Articles

Age of Humans

The Age of Humans: Living in the Anthropocene

A special look at the ways humans are transforming the planet and the projects that may shape a more sustainable future

Will Catalan Elections Allow an Old Nation to Become a New State In Europe?

Catalonians have long asserted they are not part of Spain, now the historical question of independence is on the ballot

A Guide to Buying Ethical Coffee

How to make sense of the beans that promote sustainable agriculture and humane worker rights

Jaundice is usually treated with short-wave blue light.

The Innovative Spirit

These Plastic Canopies Could Save Thousands of Babies

Researchers have developed sunlight-filtering canopies as a low-tech treatment for jaundice in newborns

Pope Francis addresses a joint session of Congress, the first leader of the Catholic Church ever to do so, in Washington, D.C. on September 24, 2015.

Age of Humans

Pope Francis Is Just the Latest to Bridge the Gap Between Religion and Culture

A Smithsonian curator offers a primer to the complex role of the world’s religions in meeting the challenges of global climate change

An aerial view of Jamestown, St. Helena's capital.

It Just Got Easier to Visit the Place Where Napoleon Was Exiled (the Second Time)

Remote, rugged, finally accessible — St. Helena will soon have its first-ever airport

The implant has a sternum and four ribs.

The Innovative Spirit

We Can Now 3D Print Ribs

The first-ever 3D printed titanium chest implant was a success

Mayapple plant

Innovative Spirit Health Care

Scientists Manipulate Common Plants to Produce Cancer Drugs

Stanford researchers have figured out how to transfer a rare plant's chemical "assembly line" into a cheap, common lab plant

Queen bumblebee, Bombus balteatus, foraging for nectar on the alpine wildflower Polemonium viscosum.

New Research

Bee Tongues Are Getting Shorter as Temperatures Warm

In Colorado, alpine bumblebee tongues are shrinking in response to shifting wildflower populations

The Innovative Spirit

Six Ways Schools Are Using Neuroscience to Help Kids Learn

Schools around the world are incorporating neuroscience research into the school day, to help kids with dyslexia and to teach complex math skills

Can you resist the temptation of a midnight snack?

New Research

Americans Are Eating Later, and That May Contribute to Weight Troubles

Our bodies didn't evolve to handle midnight pizzas

The Innovative Spirit

The Smithsonian Spotlights American Invention at This Weekend’s Innovation Festival

Universities, federal agencies, companies and independent inventors will give visitors a glimpse of the future

South Dakota’s Buffalo Roundup Is Pure Americana Spectacle

Watch wranglers bring in a free-roaming herd of 1,300 bison. Just be sure to get out of the way.

What gives your local Chardonnay that je ne sais quoi? It just might be the regional microbes.

New Research

Wine Gets Some of Its Unique Flavors From Regional Microbes

Small genetic differences in a single species of yeast produce distinct mixes of chemicals that contribute to terroir

"What About Grandma"

Awkward Family Photos Is Playing in Peoria

Like a long family road trip, the hilarious exhibition of awkward photos featuring kith and kin makes a stop in Illinois

The History of the Bar Code

Inventor Joe Woodland drew the first bar code in sand in Miami Beach, decades before technology could bring his vision to life

Nine American Airports for Art Lovers

Your layover just got better

None

The Innovative Spirit

This Interactive Installation Rains a Poem Down on Viewers

Artists Camille Utterback and Romy Achituv wrote the software that drives an artwork, in which onlookers catch letters falling on a large screen

So far, nine states have tried to pass laws that encourage a "teach the controversy" approach to climate change.

Age of Humans

See Where Climate Science Conflict Has Invaded U.S. Classrooms

Conservative politicians are introducing bills that promote teaching climate science as controversial

A statue of Junipero Serra, Catholicism's newest saint, stands in front of San Gabriel Arcángel, the California mission he founded in 1771.

Why Are Native Groups Protesting Catholicism's Newest Saint?

Nearly 250 years after Junipero Serra founded California's first missions, questions linger about his legacy

Page 480 of 1280