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“One out of every four deer that you see on your lawn or in the woods is infected with malaria,” says Ellen Martinsen.

One in Four U.S. Deer Is Infected With Malaria

Scientists suspect the undetected blood parasite has been present in the animals ever since they arrived across the Bering Land Bridge

Brainstorming new helmet innovation.

Smart Startup

Can This New Football Helmet Prevent Head Injuries?

The team behind the Zero1, a new four-layer helmet design, hopes so

A spread in LIFE magazine highlights these women football players.

The Forgotten History of Women’s Football

Several women’s football leagues formed during the 20th century—one from the 1930s even became a national sensation—but they’re barely remembered today

Otherworldly Photos From Inside One of the World’s Largest River Caves

Studded with cave pearls and home to elusive giant spiders, this cave is one of Laos’ hidden treasures

Thousands of infants born in Brazil have been reported to show signs of microcephaly, like Alice pictured here being comforted by her father.

How Can Viruses Like Zika Cause Birth Defects?

While the link between Zika and microcephaly is uncertain, similar diseases show how the virus might be affecting infants

Levi's Stadium

360-Degree Cameras and Other Cool New Tech for Super Bowl 50

This year’s game, held at San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium, should be the most high-tech Super Bowl ever

The hidden significance of the illustrations found on "The Cosmic Buddha," an iconic masterpiece from the collections of the Freer Gallery, is now being revealed thanks to 3D technology.

Curators Discover New Details in the Etchings on a 6th-Century Chinese Sculpture

A headless figure, cloaked in a robe covered with complex illustrations, is now better understood thanks to 3D technology

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Nine Unique Gifts You Should Buy in Delhi

A great reed warbler croons at his breeding grounds in the Netherlands.

New Research

These Birds Spend Winter Practicing Their Love Songs for the Ladies

Some migratory species may spend their time in Africa getting ready to woo mates in the spring

Students can take virtual field trips to places across the globe.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How Can Schools Use Virtual Reality?

The expansion of Google’s VR education program could make classrooms more engaging, and also more just

Wild vultures in Mongolia are key components of sky burials.

Age of Humans

Podcast: Why Sky Burials Are Vanishing in Mongolia

In this episode of Generation Anthropocene, urbanization and environmental decline put a sacred ritual for the dead at risk

An Indian Municipal Corporation sanitation worker fumigates as part of a drive to curb breeding sites for mosquitoes causing a dengue outbreak in New Delhi in October 2015.

Age of Humans

The World’s Megacities Are Making Dengue Deadlier

Outbreaks are more common now thanks to bigger cities and more places for mosquitoes to live

New vistas remind visitors that the new museum presents a "view of America through the lens of the African-American experience."

Breaking Ground

Opening Day for the New African American History Museum Is Announced

Thirteen years in the making, the museum says it will open its doors September 24, 2016

White rhinos graze in Nakuru National Park, Kenya.

Future of Conservation

Five Ways to Fight Wildlife Crime in the Digital Age

From GPS-tagged eggs to smartphone apps, these emerging technologies could help give endangered species a chance at survival

Outrigger canoes race in the Majuro lagoon in the Marshall Islands. Traditional Marshallese wave piloting uses the feeling of the ocean to navigate precisely across vast stretches of open water.

Age of Humans

Science and Tradition Are Resurrecting the Lost Art of Wave Piloting

Can Marshall Islanders’ unique heritage help them navigate a rising ocean?

Breaking Ground

The National Museum of African American History and Culture: Breaking Ground

Countdown begins towards the historic opening of the new national museum on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016

The embellished cave temples of Badami are among the earliest examples of rock-cut caves in southern India. The Chalukyas, who ruled over Deccan between the sixth and eighth centuries, oversaw the transition from rock-cut to freestanding, structural architecture.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

The Remarkable Cave Temples of Southern India

Deccan’s intricate monuments, many of which are carved into cliffs, date back to the sixth century

Microbeads and other tiny plastics could knock this aphrodisiac off the menu.

New Research

Your Cosmetics May Be Killing a Popular Aphrodisiac: Oysters

Microplastics from beauty products and other sources affected oysters’ ability to reproduce in laboratory experiments

Mom and baby share a lot, including their microbial ecosystems.

New Research

Does Having a C-Section Alter Baby’s First Microbiome?

A study of cesarean babies swabbed with birth canal fluids suggests that some newborns may be missing out on helpful microbes

A picture snapped by Spirit near Home Plate shows silica formations poking out of the soil, which may have been formed by microbial life.

Mysterious Martian ‘Cauliflower’ May Be the Latest Hint of Alien Life

Unusual silica formations spotted by a NASA rover look a lot like structures formed by microbes around geysers on Earth

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