The naked stone is on exhibit at the Natural History museum through next spring

Honeybees get a caffeine buzz and memory boost when they drink coffee nectar

Fly through, and over, ancient Rome's winding streets, broad plazas, forums—even its most famous monuments

Reclining and dining in the ancient classical world

The facts of Sojourner Truth’s life are inspiring: Born into slavery in the late 1790s, she became an influential abolitionist and Pentecostal preacher, transfixing audiences from the mid 1840s through the late 1870s with her candid and powerful voice, not to mention her singing. Tall and strong, Truth was physically formidable, too. No one was using the term “intersectionality” in the 19th century, but Truth embodied this idea, declaring that her Blackness and her womanhood were equally essential facets of her identity. But many people, both in Truth’s lifetime and in the approximately 140 years since her death, have found it useful to recast Truth as they wish to remember her instead of as she was. There’s no better example of this than “Ain’t I a woman?,” the hypothetical that Truth supposedly put to the audience when she addressed a women’s rights convention in 1851 in Akron, Ohio—the city where a public plaza will be dedicated in her honor this spring. There’s reason to doubt she said that, or at least that she said it in that way. In this episode, we speak with two historians who’ve dug into Truth’s complicated legacy and challenged much of what’s been written about this American icon. Cynthia Greenlee reported on recent efforts to honor Truth (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/remarkable-untold-story-sojourner-truth-180983691/) for the March 2024 issue of Smithsonian. Nell Irvin Painter wrote the groundbreaking 1996 biography Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol, and she’s hard at work on a follow-up volume titled Sojourner Truth Was a New Yorker and She Didn’t Say That. Together, Greenlee and Painter help us understand us who Sojourner Truth really was, and why several generations of activists have claimed her as a symbol — at the expense of our understanding of her as a person. Read Cynthia Greenlee’s March 2024 Smithsonian story about Sojourner Truth here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/remarkable-untold-story-sojourner-truth-180983691/) . You can learn more about Dr. Greenlee and her work at her site (https://www.cynthiagreenlee.com/) . You can learn more about Dr. Nell Irvin Painter’s work as an author, artist, and historian at her site (http://www.nellpainter.com/) . And read more here for the history of Mar-a-Lago (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-mar-a-lago-180965214/) mentioned in our dinner party fact. Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.

Henry Ford spent the majority of the war as a pacifist. By 1917, however, his state-of-the-art assembly line was churning out vital engine parts to feed the war machine.

Daring anglers hook sharks from the cabin of a huge airship in Fisher Island

Smithsonian staff writer Abigail Tucker came across imperiled zebras, dusty savannahs and perilous roads while researching the Tanzanian lions. Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Truth-About-Lions.html

During World War II, Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps used scraps and found materials to create beautiful works of art.

The legendary Stan Lee, creator of the Avengers, Spiderman and Iron Man, has partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to launch the first global online course about superheroes to fans around the world. Taught by "The Dark Knight" producer Michael Uslan, students will go into the vaults of the Smithsonian collection and hear from industry experts. Register now (http://bit.ly/1DsdJ3W) and beginning May 5, 2015, you can become a certified expert on superheroes. Sign up for the verified certificate to earn an original piece of artwork from top artist Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman, New X-Men) with Phil's, Stan Lee’s, and Michael Uslan’s signatures.

Experts have confirmed that the image of "Knight, Death and the Devil" is a real master engraving by the renowned German artist Albrecht Dürer

A new paper analyzes three decades of fatalities around the world and predicts how "superbugs" will affect human health in the future

The annual contest unveiled its winners, highlighting avian photos that focus on conservation issues, the beauty of birds and their sometimes hilarious behavior

Researchers analyzed tiny fossils embedded in the limestone to determine the age and origins of the grave maker, which marked the final resting place of a prominent Jamestown colonist

Researchers studying the ancient site of Fregellae reveal the consequences of challenging the Roman army

The newly restored "Charing Cross Bridge," which once hung in the politician's drawing room, is now on display at London's Courtauld Gallery

A man is expected to plead guilty for trafficking the print, which reappeared at a Dallas auction house shortly after it went missing from a California residence

No one was injured in the blast, and authorities are investigating why the ordnance detonated after so many years underground

During the restorations, visitors will be able to see the famous site via a temporary walkway, which officials will use to study the flow of foot traffic

Breathtaking shots shine a light on the wonders of wildlife and the threats that human activities pose to the natural world

A Dutch museum famous for displaying art in unconventional locations had placed a pair of painted beer cans in a glass elevator shaft

Identified as an Arctic fox, the animal is believed to have been kept in captivity far from its native habitat in the tundra. Now, it's receiving care from wildlife officials

The sprawling estate, which is the largest privately owned home in the country, will open its doors in November after a month-long closure

A new exhibition in Paris demonstrates the influence that the Spanish artist had on the young American painter who would help usher in the Abstract Expressionist movement

The fragile 18th-century containers, which likely held alcoholic beverages that were shared among passengers and crew members, survived for centuries at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

The Shipwreck Treasure Museum in Cornwall, England, is selling its collection, which includes items connected to nearly 150 shipwrecks

The votive plaque was found amid the ruins of an ancient Roman fortress. Researchers think a temple dedicated to the mysterious deity may have stood nearby

The Manhattan district attorney's office has obtained an arrest warrant for Edoardo Almagià, who has been accused of working with looters and dealing stolen artifacts for years

On its 66th flyby of the king of planets, Juno has captured spectacular views of the stormy atmosphere, processed by citizen scientists

Found in a cremation cemetery in Belgium, the skeleton includes bones dating to the Neolithic period and a Roman-era skull, according to a new study

It's not the first time savvy entrepreneurs have marketed canned air to tourists. Similar products have been sold at vacation destinations for decades

The actress becomes the first wheelchair user ever to take home the coveted prize at the 73rd annual award show

It's not clear how the juvenile male ended up so far north, but experts suggest he was motivated by his appetite

You asked, we answered

Getting the perfect shot requires great timing, the right equipment and nerves of steel

See images of the American flag captured by our readers.

From swirling aurora borealis to bioluminescent beaches, these award-winning photographs capture rare views of our world at night

Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

A century on, the country’s most beloved Thursday spectacle reaches new heights

It’s easy to write bugs off as pests, but consider the ways in which they have positively impacted our lives

Bombardier control box recovered during second dive to a World War 2 bomber at the bottom of Gander Lake.

Kate MacEachern is a Canadian veteran from Ballantynes Cove, N.S., but her service years are far from over. She has spent about two years living in Ukraine, delivering humanitarian aid to communities across the country.

Some Nova Scotia municipal leaders are defending a funding stream the federal Conservatives say they will cut if elected, calling it a "game changer."

Laboratory study of field-collected mosquitoes can allow researchers to better understand the ways variation within and among mosquito populations shapes burdens of mosquito-borne disease. The Anopheles gambiae complex comprises the most important vectors of malaria, but it can be challenging to keep in the laboratory. For some species of mosquitoes, especially An. gambiae, it is very difficult to bring viable eggs into the laboratory. Instead, it is preferable to collect larvae or pupae and then transport them as carefully as possible back to the laboratory. This simple protocol allows a researcher to start new laboratory colonies from larvae or pupae collected from natural breeding sites or proceed directly to their planned experiments. The use of natural breeding sites provides additional reassurance that the resulting colonies are representative of natural populations.

Mosquitoes take blood meals from a diverse range of host animals and their host associations vary by species. Characterizing these associations is an important element of the transmission dynamics of mosquito-vectored pathogens. To characterize mosquito host associations, various molecular techniques have been developed, which are collectively referred to as blood meal analysis. DNA barcoding has diverse biological applications and is well-suited to mosquito blood meal analysis. The standard DNA barcoding marker for animals is a 5' fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene. A major advantage of this marker is its taxonomic coverage in DNA sequence reference databases, making it feasible to identify a wider range of mosquito host species than with any other gene. However, the COI gene contains high sequence variation at potential priming sites between vertebrate orders. Coupled with the need for primer sequences to be mismatched with mosquito priming sites so that annealing to mosquito DNA is inhibited, it can be difficult to design primers suitable for blood meal analysis applications. Several primers are available that perform well in mosquito blood meal analysis, annealing to priming sites for most vertebrate host taxa, but not to those of mosquitoes. Because priming site sequence variation among vertebrate taxa can cause amplification to fail, a hierarchical approach to DNA barcoding-based blood meal analysis can be applied. In such an approach, no single primer set is expected to be effective for 100% of potential host species. If amplification fails in the initial reaction, a subsequent reaction is attempted with primers that anneal to different priming sites, and so on, until amplification is successful.

Mosquito species vary in their host associations. Although some species are relative generalists, most specialize, to varying extents, on particular types of host animals. Mosquito host associations are among the most important factors that influence the transmission dynamics of mosquito-vectored pathogens, and understanding these associations can provide insight on how such pathogens move within ecosystems. Characterization of the host associations of mosquito species requires applying blood meal analysis to the largest possible sample size of mosquito blood meals. Processing large samples of mosquito blood meals can be time-consuming, especially when chain-termination sequencing is used, necessitating individual processing of each specimen. Various methods and commercially available kits and products are available for extracting DNA from mosquito blood meals. The hot sodium hydroxide and Tris (HotSHOT) method is a rapid and inexpensive method of DNA extraction that is compatible with the recovery of DNA from mosquito blood meals preserved on QIAcard Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) Classic Cards (FTA cards). FTA cards allow nucleic acids found in blood meals to be preserved easily, even in field conditions. DNA prepared using this method is suitable for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based blood meal analysis.

The insect eggshell is a multifunctional structure with several important roles, including generating an entry point for sperm via the micropyle before oviposition, serving as an oviposition substrate attachment surface, and functioning as a protective layer during embryo development. Eggshell proteins play major roles in eggshell tanning and hardening following oviposition and provide molecular cues that define dorsal–ventral axis formation. Precise eggshell formation during ovarian follicle maturation is critical for normal embryo development and the synthesis of a defective eggshell often gives rise to inviable embryos. Therefore, simple and accurate methods for identifying eggshell proteins will facilitate our understanding of the molecular pathways regulating eggshell formation and the mechanisms underlying normal embryo development. This protocol describes how to isolate and enrich eggshells from mature oocytes of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and how to extract their eggshell proteins for liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) proteomic analysis. Although this methodology was developed for studying mosquito eggshells, it may be applicable to eggs from a variety of insects. Mosquitoes are ideal model organisms for this study as their ovarian follicle development and eggshell formation are meticulously regulated by blood feeding and their follicles develop synchronously throughout oogenesis in a time-dependent manner.

A group of volunteers have been providing emergency services to West Dawson residents during the periods of freeze up and break up, when there is no reliable access across the Yukon River to town.

Out-of-the-can branding helped transform World War II's rations into a beloved household staple

Advocates say pay equity laws, while needed, often do not help the most vulnerable workers.