Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Health

Rendering of the BACtrack Skyn

How Drunk Are You? Ask Your Bracelet

The BACtrack Skyn, a wearable similar in style to a Fitbit, tracks your blood alcohol level in real time

Burger King sauna

This Burger King Has a Spa Now

Finnish designer Teuvo Loman adds a 15-person sauna to a Burger King storefront

Poverty doesn't just affect a child's chances for the future—it appears to change poor kids' very DNA.

New Research

Poverty Linked to DNA Changes That Could Lead to Mental Illness

Could a better understanding of the biomarkers of lower socieconomic status help raise kids out of poverty?

The Next Pandemic

Research Reveals More Complete Picture of the Devastation Wrought by the Black Death

By examining pottery remains in over 50 rural settlements, archaeologists now better understand the extent that the population was wiped out by the plague

The Smart Pump by Naya uses a water-based system.

Smart Startup

Could It Be? A Quiet, Comfortable and Bluetooth-Connected Breast Pump

From breast pumps to bottles, the Silicon Valley startup Naya Health is making smarter products for parents and infants

A pile of discarded prayer flags lays in front of Mount Everest, which claimed four lives in just four days over the weekend.

Trending Today

Four People Have Died on Everest in as Many Days

The mountain’s terrible toll has set the 2016 climbing season off to a rocky start

Drug-resistant MRSA bacteria

The Next Pandemic

The “Antibiotic Apocalypse” Is Upon Us: Five Ways We Can Turn Things Around

Antibiotic-resistant diseases kill 700,000 people per year, but a new report shows all hope is not lost

Human brain cells infected by the Zika virus (in red).

New Research

Mice Show How the Zika Virus Can Cause Birth Defects

A new study offers the first experimental evidence of the virus crossing the placenta and damaging fetal brains

New Research

New Polymer Successfully Smooths Wrinkles

This “second skin” tightens wrinkles and could be used to cover wounds as well as deliver medications

The long, trailing skirts of the Victorian period eventually fell out of favor when they were thought to harbor tuberculosis microbes.

How Tuberculosis Shaped Victorian Fashion

The deadly disease—and later efforts to control it—influenced trends for decades

10 Things Science Says About Being a Mom in 2016

For one, a nurturing mother can help her child’s brain grow

How to Build a Mosquito Trap From an Old Tire

Canadian researchers hope to curb the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases by luring the pests into homemade traps

For one hour on May 7, silence will reign at a British supermarket.

Cool Finds

A British Store Will Go Quiet For Customers With Autism

Shh—people are shopping

A statue of Julian of Norwich at Norwich Cathedra. She is one of the first-known women writers in the English language.

Cool Finds

For the First Time, See Two Early Medieval Books Written By Women On Display Together

The manuscripts detail the authors’ experiences

Trending Today

Marijuana Advocates Want to Establish a Standard Unit of Highness

What’s the weed equivalent to an alcoholic drink?

New Research

Every City Has a Unique Microbial “Fingerprint”

From architecture to microbes, every city is different

A study of baboons found that have an easy life when young can pay off years into the future.

For Baboons, a Tough Childhood Can Lead to a Short Life

Primates that grow up under tough conditions don’t live as long as those that have it easy

Trending Today

Vaccine Switch Marks a New (and Hopefully Last) Stage in the Battle With Polio

Over the weekend, health officials began replacing the current polio vaccination in an effort to wipe out one of three strains of the virus

Anthony Fauci is America's point person in confronting epidemics.

Future Is Here Festival

Anthony Fauci Is Waging War Against Zika, and Preparing for Other Epidemics to Come

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases talks about developing a Zika vaccine

In remote northern Ontario, a First Nation is in crisis.

A Canadian First Nation Community Is in the Grips of a Suicide Crisis

Eleven suicide attempts took place in Attawapiskat First Nation on Saturday alone

Page 69 of 119