Articles

The wandering pond snail may be small, but it is giving scientists insights into a rather lofty question: Why do we have personality?

What Extroverts and Introverts Can Learn From Snails

Genes may change a snail’s “personality” and the thickness of its skin (or rather, its shell)

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

What to Read, Watch and Download Before Your Trip to Venice

Know before you go

The red-necked wallaby has a powerful nose, according to a new study.

Wallabies Can Sniff Out Danger in Poop

Like sommeliers of poop, the pint-sized marsupials can smell what species left it behind and what that creature last had for dinner

Listen to Nature Through These Gigantic Wooden Megaphones in Estonia’s Forests

You know, in case a tree falls and there’s no one there to hear it

This State Produces 270 Million Pounds of Popcorn Per Year

A large portion of Indiana's economy relies on an invaluable crop: corn. Popcorn plants have perfected the production of our favorite movie snack

Eateries like La Palma in San Francisco's Mission District are revered by some communities, but off-the-radar for others

Find Flavor Around Every Corner (and Off the Beaten Path) With These Culinary Walking Tours

From beloved institutions to hole-in-the-wall eateries, great food is everywhere

Scientists Are Working on a Pill That Just Might Replace Exercise

The idea is to create a drug that mimics the molecular changes exercise causes in the body. But it's no small challenge

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit in The Walk

What Happens to Your Body When You Walk on a Tightrope?

It's more than just an insane amount of courage that gets people on the tightwire

The Rise of DIY Genetic Testing

Some people are skipping the doctor's office and using the internet to order and interpret their own DNA tests

Invisible, 1971, by Giovanni Anselmo

Playful Artworks at the Hirshhorn Get the Better of One Mystified Observer

A group of international mid-century artists built a number of kinetic experiments into their abstract art

Shaving was something of a job on all the Apollo missions because in Zero-G, water doesn't just run off the face.

New Photos From Apollo Mission Depict the Mundane Daily Tasks of Astronauts at Work

From the original film rolls that the astronauts took into space, a work-a-day routine emerges of Apollo mission voyages

By the time the Salt River reaches downtown Phoenix, it is a river in name only. Some scientists think that is why a non-native plant, the salt cedar, is thriving while native flora are suffering.

Age of Humans

How We Created a Monster In the American Southwest

The salt cedar is often seen as an un-killable invader. But are humans the real reason this unwanted plant is thriving?

A marionette performs atop a Matsuri float

In Japan, Autumn Means a Parade of (Not-at-All-Creepy) Robot Puppets

A 350-year-old festival in Takayama celebrates creativity — and contains the seeds of modern robotics

Haohan Qiao, a newly opened 984-foot-long bridge in China's Hunan province.

Look Down If You Dare: 14 of the World's Most Terrifying (and Beautiful) Glass Skywalks

A new glass bridge in China is suspended 590 feet in the air — and visitors brave enough to cross it can see all the way down

A view from Mota Cave in Ethiopia, where archaeologists found the remains of a 4,500-year-old human.

New Research

Back to Africa: Ancient Human Genome Reveals Widespread Eurasian Mix

Genes from a 4,500-year-old skeleton from Ethiopia show how migrations shaped modern populations

Soldiers pose with bison heads captured from poacher Ed Howell. In the early days of Yellowstone, poaching, setting the park on fire and defacing its hot springs were rampant.

Age of Humans

How the U.S. Army Saved Our National Parks

Before the National Park Service, Yellowstone was guarded by the cavalry. Without them, we might not have national parks today

The title of Gardner's photograph (taken with Timothy O'Sullivan) Field Where General Reynolds Fell, Gettysburg, July 1863 was added later to capitalize on the famous general's heroism.

Alexander Gardner Saw Himself as an Artist, Crafting the Image of War in All Its Brutality

The National Portrait Gallery’s new show on the Civil War photographer rediscovers the full significance of Gardner's career

Age of Humans

See the Two Ship Graveyards That May Become New Marine Sanctuaries

The first marine sanctuaries approved by NOAA in 15 years are home to a plethora of shipwrecks

The sensors can be printed on temporary tattoo-like material, which sticks on the skin for a week.

Tiny, Tattoo-Like Wearables Could Monitor Your Health

University of Texas engineers devise a relatively inexpensive way to make disposable patches that track patients' vital signs

Pacchanta's Maria Merma Gonzalo practices weaving techniques that have changed little in 500 years.

In a Small Village High in the Peruvian Andes, Life Stories Are Written in Textiles

Through weaving, the women of Ausangate, Peru, pass down the traditions of their ancestors

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