smithsonianmag.com

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Employee of a Russian Anti-Plague Lab Dies of Pneumonia, Sparking Concerns Over the Disease Behind the Black Death. Here's What to Know

No official cause of her pneumonia has been confirmed, and Russian health officials say that none of the deceased individual's close contact

smithsonianmag.com 07.10.26 · 64👁

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Like a Mythical Phoenix, This Planet May Have Risen From the Ashes of a Dead Star

The “second-generation” world, predicted from telescope data, could be the first known planet of its kind, and it may shed light on the futu

smithsonianmag.com 07.10.26 · 58👁

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A Ship Carrying Stacks of Ancient Dishware Sank Off the Coast of Turkey 2,100 Years Ago. Its Ceramic Cargo Is Still Remarkably Intact

Researchers believe that the vessel's plates and bowls were made in the ancient city of Rhosus, once praised by Roman statesman Cicero for i

smithsonianmag.com 07.10.26 · 103👁

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What Are Medieval English Coins Doing in Rome? They Could Be Rare Evidence of a 'Little England' Enclave That Received Special Papal Privileges

Researchers argue that the tenth-century coins provide new evidence of a bustling English community located next to the Vatican that was per

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 74👁

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Physicist Wins Nobel Prize for Developing a Massive, Ice-Embedded Observatory That Detects Ghostly Cosmic Particles

Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison led the effort to build the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica. His work birth

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 71👁

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This Lollipop Could Help Blind Women Independently Detect Pregnancy

Design student Sneha Rao is developing Tact, an edible pregnancy test that allows people with vision impairment to feel its results on their

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 67👁

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This Brain Implant Allows People With Paralysis to Speak and Gesture at the Same Time Via a Mind-Controlled Virtual Avatar

The experimental technology is still in the early stage and was fully tested in just two participants. But it could one day help people with

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 65👁

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New Research Shows That These Ancient Egyptian Servants May Have Been Brutally Sacrificed and Buried Alongside Their Pharaohs

Forensic research has identified deliberate and fatal wounds on skulls from simple grave sites near First Dynasty royal tombs in Upper Egypt

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 56👁

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A Diver Volunteered to Clean Up Trash From a Wisconsin Lake. He Discovered a 1,000-Year-Old Dugout Canoe at the Bottom Instead

Indigenous communities near present-day Milwaukee hand-carved the white-oak vessel before shaping it with fire between roughly 992 and 1049

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 110👁

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Could 2026 Be a Year With No Atlantic Hurricanes? We've Surprisingly Passed Their Peak Month Without Any, Thanks to the El Niño

Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, and the last time one passed by without an intense cyclone was more than 100 year

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 61👁

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These Soldiers Were Buried in an Unmarked Grave During the Revolutionary War. Now, Historians Finally Know Their Names

At a recent memorial ceremony, officials honored 28 Continental soldiers and at least 38 British soldiers who were buried in Wilmington, Del

smithsonianmag.com 06.10.26 · 60👁

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Trio of Scientists Wins Medicine Nobel for a Method to Turn Nerve Cells On and Off With Light, Helping to Unravel the Brain's Mysteries

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel received the 2026 award for their contributions to a revolutionary technique in neuroscience

smithsonianmag.com 05.10.26 · 76👁

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A New Exhibition Reveals How Hot Pink Togas and Floral Perfumes Conveyed Power in the Roman Empire

The show in Copenhagen explores the relationship between fashion and influence in ancient Rome

smithsonianmag.com 05.10.26 · 80👁

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These Five Birds Have Disappeared Forever. Their History Offers a Valuable Lesson for the Future

In an exhibition celebrating the natural history of the United States, a small group of taxidermy birds stands as a reminder of loss—and a s

smithsonianmag.com 05.10.26 · 74👁

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Remarkable Fossil of a Feathered, Winged Dinosaur Further Hints That Flight Evolved Multiple Times Among the 'Terrible Lizards'

The fossil belonged to a category of dinosaurs called microraptors, which were bird-like but not ancestors of modern-day avians. A new study

smithsonianmag.com 05.10.26 · 70👁

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See the Impressive Winning Images of Adorable, Somber and Commanding Canines From the 2026 Dog Photography Awards

Posing pit bulls, stoic galgos and frisbee-chasing Aussies feature among the annual competition’s prize winners

smithsonianmag.com 05.10.26 · 59👁

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The Roman City of Claudivium Disappeared From Historical Records Almost 2,000 Years Ago. It May Have Been Hiding in Austria

Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown settlement on the banks of the Danube River

smithsonianmag.com 05.10.26 · 66👁

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Soldiers Sweeping for Land Mines in South Korea Have Unearthed the Country’s Oldest Gun, a 600-Year-Old Inscribed Bronze Tube

The artifact was found in 2023 during a metal detecting survey. Experts have been analyzing it since and recently confirmed its authenticity

smithsonianmag.com 05.10.26 · 59👁

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Google Wants to Send Data Centers to Space—and Just Launched an Experimental Satellite to Test Whether Its Ambitious Plan Will Work

The tech giant aims to use the near-constant sunlight available in low-Earth orbit to power data centers. The experimental satellite, launch

smithsonianmag.com 02.10.26 · 163👁

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Ancient Pottery Reveals the Earliest Known Traces of Chocolate East of the Mississippi, Painting a Picture of Connection in the Americas

A new archaeological discovery suggests that people in present-day Georgia have feasted with cacao for 1,000 years

smithsonianmag.com 02.10.26 · 96👁

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Dozens of Curious Artworks Created With Woven Strands of Human Hair Come to New York’s Morbid Anatomy Library

So-called hairworks were popularized during the Victorian era as a means of grieving the deceased

smithsonianmag.com 02.10.26 · 75👁

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These 15 Adorable Photos of Pandas Will Make You Want to Visit the Zoo Immediately

Members of the fluffy and adorable but vulnerable species are often cared for in zoos and breeding centers around the world, and these snaps

smithsonianmag.com 02.10.26 · 71👁

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These Wild Lemurs Sing Just Like Opera Stars, Widening Their Mouths as They Hit the High Notes, Study Suggests

Scientists suspect this musical trait arose independently in humans and indris, which split from a common ancestor some 74 million years ago

smithsonianmag.com 02.10.26 · 76👁

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Scientists Discover Two New Species of Sea Spider in the Pacific Northwest—and They Look Like They Came Straight Out of a Horror Movie

You don't need to worry about the critters coming after you, since they're only a fraction of an inch across. They join the roughly 1,400 kn

smithsonianmag.com 02.10.26 · 92👁