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Articles

Natchez, a historic cotton and sugar port on the Mississippi River, has seen its population fall by a third since 1960.

The Soul of the South

Fifty years after the civil rights summer of 1964, renowned travel writer Paul Theroux chronicles the living memory of an overlooked America

An emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) teaching its baby how to preen.

New Research

Emperor Penguin Colonies Will Suffer As Climate Changes

Scientists project that two thirds of emperor penguin colonies will drop by 50 percent in the next century

If a beach has signs that warn about contaminated water, it's probably not the best idea to swim.

America’s Cleanest—And Most Polluted—Beaches

Before you plan a trip to the sand this summer, check out this list of the best and worst beaches, based on water quality

The default cartoon alter-ego mimics your facial expressions in real time messages to your friends.

Tech Watch

An App That Captures Emotions In Real Time

Pocket Avatars, an app developed through Intel Labs, uses sophisticated facial-tracking to map your emotions and send them to your friends.

An Early Script of The Wizard of Oz Offers a Rare Glimpse Into the Creation of the Iconic Film

Seventy-five years after its Technicolor premiere, trace the earliest steps on the yellow brick road

Behind the Unceasing Allure of the Rubik’s Cube

The 80’s fad should’ve fallen into obscurity—somehow it didn’t

Constructed between 510 and 500 B.C., the base of a funerary kouros in Athens is decorated with the image of wrestlers fighting.

Document Deep Dive

Wrestling Was Fixed, Even in Ancient Rome

New analysis of an ancient document reveals classical roots of fake wrestling

Springer Auditorium in Music Hall.

America’s Most Endangered Historic Places

Here are the 11 endangered sites—including the prison where Solomon Northup was held—on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2014 list

New football technology--seen here in a prototype--could outfit balls with a transmitter that helps track their location.

Tech Watch

Ball-Tracking Tech for (American) Football

The World Cup has its own system. But new technology could help spot the pigskin through a 10-lineman pileup on the gridiron.

University of Sao Paulo researcher Marcio Martins holds one snake while watching another, a deadly venomous snake living only on Queimada Grande Island, Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World

Brazil’s Ilha de Queimada Grande is the only home of one of the world’s deadliest, and most endangered, snakes

Maunsell Sea & Air Forts in the U.K.

17 Amazing Photographs of Abandoned Places

Top places you should see before they die… or at least disappear

Founded in 1896, the Cooper Hewitt is located in the Andrew Carnegie mansion, a 64-room Georgian brick home that once served as home for the steel magnate and his family.

With a New Name and New Look, the Cooper Hewitt is Primed for a Grand Reopening

Journalists got a sneak preview of what’s coming up when the new museum opens its doors this coming December

The new Hampshire based company SustainX has developed a machine that stores energy by compressing air. It and other efforts represent the cutting edge of the energy storage field.

A Big Bet on How to Store Energy, Cheaply

Tech innovators are hoping they can store energy more cost-effectively with mechanical systems that use the most basic materials: air, water, and steel

A serval kitten.

Ten Amazing Small Wild Cats

Forget the lions and tigers, these prowling felines have much more to tell us about the natural world

The author enjoys a previously-stashed beer and a plate of chanterelles in in the Périgord region of France.

Find These Beers Hidden in Paris and the French Countryside

Our intrepid writer devises a scavenger hunt in a low-tech geocaching game that every beer lover can enjoy

How Red Is Dragon’s Blood?

Color can be subjective, but in the 19th-century, color dictionaries provided a common language for scientists to describe different hues found in nature

A carbon nanotube detector, which uses terahertz waves, could (finally) change airport security lines forever.

Tech Watch

Airport Scanners of the Future Could Be Much Smaller (And More Importantly, Faster)

With carbon nanotubes, researchers are manipulating imaging technology to make everything from MRIs to food inspection more efficient and compact.

Mapping a child's genome could be something available to all parents in the coming years. But is the procedure always good?

Will Genome Sequencing Make Us Smarter About Dealing With Diseases in Our Genes—Or Just More Anxious?

Doctors could use our genetic map to pinpoint the best treatment for our diseases. But how much do we want to know about what’s lurking in our DNA?

"Kirkjufell Nights" —Aurora over Kirkjufell waterfalls in Iceland. Third place in the Beauty of the Night category.

Stunning Photos of the Night Sky From the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest

From swirling aurora borealis to bioluminescent beaches, these award-winning photographs capture rare views of our world at night

Hokule'a departs on 4-year worldwide voyage from Honolulu in May 2014.

For Four Years, This Polynesian Canoe Will Sail Around the World Raising Awareness of Global Climate Change

A Smithsonian curator chronicles the genesis of the project that hearkens back to when ancient navigators traveled the oceans

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