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An ice maker pebbles the 2014 Olympic curling rink in Sochi.

Winter Olympics

Why Curling Ice Is Different Than Other Ice

There is a science to preparing ice for the shuffleboard-like sport. It’s all about the pebbling

The statistics-crunching Facebook Data Science team has mined the site's vast clearinghouse of status updates for nuggets of insights on love.

What Can Facebook Tell Us About Love?

With data-mining being all the rage these days, our online activity may reveal some intriguing insights about romance in the login era

The 13,000-foot high Grasberg mine contains the largest single gold reserve in the world, and the largest copper deposit as well.

The Environmental Disaster That is the Gold Industry

The mining industry has had a devastating impact on ecosystems worldwide. Is there any hope in sight?

Five Vitamins and Supplements That Might Actually be Worth Taking

Science tells us that taking most vitamins is worthless—but a few buck the trend

Some dinosaurs, such as the (Caudipteryx zoui) above, had brightly colored feathers. New research suggests that modern birds inherited their own color varieties from their feathered dinosaur ancestors.

Colorful Plumage Began With Feathered Dinosaurs

The pigment patterns scientists use to predict ancient animal colors started with feathered dinosaurs and led to vibrant color in birds

Coal was once the most common source of energy in the United States, but it has been overtaken by petroleum and, more recently, natural gas.

New Research

Natural Gas Really Is Better Than Coal

If too much methane leaks during production, though, the benefits will be lost

1124 MLK Jr. Blvd., L.A. By EVOL. 2010.

The Many Faces of President Obama, As Seen in America’s Murals

From liquor stores to churches, Camilo Vergara has photographed murals of President Obama in some of the country’s poorest communities

The Pininfarina Cambiano inkless pen stylishly combines wood, aluminum and a special metal alloy to allow the writer to sketch infinite lines.

Tech Watch

This Inkless Pen Lets You Write Forever

A renowned design firm has unveiled a pen with a special metal alloy that creates permanent markings without running dry

A gondola, piled high with books, sits in the middle of the shop.

Why Does This Bookstore Keep Its Books in Bathtubs?

Venice’s Libreria Acqua Alta keeps its books in bathtubs, gondolas and canoes—and not just for show

A mother right whale and her calf.

New Research

Satellites Spot Whales From Space

This new method could help researchers remotely count and keep track of whale populations

Small lungs made out of felt, infused with the DNA from killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.

Art Meets Science

An Artist Dyes Clothes and Quilts With Tuberculosis and Staph Bacteria

Anna Dumitriu combines bacteria and textile design to explore our relationship with microorganisms

What is Garry Kasparov’s Next Move?

The great chess champion brings his knowledge to the games of Sochi, global politics and computer intelligence

The XStat is designed so that as many as 97 tiny sponges can be injected into open wounds to stop bleeding in seconds.

Tech Watch

An Injectable Bandage Can Stop Heavy Bleeding in 15 Seconds

A new technology developed for the military has the potenial to save soldiers from fatal gunshot wounds

"I began to wonder," says Smithsonian researcher Dolores Piperno, who studies the ancestor of the corn plant, "what did the plants actually look like between 10,000 and 13,000 years ago? Did they look the same?"

To Decode the Mystery of Corn, Smithsonian Scientists Recreate Earth as it Was 10,000 Years Ago

As part of a groundbreaking study, researchers built a greenhouse “time machine”

Winter Olympics

Winter Olympians From the Smithsonian Vaults

From the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, a team of former champions, heroes and icons

Photos: Traffic Lights Illuminate the Night

Photographer Lucas Zimmermann puts his lens on the beauty of fog lit by the mundane

New Research

Myth Debunked: Wind Farms Don’t Alter the Climate

A model indicates that doubling Europe’s number of wind turbines would have a negligible effect on temperature and precipitation

A damaged Olympic Symbol from the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Winter Olympics

Sarajevo’s Abandoned Olympic Sites

Haunting images of a war-torn Winter Olympic venue

The Tabby can be customized using different blueprints downloadable online.

Tech Watch

This Car Can Be Assembled In Less Than An Hour

The team behind the OSVehicle project has developed an open-source vehicle that’s easy to build and fully customizable

Tadasu Ohe’s RIPPLE is inspired by the moment of water and is part of larger series that also includes WAVE and SURF.

Customized Pasta Shapes as Designed by You or Even an Architect

Coming soon to a table near you: print-on-demand pasta

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