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Articles

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

These Portuguese Libraries Are Infested With Bats—and They Like It That Way

They actually serve a very specific purpose

In the early 20th century, pioneer paleontologist Annie Montague Alexander had to find socially acceptable fieldwork partners to avoid being accused of vague improprieties on her expeditions. She would go on to found the University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley.

The Many Ways Women Get Left Out of Paleontology

The hurdles that prevent female fossil hunters from rising at the same rates as their male peers are myriad—but they are all interconnected

Worshippers at Holy Angel Catholic Church on Chicago’s South Side, in October, 1973.

The History of Black Catholics in America

The Black Catholic Movement reinvigorated the church, with liturgical innovation, new preaching styles and activist scholarship

In 2013, Winfrey was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Oprah’s Undeniable Influence on American History Recognized in New Smithsonian Exhibition

The National Museum of African American History and Culture follows Winfrey’s life, from her roots in rural Mississippi to her success as a cultural phenom

Painting of four species of rat, including the Polynesian rat (right).

New Research

Rat Bones Reveal How Humans Transformed Their Island Environments

Rodent remains prove an ideal tool for investigating changes on three Polynesian island chains

The imagined surface of Kepler-186f, an Earth-size planet orbiting a small red star.

NASA’s New Exoplanet Travel Bureau Lets You ‘Tour’ Far-Distant Planets In 360 Degrees

Eager space tourists can now visit sunny Kepler-186f, a moon of Kepler-16b or the Earth-like TRAPPIST-1e virtually

John Mackay made a fortune in the mining industry.

The Mining Millionaire Americans Couldn’t Help But Love

Unlike the other one-percenters of his age, John Mackay gained his countrymen’s admiration. But in an ironic twist, it means he’s little known today

Robert F. Kennedy by Roy Lichtenstein,1989, after 1968 original

On the Eve of his Death, Robert Kennedy Was a Whirlwind of Empathy and Internal Strife

These unconventional portraits capture the man’s evolution from straitlaced politician to champion of the poor

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2018

From Oregon Trail stops to Mister Rogers’ original neighborhood, these towns are worth seeing this year

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