Articles

In the early 20th century, pioneer paleontologist Annie Montague Alexander had to find socially acceptable fieldwork partners to avoid being accused of vague improprieties on her expeditions. She would go on to found the University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley.

The Many Ways Women Get Left Out of Paleontology

The hurdles that prevent female fossil hunters from rising at the same rates as their male peers are myriad—but they are all interconnected

Worshippers at Holy Angel Catholic Church on Chicago’s South Side, in October, 1973.

The History of Black Catholics in America

The Black Catholic Movement reinvigorated the church, with liturgical innovation, new preaching styles and activist scholarship

In 2013, Winfrey was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Oprah's Undeniable Influence on American History Recognized in New Smithsonian Exhibition

The National Museum of African American History and Culture follows Winfrey's life, from her roots in rural Mississippi to her success as a cultural phenom

How Bad Weather Delayed the Norman Invasion of England

It's 1066 and William of Normandy and his massive army of 14,000 men are preparing to cross the English Channel and invade England

Painting of four species of rat, including the Polynesian rat (right).

New Research

Rat Bones Reveal How Humans Transformed Their Island Environments

Rodent remains prove an ideal tool for investigating changes on three Polynesian island chains

The imagined surface of Kepler-186f, an Earth-size planet orbiting a small red star.

NASA's New Exoplanet Travel Bureau Lets You 'Tour' Far-Distant Planets In 360 Degrees

Eager space tourists can now visit sunny Kepler-186f, a moon of Kepler-16b or the Earth-like TRAPPIST-1e virtually

The Violent 1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge

The 1066 battle of Stamford Bridge was said to be so violent that a giant mountain of bones remained a half century later

John Mackay made a fortune in the mining industry.

The Mining Millionaire Americans Couldn’t Help But Love

Unlike the other one-percenters of his age, John Mackay gained his countrymen’s admiration. But in an ironic twist, it means he’s little known today

Robert F. Kennedy by Roy Lichtenstein,1989, after 1968 original

On the Eve of his Death, Robert Kennedy Was a Whirlwind of Empathy and Internal Strife

These unconventional portraits capture the man's evolution from straitlaced politician to champion of the poor

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2018

From Oregon Trail stops to Mister Rogers' original neighborhood, these towns are worth seeing this year

Bycatch is a major problem in fisheries, resulting in the deaths of countless endangered animals. New dynamic software helps fishermen avoid this harmful phenomenon.

New Research

Smart Software Helps Fishermen Catch the Fish They Want, Not Endangered Species

Like a dynamic weather app for the sea, the program allows fishermen to pinpoint areas of conservation and can be updated daily

Robert F. Kennedy accepts the Democratic nomination as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1964.

Why Robert Kennedy Transformed From a Conservative Into a Liberal Champion of Civil Rights

A professor of political history looks at how RFK, assassinated 50 years ago this week, was an improbable hero to the left

Elsie Janis (1889-1956), an American singer, songwriter, actress, and screenwriter

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Sweetheart of the American Expeditionary Force

During World War I, vaudeville star Elsie Janis travelled to France to bring good cheer to U.S. troops

No photos of Cole survive. Shown here is an anatomy lecture taught by pioneering female physician Elizabeth Blackwell at the Woman's Medical College of New York Infirmary, which she founded. Cole was the resident physician at the infirmary and later a sanitary visitor at Blackwell's Tenement House Service. Blackwell described Cole as “an intelligent young coloured physician [who] carried on this work with tact and care.”

Race in America

The Woman Who Challenged the Idea that Black Communities Were Destined for Disease

A physician and activist, Rebecca J. Cole became a leading voice in medical social services

Grape breeding PhD student Laise Moreira collects flower tissue for analyzing sex trait in grapevine as part of the VitisGen2 project at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center in Excelsior, MN.

The Quest to Grow the First Great American Wine Grape

Genetics might be the key to creating vineyards that both resist disease and don’t taste like skunk

Which Famous Music Icons Lived in These Chicago Homes?

Chicago has always been a hotbed of musical talent

Left: A cooled pāhoehoe flow from the Kīlauea, showing its characteristic ropey texture, captured in 2012 (imageBROKER / Alamy). Right: An ‘a‘ā flow from Kīlauea moves down Makamae Street in Leilani Estates, Hawaii on May 6, 2018.

A Handy Guide to Volcano Vocab

Laze, vog, lava bomb—we help you decipher what geologists are actually talking about

"We can’t separate human health from the health of the natural world,” says Sabrina Sholts, a physical anthropologist and organizer of the Smithsonian's new show, "Outbreak."

How Globalization Changed the Way We Fight Disease

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History explores the deadly past of global epidemics

How Ketchup Revolutionized How Food Is Grown, Processed and Regulated

The condiment really is the perfect complement to the American diet

The Startling Alternative Theory of How Humans Arrived in America

On an island off the east coast of Maryland, a stone spearpoint sticking out of a coastal cliff stuns archaeologists

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