Smithsonian Magazine

In Japan, a New Steward for 1,200 Years of Cherry Blossom Data Has Been Found, Sustaining a Climate Change Research Project

Climate scientist Yasuyuki Aono, who died last summer, learned to read ancient Japanese script to compile records on peak ...
Smithsonian Magazine

A Mars Rover Found Building Blocks of Life Never Seen on the Red Planet Before, Boosting the Case for Ancient Habitability

The organic molecules discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover could have been formed by life, but they could have also come from ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Artist Matt Mullican to Present Lecture “Mirrors and Melted Telephones” on April 27

Matt Mullican courtesy Capitain Petzel . On Monday April 27th, the Archives of American Art is pleased to present the 2026 ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Gibraltar’s Famous Monkeys Are Eating Dirt, Likely to Alleviate Stomach Aches From Munching on Tourists’ Junk Food

The British territory's Barbary macaques are the only wild monkeys in Europe. But many are consuming human snacks high in ...
Smithsonian Magazine

150-Year-Old Frogs Collected by a Founding Smithsonian Naturalist Helped 21st-Century Scientists Track How Pesticides Devastated Amphibian Populations in Illinois

In celebration of the upcoming Save the Frogs Day, learn how scientists used historic cricket frogs to connect ...
Smithsonian Magazine

A Rare ‘Cloud Jaguar’ Was Spotted in Honduran Mountains for the First Time in a Decade, Representing a Win for Conservationists

The big cats are rarely seen at high elevations, so the sighting suggests that efforts to protect a wildlife corridor in the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Cocaine Pollution Seems to Make Salmon Swim Faster and Farther Than Usual. Scientists Don’t Know the Long-Term Consequences

The illegal drug’s main byproduct, benzoylecgonine, caused more robust effects than cocaine itself. Wastewater treatment ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Experience the Genius and Artistry of Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

Mound City, lying just across the Scioto River from Hopeton, is the finest surviving necropolis, or burial complex, of the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Camera Traps Reveal Iberian Lynxes Soaking Their Prey, a First-Ever Discovery Among Carnivores

Scientists speculate that the wild cats are trying to improve hydration or ease their cubs’ transition to solid food. The ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Connected Forests Favor More Diverse, Disease-Preventing Microbes

New research shows that forest connecting different types of habitats may help frogs fight a deadly amphibian fungus ...
Smithsonian Magazine

A Couple From Mexico Became Soft Taco Pioneers in Los Angeles 50 Years Ago. Now, Their Restaurant Is a Landmark

Raúl and Lupe Martinez opened King Taco and served up soft corn tortillas like they remembered from home. The rest is—now ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Can a Japanese Spacecraft Unlock the Mystery of Mars’ Twin Moons?

The Mars Moons eXploration spacecraft will fire its thrusters to maneuver into orbit around Mars (depicted in this digital ...