Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Stories from Sarah Kuta

Banff Sunshine has pioneered snow farming, which involves setting up miles of fencing across its highest terrain to capture large amounts of wind-blown, natural snow.

This Canadian Ski Area Doesn’t Make Snow—It Farms It

Sunshine Village Ski Resort in Alberta is in the perfect position for piling up powder

Gas stoves emit air pollutants, including heat-trapping gasses.

Should the U.S. Ban Gas Stoves?

While the White House opposes an all-out ban, a federal safety agency is studying the health and environmental hazards of the kitchen appliances

Atlas Moth by Uday Hegde, the second-place winner in the butterflies and dragonflies category of this year's Close-up Photographer of the Year competition

These Awe-Inspiring Images Capture the World’s Little Details

See this year’s winners of the annual Close-up Photographer of the Year competition

Archaeologists studied the tree ring growth patterns of 100 timbers.

Rare 16th-Century Ship Unearthed in England

Quarry workers discovered the vessel 1,000 feet from the nearest coastline

Public health officials are warning about xylazine, also known as “tranq” or “tranq dope,” an animal sedative that's infiltrating the nation’s illicit drug supply in substances such as heroin and fentanyl.

What to Know About ‘Tranq,’ the Animal Sedative Infiltrating Street Drugs

Public health officials are sounding the alarm about xylazine, a substance that causes gruesome wounds and knocks users out for hours

Some romance and fiction audiobooks are now narrated by A.I. voices named Madison and Jackson.

You Can Listen to Audiobooks Narrated by Artificial Intelligence

Apple is now offering “digital narration” for some titles in the romance and fiction genres

Pollinators, including bees, face pressure from disease-causing organisms, habitat loss, climate change and other factors.

The World’s First Vaccine for Honeybees Is Here

It could be a game-changer for beekeepers fighting American foulbrood, a disease that can wipe out entire colonies

California Department of Water Resources officials prepare to measure the snowpack at Phillips Station in El Dorado County, California, on Tuesday.

California’s Snowpack Is High Above Average—but Its Drought Is Far From Over

While extreme storms have boosted the state’s snowpack, they’ve also caused destructive flooding

Archaeologists have only unearthed half of the Viking hall so far and plan to continue their dig later in 2023.

Archaeologists Unearth Viking Hall in Denmark

The structure may have been used for political meetings or other community gatherings

Archaeologists used a remotely operated vehicle called Deep Trekker to explore the H.M.S. Erebus site.

Archaeologists Recover 275 Artifacts From Mysterious Arctic Shipwreck

Explorer John Franklin and his 128 crew members disappeared while searching for the Northwest Passage in the 1840s

Researchers are studying psilocybin therapy to treat conditions like alcohol addiction and major depressive disorder.

Adults Can Now Use Magic Mushrooms With Supervision in Oregon

State-certified facilitators will guide patients in hallucinogenic trips, which may help treat mental health conditions

The Wicked Witch of the West, played by Margaret Hamilton, holding the hourglass

‘Wizard of Oz’ Hourglass Fetches $495,000 at Auction

The Wicked Witch of the West uses the prop to taunt Dorothy in the famous 1939 film

The cave once belonged to a wealthy Jewish family before becoming a Christian pilgrimage site

What’s Within the Burial Cave Dedicated to Jesus’ Midwife?

Archaeologists in Israel are excavating the site that was popular among pilgrims more than a millennium ago

Microwear traces on a Bronze Age tool used for smoothing or polishing

Unearthed Near Stonehenge, This Toolkit Was Used for Goldwork 4,000 Years Ago

The toolkit was discovered in 1801—but until recently, researchers didn’t understand its purpose

Pollinators, including bees, are suffering because of human activities.

Shrinking Pollinator Populations Could Be Killing 427,000 People Per Year

New research explores the relationship between human health and crop loss due to pollination deficits around the world

The elusive yeast strain had been lurking in the soil at the University College Dublin in Ireland.

Elusive Yeast That Gave Rise to Lagers Found in Europe for the First Time

Students in Ireland discovered the ancestral fungus in the soil on their university’s campus

Travelers won't have to squeeze all of their liquids into tiny containers when traveling through United Kingdom airports starting in 2024.

U.K. Airports Will Ease Restrictions on Liquids and Laptops in Carry-On Bags

Starting in 2024, travelers won’t need to limit liquids to travel-size containers

An artistic rendering of InSight on Mars

What NASA’s Retired InSight Lander Taught Us About Mars

The Red Planet robot was officially decommissioned after dust on its solar panels robbed it of power

Machu Picchu, a 15th-century Inca structure in the Andes Mountains

Helicopters Evacuate Travelers Stranded at Machu Picchu

Hundreds of tourists found themselves trapped at the site as protests spread through Peru

The new trains will feature better lighting, improved signage, panoramic windows, outlets and USB ports and other upgrades.

Take a Sneak Peek at Amtrak’s Newest Trains

The Airo trains will have larger windows, newly designed cafe cars and updated seating

Page 74 of 89