Articles

A long-range autonomous underwater vehicle carrying an environmental sample processor cruises beneath the surface during field trials in Hawaii.

These Underwater Robots Offer a New Way to Sample Microbes From the Ocean

The health of forests of underwater plankton have a big impact on the environment, and oceanographers are just starting to understand it

Why Jaguar Uses Aerospace Aluminum to Build Its Cars

One big challenge facing Jaguar in its switch from steel to aluminum was how to utilize this lighter, less flexible alloy

The body-shaped sarcophagi of Karajía contained the remains of high-ranking Chachapoya ancestors.

New Research

When Genetics and Linguistics Challenge the Winners’ Version of History

New research shows that indigenous Peruvians were more resilient than the conquering Inca gave them credit for

Decisions made by engineers today will determine how all cars drive.

The Ethical Challenges Self-Driving Cars Will Face Every Day

The biggest ethical quandaries for self-driving cars arise in mundane situations, not when crashes are unavoidable

Ten Female Innovators to Watch In 2018

These inventors, startup founders and businesswomen have exciting things happening this year. Stay tuned!

"We hope to capture the way artists and the arts help us understand other causes, and how they give their time and talent to support them," says Amanda Moniz, the museum's curator of philanthropy.

These Signature Artifacts Embody the Giving Spirt of Artist-Philanthropists

From Misty Copeland to Lin-Manuel Miranda, a new Smithsonian display spotlights creators who have shaped communities

A whale with water gushing out of its blowhole would not be smiling. It would be drowning.

How Children's Books Reveal Our Evolving Relationship With Whales

Storybooks feature a fair amount of factual errors—and those errors can be revealing

Donald Sutherland stars as John Paul Getty.

The True Story of “Trust,” Yet Another Interpretation of the Getty Kidnapping

Writers of the FX program have a much different spin than the recent movie on the same subject matter

Did This Co-Pilot Willfully Crash Into the French Alps?

On the morning of March 24, 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525 sets off from Barcelona, on its way to Dusseldorf

This silk velvet ikat robe was made specifically for a woman, as evidenced by the pinched waist. Velvet ikats were considered top-of-the-line, the Freer|Sackler's Massumeh Farhad explains, because two rows of weft were needed instead of the usual one.

How the Technicolor Ikat Designs of Central Asia Thread Into Textile History

A new Smithsonian exhibition sheds light on the rich backstory of an oft-imitated tradition

Why We Should Test Heart Drugs On a 'Virtual Human' Instead of Animals

Thousands of animals are used for heart drug tests each year—but research shows that computer-simulated trials are more accurate

Researchers think nanowood has enormous potential as a green building material.

Future of Energy

Could 'Nanowood' Replace Styrofoam?

Scientists at the University of Maryland have developed a biodegradable material that is both strong and a good insulator

The wreckage of a Southern Airways DC-9 sits in the front yard of a home facing the road that the plane attempted an emergency landing on in New Hope, Ga., April 5, 1977. The pilot's attempt to save himself and his passengers occurred after the plane's engines failed during a heavy thunderstorm.

What Happened When a Southern Airways Flight 242 Crashed in Sadie Burkhalter’s Front Yard

Her home became a makeshift hospital when she looked out her front door to a fiery inferno

Runaway Slaves Built This Fort to Defend Their Freedom

An archaeological expedition into the wilderness of North Carolina uncovers evidence of a remarkable settlement once filled with runaway slaves

The "Time Team" glams it up, and Lucy's costume presents a Hollywood mystery.

'Timeless' Recapped

The Drama Intensifies When “Timeless” Visits “Hollywoodland”

A plot to steal ‘Citizen Kane’ and a visit from inventor Hedy Lamarr give the Time Team a taste of the movie industry’s golden age

American Farm Hand by Sandor Klein, 1937

How Portraiture Gave Rise to the Glamour of Guns

American portraiture with its visual allure and pictorial storytelling made gun ownership desirable

Jökulsárlón, Iceland

Climate Change Can Also Transform Language

As our world warms, warps and melts, metaphors of the past take on new meaning

Washington D.C. in Spring

Cherry Blossom Forecast Update: When Will Washington, D.C. Reach Peak Bloom?

This Texas Company Is Fighting Hollywood's Gender Inequality With Hard Data From Movie Scripts

StoryFit uses artificial intelligence to analyze film scripts for how characters are portrayed by gender

Zoo curator Bryan Amaral expects Spike will play nice with the other elephants. "For a bull elephant," he says, "Spike's a pretty amenable guy."

Meet Spike, the Affable Asian Bull Elephant Trucked Up From Florida to Join the National Zoo

With a new male elephant in the mix, zookeepers are hopeful babies will soon be on the way

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