Articles

There's a dinosaur in every chicken.

New Research

Genetic Tweaks Are Revealing the Dinosaur Traits in Living Chickens

A Yale paleontologist is blending fossil studies and bird genes to trace the ways dinosaurs transformed into today's feathered flocks

The volcanic plume responsible for the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland has also brought up bits of Earth's ancient mantle from deep inside the planet.

New Research

Earth’s Water May Be as Old as the Earth Itself

Ancient volcanic rocks may have preserved tiny samples of the planet’s original moisture

Round Table

Why Does America Prize Creativity and Invention?

Our politics encourage it, there's a high tolerance of failure, and we idealize the lone inventor

Bees are not so picky when they stop for a snack.

New Research

Ancient Bees Were Voracious Snackers on Their Pollen-Gathering Treks

Fossils from Germany could help researchers better understand modern bee eating habits and better protect the beloved pollinators

Actor Bryan Cranston impulsively modeled the Heisenberg hat—now a museum artifact—while nervous curators looked on.

How Crystal Meth Made it Into the Smithsonian (Along with Walter White’s Porkpie Hat)

The wildly popular television show, depicting the dark side of the American Dream, reflects on the struggles of a recession-era middle class

American Ingenuity Awards

Meet Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Genius Behind "Hamilton," Broadway's Newest Hit

Composer, lyricist and performer, Miranda wows audiences and upends U.S. history with his dazzlingly fresh hip-hop musical

Doo Yeon Kim, left, and Rudolph Tanzi

American Ingenuity Awards

The Two Brains at the Forefront of the Fight Against Alzheimer's

Rudolph Tanzi and Doo Yeon Kim have invented a revolutionary new tool to study the mysteries of the disease and counter the coming epidemic of dementia

Theaster Gates' Chicago studio includes a formal gallery and a wood shop.

American Ingenuity Awards

How Theaster Gates Is Revitalizing Chicago's South Side, One Vacant Building at a Time

The artist's creative approach to bringing new life to a crumbling neighborhood offers hope for America's beleaguered cities

American Ingenuity Awards

Smile, Frown, Grimace and Grin — Your Facial Expression Is the Next Frontier in Big Data

Engineer Rana el Kaliouby is set to change the way we interact with our devices—and each other

American Ingenuity Awards

The Young Inventor Who Is a "Minder" of a Business of Her Own

At age 11, Lilianna Zyszkowski designed a new life-saving device to help people track their medication. That was just the beginning

American Ingenuity Awards

The New Yorker Editor Who Became a Comic Book Hero

The amazing tale of a determined art director who harnessed the powers of the greatest illustrators around the world to blow kids' minds

Bill Hader and Fred Armisen share a laugh at the Broadway Video offices in Beverly Hills, CA, surrounded by the tools of their trade for their new series, Documentary Now.

American Ingenuity Awards

Why Bill Hader and Fred Armisen Are Parodying Documentaries in Their Latest, Ingenious Project

The "SNL" veterans behind the sly new series "Documentary Now" add a layer of authenticity to the art of sending up nonfiction films

Left: Alan Stern holds a 2005 Hubble image of the Pluto system on January 19, 2006, two hours after the successful launch of the New Horizons probe. Right: A triumphant Stern holds a full-frame image of Pluto, taken just hours before the New Horizons probe reached its closest point to Pluto.

American Ingenuity Awards

How Alan Stern Brought Pluto to Earth

The scientist behind NASA's New Horizons mission gave cheering earthlings their first close-up view of the dwarf planet

American Ingenuity Awards

This Wildly Creative Art Project Transformed an Ugly Interstate Into a 2,400-Mile-Long Visual Masterpiece

Zoe Crosher and Shamim Momin are behind the effort to turn the classic American eyesore into true art

“The making of these trees was so much in that spirit—in terms of dodging the ease of digital and instead doing this all by hand,” says Grade.

The Renwick Reopens

This Artist Recreated a Magnificent 40-Foot-Tall Tree From the Cascade Mountains by Hand

Artist John Grade painstakingly built a 150-year-old giant hemlock out of half a million blocks of reclaimed wood

Document Deep Dive

How Anne Frank's Diary Changed the World

The most famous account of life during the Holocaust has been read by tens of millions of people

That cockroach has a nasty bite.

New Research

A Cockroach Can Bite With a Force 50 Times Its Body Weight

Adding to their supervillain-esque powers, roaches can gnaw through tough materials with surprisingly strong jaws

A poster for Schönbrunn Zoo.

Austria

The World's Oldest Zoo Is a Modern Attraction With a Storied Past

The Austrian destination has a lot more to offer than exotic animals

Holiday feasts can be celebratory but also sustainable with a few simple tweaks.

Age of Humans

How to Have the Most Sustainable Thanksgiving Ever

Traditions and turkey don't have to be incompatible with Earth-friendly practices

This composite image features Pluto and its largest moon Charon in enhanced color.

New Research

Sorry Pluto, You Still Aren’t a Planet

A new test for planetary status leaves the diminutive world and its dwarf planet kin out of the family portrait

Page 464 of 1275