Smithsonian Magazine

The Mere Presence of Humans—Not Just Our Changes to the Land—Can Alter Wild Animals’ Behaviors, a New Study Suggests

Researchers examined GPS tracking data from thousands of animals representing 37 species and anonymized cellphone location ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Brazil Lost 80 Percent of Its National Museum Collection in One Night. Here’s How It’s Fighting to Rebuild

Ever since a 2018 blaze destroyed priceless artifacts and scientifically important specimens, museum staff have devoted ...
Smithsonian Magazine

To Mark America’s 250th Birthday, See the Country’s ‘Most Endangered Historic Places’ You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

From a Revolutionary War battlefield to a civil rights-era safe haven, these historic sites are at risk, according to the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Melting Mountain Ice Is Bringing Ancient Secrets to the Surface. Archaeologists Are Racing to Find the Artifacts Before They’re Lost to Time

In Norway’s highest mountains, experts are scouring perilous terrain for pieces of the past, long stored in mint condition in ...
Smithsonian Magazine

8 Fascinating Facts About the Whooping Crane, the Tallest Bird in North America

Tall, graceful, and among the rarest birds on earth. Here are eight things you probably didn't know about this awe-inspiring ...
Smithsonian Magazine

This Jewish Community in the Caribbean Smuggled Gunpowder to the Patriots During the Revolution. A British Admiral Condemned the Island as a ‘Nest of Vipers’

A new exhibition at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, in Philadelphia, spotlights the little-known ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Belugas Can Recognize Themselves in Mirrors, Joining a Short List of Nonhuman Species That Show Signs of Self-Awareness

The researchers hope that this new understanding of cognition in the toothed whales will increase human empathy and concern ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing Killed Four Young Black Girls. But They Weren’t the Only Victims of Racial Violence in the City That Day

Hours after the attack, a police officer shot 16-year-old Johnny Robinson in the back. Then, a white teenager mortally ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Ancient Egyptian Engineering Choices Helped the Great Pyramid of Giza Survive Earthquakes, New Research Finds

Researchers measured vibrations inside and around the pyramid to learn that the structure is surprisingly resilient against ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Gentoo Penguins Are Actually Four Different Species, Scientists Say, Revealing They’re Not Quite ‘Winners’ of Climate Change After All

A new study indicates that the adaptable birds evolved into distinct lineages as isolated populations shifted to match their ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Why Is Nearly Every Person Right-Handed—but Not Every Ape and Monkey? New Research Explores the Evolutionary Origins of Human Handedness

Brain size and bipedalism are the most likely drivers of our species’ right-hand dominance, according to new research ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Neanderthals Got Cavities, Too—and New Research Suggests They Drilled Into Their Teeth to Treat Them, Just Like Modern Dentists

Researchers unearthed a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar that shows signs of dental surgery, a discovery that pushes back ...