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Police officers stand proudly with jars and crates of moonshine, brewed illegally duirng the prohibition. Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Grab a Drink, on the Sly, at One of D.C.’s Former Speakeasies

Prohibition might have lasted longer in D.C. than anywhere else, but that didn’t stop the District from throwing a few back

Anatomically Correct Hibiscus; yarn; 2005; 45" x 45" x 32"

Art Meets Science

Sowing a Garden, One Knit Flower At a Time

Providence-based artist Tatyana Yanishevsky’s sculptures of various plant species are botanically accurate in almost everything but their scale

A new way to wirelessly charge devices inside the body could allow for medical implants as small as a grain of rice.

Tech Watch

No Batteries Here: New Implants Can Charge Through Your Body’s Own Tissue

A device being tested by Stanford University researchers is the latest in an area of medical development known as “electroceuticals.”

An oil tanker makes its way to Valdez, Alaska. The Arctic’s rich stores of oil and natural gas make it an attractive destination for future voyages.

Arctic Shipping: Good For Invasive Species, Bad For the Rest of Nature

A pair of Smithsonian marine biologists argue that a warming Arctic puts the area at risk for inviting invasive species

Eliot R. Brown's hand drawn map of Gotham.

The Cartographer Who Mapped Out Gotham City

Batman has been guarding Gotham for 75 years, but its city limits weren’t defined until 1998

"Roombots" could change the way we build furniture.

Tech Watch

Robots As Furniture?

A team of Swiss researchers has created robots that self-assemble into tables and chairs—but they could also be used to help the elderly and disabled.

Van Aken in the MIRA kitchen in the late 80s. MIRA is where New World Cuisine started entering the spotlight.

Why We Have Norman Van Aken to Thank for the Way We Dine Out Today

The James Beard Award winner tells us, and gives us recipes, about the early days of fusion food

Family photographs collected from around the United States are featured in Beyond Bollywood. Here, Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Shrimati Sanjukta Ghosh, with Vikram (Boomba) Ghosh at Samuel P. Taylor State Park, Lagunitas, Calif., ca. 1970.

How Museums and the Arts are Presenting Identity So That It Unites, Not Divides

Curators and practioners of the arts share a renewed focus on how culture and heritage shape who we are as Americans

A Cyclosa ginnaga spider perched amid its silk web decoration looks strangely like the result of a bird relieved itself in the forest understory.

New Research

This Spider Web Was Deliberately Spun to Look Like Bird Poop

It’s not artistic license. The arachnid avoids predators by masquerading as bird droppings, say scientists

Famed designer Massimo Vignelli

Remembering Massimo Vignelli, the Innovator Who Streamlined Design and Changed the Industry Forever

The famed designer passed away Tuesday at the age of 83

Military robots are being built with plenty of firepower. But should they be trusted to kill?

Tech Watch

Can Killer Robots Learn to Follow the Rules of War?

Researchers have set out to learn whether military machines can be programmed to behave morally, and if so, should have the authority to kill on their own

Watching a movie on a DVD requires more energy than streaming it over the Internet, a new study finds.

New Research

Streaming a Movie Uses Less Energy Than Watching a DVD

Getting rid of DVD players could reduce carbon dioxide emissions, researchers find

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You Otter Believe These Zoo Animals Can Play the Piano, the Harmonica and the Xylophone

D.C.’s hottest summer concert is brought to us by an unlikely source: a bevy of animal musicians

The Next Wave of Cancer Cures Could Come From Nasty Viruses

The idea of using viruses to fight cancer isn’t new, but recent breakthroughs are offering more promising results

Lighting the sails at the Sydney Opera House.

Australia

Sydney’s Spectacular Technicolor Art Festival in Nine Mesmerizing GIFs

3-D digital light projections and interactive sound sculptures transform famous landmarks around Australia’s largest city

A chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) mother resting with her children in western Uganda.

New Research

Ebola Vaccine For Chimps Could Help Save Wild Populations

A trial of a chimp vaccine highlights debates over vaccinating wild populations and using chimps in medical research

Camel statues mark the Desert of Maine, which is actually not a true desert.

The Science of a Tourist Trap: What’s This Desert Doing in Maine?

Maine’s “most famous natural phenomenon” is also a reminder about responsible land use

Lodgers in a crowded Bayard Street tenement, 1889.

Pioneering Social Reformer Jacob Riis Revealed “How The Other Half Lives” in America

How innovations in photography helped this 19th century journalist improve life for many of his fellow immigrants

Left to right: Kamala, Swarna, and Maharani at the Calgary Zoo in 2013.

The National Zoo May Be In For An Elephant Reunion

These three females will help the zoo develop a diverse elephant herd like those found in the wild

The Capital Wheel has 1.6 million programmable LED lights.

Washington, D.C.

A New 180-foot Observation Wheel Opens Near Washington, D.C.

National Harbor’s newest attraction offers sweeping views of the Potomac River and an LED light show

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