Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Could Lightning Come From Space?

Cosmic rays may cause a “runaway breakdown” of electrons when they collide with highly charged particles in thunderclouds

None

Women Appear on Less Than Five Percent of Sports Illustrated Covers

A recent analysis of 11 years of SI covers shows that if you take out the swimsuit issue, women appear just 4.9 percent of the time

None

There Should Be an Endangered Species List for Ecosystems, Too

Listing an ecosystem or animal as endangered does not save it from extinction, but it can bring attention and inspire protection

Over the past few decades Lake Urmia in Iran has steadily dried up.

28-Year Satellite Time-Lapse Shows Exactly What We’re Doing to Our Planet

28 years in just a few seconds, as seen from space

A new and improved model of the human tongue.

How Much Do We Really Know About Your Tongue?

This new model is the most complete guide for understanding the “complex interweaving” of our tongue muscles

Dawn LeClair, member of the 1975 Wickenburg High School Math Club, sits in front of the paper clip computer.

Can You Build a Computer Out of Paper Clips?

You might never have asked yourself this question, because it’s a pretty weird question, but the answer is essentially yes

None

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

The Deep Seafloor Turns Out to Be a Treasure Trove for Ancient DNA

DNA preserved in the the ocean floor could provide a unique view of ancient animals that aren’t represented in the fossil record

None

Potato Cannons are Way More Dangerous Than You Think — Especially When the Air Force Gets Their Hands On Them

With the right fuel, you can send a potato flying at more than 300 miles per hour

None

You Totally Would Have Wanted This Little Dome-Headed Dinosaur as a Pet

Just 90 pounds and 6 feet tall, this newly discovered dinosaur is the oldest of its kind

None

This New Drug Neutralizes Heroin Before Users Feel the High

By binding the psychoactive ingredients in the blood, heroin can’t affect the users’ brain

None

Sometimes Male Spiders Eat Their Mates, Too

Many female arthropods - black widows, praying mantises - eat their male mates, but sometimes the reverse is true

None

Ray Harryhausen, the Godfather of Stop Motion Animation, Dies

Producer and animator Ray Harryhausen, who invented a kind of stop motion model animation called ‘dynamation,’ died today

None

We’re About to Pass a Disheartening New Climate Change Milestone

We’re teetering on the edge of hitting carbon dioxide levels of 400 ppm, but will that be enough to change minds and policies?

None

Feel What It’s Like to Live on an Antarctic Icebreaker for Two Months

None

Scientists Just Recorded the Brightest Explosion We’ve Ever Seen

We just saw the longest, brightest, most powerful version of the universe’s most massive explosions

None

U.S. Gives Mongolia Its Tyrannosauras Skeleton Back

The U.S. government is returning a Tyrannosaurus skeleton to Mongolia and the Metropolitan Museum of Art is giving two statues back to Cambodia

Is It Time to Scrap the Manual on Mental Illness?

After 11 years of working on the new DSM, some are saying that it’s time to retire the manual and think abut mental health entirely differently

The brighter colored and thicker lines indicate a higher bio-invasion risk.

Mapping the Routes of Invasive Stowaways

Singapore, Honk Kong, New York, Long Beach, CA, and the Panama and Suez canals are the areas most at risk from invasive species

Cavemen Used Some of the Same Words We Do

Our modern language still has some remnants of the grunting cavemen who came before us

None

There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Design Contour-Hugging Armor for Women

Boob-shaped armor would have directed arrows straight to a woman’s heart and broken her sternum if she fell off her horse

Page 1050 of 1132