Megan Gambino

Megan Gambino

 

Megan Gambino is a senior web editor for Smithsonian magazine.

Secretive Victorian Artists Made These Intricate Patterns Out of Algae

A new documentary profiles Klaus Kemp, the sole practicioner of a quirky art form that is invisible to the naked eye

The oaten pipes hydroid (Tubularia indivisa) is a small colonial predator native to the North Atlantic.

College Students Studied These Mail-Order Sea Creatures in the Late 1800s

Restored glass models of marine invertebrates, made by artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, are on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

Warren Harding's affair with Carrie Fulton Phillips carried on for 15 years, up through the time when he served as a U.S. senator.

Warren Harding’s Love Letters Finally Give Us Something to Remember Him For

Locked away for 50 years, the secret correspondence reveals a steamy relationship between the future president and his mistress

Jessica Rath sculpts paragon and roma tomatoes from life.

These Sculptures of Giant Tomatoes Are Ripe For the Picking

What physical traits do humans find desirable? Artist Jessica Rath looks in her grocery store's produce section for answers

Two-headed smooth-hound (Mustelus)

A Two-Headed Shark and Other X-Rayed Beauties at the Smithsonian

Sandra Raredon's x-rays of fish specimens are critical records for scientists studying various species. And, as works of art, they are breathtaking

Google hosts its fourth-annual science fair. Shown here, the 2013 winners.

Google Thinks These 18 Teenagers Will Change the World

The global finalists of this year’s Google Science Fair take on cyberbullying countermeasures, tar sands cleanup and wearable tech

Anatomically Correct Hibiscus; yarn; 2005; 45" x 45" x 32"

Sowing a Garden, One Knit Flower At a Time

Providence-based artist Tatyana Yanishevsky's sculptures of various plant species are botanically accurate in almost everything but their scale

Galileo Demonstrating Telescope

Was Shakespeare Aware of the Scientific Discoveries of His Time?

For his new book, Dan Falk followed a group of scholars who argue, unlike most, that the playwright was up to speed with the latest astronomy

Desmarestia herbacea, acid kelp; Santa Cruz, CA; c. 1898; Collection: University Herbarium, UC Berkeley, CA

These Delicate Images of Seaweed Were Captured Using a Flatbed Scanner

In a new book, photographer Josie Iselin highlights the exquisite colors and forms of kelp and other marine algae

Artist Todd McGrain's sculptures of five extinct North American birds are now on display in Smithsonian gardens.

Bronze Sculptures of Five Extinct Birds Land in Smithsonian Gardens

Artist Todd McGrain memorializes species long-vanished, due to human impact on their habitats, in his "Lost Bird Project"

Document Deep Dive: Richard Nixon’s Application to Join the FBI

Fresh out of law school, the future president first hoped he could be one of J. Edgar Hoover’s agents

Zebrafish embryo

A Scan of a Mechanical Heart Pump Fitted in a Live Human and Other Eerily Beautiful Scientific Images

From a photo of a tick biting flesh to a closeup of a kidney stone, the 18 winners of the 2014 Wellcome Image Awards highlight objects we don't usually see

The Los Angeles That Was Never Built

Had these 13 grand architectural plans been executed, the city would look entirely different today

Measuring 745 feet across, Janet Echelman's Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks is her largest aerial sculpture to date.

A Massive Aerial Sculpture Is Hoisted in Downtown Vancouver

Artist Janet Echelman combines ancient techniques with modern technology to create her largest-ever net sculpture for TED's 30th anniversary

The Intel Science Talent Search honored the top winner and nine esteemed runners-up of its 2014 competition at a black-tie affair in Washington, D.C.

These Teenagers Have Already Accomplished More Than You Ever Will

The winners of this year's Intel Science Talent Search take on flu vaccines, stem cells and tools for diagnosing cancer

It is time that we drop Hollywood’s humanoid view of extraterrestrials. In reality, David Aguilar says, “We are going to find bizarre adaptations.”

What Will Extraterrestrial Life Look Like?

Illustrator David Aguilar melds art and science to imagine how alien creatures might adapt to their environments

Brendan's Bag

X-Ray Art: A Deeper Look at Everyday Objects

Brit Hugh Turvey adds his artistic touch to x-rays of suitcases, old shirts and a host of other subjects

In Selfmade, microbiologist Christina Agapakis and scent artist Sissel Tolaas made cheese from bacteria collected from people's mouths and toes.

Cheese Made From Bacteria Between Your Toes and Other Bizarre Bio Art

With groundbreaking (and controversial) projects, artists are starting a conversation about the future of synthetic biology

Using interpretive dance, Cedric Tan, a biologist at the University of Oxford, explains his PhD thesis, "Sperm competition between brothers and female choice.

This is What Happens When You Ask Scientists to Explain Their PhDs in Dance

Watch this year's winners of the "Dance Your Ph.D" contest animate sperm competition, cell division and sleep deprivation

Resurrection Bay, Alaska (1939), by Rockwell Kent

Art Chronicles Glaciers As They Disappear

The Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington, is exhibiting 75 works of art pulled from the past two centuries—all themed around ice

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