https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/discoveries/RSS feed for DiscoveriesenWed, 20 May 2026 21:08:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-discovered-trove-of-bones-and-teeth-yields-new-clues-to-the-century-old-mystery-of-death-jars-in-laos-180988772/Scientists found bones of 37 people inside a giant stone jar at one of Southeast Asia’s most puzzling archaeological sites. The find suggests a multigenerational burial practiceWed, 20 May 2026 21:08:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-discovered-trove-of-bones-and-teeth-yields-new-clues-to-the-century-old-mystery-of-death-jars-in-laos-180988772/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dimpled-koala-fossil-found-western-australia-revealed-why-previously-unknown-species-died-out-180988719/The new study found that they lost their arboreal habitat due to a drying climate, a dire warning for the modern-day marsupials that face a similar threatMon, 18 May 2026 18:17:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dimpled-koala-fossil-found-western-australia-revealed-why-previously-unknown-species-died-out-180988719/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-discover-27-potential-planets-each-orbiting-two-stars-just-like-the-fictional-tatooine-in-star-wars-180988667/The findings could more than double our current database of worlds that loop around binary star systems. But researchers need to analyze more data before they can officially celebrate a new trove of far, far away exoplanetsMon, 04 May 2026 19:24:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-discover-27-potential-planets-each-orbiting-two-stars-just-like-the-fictional-tatooine-in-star-wars-180988667/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-man-and-his-dog-accidentally-discovered-a-3400-year-old-ax-head-while-out-for-a-walk-in-one-of-englands-ancient-forests-180988649/Researchers believe the ax dates to between 1400 B.C.E. and 1275 B.C.E. and is a relic of the Bronze Age, when humans started to work with metalThu, 30 Apr 2026 18:45:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-man-and-his-dog-accidentally-discovered-a-3400-year-old-ax-head-while-out-for-a-walk-in-one-of-englands-ancient-forests-180988649/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-man-fled-pompeii-as-mount-vesuvius-erupted-archaeologists-found-him-2000-years-later-holding-a-bowl-to-protect-his-head-and-a-lamp-to-light-his-way-180988647/Recent excavations revealed two skeletons just outside the ancient city's walls. Researchers also created an A.I.-generated reconstruction of one of the victim's harrowing final momentsThu, 30 Apr 2026 15:10:21 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-man-fled-pompeii-as-mount-vesuvius-erupted-archaeologists-found-him-2000-years-later-holding-a-bowl-to-protect-his-head-and-a-lamp-to-light-his-way-180988647/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-create-the-first-detailed-smell-map-of-odor-sensors-in-the-mouse-nose-and-sniff-out-some-surprises-180988639/In two new studies, researchers used genetic techniques to upend a longstanding assumption that nerve cells with scent detectors were randomly arranged. They don’t know whether the same spatial organization is found in human nosesWed, 29 Apr 2026 20:59:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-create-the-first-detailed-smell-map-of-odor-sensors-in-the-mouse-nose-and-sniff-out-some-surprises-180988639/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-hell-creek-formation-is-north-americas-legendary-boneyard-see-the-top-five-discoveries-found-in-the-iconic-fossil-bed-180988545/From preserved plants to T. rex, the material found in these Late Cretaceous rocks has resulted in countless breakthroughs for paleontologistsWed, 15 Apr 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-hell-creek-formation-is-north-americas-legendary-boneyard-see-the-top-five-discoveries-found-in-the-iconic-fossil-bed-180988545/