Smithsonian Magazine

Most Insect Species Call the Tropics Home. But Climate Change Is Pushing Many of the Critters There to Their Heat Limits

A blue morpho butterfly, native to the tropical forests of Central and South America Derkarts via Wikimedia Commons under CC0 ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Thirty-Four Years Ago, a British Museum Staffer Stole 350 Prints in Broad Daylight. A New Book Chronicles the Thefts and Their Fallout

While seemingly unreported at the time, the pilfering was uncovered by historian Barnaby Phillips as part of his research for ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Why Has Punch, an Adorable Baby Monkey, Struggled to Fit in With His Troop? Scientists Explain the Lives of Japanese Macaques

Over the past few weeks, a baby macaque at Japan’s Ichikawa City Zoo named Punch has taken the internet by storm. Viral ...
Smithsonian Magazine

After Pearl Harbor, Americans Living in Japan Endured Imprisonment, Torture and a Lengthy Battle to Return Home

A new book chronicles the tense negotiations that secured the return of nearly 3,000 Allied civilians held by the Japanese ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Could Life on Earth Have Descended From Microbes That Traveled From Mars Long Ago?

Scientists demonstrated that an Earthly extremophile might withstand being ejected from the Red Planet on debris spewed into ...
Smithsonian Magazine

How Robert Rauschenberg’s Art Brought NASA Missions to Life

Smithsonian curator Carolyn Russo’s new book The Ascent of Rauschenberg explores the artist's fascination with flight ...
Smithsonian Magazine

See the New U.S. Postage Stamp Honoring the Bison, America’s National Mammal

The stamp features a modern image by Montana-based wildlife photographer Tom Murphy alongside a historic bison stamp design from 1923 ...
Smithsonian Magazine

These California Condors Might Be Tending to the Species’ First Egg in the State’s Northern Region in More Than a Century

Experts haven't confirmed the existence of an egg, but the nesting birds' behaviors suggest one was laid in early February ...
Smithsonian Magazine

These Clownfish Lose Their Baby Stripes in Response to Peer Pressure, New Research Suggests

Tomato clownfish perform a dramatic underwater wardrobe change based on the social dynamics of their environment ...
Smithsonian Magazine

In the World’s Best Place to See Wild Jaguars, Residents Are Using the Big Cat’s Appeal to Reach Conservation Goals

Brazil’s Pantanal region has the highest jaguar density on Earth, drawing camera-toting visitors to its riverbanks. Despite ...
Smithsonian Magazine

To Help Save Wildlife, Ecologists Learn AI Skills at the National Zoo’s Science Campus

In a unique class hosted at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, early-career ecologists learned to apply emerging ...
Smithsonian Magazine

You’ve Seen Jackson Pollock’s Dizzying Drip Paintings. But His Wife, Lee Krasner, Was Also a Major Player in the Abstract Expressionist Movement

Past Continuous," a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will examine the lives and careers of both artists, who ...