Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Stories from Mary Randolph

To survey the area, researchers used a mix of satellite imagery and magnetometry.

Archaeologists Find Evidence of a Bronze Age City in Kazakhstan

Surveyed for the first time since its discovery two decades ago, the settlement “breaks from all the things that we thought we knew about Central Asia up to this point,” a study author says

Seabirds are just some of the marine animals known to eat plastic. 

More Than 1,200 Marine Animal Species Eat Plastic. Ingesting Even a Tiny Amount Can Kill Them, a New Study Suggests

Researchers examined more than 10,000 animal autopsies to figure out how much plastic is too much for ocean wildlife

The Garden of Les Mathurins, property of the Deraismes Sisters, Pontoise, Camille Pissarro, 1876

The Paintings of Camille Pissarro, the ‘First Impressionist,’ Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve

“The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro’s Impressionism,” the first major U.S. exhibition of the artist in 40 years, is now open at the Denver Art Museum

A team of doctors at NYU Langone transplanted a pig kidney into a brain-dead patient and reversed its rejection twice during the 61-day study.

Scientists Reverse Human Rejection of Pig Organ Transplant for First Time

A new study reversed transplant rejection twice, uncovering the reasons for transplant rejection on a cellular level

Experts think the cross-shaped pit reflects the Maya view of the universe.

Archaeologists Say They’ve Found a 3,000-Year-Old Map of the Cosmos at an Ancient Maya Site in Mexico

New research sheds light on a cross-shaped pit found at Aguada Fénix, a monumental complex discovered several years ago

The ˁAin Samiya goblet, pictured here as a replica, is currently held by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The real artifact is damaged, with some of the picture missing.

Scholars Thought This Ancient Silver Goblet Told One Myth for 50 Years. Is It Actually Telling Another Story?

A new study asserts that the Bronze Age goblet may be one of the earliest known depictions of cosmology, featuring gods creating celestial order from chaos

A new study suggests the Hektoria Glacier, seen here in 2024, shrank by 16 miles between January 2022 and March 2023—and five miles in November and December 2022 alone.

One Glacier’s ‘Out of This World’ Retreat Might Have Set a Modern Record. Now, Scientists Pieced Together What Happened

New research finds that Hektoria, a grounded glacier in Antarctica, shrank with astounding speed in 2022 and 2023

Sydney Sweeney as Christy Martin in Christy, a new biopic that dramatizes the boxer's major fights alongside the struggles she faced in her personal life

The Real Story of Christy Martin, the Trailblazing Boxer Who ‘Created a Sport That Did Not Exist’

A new biopic starring Sydney Sweeney as the legendary athlete chronicles Martin’s fights in and outside of the ring

The Mutiny on the Amistad, one of three murals depicting the saga of the slave ship Amistad, was jointly sold to two organizations that lend American art to public institutions. 

An Alabama HBCU Is Selling Historic Murals in First-of-its-Kind Partnership

Talladega College will sell four of its six Hale Woodruff murals, which commemorate the Undergound Railroad and the mutiny of Amistad

A new study found that women with no history of heart disease can decrease their risk of disease with about half as much exercise as men.

Women Need About Half as Much Exercise as Men for the Same Heart Benefits, Study Suggests

Researchers analyzed the activity and health records of 85,000 U.K. adults over roughly eight years

To capture snake strikes on video, scientists put medical gel on a stick and warmed it to mimic the body temperature of a mammal. Then, they waited for the snakes to attack.

Slow-Motion Videos Reveal What Really Happens When Snakes Bite

Different snakes put their own spin on striking their prey. Scientists captured the powerful attacks on camera

Horseshoe crabs evolved 445 million years ago and have been around for 1,500 times longer than Homo sapiens. It was not until the 20th century, however, that scientists discovered life-saving properties in their blood.

Horseshoe Crab Blood Has Long Helped Us Make Safe Medicines. Now, Alternatives That Spare the Ancient Creatures Might Be Breaking Through

An enzyme in the blue blood has been key to testing vaccines since the 1980s, raising concerns for the crabs’ population. But regulatory approval and new data are signaling the tide may be turning

The gala honoring Misty Copeland included speeches and performances at Lincoln Center. The American Ballet Theater also livestreamed the event to audiences at a nearby venue.

Trailblazing Dancer Misty Copeland Performs One Last Time Before Retiring From the American Ballet Theater

The ballerina has advocated for dancers of color on and off stage. In a farewell gala this week, she celebrated her accomplishments—and discussed what comes next

This 14th- or 15th-century aquamanile, a vessel for pouring water in domestic and religious settings, shows a sexual depiction of the legend of Aristotle and Phyllis.

See How These Medieval Artists Explored the Many Meanings of Love and Desire in a New Exhibition at the Met Cloisters

The show features more than 50 paintings, manuscripts, textiles and other artworks created in Western Europe between the 13th and 15th centuries

Of the 14 athletes studied in this research, ten competed in ultramarathons and ran up to about 7,000 miles over the course of the year.

How Far Is Too Far for Ultra-Endurance Athletes? This Study of Metabolism Found Out

Individual athletes ran an average of 4,000 miles over a year to help define the human body’s limit for energy expenditure

Researchers studied rainforests in northeastern Australia. These wet rainforests are very dense, and their canopies help cool down their ecosystems and store large amounts of carbon.

Australian Rainforests Become the First to Emit More Carbon Than They Absorb

A new analysis finds tropical forests in Australia are not taking in enough carbon dioxide to keep up with the emissions from their decaying trunks, holding possible implications for global ecosystems

"Nigerian Modernism" will run through May 10, 2026, at the Tate Modern. 

Nigeria’s Independence From England Brought Artistic Revolution. For the First Time, England Is Showcasing It

“Nigerian Modernism,” a new exhibition at the Tate Modern, celebrates 50-plus artists spanning half a century

A superb fairy-wren calls to a Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo. Brood parasites like cuckoos lay eggs in other birds' nests and leave them behind for the host birds to raise.

Birds Make an Alarm Call That Spans Species and Continents—and May Offer Insight Into the Evolution of Human Language

More than 20 species make a nearly identical noise to warn nearby birds of brood parasites, a behavior that bridges the “sharp division between animal communication systems and human language”

Artist's reconstruction of the ancient Macromyzon siluricus leech

Leeches May Be 200 Million Years Older Than We Thought—and Haven’t Always Sucked Blood

A Wisconsin fossil find suggests leeches once ate their prey whole or simply sucked up their innards

A magnified view of tiny specks of blue residue found on a Paleolithic stone artifact

These Archaeologists Set Out in Search of Animal Fat. Instead, They Found the Oldest Blue Pigment Ever Discovered in Europe

Blue residue on a 13,000-year-old stone artifact, long believed to be an oil lamp, may paint a new picture of Paleolithic art and culture

Page 3 of 4