Ben Panko

Ben Panko is a staff writer for Smithsonian.com

A captive wolf greets a stranger in an experiment testing the sociability of dogs and their ancestors

What Makes Fido So Friendly? It Could Be Genetic

Mutations in several genes linked to hypersocial behavior in people may have helped along canine domestication

An artist's rendering of a star colliding with the surface of a supermassive sphere. In recent years some scientists have surmised that black holes may be hard objects rather than a region of intense gravity and compressed matter.

Could You Crash Into a Black Hole?

Probably not, but it’s fun to think about

Computer modeling of the stress on a T. rex skeleton showed that the dinosaur couldn't handle running

The Fierce T. Rex Was a Walker Not a Sprinter

A good pair of running shoes could help you escape the formidable beast, study finds

The daughter of an enslaved woman, Maggie L. Walker led the fight for civil rights and women's rights in Richmond, Virginia.

Champion of the Black Community Is Given Her Rightful Due in Richmond

Maggie L. Walker fought segregation her whole life in the former capital of the Confederacy. Now her statue towers over the Virginia city

This still from an animation created by NASA shows some of the mountains and craters observed by the New Horizons satellite.

Take a Trip Around Pluto and Charon With These New Animations

Two years after its fly-by, NASA releases maps and videos made with data from New Horizons

"Dodge's Ridge"

At 100, Andrew Wyeth Still Brushes People the Right (and Wrong) Way

The centennial of his birth offers galleries and critics the opportunity to reconsider one of America's most famous painters

A tardigrade, seen here with an scanning electron microscope, is one of Earth's most durable creatures

How to Kill Nature's Most Indestructible Creature

Only the boiling away of Earth's oceans could bring about the extinction of these tiny water bears

Engineer Mark Rober posing with his Super Soaker creation

Ex-NASA Engineer Builds World's Largest Super Soaker

More than a mere toy, this water gun can slice through glass and watermelons

Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann reads from the words of Liu Xiaobo when he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Xiaobo was imprisoned and unable to accept the award.

Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo Dies at Age 61

The human rights activist spent his final years in Chinese custody

An artistic rendering of Juno approaching the Great Red Spot while orbiting Jupiter

Stunning Images Capture First Close-Up With Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Take a peek at the solar system's largest storm

A NASA research plane photographed the widening crack on Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf on November 10, 2016.

Delaware-Sized Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctica

'Whopper' of an iceberg weighs more than one trillion metric tons—and has been threatening to make the break for years

Mutineers walk in on a chaplain "with a smoking pistol in his hand" in the Arthur Conan Doyle short story "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott."

Thank Sherlock Holmes for the Phrase 'Smoking Gun'

From its origins to modern day, the favorite cliché of detectives and journalists everywhere refuses to kick the bucket

Researchers tested the fungus that grew in this isolated habitat as four people lived in it for a month.

Space-Bound Humans Bring Fungus Aboard—And the Stowaways Could Cause Trouble

Microscopic life is everywhere, but it could be dangerous for future astronauts bound for Mars

The Declaration of Independence in its first known newspaper printing on July 6, 1776.

Watch How (Slowly) News of the Declaration of Independence Spread in Real Time

Before social media, TV, radio and even telegraphs, news of America's independence took a long time to reach some Americans

Beet armyworm caterpillars turned to eating each other when the leaves they were placed on were made to taste foul.

Strong Plant Defenses Made These Hungry Caterpillars Eat Each Other

When left with the choice of nasty-tasting plants or each other, the choice is clear for the beet armyworm caterpillar

Among the sketches found was a study by Gainsborough for his 1748 painting "Cornard Wood," which depicts a forest scene near his hometown of Sudbury.

Early Sketches From Famed English Painter Found Hidden in Royal Library

Discovered mislabeled in a Windsor Castle book, the drawings are the work of a young Thomas Gainsborough

A horseshoe crab.

Forget Dinos: Horseshoe Crabs Are Stranger, More Ancient—And Still Alive Today

But now evolution’s ultimate survivors may be in danger

Laser-cut paper coated in conductive materials allows this small device to generate electricity just by being squeezed.

New Invention Puts the Power of Static in Your Pocket

Squeeze this paper device and you can create electricity

The current elastic headband used in almost a million surgeries annually is on the right. The granular jamming cap, filled with coffee grounds and packed firm with a vacuum, is on the left.

Coffee on the Brain—Literally—Could Help Surgeons

A cap made of coffee grounds helps nose and throat surgery patients get the best care

So much potentially misleading information, so little time.

How Fake News Breaks Your Brain

Short attention spans and a deluge of rapid-fire articles on social media form a recipe for fake news epidemics

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