New technologies helped marine archaeologists recover the H.L. Hunley, a Civil War submarine

An oral history of the March on Washington: http://j.mp/1feuQK3 John Lewis, Eleanor Holmes Norton and others relive the pivotal moment of the Civil Rights Movement.

Despite being just one minute long, this Ask Smithsonian video hosted by Eric Schulze is crammed full of strange things you never knew – but should – about Saturn’s rings. Prepare to be amazed.

Manufacturing of bitumen-lined water bottles in the traditional method of Native Californian Indians. Credit: Nicholas Radtkey, UC Davis & Sabrina Sholts

More on biomimicry: http://j.mp/RI3OOB Scientists believe the iridescent wings of the morphos butterfly could be used in technology to benefit humans.

More on the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: http://j.mp/15wAByw A former Freedom Rider describes what it was like walking among the rubble of the 16th Avenue Baptist Church

In the early 20th century, the medical establishment became fixated with the idea that gay people could be “cured.” To achieve this, they turned to a litany of brutal practices: from electrotherapy to lobotomies.

Oysters were Mark Twain's favorite food: http://j.mp/LCWpx8 What the tiny shellfish lacks in size, it makes up for in taste. Meet the farmers who are counting on the Olympia's success

The musicians of the Union and Confederate armies provided strong memories of the homes left behind for the battlefield.

More on 3D scanning: http://j.mp/JM43KD Specialists are using new technology to unravel a mystery in the Smithsonian collections.

What did analysts find in the recon photographs from the Cuban Missile Crisis? http://j.mp/RwFMbj Former CIA analyst Dino Brugioni was one of the first to spot missiles in Cuba in October 1962.

With an 80-acre scale model of the 1.6 million-acre Everglades wetland system, scientists study how to restore the flow of water that was interrupted years ago

This spring, take a break and smell the flowers in New Mexico, Kansas, California and New Jersey. --- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald

Archaeologists unearthed a series of mudbrick rooms filled with religious tributes, soldiers' personal effects, engraved weaponry and animal bones

A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study

A blockbuster exhibition in London examines the Dutch Post-Impressionist's creative output between 1888 and 1890, which was one of the most productive periods of his career

The so-called good-luck flag, which hung on an American veteran's wall for many years, returned home last month after nearly eight decades

Researchers still don't know what the open-mouth facial expression means or whether it's akin to smiling in humans—but several animals make a similar face during play

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible to the naked eye as it passes Earth on its way out of our solar system

Scientists used EEG headsets, MRI machines and eye trackers to study volunteers' responses to five paintings housed at the Mauritshuis museum in the Netherlands

Featuring more than 100 original artifacts, a new immersive exhibition in New York City will explore the young Jewish diarist's life and legacy

An assessment from the International Union for Conservation of Nature paints a grim picture of the extinction risk of the world's trees

Ai-Da creates art using A.I. algorithms, cameras and robotic arms. Her abstract painting will be the first-ever artwork made by a humanoid robot to be sold at Sotheby's

Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect commonly smuggled items, including rhino horns and elephant tusks

The critter found in New York represents a new, extinct species of arthropod that could shed light on the evolution of today's insects, crustaceans and spiders

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

Babies who were conceived and born during the period of rationing in the United Kingdom were less likely to develop certain diseases as adults, a new study finds

When the war ended, Allied soldiers tracked down Nicolas de Largillierre's "Portrait de femme à mi-corps" with the help of a savvy French curator who had been working for the resistance

The 3,800-year-old site near the city of Luxor holds the remains of 11 individuals, who may have been members of the same family. Researchers think the tomb was used for several generations

The 1951 artwork, "La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman)," stands over six feet tall and features paintings of "hybrid creatures and lush dreamscapes"

See photographs of the beautiful natural wonders from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Iconic images of Dr. King from the Smithsonian collection

Laboratory study of natural populations of mosquitoes can play a key role in determining the underlying causes of variation in burdens of mosquito-borne disease. Aedes aegypti is the main vector of the viruses that cause dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever, making it a high priority for laboratory study. Ae. aegypti eggs provide an ideal starting point for new laboratory colonies. Eggs can be collected using ovicups, which are small plastic cups lined with seed-germination paper and partially filled with leaf-infused H₂O. Once collected, dry eggs will remain viable for months and can be safely transported long distances back to the laboratory as long as they are properly stored. This protocol provides step-by-step instructions for preparing for collecting, storing, and hatching Ae. aegypti eggs and has successfully yielded laboratory colonies from locations across both the native and invasive range of this species.

Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) allow for the noninvasive evaluation of neuronal activity in vivo, and imaging GECIs in Drosophila has become commonplace for understanding neural functions and connectivity in this system. GECIs can also be used as read-outs for studying sleep in this model organism. Here, we describe a methodology for tracking the activity of neurons in the fly brain using a two-photon (2p) microscopy system. This method can be adapted to perform functional studies of neural activity in Drosophila under both spontaneous and evoked conditions, as well as during spontaneous or induced sleep. We first describe a tethering and surgical procedure that allows survival under the microscopy conditions required for long-term recordings. We then outline the steps and reagents required for optogenetic activation of sleep-promoting neurons while simultaneously recording neural activity from the fly brain. We also describe the procedure for recording from two different locations—namely, the top of the head (e.g., to record mushroom body calyx activity) or the back of the head (e.g., to record central complex activity). We also provide different strategies for recording from GECIs confined to the cell body versus the entire neuron. Finally, we describe the steps required for analyzing the multidimensional data that can be acquired. In all, this protocol shows how to perform calcium imaging experiments in tethered flies, with a focus on acquiring spontaneous and induced sleep data.

Sleep studies in Drosophila melanogaster rely mostly on behavioral read-outs to support molecular or circuit-level investigations in this model. Electrophysiology can provide an additional level of understanding in these studies to, for example, investigate changes in brain activity associated with sleep manipulations. In this protocol, we describe a procedure for performing multichannel local field potential (LFP) recordings in the fruit fly, with a flexible system that can be adapted to different experimental paradigms and situations. The approach uses electrodes containing multiple recording sites (16), allowing the acquisition of large amounts of neuronal activity data from a transect through the brain while flies are still able to sleep. The approach starts by tethering the fly, followed by positioning it on an air-supported ball. A multichannel silicon probe is then inserted laterally into the fly brain via one eye, allowing for recording of electrical signals from the retina through to the central brain. These recordings can be acquired under spontaneous conditions or in the presence of visual stimuli, and the minimal surgery promotes long-term recordings (e.g., overnight). Sleep and wake can be tracked using infrared cameras, which allow for the measurement of locomotive activity as well as microbehaviors such as proboscis extensions during sleep. The protocol has been optimized to promote subject survivability, which is an important factor when performing long-term (~16-h) recordings. The approach described here uses specific recording probes, data acquisition devices, and analysis tools. Although it is expected that some of these items might need to be adapted to the equipment available in different laboratories, the overall aim is to provide an overview on how to record electrical activity across the brain of behaving (and sleeping) flies using this kind of approach and technology.

In insects, oocyte resorption (oosorption) or follicular atresia is one of the key physiological processes and evolutionary strategies used to optimize reproductive fitness. Mosquitoes are ideal model organisms for studying egg maturation in arthropods, as their follicle development is initiated only following the ingestion of a blood meal, followed by a carefully orchestrated series of hormonally regulated events leading to egg maturation. A cohort of approximately 100 follicles per mosquito ovary begin developing synchronously. However, a significant fraction of follicles ultimately undergo apoptosis and oosorption, especially when available resources from the blood meal are limited. Therefore, simple, rapid, and reliable techniques to accurately evaluate follicular atresia are necessary to understand mechanisms underlying follicle development in insects. This protocol describes how to detect apoptotic follicle cells within the Aedes aegypti mosquito ovaries using a commercially available fluorescent-labeled inhibitor of caspases (FLICA). Caspases are key players in animal apoptosis. In this assay, the FLICA reagent enters the intracellular compartment of follicles in dissected mosquito ovaries and covalently binds to active caspases. The bound reagent remains within the cell and its fluorescent signal can be observed by confocal microscopy. Although this method was specifically developed for visualizing apoptotic ovarian follicles during Ae. aegypti mosquito egg development, it should be applicable to other mosquito tissues that undergo caspase-mediated program cell death in a time-dependent manner.

A Two-Day Festival in the historic Arts & Industries Building brings community, artists and scholars together for a “Culture Lab”

More than 50 Norman Wells residents gathered at the Royal Canadian Legion on Thursday night to voice frustrations over high heating fuel prices.

Tammy Roberts, Home Base's executive director, said before these services launched, there was "no place for youth to go" other than the emergency room or to RCMP cells. 

When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation

With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney earned an unlikely fortune in the frozen north and reshaped the Canadian frontier

A jury has found a 20-year-old Moncton man guilty of second-degree murder in the 2022 death of an 18-year-old.

Emergency officials said the fire at the Herring Pub and Restaurant on Water Street broke out around 4 p.m. and appears to have started in an air conditioning unit.   

With Remembrance Day and Indigenous Veterans Day coming up, many people start to reflect on their family's wartime stories by looking through mementos saved by former generations. Ron Kanutski of Thunder Bay, Ont., joins the CBC's Mary-Jean Cormier to talk about his family's military history.

The union for wildland firefighters says a recently passed Ontario bill that makes them eligible for presumptive cancer care under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board doesn't go far enough.

Henry Luyombya became a changemaker at a young age in Uganda after his father died of HIV-related illness. His work in HIV education brought him to Canada, and eventually to P.E.I. where he's a clinical social worker and the founder of New African Canadians. He is one of CBC Atlantic's Black Changemakers for 2024.

A 16-year-old girl is recovering in an Ottawa hospital after suffering injuries in what her family describes as a brutal attack allegedly committed by her ex-boyfriend, who's now in custody and facing charges like attempted murder. 

Lindley's Farm and Market in Hamilton will be "winding down" operations after 180 years of operations, including selling locally grown produce and offering activities to the community.

Canada head coach Jesse Marsch has summoned 19 players, including York United FC teenager Shola Jimoh, to a camp in Toronto ahead of the full men's team gathering for the two-legged CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal later this month against Suriname.