Smart News

The "Fashionista" line now boasts 176 dolls with nine body types, 35 skin tones and 94 hairstyles.

Meet the New Wave of More 'Diverse' Barbie Dolls

The additions include dolls with no hair, prosthetic limbs and vitiligo

Among the artifacts believed to be lost are letters written by Chinese immigrants, photographs of Chinatown and an 1883 document on the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Fire at Museum of Chinese in America Caused Less Damage Than Initially Feared

Around 200 boxes recovered from the building have been deemed "very much salvageable," but they represent only a "fraction" of the museum's collection

This deer mouse certainly looks pretty stressed and scared.

When Stressed Out, Mice’s Fur Turns Gray Quickly

A new study gives scientific backing to an old adage—and suggests that stress might affect the human body in dramatic ways

The Cape coral snake is a venomous species that lives in arid regions of southern Africa.

New Research

The Future of Antivenom May Involve Mini Lab-Grown Snake Glands

The antiquated technique used to produce antivenom requires injecting venom into horses and this new method may someday remove that step from the process

A new type of aurora, called auroral dunes, produces horizontal, undulating stripes of green that resemble mounds of sand on a beach.

A New Type of Aurora Ripples Across the Sky in Horizontal Green ‘Dunes’

Originally observed by citizen scientists, the unusual light show might help researchers better understand a poorly studied layer of the atmosphere

Historic records and biometric analysis suggest the man seen front row center in this 1943 image of Sobibor camp guards is John Demjanjuk.

Newly Released Photos May Place the 'Devil Next Door' at Sobibor Death Camp

This is the latest chapter in the long, complex saga of John Demjanjuk, who was accused of participating in Nazi war crimes

This concretion, recovered from the Hoi An shipwreck, alludes to the fate of artifacts left underwater.

Who Owns the Art Recovered From Shipwrecks?

A thought-provoking exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco draws on artifacts from two centuries-old shipwrecks

Image from Rebel Lives: Photographs From Inside the Lord's Resistance Army by Kristof Titeca

How a Notorious Ugandan Rebel Group Used Everyday Snapshots as Propaganda

A new exhibition explores the underlying agenda of seemingly mundane photographs taken by members of the Lord's Resistance Army

The mesmerizing rainbow sheen of jewel beetles Sternocera aequisignata might help camouflage them from predators.

Glitzy Beetles Use Their Sparkle for Camouflage

A new study suggests eye-catching iridescence isn't just for standing out in a crowd—it can conceal, too

Chagyrskaya Cave in Siberia's Altai Mountains, where researchers uncovered Neanderthal stone blades that resemble tools excavated in Europe

Neanderthals May Have Trekked 2,000 Miles to Siberia

A new tool analysis suggests European Neanderthals migrated east at least twice

Asiatic cheetahs—like this one photographed in Iran—haven't had a stable population in India in decades. Now, the government has clearance to introduce African cheetahs into several wildlife ranges in the Indian subcontinent.

After Decades-Long Battle, Cheetahs Can Be Reintroduced in India

Officials will now move forward with an experimental—and controversial—plan

People walk past closed entrance of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Forbidden City and Parts of Great Wall Close Temporarily in China to Limit Spread of Coronavirus

Authorities are trying to reduce the number of big crowds as China celebrates the Lunar New Year

Jacob Lawrence, . . .again the rebels rushed furiously on our men. — a Hessian soldier, Panel 8, 1954, from Struggle: From the History of the American People, 1954-56

How Jacob Lawrence Painted a Radical History of the American Struggle

The Peabody Essex Museum is reuniting a series of paintings that explore the hidden stories of the nation's formative years

A researcher holds a platypus for a Melbourne Water study conducted in 2017.

Australia's Droughts and Fires Present New Dangers to the Platypus

Threats to the semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammals demand action, experts say

The cesspit under the Somerset House is nearly 15 feet deep and contained almost 100 artifacts.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Trove of Medieval Artifacts in London Cesspit

The precursor to the toilet was probably an easy place to throw away—or lose—small objects

Félicette, a former stray who was sent into space by French researchers in 1963, now has a bronze statue in her honor at France's International Space University.

Félicette, the First Cat in Space, Finally Gets a Memorial

Last month, a team unveiled a bronze statue honoring the feline, who launched on a suborbital mission in 1963

Luca Parmitano and Christina Koch with milk and a cookie.

The First Cookies Baked in Space Have Returned to Earth

They took up to 130 minutes to bake, but the cookies could help scientists make future space missions a little more palatable

The remains of Takabuti, a young woman who was murdered in the 7th century B.C. in Egypt

This 2,600-Year-Old Mummy Died in a Violent Backstabbing

Researchers concluded she was murdered by someone who forced a blade into her chest from behind

Witch bottles, or talismans designed to ward off evil spirits, were more commonly employed across the pond in the United Kingdom.

Cool Finds

Suspected 'Witch Bottle' Full of Nails Found in Virginia

Archaeologists unearthed the blue glass bottle near the hearth of a small fort used during the Civil War

Following the news of the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, this 2007 portrait by Rick Chapman is now on view at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Trending Today

Smithsonian Historians Reflect on Kobe Bryant's Legacy as His Portrait Goes on View

A 2007 photograph of the N.B.A. All-Star offers visitors a chance to pay their respects

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