History of Science | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/history-science/RSS feed for History of ScienceenFri, 15 May 2026 11:30:00 +0000Does the Experience of Beauty Show Up in the Brain? With Electrodes and a Museum Collection of Artifacts, These Neuroscientists Aim to Find Outhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/does-the-experience-of-beauty-show-up-in-the-brain-with-electrodes-and-a-museum-collection-of-artifacts-these-neuroscientists-aim-to-find-out-180988737/Researchers are tracing the brain and body’s response to aesthetic expression in search of a scientific value to artFri, 15 May 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/does-the-experience-of-beauty-show-up-in-the-brain-with-electrodes-and-a-museum-collection-of-artifacts-these-neuroscientists-aim-to-find-out-180988737/This Giant 400-Year-Old Astrolabe—Made by Mughal Master Craftsmen and Owned by Royalty—Fetched Millions at Auctionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-giant-400-year-old-astrolabe-made-for-royalty-by-mughal-master-craftsmen-and-owned-by-royalty-fetched-millions-at-auction-180988638/Ancient Greek astronomers and early Islamic scientists used astrolabes as mechanical computers to calculate time, determine height and navigate by the starsWed, 29 Apr 2026 14:07:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-giant-400-year-old-astrolabe-made-for-royalty-by-mughal-master-craftsmen-and-owned-by-royalty-fetched-millions-at-auction-180988638/A Scholar Recognized the Inscriptions in the Margins of This Manuscript. The Scribbles Turned Out to Be Galileo's Handwritten Noteshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scholar-recognized-the-inscriptions-in-the-margins-of-this-manuscript-the-scribbles-turned-out-to-be-galileos-handwritten-notes-180988269/Found in a 16th-century copy of an ancient astronomy treatise, the annotations suggest that the trailblazing scientist studied Earth-centric models before lending his support to heliocentrismFri, 27 Feb 2026 20:17:51 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scholar-recognized-the-inscriptions-in-the-margins-of-this-manuscript-the-scribbles-turned-out-to-be-galileos-handwritten-notes-180988269/The U.S.'s Only Particle Collider Recreated Moments From the Early Universe. Now, It Has Closed—to Make Way for a New Instrumenthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-us-only-particle-collider-recreated-moments-from-the-early-universe-now-it-has-closed-to-make-way-for-a-new-instrument-180988175/The end of the facility's 25-year run is “bittersweet”Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:38:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-us-only-particle-collider-recreated-moments-from-the-early-universe-now-it-has-closed-to-make-way-for-a-new-instrument-180988175/Medical Students Are Learning Anatomy From Digital Cadavers. Can Technology Ever Replace Real Human Bodies?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/medical-students-are-learning-anatomy-from-digital-cadavers-can-technology-ever-replace-real-human-bodies-180987731/From interactive diagrams to A.I. assistants, virtual tools are beginning to supplant physical dissections in some classroomsFri, 21 Nov 2025 16:33:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/medical-students-are-learning-anatomy-from-digital-cadavers-can-technology-ever-replace-real-human-bodies-180987731/At the Mysterious Boundary Between Waking Life and Sleep, What Happens in the Brain?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/at-the-mysterious-boundary-between-waking-life-and-sleep-what-happens-in-the-brain-180987703/Neuroscientists studying the shifts between sleep and awareness are finding many liminal states, which could help explain the disorders that can result when sleep transitions go wrongTue, 18 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/at-the-mysterious-boundary-between-waking-life-and-sleep-what-happens-in-the-brain-180987703/The Long, Strange History of Nitrous Oxide, a Popular Drug Users Have Been Inhaling for Hundreds of Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-long-strange-history-of-nitrous-oxide-a-popular-drug-users-have-been-inhaling-for-hundreds-of-years-180986293/Galaxy Gas has brought the drug back into the spotlight, and scientists are raising alarms about its health risksTue, 08 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-long-strange-history-of-nitrous-oxide-a-popular-drug-users-have-been-inhaling-for-hundreds-of-years-180986293/Five Unusual Ways People Used Lead—and Suffered For Ithttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/five-unusual-ways-people-used-lead-180985961/Cultures throughout history have put lead to use for wacky and often deeply poisonous purposesFri, 14 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/five-unusual-ways-people-used-lead-180985961/What 'Lucy,' One of the World's Most Important Fossils, Has Taught Scientists in the 50 Years Since Her Discoveryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/what-lucy-one-of-the-worlds-most-important-fossils-has-taught-scientists-in-the-50-years-since-her-discovery-180985541/The famous early human is still providing lessons to anthropologists about prehistoric Earth and its inhabitantsTue, 26 Nov 2024 17:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/what-lucy-one-of-the-worlds-most-important-fossils-has-taught-scientists-in-the-50-years-since-her-discovery-180985541/The Hero Who Convinced His Fellow Ornithologists of the Obvious: Stop Shooting Rare Birds and Watch Them Insteadhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/hero-convinced-fellow-ornithologists-obvious-stop-shooting-birds-watch-them-instead-180985445/Too late to save the ivory-billed woodpecker, Arthur Allen changed science forever with his seemingly simple ideaWed, 20 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/hero-convinced-fellow-ornithologists-obvious-stop-shooting-birds-watch-them-instead-180985445/