Food, Glorious Food

Smithsonian's coverage of food, drink and their role in our culture
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The Spectacled Flowerpecker Is Now Known to Science
First spotted a decade ago, this elusive bird hangs out in the canopy of Borneo’s lowland forests
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Massive Citizen Science Effort Seeks to Survey the Entire Great Barrier Reef
Only about 1,000 of 3,000 individual reefs have been documented, but the Great Reef Census hopes to fill in the gaps
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Rare, Centuries-Old Korean Buddhist Masterpiece Goes on View
Sealed and hidden within the sculpture were sacred texts and symbolic objects
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The Tragic Story of America’s First Black Music Star
Thomas Wiggins, an African-American musician marketed as ‘Blind Tom’, had a lucrative career—but saw none of the profits himself
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National Zoo Says Bye Bye to Bei Bei
The giant panda recently turned four years old and will soon move to China to breed
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Extra Thumb Discovered on Aye-Aye Lemurs, Giving These Primates Six Fingers
Used for gripping limbs, a “pseudo-thumb” makes the hands of these bizarre primates even creepier
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A Tour of the World's Most Spectacular Ceilings
In her new book 'The Art of Looking Up,' Catherine McCormack captures stunning ceilings around the globe
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A New Gene Editing Tool Could Make CRISPR More Precise
Prime editing offers a new way to make changes to DNA while avoiding some of the drawbacks and clunkiness of traditional CRISPR
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How Three Guys From Houston Are Cooking Up a Revolution in Texas Barbecue
A tiny suburban eatery is breaking all the rules to create some of the freshest-tasting grub on the horizon
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The Untold Story of the Secret Mission to Seize Nazi Map Data
How a covert U.S. Army intelligence unit canvassed war-torn Europe, capturing intelligence with incalculable strategic value
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Alcatraz's Captivating Hold on History
Fifty years after Native American activists occupied the island, take a look back at the old prison in San Francisco Bay
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Three Mexican-American Vintners Tell Their Stories
Alex Llamas, Gustavo Brambila and Amelia Ceja arrived as migrant workers and today thrive as entrepreneurs in the California wine industry
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A 'Microneedle' Pill You Can Swallow Could Replace Insulin Shots
The pill passes through the stomach into the small intestine, where it opens to painlessly inject drugs into the bloodstream
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When Mexico's Immigration Troubles Came From Americans Crossing the Border
Before Texas fought for its independence, thousands of settlers from the east entered the country unlawfully in search of land and agricultural opportunity
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Gold Fever! Deadly Cold! And the Amazing True Adventures of Jack London in the Wild
In 1897, the California native went to the frozen North looking for gold. What he found instead was the great American novel
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How 'Moonlight Serenade' Defined a Generation
Bandleader Glenn Miller, who was lost at sea 75 years ago, played and replayed the song before troops serving in World War II
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The Unprecedented Effort to Preserve a Million Letters Written by U.S. Soldiers During Wartime
A tragedy at home led one intrepid historian to find and catalog precious correspondence for future generations to study
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This Type of Algae Absorbs More Light for Photosynthesis Than Other Plants
Though evolutionary mergers between cells, some algae have developed the ability to convert a wider spectrum of light energy into sugars
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In Pursuit of a Better Baby Formula
Replicating human milk is no easy feat—nor is separating the science from the hype
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The Long Journey of Charlie Parker’s Saxophone
The newly acquired instrument, played by the father of bebop, is on view at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
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