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Anderson Valley Vineyards

This Secret Corner of California Is a Paradise for Lovers of Great Food and Top-Notch Wines

Jody Rosen meets the free spirits giving shape to this flourishing wine region with a soon-to-be-legendary culinary scene, California’s Mendocino County

You'd expect to see a raccoon snuffling around at midnight. A sun bear, not so much.

New Research

Fear of Humans Is Forcing Daytime Animals Into Night Mode

The stress is pushing some animals to adjust their schedules—but not all will be quick enough to adapt

Monticello's main house and South Wing

Putting Enslaved Families’ Stories Back in the Monticello Narrative

An oral history project deepens our understanding of U.S. history by sharing accounts of the community owned by Thomas Jefferson

Say hello to SMAP

This NASA Satellite Can Map the Planet’s Soil Moisture Content In Just Three Days

The speedy collection of this data will help with crop management and flood prediction

Trevor Brazile is the winningest cowboy ever, as the first PRCA cowboy to cross the $3 million threshold in career earnings back in 2008 -- and he hasn't let up since.

The First Family of Rodeo

Will a cowboy legend have what it takes to recapture the championship?

Don't judge a bat by its cover ... of Barry White.

New Research

Like Birds, Some Bats Warble to Woo Their Mates

They join an elite club of mammals—including mice, whales and humans—whose melodies convey complex information

What if Napoleon hadn't stopped at invading Russia and instead created a world under French control?

What if Napoleon Hadn’t Lost Europe and Other Questions of Alternate History

How the 200-year-old literary genre reflects changing notions of history and society

Fully 73 percent of the patents studied in the paper pertained to microbial species, which account for about 20 percent of marine life.

New Research

Nearly Half the Patents on Marine Genes Belong to Just One Company

Who owns biodiversity? No one and everyone—or maybe, a German chemical company

Exterior of the Iroquois Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, 1903

The Iroquois Theater Disaster Killed Hundreds and Changed Fire Safety Forever

The deadly conflagration ushered in a series of reforms that are still visible today

Aerial view of Guadalajara

How Guadalajara Reinvented Itself as a Technology Hub

Mexico’s second largest city has nimbly transformed into a R&D hotpsot, offering a model for the country’s future

A large dust storm, or haboob, sweeps across downtown Phoenix on July 21, 2012.

New Research

How Climate Changed-Fueled “Mega Droughts” Could Harm Human Health

Researchers looked at the little-studied danger of dust and worsening air quality in the American Southwest

We now know that velociraptors were closer to dog-sized than horse-sized, meaning full-grown Blue should be closer to these dimensions. Also: FEATHERS.

Five Ways Real Science Would Make the New Jurassic World So Much Better

It appears that Fallen Kingdom has not evolved alongside 21st century research

Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand partially collapsed after a 2011 earthquake.

How Computer Scientists Model the Role of Religion in Society

Virtual simulations attempt to show how faith influences human behavior in the face of terror

AI will be able to analyze compounds in your breath.

Artificial Intelligence May Be Able To Smell Illnesses in Human Breath

Compounds in your breath could help AI detect illnesses, including different cancers

Saturated invites visitors to contemplate the essence of color, and the fascinating ways in which different hues interact.

Future of Art

How Newton, Goethe, an Ornithologist and a Board Game Designer Helped Us Understand Color

A new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum explores the kaleidoscope of figures who shaped color theory

Computer-generated dinosaurs walk the Earth

How ‘Jurassic Park’ Made History 25 Years Ago, Propelling Computer-Generated Animation Forward

It was the first time that computer-generated characters interacted with human actors on screen. How has the technology improved since then?

Once states voted, approval of what became the 18th Amendment came quickly, the Smithsonian's Peter Liebhold says. “I think some people were surprised how quickly that all came about.”

The Bitter Aftertaste of Prohibition in American History

Anti-immigration sentiment flavored that cocktail ban, historians say

Australian researchers have shown that bees can distinguish nothing from various positive numbers.

New Research

Bees May Understand Zero, a Concept That Took Humans Millennia to Grasp

If the finding is true, they’d be the first invertebrates to join an elite club that includes primates, dolphins and parrots

Woodrow Wilson at his desk in the Oval Office c. 1913.

World War I: 100 Years Later

Woodrow Wilson’s Papers Go Digital, Leaving Microfiche Behind

This increased accessibility of Wilson’s papers coincides with a new wave of interest in the 28th president

A UNICEF staff member measures the perimeter of an acute malnourished child's arm in Doolow, Somalia.

Can AI Tell if a Child Is Malnourished?

A new program may be able to spot malnutrition in a simple photo, making it easier to assess nutrition problems in volatile regions

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