Articles

Scientists studying the bones of the Hawaiian petrel, which flies great distances over the north Pacific Ocean to feed, are collecting an invaluable long-term story dating from thousands of years ago.

Bones of the Hawaiian Petrel Open Up a Window Into the Birds' Changing Diet

Industrial fishing may play a role in the shift

Why Jesus's Miracles Seemed Apocalyptic to the Gospel Writers

Jesus gained renown as a preacher of a particularly apocalyptic form of Judaism. This was further strengthened by his ability to perform miracles

The Fears That Fueled an Ancient Border Wall

When Hadrian built a mighty wall in his most remote territory, he got more than he bargained for

Ujala Baoli, Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. Late 15th/Early 16th century. Location: 22°21’29.87’’ N, 75°23’45.36’’ E.

Photos Capture India's Ancient, Vanishing Stepwells

These intricate architectural marvels are in danger of disappearing

Child coal miners with mules in Gary, West Virginia in 1908. Working conditions were brutal for coal miners, and unionization was violently suppressed.

History of Now

The Coal Mining Massacre America Forgot

The mountains of southern West Virginia are riddled with coal—and bullets

Hemingway led a life of adventure and, sometimes, violence. The author is shown here holding a tommy gun aboard the Pilar in 1935.

Multiple Concussions May Have Sped Hemingway's Demise, a Psychiatrist Argues

The troubled author may have suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the disease that plagues modern football players

A NASA Valkyrie robot picks up an item with its hand.

Making Robots That Can Work With Their Hands

For robots to be most useful when working alongside humans, they'll have to literally lend us a hand when our own two are not enough

Submerged Beach, 1400 Fathoms, Else Bostelmann, Bermuda, 1931. Watercolor on paper, 11 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.

Art Meets Science

In the Early 20th Century, the Department of Tropical Research Was Full of Glamorous Adventure

A new exhibition features 60 works by artists the New York Zoological Society department hired to help communicate field biology

Every cupful of pond water is swirling with DNA sequences. Now, scientists are putting them to work to solve stubborn conservation mysteries.

Future of Conservation

How Scientists Use Teeny Bits of Leftover DNA to Solve Wildlife Mysteries

Environmental DNA helps biologists track rare, elusive species. It could usher in a revolution for conservation biology

Why We Need To Start Listening To Insects

You may not think of the buzz and whine of insects as musical, but the distinctive pitch of mosquito wingbeats could tell us how to fight malaria

Stragglers—French Wounded in the Retreat of Chateau-Thierry by Claggett Wilson, ca. 1919

World War I: 100 Years Later

After Nearly a Century in Storage, These World War I Artworks Still Deliver the Vivid Shock of War

Pulled from the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Claggett Wilson's watercolors are in a traveling show

Dismantling a Huge Howitzer for a Precarious Move

This 200-ton howitzer artillery gun is too heavy to transport in one piece. The answer is to split it in two

A group of women in traditional dress stand beside a Thomas Cook boat on the Nile in 1904.

How an Alcohol-Hating English Preacher Founded Global Tourism

Thomas Cook's tours set the stage for today's tourism industry

Saturn and its rings backlit by the sun, which is blocked by the planet in this view. Encircling the planet and inner rings is the much more extended E-ring.

Bye Bye Cassini, the Tenacious Space Probe That Revealed Saturn’s Secrets

For two decades, the sophisticated probe has brought us insights into space weather and water on distant worlds

On the Wire, by Harvey Thomas Dunn (oil on canvas, 1918)

When Artists Became Soldiers and Soldiers Became Artists

A rare opportunity to see works by the American Expeditionary Force's World War I illustration corps, and newly found underground soldier carvings

Comedy in Ancient Rome could be a matter of life and death.

When Actors Mixed Politics and Comedy in Ancient Rome

Laughter was one way to challenge authority, but it could also mean risking your life

Last year's winner in the World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition's Decorative Lifesize Wildfowl category, "Livingstone's Turaco" by Thomas Horn.

Where Duck Decoys Became High Art

See more than 1,200 of these bobbing bits of history at the upcoming world championship

Did Judas Actually Betray Jesus to Force a Rebellion?

There are numerous theories, from money to the intriguing idea that Judas may have actually been an overzealous believer anxious to provoke a confrontation

A sea otter floats in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.

Future of Conservation

The Remarkable Return of Sea Otters to Glacier Bay

Rarely do apex predators recover from human oppression. These otters are an exception

The lush, rugged landscape of Japan's island of Hokkaido is a major draw for amateur photographers—but do Flickr photos really represent the most important conservation sites?

Future of Conservation

Is #Hashtagging Your Environment on Instagram Enough to Save It?

Location-based data might help pinpoint key ecosystems—or make conservation a popularity contest

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