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Articles

The footprints of ankylosaurs and other 122-million-year-old dinosaurs are preserved outside Moab, Utah.

Paleontologists Unveil Dinosaur Stomping Ground in Utah

Visitors can view ghostly footprints that record prehistoric steps in pale blue stone

Coral bleaching

Coral Bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef May Get a Lot Worse in the Future

Climate change could alter temperature patterns in a way that stops corals from preparing for bleaching events

A close-up of fabric in a loom

Taking a Cue from Textile-Making to Engineer Human Tissue

Researchers in search of a faster, cheaper way to engineer human tissue found success in traditional textile production methods.

Robin Williams by Michael Dressler, 1979

Harken Back to the Glory Days When ‘Time’ Magazine Was King

A new show honors the once powerful cover shot and the artists who made celebs shine bright

Adriaen van de Venne engraved this early depiction of a Dutch telescope. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

10 Bizarre, Vision-Enhancing Technologies From the Last 1,000 Years

Before Oculus Rift, there were lorgnettes, TV glasses and eyborgs

"Daisy Girl" changed the advertising tactics of American presidential candidates.

How the “Daisy” Ad Changed Everything About Political Advertising

Since the famous television spot ran in 1964, advertising agencies have sold presidential candidates as if they were cars or soap

This conception of jazz as a means of bringing people together is manifested nowhere better than in Benny Carter (above, 1986).

It’s Springtime and Jazz Is In Bloom

This year’s Jazz Appreciation Month celebrates the singularly talented alto saxophonist Benny Carter

The Swiss have a tradition for predicting spring: the Böögg.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, an Exploding Snowman Helps Predict Spring

Think Groundhog Day—but with fire

The split in the Whig party over slavery spelled its doom.

History of Now

What Can the Collapse of the Whig Party Tell Us About Today’s Politics?

Is the Republican party on the verge of catastrophe? Probably not, if history is any indicator

In a new book The Naturalist, the Smithsonian's Darrin Lunde draws on Teddy Roosevelt's diaries and expedition journals to tell the story of the 26th president as a prodigious hunter, tireless adventurer and ardent conservationist.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Epic (But Strangely Altruistic) Hunt for a White Rhino

In a new book, a Smithsonian naturalist tells the gritty, controversial tale of how one of America’s presidents felled a threatened species

Friends or strangers? Listeners may be able to tell just from the sound of the pair’s laughter.

Who’s Laughing Now? Listeners Can Tell if Laughers are Friends or Not

We laugh differently with friends, and the reasons may lie deep in our social evolution

Age of Humans

Lemur Extinctions Are Harmful to Madagascar’s Plant Life, Too

Plants and trees that once relied on a particular species of lemur to spread their seeds may also be headed for extinction.

In "Gardens Speak," artist Tania El-Khoury explores the human cost of Syria's civil war.

This Haunting Exhibit Unearths the Stories of Syria’s Slain

Ten victims of the Middle East crisis have their stories told in a moving art installation in Washington, D.C.

Run-DMC-JMJ on the rooftop of Russell Simmons's apt

Breaking Ground

Vintage Photos Recall the Early Days of Hip-Hop, Before It Became a Billion-Dollar Industry

More than 400 images from the 1980s to the early 2000s detail the “standout moments” of the rise of Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Jay Z and many more artists

A spectrometer can determine the nutritional value and caloric content of single piece of fruit.

You May Soon Be Able to Scan a Piece of Fruit to Check Its Nutritional Value

That’s one of the ideas Target is testing as it explores how much of a competitive edge it gets from being transparent about food

Is yogurt the elixir of longevity? Not exactly.

A Science Lecture Accidentally Sparked a Global Craze for Yogurt

More than a century ago, a biologist’s remarks set people searching for yogurt as a cure for old age

A mini-module, called a BEAM, is slated to be attached to the International Space Station in late May. There, it will undergo testing.

This Expandable Structure Could Become the Future of Living in Space

A Nevada real estate magnate has poured $290 million into a wild dream of being a landlord in outer space. His first tenant: NASA

Untitled by Robert Irwin, 1963-65

To Truly Experience Robert Irwin, You Simply Must View His Artworks in Person

Part visionary, part magician, Irwin makes art that breaks all the rules

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