Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

A new article suggests that cats have been underutilized in studies of genetic disease and that studying their genomes, which are structured similarly to humans', could yield new treatments.

New Research

Human Genomes Are Surprisingly Cat-Like

Cat genomes are more similar to ours than those of mice and dogs, yet researchers say felines are underutilized in genetic studies of disease

Run, Cassie, run!

‘Star Wars’–Like Running Robot Finishes 5K on Two Legs

The untethered bipedal bot made history by completing the outdoor course in 53 minutes

While Spongebob and Patrick are friends in the animated world, the relationship between sea stars and sponges is not as friendly in real life. Sea stars are carnivores and are known to prey on sea sponges, crabs, oysters, clams, and coral.

See SpongeBob SquarePants’ and Patrick Star’s Real-Life Twins

The aquatic pals were discovered one mile deep in the Atlantic Ocean during a NOAA expedition

The outbreaks happened earlier in the year between January and April in Washington D.C. and Texas. While both outbreaks were unrelated to each other, they both occurred within long-term care facilities and hospitals where patients had extended stays.

CDC Reports Several Cases of Drug-Resistant Fungal Infection in Two U.S. Cities

In total, five cases of the fungal infection were resistant to three known classes of antifungal medications

Instead of a soaring, verdant oasis in the middle of the city, visitors were greeted with sparse, earth-covered scaffolding.

Trending Today

Widely Mocked London Tourist Attraction Closes Two Days After Opening

The Marble Arch Mound sought to invigorate a major shopping district in England’s capital. Visitors called it a “bad Santa’s grotto”

Previously, in May, when coronavirus cases were dropping significantly, and vaccination rates were on the rise, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people could stop masking indoors and outdoors.

CDC Internal Report States Covid-19 Delta Variant Is as Contagious as Chickenpox

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated people should wear masks indoors in high transmission areas, which accounts for half the country, according to the agency

Researchers found the remains of a high-ranking woman (left) and her two twin fetuses (right) in a Bronze Age urn in central Hungary.

Cool Finds

Remains of High-Born Woman and Twin Fetuses Found in 4,000-Year-Old Urn

A new chemical analysis suggests the wealthy mother left her homeland to marry an elite member of the mysterious Vatya culture

The cave paintings are located in the Aravalli mountain range in northwestern India.

Cool Finds

These Millennia-Old Cave Paintings May Be Among India’s Oldest

Locals have known about the artworks for generations, but government archaeologists only began documenting them this summer

This map shows how land and ocean temperatures have changed from June 2021 relative to the 1951-1980 base period. High values (darker red colors) indicate temperatures that are higher than those in the base period. The number in the top right is an estimate of the global mean temperature increase. All temperatures are in Celsius.

New Research

Study Measuring Earth’s Vital Signs Warns of Climate Tipping Points

The authors say tropical coral reefs, the Amazon rainforest, and the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets may have passed dangerous tipping points

Alfredo Ramos Martínez, La Malinche (Young Girl of Yalala, Oaxaca), 1940

Was La Malinche, Indigenous Interpreter for Conquistador Hernán Cortés, a Traitor, Survivor or Icon?

A new exhibition at the Denver Art Museum explores the legacy of an enslaved woman who aided Spain’s conquest of the Americas

Two researchers observe a bird carcass found at a wind energy facility.

Dogs Sniff Out Answers to Bat and Bird Fatalities Near Wind Turbines

Aided by canines, researchers found larger models do not necessarily pose a greater threat to wildlife

Users play as Kendra Turner, an intern who uncovers the dark past—and present—of the fictional Blackhaven Hall Historical Society.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

New Video Game Confronts Slavery’s Legacy Through a Historical Mystery

“Blackhaven” finds a fictional intern working to uncover a colonial estate’s hidden history while facing present-day racism

Researchers hoped to open the tunnel to the public. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they must settle for covering it with dirt until work can resume.

Mexican Archaeologists Rebury Tunnel Adorned With Aztec Carvings After Losing Funding

Costs associated with the Covid-19 pandemic have placed the preservation project on an indefinite hold

A 3D image of the spiral-shaped intestine of a Pacific spiny dogfish shark. In life, food would move through this intestine left to right.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

Sharks’ Intestines Spiral Like a Valve Invented by Nikola Tesla

Tesla’s ingenious valve promoted a one-way flow of fluid without the need for moving parts, but, it turns out, evolution got there first

The butterflies have experienced major losses in populations on both the East and West coasts.

Climate Change Is Decimating Monarch Populations, Research Shows

Western monarchs have lost 99.9 percent of their numbers since the 1980s

Artist's impression of Thomas Cromwell's London estate

See the Palatial London Mansion of Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII

New research reveals what the Tudor statesman’s 58-room estate may have looked like

The team conducted a non-destructive analysis of a panel depicting the prophet Nathan.

Art Meets Science

Canterbury Cathedral’s 12th-Century Stained Glass May Be England’s Oldest

New research suggests four of the English church’s intricate windows were in place when Henry II’s men murdered Thomas Becket in 1170

A map from NOAA showing parts of the country that are under heat advisory as of July 27 (orange), excessive heat watch (brown) and excessive heat warning (fuchsia). The shaded areas of the map with heat related advisories or warnings encompass more than 30 million people.

‘Heat Dome’ Descends on Central United States

Forecasts suggest more than 30 million people could see temperatures topping 100 degrees this week

From the air samples, the research team was able to identify 17 species of animals that lived within the zoo enclosures or roamed around it, such as deer and hedgehogs. Pictured here is a binturong (Arctictis binturong) and was one of the mammals detected using this method.

Researchers Vacuum DNA From the Air to See What Animals Are Near

The method may help scientists survey animals in various ecosystems to inform conservation efforts

The coffin is adorned with geometric patterns and interlocking ivy leaves.

Cool Finds

Well-Preserved Visigoth Sarcophagus Found at Roman Villa in Spain

Germanic tribes invaded the region following the fall of the Roman Empire

Page 371 of 1127