Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

A new study is the first to “pinpoint which fragrances were actually burned in Pompeian domestic cult practices,” archaeologist Johannes Eber says.

What Did Ancient Pompeians Burn as Offerings to Their Gods? New Research Reveals the Surprising Answer

An analysis of incense burners discovered in the doomed city identified traces of resin imported from sub-Saharan Africa or Asia, testifying to Pompeii’s extensive trade networks

The completed model takes up roughly 1,350 square feet.

A Truck Driver Spent 20 Years Making This Astonishing Scale Model of Every Single Building in New York City

The 1,350-square-foot model is now on display at the Museum of the City of New York, where visitors can use binoculars to see tiny replicas of all five boroughs

Ball pythons (shown), along with Burmese pythons, were studied in the new research.

Could Python Blood Lead to the Next Generation of Weight-Loss Drugs?

Researchers discovered an appetite-suppressing molecule in python blood. If one day turned into a medication, it might lack some of the common negative side effects of GLP-1s

Two researchers wore goggles, snorkels and wet suits while exploring the underground stream.

These Snorkeling Scientists Stumbled Upon a Surprising Trove of Fossils in a Texas Water Cave

They found remains of animals that have never been uncovered in Central Texas. The fossils hint that the region was warm, moist and forested 100,000 years ago

The archaeologist Jean Charles Loriquet created a copy of the mosaic.

New Research

Is This 1,800-Year-Old Mosaic the First Known Image of a Woman Fighting Wild Beasts in an Ancient Roman Arena?

The artwork was destroyed during World War I. But an archaeologist’s sketch may reveal a female figure wielding a whip and facing off against a leopard, a new study suggests

The C-3PO head used in The Empire Strikes Back

This C-3PO Head From ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ Just Sold for More Than $1 Million at Auction

The ‘Star Wars’ prop was likely the only C-3PO head from the 1980 film to appear on the collector market. It features working light-up eyes, including one with the original wiring

The new variant has been detected in 25 states so far.

The ‘Cicada’ Variant of Covid-19 Is Spreading in the United States. Here’s What You Need to Know

Infection levels are still low in the country, but the highly mutated variant might be able to evade your body’s immune defenses acquired via vaccine or past infection

 Les Poissons, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1917

Art Thieves Steal Paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse Worth More Than $10 Million, Fleeing the Scene in Just Three Minutes

The Magnani-Rocca Foundation in Italy was the target of a shocking art heist—only five months after a high-profile theft at the Louvre in Paris

The researchers collected samples from the Pilbara region in Western Australia.

When Did the Earth’s Crust Start to Shift? Scientists Uncover Evidence of Plate Tectonics Happening 3.48 Billion Years Ago

A new study provides the oldest direct evidence of tectonic plate movement ever recorded

The sperm whales gathered around the mother before the delivery. 

Watch Unprecedented Footage of Sperm Whales Helping a Newborn Calf Take Its First Breaths

Unrelated animals worked with the mother and her relatives, marking the first known evidence of whales from multiple families assisting in a birth

The three-part BBC series is scheduled to air later this year.

Charles Dickens Searched the Streets of London and Found Inspiration for His Evocative Fiction

A three-part BBC series will examine how real events shaped the 19th-century British author’s writing. The show is part of the National Year of Reading in the U.K.

Researchers gathered bark from two species of trees—downy birch and silver birch—on public land in Germany. Then, they used it to produce birch tar via three extraction techniques.

New Research

Did Neanderthals Use Birch Bark Tar as an Antibiotic to Treat Wounds and Infections?

Scientists created samples of the black resin using three methods and tested their effectiveness against two common bacteria

Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith at the Chelsea Hotel

These Long-Lost Photos of the Chelsea Hotel Reveal Intimate Portraits of Its Bohemian Residents—From Patti Smith to Bob Dylan

Photographer Albert Scopin documented the countercultural hub at its peak in the mid-20th century. Now, the recovered photos are the subject of a new book and exhibition celebrating the New York City landmark

Stars in the ancient dwarf galaxy Pictor II

Astronomers Discover a Rare Primitive Star That Provides a Chemical Snapshot of the Early Universe

PicII-503 is likely a second-generation star, born from the remnants of the very first stars, according to a new study

An artist’s rendition of Masripithecus moghraensis  

Cool Finds

These 17-Million-Year-Old Fossils Could Rewrite the Evolutionary Tree of Apes—Including Humans

Jawbone fragments and teeth from a previously unknown species hint that the evolution of modern apes occurred in what’s now North Africa or the Arabian Peninsula, rather than in East Africa

Sharks in the Bahamas, including the Caribbean reef sharks, are ingesting drugs, a new study suggests.

Sharks in the Bahamas Test Positive for Drugs, Including Cocaine and Painkillers, in a New Study

Around one-third of the studied sharks had detectable levels of the analyzed drugs in their blood

Gansevoort Street, Willem de Kooning, circa 1949

Willem de Kooning Didn’t Get His Big Break Until His 40s. See the Stunning Abstract Paintings That First Captivated Audiences

Artworks that showcase the painter’s early foray into Abstract Expressionism are now on view at the Princeton University Art Museum

A 1931 statue of the d'Artagnan in southwestern France

Cool Finds

Does This Skeleton Found Beneath a Dutch Church Belong to D’Artagnan, the Man Who Inspired ‘The Three Musketeers’?

Workers discovered the skeleton during recent repair work at the church in Maastricht. D’Artagnan died during the siege of the city in 1673

While the cells can play the game, they’re not very good at it.

A Clump of Human Brain Cells on a Computer Chip Learned to Play the Nostalgic Video Game ‘Doom’

The technology could one day help researchers develop drugs and tailor treatments to individual patients

The sling bullet measures just over an inch long.

New Research

Why Was This 2,000-Year-Old Sling Bullet Inscribed With the Word ‘Learn’?

The artifact is the first sling bullet of its kind unearthed at the ancient city of Hippos, though archaeologists have found dozens of other examples without inscriptions at the site

Page 14 of 1113