Articles

The utterly strange-looking star-nosed mole sees the world with one of the most sensitive touch organs in the animal kingdom.

How the Star-Nosed Mole ‘Sees’ With Its Ultra-Sensitive Snout

The utterly strange-looking creature sees the world with one of the most sensitive touch organs in the animal kingdom

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These Machines Will Be Able to Detect Smells Your Own Nose Cannot

We're getting closer to the day when your smartphone knows you have a cold before you do

Doug E. Fresh (shown above, performing at the Legends of Hip Hop Tour in February 2011) was a beatboxing pioneer in the 1980s.

Beatboxing, as Seen Through Scientific Images

To see how certain sound effects are humanly possible, a team of University of Southern California researchers took MRI scans of a beatboxer in action

About 15 miles north of Quito, a yellow line representing the Equator runs up a long, regal walkway to the base of the Mitad del Mundo monument, built in 1979. The thing is, they built the structure several hundred feet south of the true Equator.

Much Ado About Nothing at the Equator

Just north of Quito stands a grand and glowing tribute to one of Ecuador’s proudest features: the Equator. The problem is, it was built in the wrong place

Making guacamole

How Did Avocados Become the Official Super Bowl Food?

Did you know this off-season penchant for guacamole is an industry creation?

A Liberty Head nickel from 1883

1913 Nickel Could Sell for More Than $2 Million

The coin is one of only five 1913 Liberty Head nickels known to exist, though this one has an illicit, serendipitous back story

Walter Cronkite gives a tour of the home office of 2001 on his show The 21st Century (1967)

3D-TV, Automated Cooking and Robot Housemaids: Walter Cronkite Tours the Home of 2001

In 1967, the most trusted man in America investigated the home of the 21st century

A feral cat, just trying to get by.

Feral Cats Kill Billions of Small Critters Each Year

A new study shows that cats--especially feral ones--kill far more birds and small mammals than scientists previously thought

Falernum, a syrup that originates in Barbados, pairs nicely with rum.

Falernum: The Elusive Cocktail Syrup to Name Drop At Your Next Party

This tiki-era mixer, best served with rum, has a hazy past and an island-y bite

Coming Out of the Closet May Be Good For Your Health

For lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals, a new study suggests that coming out provides a tangible health benefit, both mentally and biologically

After Eleven Years, the DSM-5 Is Finally Finished

After eleven years, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has updated the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The Siberian taiga in the Abakan district. Six members of the Lykov family lived in this remote wilderness for more than 40 years—utterly isolated and more than 150 miles from the nearest human settlement.

For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of World War II

In 1978, Soviet geologists prospecting in the wilds of Siberia discovered a family of six, lost in the taiga

A Baltimore staple.

The Berger Cookie is Baltimore’s Gift to the Chocolate World

For nearly 200 years, the true black-and-white cookie has been delighting residents of Charm City

If you can name these dashing gentlemen, you’re off to a good start for Thursday’s rock-and-roll trivia night at the National Portrait Gallery.

Events January 29-31: Ancient Chinese Artifacts, Opera Masters and Rock-and-Roll Trivia

This week, see chinese artifacts once collected in a New Jersey apartment, learn about two of opera's greatest composers and show off your rock knowledge

A miniaturized George Jetson talks to his boss Mr. Spacely on a videophone (1963)

Future Calling: Videophones in the World of The Jetsons

If there's one thing the Jetsons came closest to nailing, its the prevalence of being able to talk with your boss or family via video

Let your horse sleep in today. Smithsonian museums don’t open until noon due to weather.

Museums Delay Opening Due to Weather

Smithsonian museums in the Washington, D.C. area as well as the National Zoo will open at noon Monday, due to inclement weather

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Urban Heat Islands Can Alter Temperatures Thousands of Miles Away From a City

Ambient heat produced by a city's buildings and cars often gets lifted into the jet stream and affects temperatures in places thousands of miles away

Artist Anatole Kovarsky’s image from the cover from the November 24, 1962 issue of The New Yorker

American Myths: Benjamin Franklin’s Turkey and the Presidential Seal

How the New Yorker and the West Wing botched the history of the icon

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Mona Lisa Travels by Laser, to Space And Back Again

To test the reaches of laser communication, NASA beamed a digital image of Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait to a satellite orbiting the moon

An on-site laboratory will let scientists check for microbial life in the subglacial water.

American Drilling Team Is About to Break Through 800 Meters of Ice to Reach Subglacial Lake

Sampling should be done late this evening, with scientific sampling of the subglacial waters beginning immediately

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