#SmithsonianmagArticles

According to Peruvian officials, the three European travelers—including one who's been identified as a "renowned tarantula researcher"—could have made around $1.68 million from the creepy-crawly loot

Painted around 1520, the newly identified painting is one of only three pure landscapes painted in oil by the artist. It depicts a lush forest scene with castle ruins and a rainbow emerging from stormy skies

The medications seem to act on the brain’s reward circuitry and help regulate inflammation, which is why they might have so many positive effects.…

An intense selection process and long preparation helped set the crew up for cohabitation in a 3D-printed replication of the Red Planet's environment in Houston.…

New research suggests that medium-sized birds of prey such as short-eared owls feasted on the frogs during a "short, intensive predation event" some 1,700 years ago

Scientists call the events permafrost detachment slides. Instead of thawing from the top down, these landslides seem to originate from a weakened base

Long thought to have been looted from northern England by Scottish tribes, the larger-than-life leg may have actually been displayed in Roman Scotland, before it was carefully dismantled and buried by retreating forces

A new exhibition at the Washington, D.C. gallery celebrates half a century of collecting through portraits spanning the history of photography. Featured figures include President Abraham Lincoln, journalist Ida B. Wells and inventor Thomas Edison

Computer simulations suggest comets carrying a key precursor to many of life's building blocks would have rarely—if ever—successfully reached Earth's surface.…

The dwarf planet candidate, called ED138, appeared in telescope images and takes roughly 280 years to orbit the sun. Astronomers need to determine its size to properly classify it

The small decrease seems to stem partially from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major global chokepoint for oil transportation. Scientists say that the decline will not last without the accelerated deployment of renewable energies

Legal gambling and the construction of the Hoover Dam conjured up an entertainment capital that constantly reinvents itself

A metal detectorist recovered the brass artifact from the wreck of the "Ann Francis," a merchant vessel that sank off southern Wales. Researchers used micro-CT scans to identify the four-letter combination

The 1,000-foot ship, longer than the "Titanic," once carried celebrities and politicians across the Atlantic in midcentury style. Now, after decades of uncertainty and rust, it's taking on a second life as an underwater refuge for marine creatures and…

Most dengue infections cause mild flu-like symptoms or no symptoms at all. But at least one person has died from this year’s outbreak in Florida, where health experts worry the disease will become more common in the future

Recently obtained by the Library of Congress, the 1760 letter offers positive news about the health of four-year-old Martha Parke Custis, known as Patsy, the stepdaughter of George Washington

First shattered during the Reformation, the 15th-century stained glass is rife with religious imagery, comical animal scenes and even portraits of the original donors who funded its construction

A new study reveals the step-by-step process some octopuses use to cram themselves into tight openings. The findings could inspire new designs for soft robots used during search-and-rescue missions

Across seven yellow notepad pages, King is seen wrestling with word choice and revising his remarks the night before the March on Washington. The manuscript will head to auction in January and is expected to pull in more than $10 million

Testing of ancient sediment from two lakes in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula has revealed "crazy" high concentrations of mercury, as one researcher puts it, confirming findings from other regions of the Mesoamerican civilization