Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Nancy Baker Cahill's Liberty Bell, as seen over the National Mall

This AR Artwork Reimagines Historical Spaces Across the U.S.

Nancy Baker Cahill’s red, white and blue “Liberty Bell” rings over sites in six major cities

New research suggests this legless amphibian called a caecilian may be the first known amphibian to possess a venomous bite.

This Worm-Like Amphibian May Pack a Venomous Bite

A new study suggests that legless burrowers called caecilians may be the first known amphibian to have venom glands in their mouths

A North American beaver pictured in Denali National Park, Alaska. In recent years, beavers have been spotted further north in the Alaskan tundra than ever before.

Beavers Are Accelerating Climate Change in Alaska

As the Arctic warms, the furry animals are moving in—and redeveloping

Archaeologist Ben Edwards and his daughter Bella recreated the Bryn Celli Ddu landscape in the computer game "Minecraft."

Explore a 5,000-Year-Old Welsh Tomb Recreated in Minecraft

The virtual world now boasts a cube-based recreation of Bryn Celli Ddu in its heyday

Rock piles like the one pictured here helped ancient miners navigate the subterranean network.

An Underwater Cave Once Hosted the Americas’ Oldest Known Ocher Mine

Humans have valued the rich red pigment for hundreds of thousands of years

Canada's white-throated sparrows have remixed their classic song by trading a series of triplets for doublets at the end.

New Research

Canada’s White-Throated Sparrows Are Changing Their Tune

The new song is catching on and spreading across the country at an unprecedented speed

Augie and her three golden retriever "siblings" celebrate her 20th birthday in April

Meet Augie, the 20-Year-Old Golden Retriever Who Might Have Just Set an Age Record

The doggo’s recent birthday may be an all-timer for her breed

A black musician seen in Piero di Cosimo's Perseus Frees Andromeda, 1510-1515

How the Uffizi Gallery Is Highlighting Black Figures in Renaissance Art

Each Saturday, the Florentine museum will release a new educational video on TikTok and Facebook

A worker disinfects a hog pen in Suining in southwest China's Sichuan province in February 2020.

New Swine Flu Strain With Pandemic Potential Isn’t Cause for Alarm

The findings are a reminder not to forget about seasonal viruses, but also shows that virus surveillance systems work

The pair immediately knew their find was something special, as wood rarely survives in saltwater unless it is buried by sediment.

Cool Finds

Divers Find 16th-Century Shipwreck Off Coast of Northern Italy

The vessel may be the “Santo Spirito & Santa Maria di Loreto,” which sank in the vicinity in 1579

Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, rode the self-balancing personal transportation device outside his home in 2002.

As Segway Retires, Its Inventor Gears Up to Grow Organs

Dean Kamen, inventor of the soon-to-be obsolete Segway, has assembled a team to mass-produce human organs for transplant

The Federal University of Minas Gerais’ Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden houses 260,000 artifacts ranging from fossils to folk art.

Second Brazilian Museum Fire in Two Years Sparks Calls for Reform

Authorities are assessing the damage caused by a June 15 blaze at the Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden in Belo Horizonte

Steller sea lions sitting on rocks on the shore of Campbell River in British Columbia, Canada.

Headless Sea Lions Are Washing Up in British Columbia

Biologists and local beachgoers who have encountered the decapitated marine mammals suggest humans may be to blame

Frida Kahlo, circa 1950

Why Scholars Are Skeptical of Claimed Rediscovery of Lost Frida Kahlo Masterpiece

“The Wounded Table,” a 1940 work by the Mexican painter, disappeared 65 years ago

NASA has allotted $35,000 to be split among the three winning designs.

NASA Needs Your Help Designing a ‘Lunar Loo’

Entries need to balance size, weight, functionality in microgravity and lunar gravity—and, of course, user experience

A whale shark off the coast of Australia.

Whale Sharks Have Tiny Teeth on Their Eyeballs

The ‘dermal denticles’ probably help protect the eyes of these gentle giants, scientists say

The Maya city of Tikal thrived for hundreds of years but was abandoned in the ninth century A.D.

New Research

Why Did the Maya Abandon the Ancient City of Tikal?

New research suggests mercury and toxic algae poisoned the settlement’s reservoirs

A virtual version of Mount Vesuvius looms over the exhibition.

Paris Exhibition Recreates Pompeii’s Final Hours

Those unable to visit the show in person can access a trove of online resources related to the immersive experience

Without wiggling, a paradise tree snake couldn't glide nearly as far.

New Research

Flying Snakes Need to Wriggle Through the Air to Glide

The paradise tree snake flattens its body and swerves in three dimensions to glide through the canopy

Ducks might be responsible for ferrying fish eggs to new bodies of water, according to new research.

New Research

Fish Eggs Can Survive a Journey Through Both Ends of a Duck

A new study finds some eggs remain viable even after being eaten and pooped out by waterfowl

Page 450 of 1128