← Back to news

S

Smithsonian RSS Feed

www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/latest_articles

She Painted the First Known Self-Portrait of an Artist at Work—and Signed It—Nearly 500 Years Ago. Who Was Catharina van Hemessen?

These Snakes Can Cartwheel Away From Danger. Scientists Just Uncovered How the Slithering Creatures Perform Their Acrobatic Rolls

See the Scientific and the Mundane Become Surprisingly Dazzling When Viewed Through a Microscope, From Neurons to Ballpoint Pens

In a First, Astronomers Identify a Star That Might Glow Green. New Research Highlights the Strange Hues White Dwarfs Can Take on

Were Two Ancient Chinese Astronomers Beheaded for Failing to Predict an Eclipse in 2134 B.C.E.? The Story May Be a Myth, but It Underscores the Real Risks of Interpreting Celestial Events

To Understand Social Divides in Medieval England, Archaeologists Examined Tooth Enamel From Lead Mining Communities

A Rhode Island Man Grew the First Pumpkin to Surpass 3,000 Pounds. The Gargantuan Gourd Is the Largest Fruit Ever

Sick Corals Can Heal With the Help of a 'Magic Touch' From Healthy Ones, Offering Hope for Heat-Damaged Marine Ecosystems

A Vast New Database Shows How Britain Built a Global Empire by Trading Goods Like Coal, Wine and Wood Closer to Home

The World's Tallest Trees Seem to Struggle to Make Their Own Food During Heat Waves, Leaving Them Vulnerable as the World Warms

This Dog Learned to Sniff Out a Slimy Marine Invader Called 'Sea Vomit'—a Skill That Earned Her the Animal of the Year Award

The Race for Hydrogen Fuel Has Taken These Scientists to the Arctic Seafloor. But Can They Unlock Its Secrets Before It's Too Late?

Archaeologists Searching for Evidence of a Norse Church in Greenland Have Found 'the Smoking Gun' Near Erik the Red's Settlement

The Burning of This French City Hall Was a 'Catastrophe for Heritage,' Tragically Reminiscent of the Notre-Dame Fire

Scientists Don't Know How Mars Acquired Its Two Moons. Japan Just Launched a Historic Space Mission That Will Fetch Samples to Find Out

When a 19th-Century Scottish Landowner Blocked a Public Footpath, Locals Rebelled. Now, Archaeologists Have Unearthed Parts of His Controversial Wall

How a Bunch of Broke Teachers Created a Hot New Way to Vacation

Earth's True North and South Poles Have Wandered Four Times Over the Past 320 Million Years, Study Suggests

How Colorado's Wildlife Mitigation Efforts—Including the Largest Animal Crossing Overpass in North America—Are Making Everyone Safer

A Farmer in Egypt Stumbled Upon a Pink Stone and Called the Authorities. They Found the Remains of Two Colossal Statues of Ramses II Beneath the Property

Six Ways the Charleston Area Brings American History to Life

Can a Cruise Capture 12,000 Years of Norwegian Heritage? Hurtigruten Certainly Thinks So

Rembrandt Turned Ancient Myths Into 'Supremely Human' Works of Art. An Upcoming Exhibition Traces the Inspiration He Took From Antiquity

Legend Has It That This Roman Emperor Established a Camp in Wales. A Newly Discovered Fort May Offer Proof That It Really Existed

Wildlife Experts Stunned to Find That Bird Flu Killed Jackie, the Beloved, Internet-Famous Bald Eagle

Madrid's Renewed and Expanded Sorolla Museum Lets the Paintings of the Spanish 'Master of Light' Re-emerge Into Public View

In the New Movie 'Whalefall,' a Cetacean Swallows a Diver Whole. The Sperm Whale's Remarkable Anatomy and Feeding Habits Shape the Survival Thriller

Dam Removals Are Bringing Fish Back Across the Northeastern United States, Striking Down One Tiny Barrier at a Time

Microplastics Have Been Linked With Myriad Human Health Problems. Scientists May Have Finally Figured Out How They Harm the Body

Small Dogs Tend to Live Longer Than Big Dogs. Scientists Say They Might Finally Know Why—and It Goes to the Molecular Level

This Ancient Animal Looked Like a Platypus-Otter Hybrid. It's Providing Clues About the Origins of Mammalian Suckling and Swallowing

Arthur Conan Doyle Based Sherlock Holmes on a Real-Life Scottish Surgeon Who Used Deduction to Diagnose Patients and Investigate Crimes

A Monumental 18th-Century Portrait of a Young Polynesian Man—a 'Supreme Work of Art'—Visits the U.S. for the First Time

These 15 Photos Showcase the Intensely Brilliant Colors of Coral Reefs and the Creatures That Live Among Them

It's Official: Timekeepers Have Gotten Rid of the Leap Second—and Introduced the Leap Hour Instead

On an Island Outside Paris, a Sprawling Contemporary Arts Center Aptly Called 'Large' Prepares to Open Its Doors

This Soldier Kept a Diary in the Trenches of World War I. A Child Found It at the Dump Decades Later, Pierced by a Bullet and Stained With Blood

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a 'Community Anchor' of Latino Life

Venetian Artist Canaletto Merged Fantasy and Architectural Detail in This Previously Unseen Sketch, Heading to Auction This Month

A Detailed Martian Rover Photograph Highlights Mysterious Cliffs on the Edge of One of Mars’ Mountains

London's Oldest Restaurant, Frequented by Monarchs and Pop Stars Alike, Is a Site of 'Living History.' Now It's Protected by the National Trust for Generations to Come

Wildlife Biologists Start Vaccinating Shy Albatrosses by Hand, Taking Aim at the Spread of Avian Flu in Tasmania

Birds in Their Pants: Two Men Accused of Smuggling 21 Avians After Miami Airport Bust

Construction Work on the North Dakota Governor's Residence Accidentally Unearthed Seven Coffins Dating Back to the State's Early Settlement

See the Stunning Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest, Capturing the Splendor and Drama of Nature

A New Contender for the World's Oldest Shipwreck Has Been Discovered Off the Coast of Turkey. Its Ancient Cargo Is a 'Time Capsule' From 4,700 Years Ago

This Vincent van Gogh Painting Has Not Been Seen in Public for Over 60 Years. It Is Now Poised to Set a Record at an Upcoming Auction

Two Recently Stolen Renoir Paintings Were Found Hidden Behind a Cinderblock Wall. French Police Used DNA Evidence and Vehicle Tracking to Crack the Case

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover a Mud-Brick Tomb Featuring a Heartbreaking Elegy to an Ancient Man's Father

Mourners Placed an Ancient Sippy Cup in a Roman Toddler's Grave. It May Have Been Meant to Sustain the Child on the Journey to the Afterlife