Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Cool Finds

This Man Plans to Spend a Year Living in a Giant Ball on an Iceberg

Adventurer Alex Bellini wants to watch a Greenland iceberg melt while he dwells in a “survival pod”

Borneo orangutan

New Research

Learn the Secrets of Ape’s Sleeping Habits

Apes sleep better and longer than other primates

A fairy circle in the Namibian desert — one of many large patches of barren earth ringed by short grass

New Research

Mysterious “Fairy” Circles Share Qualities With Human Skin

Researchers noticed that the pattern of Namibia’s “fairy” circles strongly resembles that of skin cell growth

Cool Finds

“Look Ma, No Hands!” A Rock Climber Scales Cliffs Without Using His Hands

Famous British rock climber Johnny Dawes puts a twist on his sport

Hibernating dormouse

Cool Finds

Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out If Humans Can Hibernate

Studies of hibernators and experiments inducing short-term torpor in humans may answer whether human hibernation is possible

Trending Today

Better HIV Prevention Could Be Leading to Higher Syphilis Rates

Syphilis rates increased by 13 percent between 2012 and 2013

New Research

What If Job Interviews Were Automated?

New study shows that computers can predict how applicants will do at interviews

Cool Finds

Putting Hummingbirds to the Test

One hummingbird, 20 MPH wind, 1000 frames per second

Cool Finds

Scientists Take a Crack at Explaining That Knuckle-Popping Noise

A new study takes a closer look to explain the mechanism behind the sound when we crack our joints

A blue whale surfacing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Cool Finds

Maybe the World’s Loneliest Whale Isn’t So Isolated, After All

Some evidence indicates that the singer of a higher-pitched whale song may not be alone

Cool Finds

Female Chimps More Likely Than Males to Hunt With Tools

A new study investigates the social and hunting behaviors of Fongoli chimpanzees

New Research

Painkillers Might Also Dull Your Emotions

A study shows Tylenol could affect emotional evaluations, but judging the meaning of that finding is tough

Trending Today

Cuba Could Be Removed From the List of Places That Sponsor Terrorism

The U.S. has considered Cuba a sponsor of terrorism since 1982. On Tuesday, President Obama announced plans to change that designation.

New Research

Forget Fake Meat…How About Fake Milk?

Move over, soy—a group of bio-hackers is trying to turn snippets of DNA into milk-producing yeast

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, shown here at its launch Tuesday, is expected to successfully deliver the Dragon spacecraft's payload to the International Space Station, but the rocket again failed to touch down at a free-floating pad in the ocean.

Trending Today

SpaceX Didn’t Land Its Rocket

The third time was not a charm for the Falcon 9

Cool Finds

These Magic Toothbrushes Work Without Toothpaste

A new brush—and an old one, too—that don’t rely on possibly harmful pastes to make your smile shine

Watercolor illustration of a pony express rider

Trending Today

The Pony Express Was Short-Lived And Costly

The service only lasted 18 months, but became an important icon of the West

Cool Finds

Fish Can Adjust Gender Balance in Face of Rising Temperatures

Warmer waters mean fewer female reef fish. But, over generations, populations can restore the balance.

The blobs, colored to show motion, are G2 as it approaches and passes the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy

New Research

Escape From the Black Hole’s Abyss!

An object called G2—previously believed to be a gas cloud—narrowly slipped from the clutches of a supermassive black hole

Trending Today

New York City Ran a Slave Market

New marker will acknowledge the bustling slave trade that helped build New York

Page 855 of 1116