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Smart News / Smart News Ideas & Innovations

Ground-penetrating radar map of the newly discovered temple in Falerii Novi, Italy

Archaeologists Discover Details of Buried Roman City Without Digging

Ground-penetrating radar revealed Falerii Novi’s elaborate architecture, including a bath complex, theater and network of water pipes

An aerial view of one of the circular enclosures at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey

Did Geometry Guide the Construction of the World’s Oldest Temple?

New research suggests the center points of three stone megalith circles at Göbekli Tepe form a near-perfect triangle

The Conway Knot

Graduate Student Untangles Decades-Old Math Problem in Less Than a Week

Lisa Piccirillo recently published her proof of Conway’s knot problem, a well-known quandry that stumped mathematicians for more than 50 years

Filippo Brunelleschi designed Florence Cathedral's famed red-brick dome.

How Renaissance Architects Designed Italy’s Imposing Domes

A new study offers key insights into how engineers built the rounded structures without using supports

In early March, a blockbuster exhibition marking 500 years since Raphael's death shuttered just three days after opening. In June, visitors returned—with restrictions.

Covid-19

Italy’s Museums Reopen With Vibrating Social-Distancing Necklaces, Limited Admission

A guard will “chaperone” groups of six through the Scuderie del Quirinale’s blockbuster Raphael exhibition

Spot is a four-legged robotic "dog" that is on patrol in Singapore to ensure proper social distancing measures during COVID-19.

Covid-19

Singapore Is Using a Robotic Dog to Enforce Proper Social Distancing During COVID-19

Spot “barks” orders anytime people are standing too close

The author's cat, Theodosia, envisioned in the style of Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night (left) and Jacob van Hulsdonck's Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Pomegranate (right)

Art Meets Science

Transform Your Selfies, Pet Portraits Into Famous Artworks

A new tool from Google Arts & Culture allows users to apply artists’ signature styles to their own photographs

Olafur Eliasson's Wunderkammer collection brings the Northern Lights, a rain cloud, the sun, flowers and other AR objects into your home.

Virtual Travel

This AR App Brings the Northern Lights and Other Natural Phenomena Into Your Living Room

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has released nine virtual experiences for audiences to explore during quarantine

The "Drive-By-Art" exhibition featured roadside sculptures, live performances, video projections, paintings and other works of art.

Covid-19

Drive-By Art Exhibition Provides Socially Distanced Dose of Culture

Fifty-two artists participated in the Long Island event

Researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science averaged the structures of 1,625 mouse brains to create a standard model.

New Research

Researchers Created a 3-D Map of 100 Million Cells in the Mouse Brain

Neuroscientists have been using the tool since 2017 to pinpoint where exactly their data are coming from

The Sturminster Newton Mill has stood on the banks of the River Stour in Dorset County since 1016.

Covid-19

One-Thousand-Year-Old Mill Resumes Production to Supply Flour Amid Pandemic

In April alone, the Sturminster Newton Mill ground more than one ton of wheat

Will your pet be the star of the show?

Covid-19

Quarantine Cat Film Fest Will Raise Funds for Independent Theaters Closed by COVID-19

The quarantined felines of the world are coming for your screens

The game's art dealer, a cunning fox named Redd, sells Arnold Böcklin's Island of the Dead under the name Mysterious Painting.

Education During Coronavirus

Can You Spot Animal Crossing’s Art Forgeries?

Gamers are brushing up on their art history knowledge to spot Redd’s counterfeit creations

A tourist visits Mousa Broch, the tallest known Iron Age broch and one of Europe's best-preserved prehistoric buildings

Why Scottish Archaeologists Are Building a Replica of an Iron Age Stone Tower

By building a new broch, the project aims to better understand how and why the original structures were constructed

Evidence suggests “[t]he piles outside the walls weren’t material that’s been dumped to get rid of it,” says archaeologist Allison Emmerson. “They’re outside the walls being collected and sorted to be resold inside the walls.”

Analysis of Pompeii’s Garbage Suggests the Ancient Romans Recycled, Too

The city’s residents sorted waste materials for reuse in future projects, according to new research

Follow the #WrightVirtualVisits hashtag to see tours of historic sites like Fallingwater, a Pennsylvania home originally built as a private weekend residence.

Virtual Travel

Enjoy Free Video Tours of Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Across America

The 20th-century architect defined a uniquely American style that used nature-inspired motifs and horizontal lines

Folium was used to illustrate illuminated manuscripts—and color the rind of a popular Dutch cheese.

Art Meets Science

Researchers Follow a 15th-Century Recipe to Recreate Medieval Blue Ink

The purplish-blue pigment, derived from a Portuguese fruit, fell out of use by the 19th century

"Occupy White Walls" features hundreds of architectural elements. Users are represented by avatars resembling common reference mannequins.

Education During Coronavirus

This Free Game Lets Users Build Their Own Virtual Art Museums

“Occupy White Walls” allows players to design their own art galleries—and explore others’ out-of-the-box creations

Health care workers at Stanford and the University of Massachusetts who have placed smiling portraits of themselves on the outside of their protective gear

Covid-19

Portrait Project Reveals the Faces Behind Health Care Workers’ Protective Gear

Doctors and nurses are attaching smiling photos of themselves to the outside of their protective gear to maintain connections with patients

This week's feature is a 2012 adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm as Mary Magdalene and Ben Forster as Jesus.

Covid-19

The Show Must Go On(line): Watch Free Broadway Musicals Every Friday

Select Andrew Lloyd Webber productions will stream on YouTube for 48 hours at a time

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