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Technology

A new generation of blood pressure measuring devices that don’t require an inflatable cuff around the arm may make it easier to manage hypertension.

New Devices Could Change the Way We Measure Blood Pressure

Embedded in a cellphone or in accessories such as rings, bracelets or watches, the novel tools aim to make it easier to manage hypertension

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How Scientists Tracked the Movements of a 17,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth

Isotopes tell the epic tale of one ancient mammal’s odyssey across Alaska

In 1980, the Viking Orbiter took 102 individual images of Mars that scientists eventually assembled into this stunning composite photo. The dark gash across the planet’s face is the Valles Marineris, a canyon that’s up to 6 miles deep and over 2,500 miles long.

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Mars

Scientists have learned a lot since they started sending crafts and rovers to our red neighbor

Signage at Netflix's campus in Hollywood, California

Netflix Plans to Open Brick-and-Mortar Stores in 2025

Visitors will dine at themed restaurants and participate in immersive experiences

A Herculaneum scroll being scanned at Institut de France by Brent Seales and his team

Cool Finds

This 21-Year-Old Used A.I. to Decipher Text From a Scroll That Hasn’t Been Read in 2,000 Years

The papyrus scroll is one of hundreds that were carbonized in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

Researchers have only discovered a small fraction of the pre-Columbian earthworks in the Amazon rainforest, according to new research.

The Amazon May Be Hiding More Than 10,000 Pre-Columbian Structures

Based on a new aerial survey and modeling study, archaeologists suggest at least 90 percent of sites known as earthworks remain undetected

In 1997, an uncrewed ship collided with Russia's Mir Space Station, causing damage to Mir's solar array panel. As the number of human-made objects in space grows, the risk of collisions in Earth orbit increases.

In a First, the FCC Fines a Satellite Company for Abandoning Space Debris

The television provider DISH failed to remove a retired satellite far enough from its previous orbit, according to a statement from the commission

An artist’s illustration of Quetzalcoatlus flying

How Pterosaurs Might Inform the Next Generation of Flight

After paleontologists cracked the secrets of the ancient flying reptiles, researchers are thinking about how to harness their methods

The cat door at the Exeter Cathedral in Devon County, England, is a strong contender for the oldest cat door on record. 

Where Can You Find the Oldest Cat Door on Earth?

The little opening for felines has a surprisingly long history

A visitor examines Pablo Picasso's Guernica during the partial reopening of the Reina Sofía Museum in June 2020, which followed several months of pandemic closures.

Museum Drops Ban on Photographing Picasso’s ‘Guernica’

After enforcing the rule for three decades, officials say that lifting it will prevent overcrowding and attract younger audiences

Théâtre D’opéra Spatial by Jason Allen

Art Made With A.I. Won a State Fair Last Year. Now, the Rules Are Changing

Artists who submit to the competition will need to disclose whether they used A.I. tools like Midjourney

Untitled #1, April 16, 1987

Art Meets Science

See Keith Haring’s Computer Drawings, Hidden on Floppy Discs Since the 1980s

The never-before-seen images will be sold as NFTs at an upcoming Christie’s auction

Smoke from wildfires in Canada blankets the New York City skyline in a haze in July 2023.

New Satellite Tracking Air Pollution Releases Its First Images

The instrument, called TEMPO, will make hourly measurements of pollutants over North America that could help reduce exposure to unhealthy air

Sholes and Glidden gussied up an early model with floral ornaments, in imitation of sewing machines.

Where Did the QWERTY Keyboard Come From?

From laptops to iPhones, the first successful typewriter’s keyboard layout lives on

One ancient graffiti artist carved this creature at the Philae temple complex—most likely a horse.

Archaeologists Are Using Modern Tools to Learn About Visitors to an Ancient Egyptian Temple

Pilgrims who left behind ancient graffiti are the subject of new research in the middle of the Nile

Installation photography of Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2023.

Video Artists Set the American Experience to Music

The Smithsonian American Art Museum brings its latest time-based media art to the widest possible audience, including the deaf and hearing impaired

Ann, 47, suffered a stroke that caused paralysis in 2005. The interface in the new study aims to help people who are unable to speak to communicate verbally.

Woman With Paralysis Can Speak By Thinking With a Brain Implant and A.I.

The experimental interface allows the patient to communicate through a digital avatar, and it’s faster than her current system

Researchers are using A/B testing to try to motivate patients to reach out for care.

Can New Messaging Methods Improve Health Care?

Public health experts are borrowing a technique from the tech world in hopes of spurring patients to get preventative care

Charles Martinet, who has voiced Nintendo's Mario character since the 1990s, at a game launch in 2007

The Man Behind Nintendo’s Mario Is Retiring After Nearly Three Decades

Charles Martinet has voiced the famous character in more than 100 games since the 1990s

The Handmaid's Tale is one of the books removed from libraries in Iowa’s Mason City Community School District.

Why This School District Used A.I. to Help Determine Which Books to Ban

Iowa schools are struggling to comply with new laws banning books that aren’t “age appropriate”

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