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Articles

Dried fruit powder will keep for up to two years.

Swedish Designers Are Turning Fruits and Veggies Into a Nonperishable Powder

The dried and powdered produce, called FoPo, could become a staple in disaster relief

The Yamaki Pine, which survived the bombing of Hiroshima, resides at the U.S. National Arboretum. The tree serves as a reminder of the continued peace between the United States and Japan.

The Bonsai Tree That Survived the Bombing of Hiroshima

Now living in Washington, D.C., this bonsai tree outlasted the atomic blast

Curly or straight, hairstyles are "a personal expression of beauty."

New Research

Curly Hair Science Is Revealing How Different Locks React to Heat

A mechanical engineer tackles the understudied problem of how to style curls without frying hair

Visit the World’s Most Amazing Old-Growth Forests

Here are some of the best places to hug centuries-old trees

A 4.5-by 3-inch paper notepad with the word THINK embossed on its leather cover resides in the Smithsonian Institution's collections.

Innovative Spirit Health Care

How a Five-Letter Word Built a 104-Year-Old Company

THINK—printed on signs, deskplates, business cards and notepads—was the seed from which the rest of IBM’s culture would grow

Visitors enjoying the sounds of the Wanamaker Organ in the Grand Court at Macy's in Philadelphia.

The Sound and Fury of Philadelphia’s Wanamaker Organ

Get blown away listening to the largest operating pipe organ in the world

What Is a Personal Food Computer?

A farm the size of a desktop could change the way we grow food in cities

Broccoli is a common foe of finicky young eaters.

New Research

Young Picky Eaters May Be More Anxious and Depressed

Picky eating in kids is common but not always harmless—it may be a sign of longer-lasting psychological problems

What Should You Look for When Buying Olive Oil?

Cold-pressed? From Greece or Spain? What really matters when getting your EVOO

Why Do Hundreds of Macaws Gather at These Peruvian Clay Banks?

Brightly colored parrots of the western Amazon basin display a behavior not seen anywhere else

Rendering of Juncal Viaduct with turbines

Could a Wind Turbine Be Coming to a Bridge Near You?

Engineers find, in a simulation, that two wind turbines mounted under a bridge in the Canary Islands could power hundreds of homes

An aurora glows near Australia in a photo taken from the International Space Station. Auroras are products of charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field.

Earth’s Magnetic Field Is at Least Four Billion Years Old

Tiny grains of Australian zircon hold evidence that our magnetic shielding was active very soon after the planet formed

Portrait of James Smithson

When Congress Looked James Smithson’s Gift Horse in the Mouth

In 1835, the U.S. government debated what to do with the generous bequest coming from across the pond

A blue Egyptian water lily, a potential inspiration for flower petals painted on a casket found in Tut's tomb.

How Flowers Changed the World, From Ecosystems to Art Galleries

A new book by entomologist Stephen Buchmann explores the beautiful and sometimes bizarre history of flowering plants

This “Lucky” Fish Could Save Lives

A fish-shaped iron ingot is reducing the number of cases of iron deficiency anemia in Cambodia and beyond

An aerial view of part of the Idaho National Laboratory.

Tour the World’s First Nuclear Power Plant

The historic site in a remote desert is now a museum where visitors can see the instruments that made nuclear history

Skimming Oil in the Gulf of Mexico

Scientists Find a Natural Way to Clean Up Oil Spills, With a Plant-Based Molecule

Researchers at the City College of New York are testing a spray made of phytol, a molecule in chlorophyll, on oil in lab wave pools

Great Wine in Great Britain? The Unlikely Vino Culture Emerging in England

In the south of England, a new class of vintners is giving French bubbly a run for its money

Hamsters seem to have a more optimistic outlook when they have access to creature comforts.

New Research

Hamsters Are Optimists When They Live in Comfy Cages

Pet hamsters that enjoy habitats full of toys and fluffy bedding make more upbeat decisions than those in stark enclosures

Legos Go Sustainable, and Everything (Really) is Awesome

To reduce its carbon footprint, the toy company is searching for a sustainable material for its bricks by 2030

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