Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

NBA Commissioner David Stern is in the building, along with Wolf Blitzer, Michael Lee, the Washington Post’s Wizard’s beat writer, Mike Wise, the Post’s sports columnist.

Events January 8-10: Get Sketchy, Raise Your Voice and Play Ball

This week, draw your way through the collection, join a chorale, and hear from NBA Commissioner David Stern plus basketball superfan Wolf Blitzer

None

When Machines See

Giving computers vision, through pattern recognition algorithms, could one day make them better than doctors at spotting tumors and other health problems.

None

Babies Start Learning Language in the Womb

Rosetta Stone language tapes for babies may soon usurp Beethoven as the womb soundtrack of choice

A meteorite, newly discovered in Morocco, contains ten times as much water as many Martian meteorite discovered previously.

A 2.1 Billion-Year-Old Meteorite Reveals Water on Mars

Chemical analysis shows that the meteorite, discovered in Morocco, contains ten times as much water as any Martian rock previously studied

Pianist Sarah Fridrich performs this weekend at Luce Unplugged.

Events January 4-7: Talk Back to Historic Figures, Weave the Mayan Way and Unplug with Musicians

A professor from the 19th century will take your questions, a Mayan weaver will craft a keepsake and an Indie group will keep you in the groove

Peru’s mountainous terrain is the landscape of dreams for climbers, hikers and cyclists.

A Short Bike Ride in the Peruvian Andes

The author kicks off 2013 with a 1,100-mile cycling journey through the Andes from Lima, Peru, to Ecuador’s lofty capital of Quito

A Roscon de Reyes, courtesy of Tamorlan

Don’t Wait til Mardi Gras for Your King Cake, Celebrate Tres Reyes This Weekend

The New Orleans classic has its roots in the roscon de reyes, a Spanish treat for the 12th day of Christmas

Baby bonobos share papayas

Bonobos Offer Banana Bribes for Friendship

Chimpanzees will sooner kill than share food, but bonobos will sacrifice some of their own goods for the pleasure of interacting with strangers

The doctor shows George his “Peek-A-Boo Prober Capsule” (1962)

George Jetson Gets A Check-Up

Medical diagnostics in the paleofuture

A yard on an Antiguan sugar plantation in 1823. A windmill powers the rollers used to crush the cane before it was boiled to release its sugar.

Antigua’s Disputed Slave Conspiracy of 1736

Does the evidence against these 44 slaves really stack up?

The crew of the Kulluk were rescued from the oil drilling platform by the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday, December 29.

Arctic Offshore Drilling Still Going Poorly As Shell’s Rig Runs Aground

The recent mishap is part of a string of troubles that Shell has encountered in its efforts to drill in the frigid Gulf

Double-banded Argus, by Ralph Steadman

Bringing Extinct Birds Back to Life, One Cartoon at a Time

In his new book, Extinct Boids, artist Ralph Steadman introduces readers to a flock of birds that no longer live in the wild

New Years resolutions from all around the world

A World of New Year’s Resolutions, Mapped by Google

What do people all around the world want to change this year?

Wetlands at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

How Will the Wetlands Respond to Climate Change?

Smithsonian scientists have taken to the Chesapeake Bay to investigate how marshlands react to the shifting environment

None

Age of Humans

What Is the Anthropocene and Are We in It?

Efforts to label the human epoch have ignited a scientific debate between geologists and environmentalists

A beloved symbol of biodiversity, the red-eyed tree frog, shown here in Panama, has evolved a flexible strategy for survival.

How the Tree Frog Has Redefined Our View of Biology

The world’s most charismatic amphibian is upending the conventional wisdom about evolution

The Anacostia Community Museum has organized the exhibit “Reclaiming the Edge: Urban Waterways and Civic Engagement.”

Spotlight

Steven Wade's new CD Banjo Diary Lessons from Tradition.

LISTEN: Stephen Wade’s Banjo Diary

The roots music expert’s latest album is finger-picking good

Marcos Rodrigo Neves says that his passion for creating street art saved him from gangs and drugs.

A Look Into Brazil’s Makeover of Rio’s Slums

The Brazilian government’s bold efforts to clean up the city’s notoriously dangerous favelas is giving hope to people who live there

The levels of radiation astronauts experience over the course of an extended mission in deep space could lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Does Deep Space Travel Cause Alzheimer’s?

A new study indicates that the levels of radiation astronauts would experience over the course of a deep space mission could lead to dementia

Page 754 of 1325