Articles: News & Features | Smithsonian Magazine

New Research

Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7

Memories of that awesome zoo trip? Those first few birthday cakes? All gone

January 13, 2014

In the MTV show "16 and Pregnant," viewers get an inside look at the lives of teen moms.

New Research

What’s the Real Effect of “16 and Pregnant”?

Don’t make major life choices based on something you saw on TV

January 13, 2014

Agraphia—or "word blindness"—is unusual because patients cannot read, but they can write and understand words out loud.

Cool Finds

What Happens When a Teacher Forgets How to Read?

She searches for another way to enjoy books

January 13, 2014

A dingo walks along a road in southern Australia.

Maybe Dingoes Don’t Deserve Their Bad Rap

Studies show that Australia’s “favorite scapegoat” most likely didn’t kill the Tasmanian tiger

January 13, 2014

War elephants depicted in the battle of Zama, 202 BC.

New Research

A Lesson from History: When Assembling an Army of War Elephants, Don’t Pick Inbred Ones

Even though African elephants usually trump Asian elephants for might and aggression, in 217 B.C. Ptolemy made the crucial mistake of choosing inbred ones

January 13, 2014

Rendering of map by artist John Swogger.

New Research

This Stone Age Mural Might Be the Oldest Map Ever

But before it can be crowned oldest map, archaeologists have to figure out whether it is a map at all

January 13, 2014

Cool Finds

These Non-Gear Shaped Gears Work Better Than You’d Expect

These are the manic pixie dream gears you’ve been waiting for

January 13, 2014

Art Meets Science

See the Inner Anatomy of Barbie, Mario and Mickey Mouse—Bones, Guts and All

Artist Jason Freeny transforms familiar childhood characters into realistic anatomical models

January 13, 2014

Art Meets Science

Traveling to Japan—Through a Symphony of Smells

A new performance, staged in Los Angeles this weekend, revives one man’s failed attempt to put on a smell and sound production more than a century ago

January 10, 2014

The Chicago skyline during the polar vortex.

The recent cold snap wouldn’t have been so unusual in the past

January 10, 2014

Cool Finds

Ultramarathoners Get Better With Age

Unlike sprinters or gymnasts, ultramarathoners are like a fine wine, getting better—or at least more durable—with age

January 10, 2014

New Research

These Slave-Making Ants Use Stealth, Not Force, to Take Prisoners

Chemical camouflage allow these tiny ants to sneak past enemies’ defenses and steal their babies

January 10, 2014

New Research

Washing Old Money Could Save Billions of Dollars

A simple carbon dioxide wash could clean human “sebum” off old money, making those bills good as new

January 10, 2014

New Research

The More Fires Firefighters Are Exposed to, the More Heat Resistant They Become

As firefighters are exposed to more and more fires, their bodies evolve a tolerance for those inhospitable environments

January 10, 2014

A grey wolf in Yellowstone National Park.

Top Carnivores Help Shape Nearly Every Aspect of Their Environment

From controlling other animals’ numbers to affecting carbon storage, the predators’ vital roles in ecosystems justify their conservation, scientists say

January 10, 2014