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A technique for implanting a 3D-printed "ear" with stem cells could revolutionize treatment for microtia patients.

New Research

Hear This, 2017: Scientists Are Creating New Ears With 3D-Printing and Human Stem Cells

Two decades after the “earmouse,” researchers have mastered a powerful technique for growing ears from fat-derived stem cells

Abraham Lincoln by George Peter Alexander Healy, 1887

The Tradition of Presidential Portraiture, Explained

The transition of office holders includes the official commissioning of the portrait of the outgoing First Lady and President

Holograms, even those not carrying secret messages, need to be preserved.

Why Holograms Will Probably Never Be as Cool as They Were in “Star Wars”

But those that do exist must be preserved and archived

Marsh Ponds; Mavilette, Nova Scotia, 2014

Canada

A Photographer Captures Emptiness and Longing in Longfellow’s Nova Scotia

Photographer Mark Marchesi spent four years tracing images from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem, “Evangeline”

Dried cohineal insects from the author's study

The Bug That Had the World Seeing Red

How a Mesoamerican insect once created the globe’s most coveted color

President Boris Yeltsin hands over a copy of the Russian constitution to Vladimir Putin, December 21, 1999.

The Popularity of Putin and What It Means for America

In the 25 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has changed dramatically—and it’s more important than ever to understand those changes

Leah Desrochers, a former employee of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, holds a stranded Kemp's ridley sea turtle.

Why Are Endangered Sea Turtles Showing Up Cold and Seemingly Lifeless on Northeastern Shores?

In the past three decades, scientists have confronted a worsening epidemic of stranded Kemp’s ridley sea turtles

Poppies near Ribeira de Piscos, Côa Valley, Western Iberia, Portugal

Europe

A Project to “Rewild” Europe, Brings a Safari-Style Camp to Portugal

See Europe as it was five thousand years ago

Cars are a liability and expensive to maintain for most Americans. The Future Cycles team builds human-powered vehicles that combine the efficiency of a bicycle or moped with the weather protection and carrying capacity of a car.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

These Locally Grown Design Ideas Were Created by the People for the People

A Cooper Hewitt exhibition spotlights the innovative and sustainable designs generated by those in search of solutions

Lorna Seela Nabaala, one of only about 10 women safari guides out of the roughly 400 guides working today in the Maasai Mara

Meet One of the Few Female Safari Guides in Kenya

Though outnumbered by their male counterparts in the field, women have begun to take the reins in ecotourism

These ancient amber fossils from Burma in Southeast Asia help complete the patchy record of lizard evolution.

This Year in Ancient Amber: Prehistoric Feathers, Mushrooms, Lizards and More

It’s no Jurassic Park, but this treasure trove of new creatures will still transport you to an ancient world

Yerevan, Armenia

Armenia

How Ancient Volcanoes Created Armenia’s Pink City

In the capital city of Yerevan, volcanic rock flows pink

In Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, America's most beloved native insect faces threats from illegal loggers and avocado growers.

New Research

The Best Way to Protect the World’s Forests? Keep People in Them

Instead of kicking indigenous groups out, let them continue to manage these lands effectively, argues a new report

"Painless Parker" wore a necklace of teeth to lure in achy victims.

A Brief History of America’s Most Outrageous Dentist

Painless Parker and his dental circus live on in a Philadelphia museum

Inspectors examined the eyes of immigrants at Ellis Island in New York Harbor, but did they change their names?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Did Ellis Island Officials Really Change the Names of Immigrants?

On the 125th anniversary of the famous portal to the U.S., history shows inspectors were not the ones changing people’s names

The Santa Fe Railyard

The New Art Scene Transforming Santa Fe

The city’s image as a mecca of Southwestern-themed art and folksy spiritualism has begun to evolve, thanks to artists and entrepreneurs

Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy in the new film Jackie directed by Pablo Larraín.

Natalie Portman’s “Jackie” Reminds Us Why JFK’s Assassination Became Our National Tragedy

A Smithsonian scholar revisits those critical decisions Jacqueline Kennedy made following the death of her husband

The DF-24 camera, invented in 1932, is one of several that were used by cinematographer Hal Rosson to film the Wizard of Oz.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Without This Camera, the Emerald City Would Have Been the Color of Mud

That dramatic Dorothy in Oz moment was brought to you in living color by the DF-24 Beam Splitter

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