Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

A Late Neolithic skull. For the recent study, scientists extracted DNA from skulls and teeth to look for traces of diseases.

With Ancient DNA, Scientists Have Mapped 37,000 Years of Disease Across Europe and Asia

Zoonoses—diseases that spread from animals to humans—began to gain prevalence some 6,500 years ago with the rise of animal husbandry, a new study suggests

Artist Franck Duval, known as FKDL, works on a mural Josephine Baker in Paris.

Women Who Shaped History

A Vibrant Mural Celebrating Josephine Baker’s ‘Two Loves’—‘My Country and Paris’—Has Been Unveiled in France

The colorful street art, which features a quote from one of her songs, honors the iconic singer, dancer and civil rights activist’s enduring legacy

This flint arrowhead was found embedded in a human rib at the Roc de les Orenetes site in northeastern Spain.

An Archer Shot This Bronze Age Human in the Back. 4,000 Years Later, the Arrow Is Still Embedded in the Victim’s Rib Bone

The attack took place during a period of conflict between groups living in the Pyrenees mountains in modern-day Spain

For the experiments, the scientists worked with plain-body octopuses (Callistoctopus aspilosomatis).

Octopuses Fall for the Rubber Hand Illusion, Just Like Humans, Pointing to a Sense of Body Ownership

The trick that plays with awareness of one’s own limb appeared to fool all six of the cephalopods tested in a series of experiments

The destroyer was commissioned in 1942 and used in the Guadalcanal campaign.

Underwater Archaeologists Capture Photos of Japanese Warship That Hasn’t Been Seen Since It Sank During World War II

The “Teruzuki” was a Japanese Navy destroyer that sank near the Solomon Islands on December 12, 1942. Eight decades later, researchers have identified the wreckage in the Pacific

The ice cores were collected from East Antarctica's Dome C and are now being held in a freezer room at the British Antarctic Survey.

Scientists Will Melt the World’s ‘Oldest Ice’ to Reveal Its Secrets and Uncover a Climate Record of 1.5 Million Years

The ice cores could offer clues about a period known as the Mid-Pleistocene Transition that has long puzzled scientists

Scientists observed the faint companion star, shown in blue, by using a speckle imager mounted on the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to capture several short exposures.

Astronomers Say They’ve Finally Spotted Betelgeuse’s Companion Star, Long Predicted to Exist but Never Seen

The discovery, if confirmed, could explain Betelgeuse’s mysterious six-year oscillations in brightness

The central reservoir of Hadrian's Aqueduct

Athens Is Reviving a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Aqueduct to Deliver Water to the City Amid Prolonged Droughts

With the capital’s reservoirs approaching historic lows, officials are turning to ancient engineering to conserve potable water

A scan of a Rosenberg's goanna (Varanus rosenbergi) reveals chain mail-like osteoderms and the endoskeleton in the left half of the image.

These Odd Bony Structures Were Hiding Beneath the Skin of Far More Lizards Than Thought, Researchers Find

Called osteoderms, the chain mail-like plates may have helped some species adapt to Australia’s harsh environment

The Love Letter, Johannes Vermeer, circa 1669-70

See Three Breathtaking Vermeer Paintings That Capture the Lost Art of Letter Writing

A trio of the 17th-century Dutch painter’s works featuring women writing and receiving letters is on display at the recently reopened Frick Collection

The trans-Neptunian object nicknamed Ammonite moves across the sky over several hours in May 2023. Its diameter is estimated to be between about 135 and 235 miles.

Cool Finds

Astronomers Discover ‘Ammonite,’ a Mysterious Distant Object That Could Shed Light on Our Solar System’s History

The celestial body’s unusual orbit “implies that something extraordinary occurred” in the early days of the solar system—and throws a wrench in the Planet Nine idea

Comedian, Maurizio Cattelan, 2019

These Bananas Duct-Taped to the Wall Are Worth Millions. Hungry Museumgoers Keep Eating Them

A visitor recently ate the banana from Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian,” which was on view at the Center Pompidou-Metz. The artwork, which sold for $6.2 million last year, has met this fate before

The push and pull between the Earth and its moon impacts our planet's rotation.

Today Will Likely Be Shorter Than Usual, and It Will Happen Again in August. Here’s Why

Because of the moon’s position, Earth is rotating just over a millisecond faster than usual on a few days this summer

Researchers suggest 140,000-year-old child remains from Israel's Skhūl Cave may have belonged to a Homo sapiens-Neanderthal hybrid.

A Child’s Skull That Has Long Confounded Archaeologists Might Be a Human-Neanderthal Hybrid, Study Suggests

According to new CT scans and models, parts of the 140,000-year-old skull resemble those of modern humans, while the jaw appears to be more similar to those of our extinct relatives

The remotely controlled robotic rabbits have been placed at various undisclosed locations in South Florida to see how well they fool the invasive snakes.

‘Robo-Bunnies’ Are the Newest Weapon in the Fight Against Invasive Burmese Pythons in Florida

Scientists are experimenting with robotic rabbits in hopes of luring the destructive snakes out of hiding so they can be euthanized

Darth Vader's lightsaber, used in the final two films of the franchise's original trilogy, will go up for auction in September.

Darth Vader’s Lightsaber From the ‘Star Wars’ Original Trilogy Is Heading to Auction for the First Time Ever

The iconic prop, which is expected to fetch up to $3 million, will be sold in September alongside other pieces of movie memorabilia

A new study suggests dogs engage differently with TV programs based on their personalities.

How Do Dogs Watch TV? That Might Depend on Their Personalities, New Research Suggests

A survey-based study reveals how different dogs react to elements on TV, suggesting that personalized television enrichment could support animal welfare in shelters or at home

An artist's reconstruction of the giant ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus (left), featured in the study, and researchers examining part of the creature's flipper at Sweden's Lund University (right).

Fossil Flipper Reveals Ichthyosaurs Hunted in Lethal Silence With Unique Adaptations for Stealth

An analysis of a roughly 180-million-year-old fossil fin reveals serrations and flexibility that might have served to dampen sound as the predator swam

Neuschwanstein was one of four castles in Bavaria to make the list.

Germany’s Stunning Fairytale Castles Added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List

Built under the rule of Ludwig II, the grand palace complexes in Bavaria were among 26 new sites granted world heritage status

The sled is central to the plot of Citizen Kane.

One of the Rosebud Sleds From ‘Citizen Kane’ Just Became the Second Most Expensive Piece of Movie Memorabilia Ever Sold

The iconic prop, which went for $14.75 million at auction, is one of several sleds used in the production of Orson Welles’ 1941 classic

Page 65 of 1113