Among vertebrates few animals rival poison dart frogs for their vibrant electric blue, yellow, red and orange skin colors. Some experts have long believed these […]

The post Poison dart frog toxins best suited for deterring biting arthropods, research reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and […]

The post Powerful computer simulations show how spiral galaxies get their arms appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Africa isn’t the kind of place you might expect to find penguins. But one species lives along Africa’s southern coast today, and newly found fossils […]

The post Penguins once thrived in Africa; one endangered species lives there today appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A century from now researchers will gather data from a forest in Maryland to see how, during the previous 100 years, varying levels of species […]

The post Smithsonian scientists launch 100-year project to examine the future of forests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Striking Caribbean sunsets occur when particles in the air scatter incoming sunlight. But a particulate shadow over the sea may have effects underwater. A research […]

The post Human shadow cast over the Caribbean slows coral growth appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Cheeseburgers. Ice cream. French fries. These are a few of the culprits, doctors warn us, responsible for atherosclerosis, a disease commonly known as hardening of […]

The post Ancient mummies reveal atherosclerosis is very likely just a part of aging appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marmosets on track for obesity appeared to be more efficient in their feeding behavior. “Although all animals consumed the same amount of liquid, the ones […]

The post Obese marmosets are more developmentally advanced as infants, study shows appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

All bear species except for one live in either temperate or tropical woodlands. Only the polar bear is a stranger to the forest, living and […]

The post Polar bears in a warming world: Q&A with Don Moore of the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This image shows farmer Roy Bardole seated at the controls of his combine in a cornfield on a farm in Iowa. A GPS guidance system […]

The post GPS and the farmer… appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This simulated image shows the Giant Magellan Telescope in operation in Chile while deploying lasers for its adaptive-optics system. The GMT is scheduled to begin […]

The post Giant Magellan Telescope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In our solar system, only one planet is blessed with an ocean: Earth. Our home world is a rare, blue jewel compared to the deserts […]

The post Astronomers discover two water worlds orbiting star Kepler-62 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent spectroscopic analysis of macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) crest feathers and king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) neck feathers have shown they contain a yellow pigment that […]

The post Yellow pigment in penguin feathers is chemically distinct, spectroscopic studies reveal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Covered in venomous spines the exotic and strikingly banded Indo-Pacific lionfish would be a painful mouthful to any creature that may try to catch and […]

The post Biologist Andrew Sellers turns lionfish invasion into research opportunity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The inventions of Alexander Graham Bell—most famously the telephone but also methods of recording sound—have allowed people to hear each other’s voices for more than […]

The post “Hear My Voice”: Smithsonian identifies 130-year-old recording as Alexander Graham Bell’s voice appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Magnetic field measurement techniques have long enabled scientists to probe the internal structure of biological and material samples. For example, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides […]

The post Magnetic Imaging of Living Cells appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Douglas Owsley, the division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, presented today a forensic analysis of 17th-century human remains […]

The post Forensic analysis of 17th-century human remains at Jamestown, Va., reveals evidence of survival cannibalism appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When it comes to brain size, Homo sapiens generally get the most credit. But to find the baby mammals with the proportionally largest brains on […]

The post Weddell seals have big-brained pups appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Rope, golf balls, sweat pants, bottles and aluminum cans are a few of the discarded items biologist Matt Klope says he has found inside the […]

The post Gray whale specimen an important addition to Natural History Museum collections appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

There is little doubt that human activity is affecting planet Earth, but just how much? And is it all negative? Rick Potts is the director […]

The post Smithsonian anthropologist Rick Potts answers questions about the Anthropocene appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Detecting alien worlds presents a significant challenge since they are small, faint, and close to their stars. The two most prolific techniques for finding exoplanets […]

The post New method of finding planets scores first discovery appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The impact of industrial fishing on coastal ecosystems has been studied for many years. But how it affects food webs in the open ocean―a vast […]

The post Scientists find impact of open-ocean industrial fishing within centuries of bird bones appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

                  The Smithsonian Libraries will open its new exhibition “Whales: From Bone to Book” in the Smithsonian’s National Museum […]

The post Exhibition: “Whales: From Bone to Book” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This composite image of a galaxy illustrates how the intense gravity of a super massive black hole can be tapped to generate immense power. The image […]

The post Black-hole powered jets plow into galaxy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A fiery explosion on the surface of the Moon, visible to the naked eye, recently surprised NASA astronomers monitoring the Moon for meteorite strikes. Occurring […]

The post A meteorite explodes on the Moon: Q&A with geophysicist Bruce Campbell appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Plato, the Greek philosopher and mathematician, described music and astronomy as “sister sciences” that both encompass harmonious motions, whether of instrument strings or celestial objects. […]

The post Music of the Spheres: Star Songs appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Unique among Earth’s creatures, turtles are the only animals to form a shell on the outside of their bodies through a fusion of modified ribs, […]

The post Discovery: Turtle shells appeared 40 million years earlier than previously believed appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Did you know the Smithsonian created the world’s first full cast of a whale? It was a blue whale exhibited in 1904 at the St. […]

The post 100 Years of Whales @ Smithsonian! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If you had a time machine that could take you anywhere in the past, what time would you choose? Most people would probably pick the […]

The post Young star suggests our sun was a feisty toddler appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Most skygazers recognize the Orion Nebula, one of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth. Although it makes for great views in backyard telescopes, the Orion […]

The post Cat’s Paw Nebula “littered” w/ baby stars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered an unprecedented bonanza of black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the nearest galaxies […]

The post Chandra X-ray Observatory turns up black hole bonanza in galaxy next door appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

These striking images of six insect heads and mouthparts were drawn from fossils by Conrad Labandeira, Curator of Fossil Arthropods (insects and related animals) at […]

The post Prehistoric mouthparts appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Based on a treasure trove of recent discoveries, astronomers now know that planets are remarkably plentiful in our galaxy and may be common throughout the […]

The post Dust trap around distant star may unlock mystery as to how planets form appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Emmett Duffy, currently the Gluckman Professor of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, has been appointed director of the Smithsonian’s […]

The post Emmett Duffy named director of Smithsonian’s Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, in partnership with the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, has opened  “Genome: […]

The post Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On June 7, 2011, our Sun erupted, blasting tons of hot plasma into space. Some of that plasma splashed back down onto the Sun’s surface, […]

The post Solar splashdown appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian is delighted to be included in this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival (June 26 – July 2 in Aspen, Colo.) which will gather some of […]

The post Three Smithsonian scientists to participate in Aspen Ideas Festival appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum announced that it will receive a $6 million donation from the Thomas W. Haas Foundation to establish an […]

The post Air and Space Museum receives $6 million donation for Public Observatory Program appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

All stars begin their lives in groups. Most stars, including our Sun, are born in small, benign groups that quickly fall apart. Others form in […]

The post First transiting planets in a star cluster discovered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Museum of Natural History announced this summer that it has reached a 50-year loan agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to […]

The post T. rex to rule Dinosaur Hall in Washington, D.C. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has just launched a new series of 15 short educational videos titled “Ecosystems on the Edge,” which mainly focus on […]

The post “Ecosystems on the Edge” on Youtube appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft launched at 10:27 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 26 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Its primary goal is […]

The post NASA launches IRIS carrying Smithsonian-built telescope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, has posed an enduring mystery. Why is it so hot? The Sun’s visible surface is only 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, […]

The post Sun’s loops are displaying an optical illusion appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In June, Odile Madden, materials scientist at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, was a participant on a 6-day interdisciplinary expedition to a number of beaches […]

The post Q&A: Plastics expert Odile Madden on plastic debris in Alaskan waters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fond of a range of marine and freshwater vegetation such as turtle grass and eelgrass, the Florida manatee spends most of its waking hours grazing […]

The post Algae bloom toxins may make Florida’s manatees and sea turtles susceptible to deadly accidents appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A team of researchers has for the first time mapped the above ground carbon density of an entire country in high fidelity. They integrated field […]

The post Research team creates first carbon map of an entire country: Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Rooting through the garbage for a late-night snack or stealing food from the cat’s bowl, the suburban raccoon is a nocturnal, intelligent animal. Yet life […]

The post Suburban raccoons more social yet dominance behavior remains that of a solitary animal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As economic expansion and development fragments the forest landscape of central India, the species that rely on that habitat—including endangered tigers and leopards—face dwindling populations […]

The post Forest corridors essential to gene flow in India’s leopard and tiger populations appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are celebrating the birth of a female Przewalski’s (Cha-VAL-skee) horse—the first to be born via artificial insemination. The […]

The post First wild horse species born from artificial insemination at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation project recently announced that the golden frog, a national icon on the brink of extinction, has been successfully raised […]

The post Success: Panama’s golden frog bred in captivity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time since exoplanets, or planets around stars other than the sun, were discovered almost 20 years ago, X-ray observations have detected an […]

The post NASA’s Chandra sees eclipsing planet in X-rays for first time appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.