Articles

Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors original label featured a topless cowgirl (left) who got a fringed bolero in 1963.

As a Matter of Fact: Jockeys, Tartans and Cowboy Glam

The real stories behind some fashion fads and classics hold some surprising twists

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Patient, Heal Thyself

Cutting-edge research in regenerative medicine suggests that the future of health care may lie in getting the body to grow new parts and heal itself.

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The Fall of Domino Dinosaurs

A delicately-balanced domino setup replays the end of the Age of Dinosaurs

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Sinfully Delicious Apples That You Should Never Try to Eat

Inspired by the work of Cornell scientists, Los Angeles-based Jessica Rath creates sculptures and photographs of the autumn fruit

New research indicates that the influenza virus can jump from humans to pet animals, raising the possibility of dangerous mutations.

Can You Give the Flu To Your Dog or Cat?

New research indicates that the influenza virus can jump from humans to pet animals, raising the possibility of dangerous mutations

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The Moment of Clarity

Some good news and some bad news from the Puzzle Master

British Architects Plan to Build a House Entirely From Waste

England will soon begin construction on its first building built entirely from waste

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Ask Smithsonian 2017

What (or Who) Caused the Great Chicago Fire?

The true story behind the myth of Mrs. O'Leary and her cow

A black mamba strikes

Black Mamba Venom Beats Morphine as a Painkiller

Black mambas' toxicity turns out to have applications other than rodent-killing

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Predictions From The Father of Science Fiction

Hugo Gernsback's predictions give us a look at the most radical of technological utopianism from the 1920s

A headless Haplocanthosaurus, laid out at the Utah Field House of Natural History.

Haplocanthosaurus–A Morrison Mystery

Without a skull, determining the dinosaur's relationships is difficult

Tungsten carbide drill bits will grind through miles of ultra-hard igneous seafloor rock in hopes of reaching the mantle.

New Project Aims to Drill to the Earth’s Mantle, 3.7 Miles Down

Scientists aim to reach the mantle and bring back rock samples for the first time in human history

Mrs. Judo tells the story of the living legend, Keiko Fukuda.

Events October 5-7: Mrs. Judo, Staring at the Sun and Chamber Society Music

This weekend, a 99-year old judo legend, a scientist who studies the sun and a season-opener with the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society.

Skull fragments from a 2-year-old child (exterior view, top left; interior view, top right) that died 1.5 million years ago contain evidence of anemia. The blood disorder can lead to very porous bone (bottom left, right).

Fossils Reveal Earliest Known Case of Anemia in Hominids

2-year-old child that lived 1.5 million years ago suffered from the blood disorder, which may suggest that hominids by this time were regularly eating meat

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Revisiting Epcot Center on its 30th Birthday

Has the Disney theme park outlived its purpose as a monument to science and technology?

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The Trail Continues!

Here are a few (non-spoiler!) answers to questions we've received from a bunch of solvers

Amazing Photographs of Water Droplets Colliding

See the results of 98-year-old Irving Olson's kitchen experiments

Thomas the T. rex, a lovely reconstruction at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

Long Live the King

Paleontologists have named scores of dinosaurs, but why is T. rex our favorite?

Plastic debris and particles are now turning up in the ocean waters surrounding Antarctica.

High Levels of Plastic and Debris Found in Waters off of Antarctica

In the world's most remote ocean waters, researchers discovered unexpectedly high levels of plastic pollution

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Snakes: The Good, the Bad and the Deadly

With venom so potent it can kill a person in 30 minutes, the black mamba is a snake to avoid—while others are worth learning about before you cast judgment

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