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This silk velvet ikat robe was made specifically for a woman, as evidenced by the pinched waist. Velvet ikats were considered top-of-the-line, the Freer|Sackler's Massumeh Farhad explains, because two rows of weft were needed instead of the usual one.

How the Technicolor Ikat Designs of Central Asia Thread Into Textile History

A new Smithsonian exhibition sheds light on the rich backstory of an oft-imitated tradition

Why We Should Test Heart Drugs On a ‘Virtual Human’ Instead of Animals

Thousands of animals are used for heart drug tests each year—but research shows that computer-simulated trials are more accurate

Researchers think nanowood has enormous potential as a green building material.

Future of Energy

Could ‘Nanowood’ Replace Styrofoam?

Scientists at the University of Maryland have developed a biodegradable material that is both strong and a good insulator

The wreckage of a Southern Airways DC-9 sits in the front yard of a home facing the road that the plane attempted an emergency landing on in New Hope, Ga., April 5, 1977. The pilot's attempt to save himself and his passengers occurred after the plane's engines failed during a heavy thunderstorm.

What Happened When a Southern Airways Flight 242 Crashed in Sadie Burkhalter’s Front Yard

Her home became a makeshift hospital when she looked out her front door to a fiery inferno

The "Time Team" glams it up, and Lucy's costume presents a Hollywood mystery.

'Timeless' Recapped

The Drama Intensifies When “Timeless” Visits “Hollywoodland”

A plot to steal ‘Citizen Kane’ and a visit from inventor Hedy Lamarr give the Time Team a taste of the movie industry’s golden age

American Farm Hand by Sandor Klein, 1937

How Portraiture Gave Rise to the Glamour of Guns

American portraiture with its visual allure and pictorial storytelling made gun ownership desirable

Jökulsárlón, Iceland

Climate Change Can Also Transform Language

As our world warms, warps and melts, metaphors of the past take on new meaning

Washington D.C. in Spring

Cherry Blossom Forecast Update: When Will Washington, D.C. Reach Peak Bloom?

This Texas Company Is Fighting Hollywood’s Gender Inequality With Hard Data From Movie Scripts

StoryFit uses artificial intelligence to analyze film scripts for how characters are portrayed by gender

Zoo curator Bryan Amaral expects Spike will play nice with the other elephants. "For a bull elephant," he says, "Spike's a pretty amenable guy."

Meet Spike, the Affable Asian Bull Elephant Trucked Up From Florida to Join the National Zoo

With a new male elephant in the mix, zookeepers are hopeful babies will soon be on the way

Gene editing, which uses "molecular scissors" to cut and replace pieces of DNA, could be key for curing herpes.

Can We Gene-Edit Herpes Away?

Because the virus hides out deep in our bodies and stays there for life, a vaccine has eluded scientists for decades. But there may be another way

Postcard of the Napa State Hospital in Napa, Calif., circa 1905. Over 1,900 Californians were recommended for sterilization while patients here.

Race in America

California Once Targeted Latinas for Forced Sterilization

In the 20th century, U.S. eugenics programs rendered tens of thousands of people infertile

A movie screening at Hollywood Forever.

From Yoga to Movie Nights: How Cemeteries Are Trying to Attract the Living

These cemeteries around the country are more public space than burial ground

An illustration depicting the life cycle of a cancer cell

This DNA-Based Attack Against Cancer May Just Work

A newly approved treatment is a milestone in gene therapy for cancer

Macrophages begin to fuse with, and inject its toxins into, the cancer cell. The cell starts rounding up and loses its spikes.

Where We Are in the Hunt for a Cancer Vaccine

Two new studies have promising results

Vanessa Brandon worried that her cancer was a burden on her family: “I don’t want my sickness to become their sickness.”

Could Immunotherapy Lead the Way to Fighting Cancer?

A new treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer is offering hope to patients with advanced disease

The House Intelligence Committee looked into illegal wiretapping in 1975 as part of its investigation of risks of U.S. intelligence operations.

A Brief History of Surveillance in America

With wiretapping in the headlines and smart speakers in millions of homes, historian Brian Hochman takes us back to the early days of eavesdropping

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