Articles

Researchers can remotely detect buried land mines using a bacterial sensor and a laser-based scanning system.

How Glowing Soil Can Help Find Land Mines

Using genetically engineered bacteria and lasers, Israeli scientists have devised a unique way to detect buried explosives

Seahorses are valued for their use in traditional medicine.

The Secret Massacre of Millions of Seahorses

Millions of seahorses meet their doom each year as by-catch in a fisherman’s net. Less-charming fish may share the same fate

Sneak Peek: The Lost Tapes: LA Riots

On April 29, 1992, Los Angeles erupted into chaos after four white LAPD officers were acquitted for beating African-American motorist Rodney King

This Mysterious Albanian Island Is Reopening to Tourists This Summer

A former military base during the Cold War, this island is covered with abandoned bunkers and tunnels

“Bucky’ and its large leaves

Meet Stinky ‘Bucky,’ the Bulbophyllum Orchid that Shutdown a Smithsonian Greenhouse

Orchid expert Tom Mirenda says history records the stench of this plant as reminiscent of a thousand dead elephants rotting in the sun

Jonathan Coleman (center) and team show off a printed electronic label.

New Electronic Labels Could Alert You When Your Milk Spoils

New 2D printed electronics made of the nanomaterial graphene could be used in newspapers, self-updating price tags and more

Theodore Roosevelt regularly employed executive orders to achieve his political goals.

History of Now

The Debate Over Executive Orders Began With Teddy Roosevelt's Mad Passion for Conservation

Teddy used nearly 10 times as many executive orders as his predecessor. The repercussions are still felt today

The First Step to Shipping a Chopper? Remove the Blades

When a high-tech helicopter like the Sikorsky S-92 needs to be transported on a cargo plane, it's crucial that every rotor blade is dismantled

Five celebrated clowns from Sands, Nathans Co's Circus

Reports on the Death of the Circus Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Celebrating the arts, business, history and culture of the circus, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival brings 400 performers to the National Mall this summer

Elisabeth Moss dons the iconic red robe and white bonnet of the handmaid for the new series debuting April 26.

The U.S. Is Too Ornery for Totalitarianism, According to Margaret Atwood

The author of <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i> discusses the continued impact of the bleak 1985 novel, now being adapted into a series on Hulu

Sirocco, currently MIA, has helped millions connect with the island’s endangered wildlife.

Future of Conservation

Seduced By a Rare Parrot

What can conservationists learn from New Zealand’s official “spokesbird,” a YouTube celebrity who tries to mate with people’s heads?

Alexander Kerensky, as Minister of War, meets with other military officials.

World War I: 100 Years Later

In a Czar-less Russia, Winning Was Easy. Governing Was Harder.

Now without a sovereign, Russia’s provisional government sought to maintain peace at home while waging a world war

Fish leave bits of DNA behind that researchers can collect.

Scientists Can Tell What Fish Live Where Based On DNA in the Water

A new study of the Hudson River estuary tracked spring migration of ocean fish by collecting water samples

You can't sit with us. You smell like poo.

New Research

Gut Check: Mandrills Sniff Poop to Avoid Peers With Parasites

Researchers have documented one of the first instances of social avoidance in a non-human animal

Marking the centennial of the American patent system, participants gathered for a "Research Parade" in Washington, D.C., November 23, 1936.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

These 20th-Century Technologists Sure Knew How to Throw a Party

To mark the centennial of the American Patent System in 1936, a group of innovators gathered to throw a deliciously creative celebration

Wedding dresses make from locally-produced silk on display at the Suzhou Tiger Hill Wedding Market.

This Is the Wedding Dress Capital of the World

In Suzhou, China, step inside one of the world's largest silk factories and see where wedding dresses come from

What’s the Environmental Footprint of a T-Shirt?

In-depth life cycle analyses are teaching us more about the environmental costs of the things we wear

Anne Bonny and Mary Read are just two of the famous female pirates who pillaged their way to fame.

Women Who Shaped History

The Swashbuckling History of Women Pirates

When women roamed the high seas in search of fortune, freedom, and sometimes revenge

An artist's rendering of the new species Teleocrater rhadinus hunting a cynodont, a close relative of mammals.

New Research

Before There Were Dinosaurs, There Was This Weird Crocodile-Looking Thing

A new analysis of an ancient enigma offers clues as to how dino evolution unfolded

Ingenious leafcutter ants have developed a successful symbiotic relationship with the fungi they farm. New genetic analysis helps pinpoint when, and why.

New Research

How Ants Became the World’s Best Fungus Farmers

Ancient climate change may have spurred a revolution in ant agriculture, Smithsonian researchers find

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