's new at the Smithsonian in June

Eric, left, and Ryan Berley serve up handmade jellies, nut clusters, walnut pillows, nonpareils and other goodies.

America’s Oldest Sweet Shop Gets a Hipster Makeover

How Philadelphia candymakers Eric and Ryan Berley are giving new life to Shane Confectionery

An Iraqi girl stands on former marshland, drained in the 1990s because of politically motivated water policies.

Is a Lack of Water to Blame for the Conflict in Syria?

A 2006 drought pushed Syrian farmers to migrate to urban centers, setting the stage for massive uprisings

Planetary Resources president Chris Lewicki stands next to the Arkyd space telescope.

A Space-Based Telescope for the People Wants Your Support

An asteroid mining company wants your money to put a satellite telescope that you can control into space

As part of the Star Songs project, X-ray emissions from the EX Hydrae system (above, near center)—in which one star pulls matter from its partner—are converted into music.

How to Convert X-Rays From A Distant Star into Blues, Jazz and Classical Music

A vision-impaired scientist, her coworker, and a composer team up to transform light bursts from stars into rhythms and melodies

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The Evolution of the Treble Clef

For centuries, music notation was an inexact technique and hasty transcriptions may have resulted in this symbol

Britain Will Decide If Badger Culling Is Humane Based on the Noises the Dying Animals Make

The similarities between how the shot badgers thrash about compared to harpooned whales will also be factored in

A hidden treasure–a bottle of Normandy apple cider stashed eight months earlier–is withdrawn from a hole in a rock wall in France’s Dordogne Valley. It was replaced with a Chimay Belgian ale. Want to play the game? Read this post for instructions.

Find the Beer! Bottles of Brew Await in Hiding Places in France

Bottles of strong brew lurk in rock walls and cliffs around southern France. Can you find them?

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The Paleofuture Blog Has Moved to Gizmodo

Our intrepid blogger bids farewell

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When Large Birds Disappear, Rainforests Suffer

A century after toucans and toucanets disappeared from patches of Brazilian jungle, trees have evolved to have smaller, weaker seeds

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World’s Newest Atomic Clock Loses 1 Second Every 50 Billion Years

Tired of your clocks losing time? A new clock, which is the most accurate ever, uses ytterbium atoms and lasers to precisely define a second

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What Animal Sounds Look Like

Mark Fischer, a software developer in California, turns data from recordings of whales, dolphins and birds into psychedelic art

The Ginger.io app looks for health clues in a phone log trail.

How You Use Your Phone May Tip Off Health Problems

Among the new technology geared to preventive health care is an app that tracks your social behavior and has been described as a human "check engine" light

Artist Andy Paiko spins glass into a variety of shapes and objects. Hear him speak about his process and see glass spinning in action on Sunday at the Renwick Gallery.

Events May 31-June 2: Tunes and Brews, A Day in Space and Glass Art

This weekend, listen to local bands, meet Buzz Aldrin and learn about the art of glass sculpture

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We Have Texas to Thank for the Biggest Big Gulp

The story behind the super sized soda cup in 7-Eleven stores and how it changed soft drinks forever.

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The Trial That Gave Vodou A Bad Name

An 1864 case that ended with the execution of eight Haitians for child murder and cannibalism has helped define attitudes toward the nation and the religion ever since

Auguste Bert Vaslav Nijinsky as the Golden Slave from Scheherazade, 1910 gelatin silver print V&A

Bringing the Dazzle Back to the Blockbuster Exhibit

Casting aside today’s fondness for the understated, a curator ponders the importance of “the wow factor”

How to Grow a Nanogarden

In a lab at Harvard University, Wim Noorduin cultivates microscopic crystalline flowers in glass beakers

Painter Thomas Dewing (1851 to 1938) was best known for his tonalist style, which blurred images to create a dream-like effect. See his work in “Sylvan Sounds: Freer, Dewing and Japan,” which opens at the Freer Gallery on Tuesday.

Events May 28-30: Sylvan Sounds, Trivia Night and Joseph Henry

This week, see the art that launched the Freer Gallery, test your knowledge of DC celebrities and meet the Smithsonian's first secretary

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Plants Frozen Under a Glacier for 400 Years Can Come Back to Life

Long-buried mosses recently exposed in the wake of a Canadian glacier's retreat are sprouting new growth, a study shows

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