Meilan Solly

Meilan Solly

 

Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's senior associate digital editor, history.

The Somali ostrich is prized for its meat, feathers, leather and eggs

Human Hunting Is Driving the World's Biggest Animals Toward Extinction

A new analysis found that 70 percent of Earth's largest creatures are decreasing in number, while 59 percent are at risk of extinction

Salinger’s son and widow first started preparing the works for publication in 2011.

J.D. Salinger’s Unpublished Works Will Be Released to the Public Over the Next Decade

The author produced a trove of unseen writings over a nearly 50-year period prior to his death in 2010

Women's Brains Stay Younger Longer, New Research Shows

Researchers found that women’s brains continually create more energy than men’s whether an individual is 25 or 82

Maria Sibylla Merian, Untitled (Toucan), 1701–1705

80,000 Watercolor Portraits (and Counting) Paint a Pre-Photography Picture of the Planet

The Watercolour World enables users to compare historical paintings with contemporary images of landscapes

As glaciers melt, the Himalayan region will face extreme weather ranging from floods to drought and unpredictable monsoon rains

The Himalayas Could Lose Two-Thirds of Its Glaciers by 2100

Even if the most ambitious global climate targets are met, the Asian mountain range is poised to lose at least one-third of its glaciers

Is this dog smarter than its owner, or "DSTO"?

The Oxford English Dictionary Wants Your Work-Related Slang

You can submit entries through an online form or tweet it with the hashtag #wordsatwork

The team analyzed 135 squirrel specimens under visible and ultraviolet light

Flying Squirrels Glow Fluorescent Pink Under Ultraviolet Light

The bubblegum pink coloring could help New World flying squirrels navigate, communicate or blend into their environments

The June 6, 2019, event will mirror paratrooper landings on D-Day

What to Expect for 'D-Day 75'

Preparations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day are already underway, and will include the flight of 30 Douglas C-47 Skytrains

Neuroscientists Have Converted Brain Waves Into Verbal Speech

Researchers tracked participants' neural activity as they listened to recorded speech, then translated brain patterns into synthesized speech

Conservation of the Juanqinzhai moon gate in Qianlong Garden was completed in 2016.

Architect Annabelle Selldorf Will Design New Interpretation Center for China’s Forbidden City

The restored Qianlong Garden complex, a sprawling oasis of four courtyards and 27 pavilions, is set to open to the public for the first time in 2020

The North American fox squirrel is one of eight species deemed very high-risk threats

These 66 Species Are Potential Biodiversity Threats to European Ecosystems

Northern snakehead, green seaweed, striped eel catfish and fox squirrel are amongst the most high-risk species

The map currently features more than 130 entries divided into five categories

Interactive Map Renders Women's Cultural Contributions to French Capital Visible

The evolving project highlights landmarks in Paris that were “financed, imagined or made by women”

“Courting Devil Ray Ballet” by Duncan Murrell

These Are the Best Practices for Underwater Photographers Hoping to Protect Marine Life

You can look—and even use flash photography—but don’t touch

Teresa Feodorowna Ries, "Witch Doing Her Toilette on Walpurgis Night," 1895

Remembering the Forgotten Female Artists of Vienna

New exhibition draws on works by around 60 women who lived and worked between 1900 and 1938

Researchers from University College London recruited six javelin athletes to test the efficacy of Neanderthal spear replicas

Neanderthals Used Spears to Hunt Targets From Afar

New analysis adds to growing body of literature suggesting these early human ancestors were more advanced than previously believed

The majority of the AI's language draws on real quotes from the artist, but the resurrected Dali will also comment on current events

This Spring, Dalí Museum Visitors Will Be Welcomed by AI Version of the Artist Himself

A surreal(ist) encounter, indeed

A series of brown spots dotting the tomb's wall paintings were thought to be microbes carried by modern visitors, but researchers found that the marks have actually been around since 1922 opening of the crypt

Decade-Long Restoration of Tutankhamun’s Tomb Finally Concludes

Conservators stabilized famed crypt’s wall paintings, introduced viewing platforms and barriers designed to limit visitor access to fragile areas

Rocking bed used in the human-centric study

Rocking Isn’t Just for Babies. It Helps Adults—and Mice—Fall Asleep, Too

Two new studies outline benefits including increased sleep quality, improved memory skills

Gemologist Brian Berger purchased the Indonesian opal last year

Gemologist Finds Insect Entombed in Opal Rather Than Amber

The unusual specimen appears to contain an open-mouthed insect complete with 'fibrous structures extending from the appendages'

New Study Showcases Three-Toed Sloth's Unsung Adaptability

Juvenile members of the so-called "specialized" herbivore species draw on a more diverse diet than previously believed

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