Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

None

Western U.S. Forest Fires Could Double Within 40 Years

In the western U.S., the area burned by forest fires should increase by as much as 100% by 2050

An Aging Mathematician Made a Major Dent in One of Math’s Oldest Problems

Before his breakthrough involving the twin prime conjecture, Yitang Zhang struggled to find work in academia and even took a job at Subway

Aside from both being drugs to encourage sexual activity, female desire drugs have very little in common with drugs like Viagra.

Don’t Call Female Desire Drugs ‘Lady Viagra’

Other than their intended purpose—encouraging sexual activity—female desire drugs and Viagra are completely different things

Dentists Discovered the Tooth-Saving Properties of Fluoride by Accident

This is the fourth time Portland has voted on fluoride, and it certainly won’t be the last

A rhinovirus

Like Your Mother Warned, Chilly Winter Air Does Indeed Promote Colds

Colds proliferate when temperatures drop and cold air chills peoples’ upper respiratory tracts, giving rhinoviruses a chance to strike

The first scanning tunneling microscope ever made.

Heinrich Rohrer, Father of Nanotechnology, Dies at 79

Heinrich Rohrer, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics, passed away last week at the age of 79

None

The Internet Is Still for Porn—And Parents Are Trying to Figure Out How to Handle That

Welcome to the internet, there will be porn, are you ready for it?

China Is Opening Around 100 Museums Every Year

Since 2008, the Chinese have allocated something like $800 million to building new museums, and the country now has over 3,000 of them

Dawww

Bears That Have No Fish to Eat Eat Baby Elk Instead

The illegal introduction of lake trout in Yellowstone’s lakes is having wide-reaching consequences

FDA Sticks Its Nose Into Fecal Transplant Procedures

The new regulations may kick off a wave of do-it-yourself fecal transplants at home, which likely will not turn out well

Nom.

3D-Printed Pizza Brings Us One Step Closer to Meal-in-a-Pill

Laid down layer by layer using protein powders and other things, this 3D food printer could be the way of our culinary future

None

Stressing Out About Shots Might Make Them Work Better

In trials with mice, stress boosted the immune system, making it vaccines more effective

None

Navy Dolphins Turn Up a Rare 19th-Century Torpedo

Called a Howell torpedo, the old military relic was a marvel in its day, and only 50 were ever made

How Puking Could Save the Endangered Marbled Murrelet

For the marbled murrelet the conservation plan is a little unusual: making their predators vomit

A map of tornado activity in the U.S., 1950 to 2011

How to Understand the Scale of the Oklahoma Tornado

In terms of size, speed and staying power the Oklahoma tornado was a force of nature

None

Lizards Appear to Be Hardier Astronauts Than Mice

Russian scientists say that this experiment represents that longest period animals have ever spent alone in space and been recovered alive

None

Wealthy Economic Liberals Actually Are Wimps

In the animal kingdom, larger males are likewise prone to hoard resources and defend larger territories than weaker competitors

None

Specially-Trained Honeybees Forage for Land Mines

With special training, these honeybees can sniff out TNT

None

You Actually Can Die of a Broken Heart

The stress of loss can actually break your heart, a rare type of heart attack known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy

None

Your Public Pool Probably Has Feces in It

In the majority of public pools health officials found E. coli and other fecal bacteria

Page 1057 of 1142