Chip a tooth and expose a nerve and the result can be a searing sensitivity to hot and cold. The hard outer layer of a […]

The post Scientists map pathway from narwhals’ sensitive tusk to brain appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Finding a fossil is the first step, recognizing it for what it truly is, is the real challenge. While closely studying three fossil skeletons from […]

The post One Scary Chicken—New species of large, feathered dinosaur discovered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Mention coral reefs and images like snorkeling, tropical fish and sunny island getaways pop to mind. Vacation packages are not being offered, however, for many […]

The post Cold, dark and lonely: Deep-water corals thrive where the sun never shines appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Parents normally feel the need to provide well for their kids. For humans, that number of offspring is usually in the single digits, but a […]

The post The secret formula to feeding 900 babies: Scientists uncover milk composition of naked mole-rat queens appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Matthew C. Larsen, associate director for climate and land-use change at the U.S. Geological Survey, has been appointed the Director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research […]

The post Matthew Larsen appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Sometimes you need to look in unusual places to tell species apart. Some mammal species are easily distinguished by differences in their fur or skeletons, […]

The post Penis spines help scientists identify bat species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study of gamma-ray light from the center of our galaxy makes the strongest case to date that some of this emission may arise […]

The post Fermi data offer clues to dark matter appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On April 15 the National Museum of Natural History took delivery of a nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Called the Nation’s T. rex, it will be the centerpiece of […]

The post Smithsonian Welcomes “Nation’s T. rex” to Washington, D.C. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Termites and ants are not something you’re likely to pour into a cereal bowl for breakfast or munch with toast and tea, but your ancient […]

The post Termites for breakfast? Your ancestors might have! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

National Museum of Natural History scientist Torsten Dikow discovered and named a new species of assassin fly, Burmapogon bruckschi, after studying the first two specimens […]

The post Ancient species of assassin fly discovered by Smithsonian scientist appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

John Kovac of the Harvard-­Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has been named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. 

The post Kovac among Time’s most influential appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Save the Rhinos! Save the Elephants! Save the humans?! It seems strange to be connecting our own fate to that of wildlife but new research […]

The post Losing large mammals increases human risk from rodent-borne diseases appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The black-headed paradise-flycatcher of western and central Africa is a small colorful forest bird that thrives on the flying insects it chases down by swooping, […]

The post These mites should make birds quiver right down to their quills appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The galaxy known as M87 has a fastball that would be the envy of any baseball pitcher. It has thrown an entire star cluster toward […]

The post Star cluster thrown out of its galaxy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Turtles have long been the subject of one the most contentious questions in evolutionary biology: where do they fit among vertebrates in the evolutionary tree […]

The post Turtle lineage solved in new study appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Move over Matrix, astronomers have done you one better. They have created the first realistic virtual universe using a computer simulation called “Illustris.” Illustris can […]

The post Astronomers create first realistic virtual universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Identifying larval stages of marine fishes in the open ocean is difficult because the young fishes often bear little or no resemblance to the adults […]

The post Smithsonian scientists link fish larva in Florida to new sea bass species from Curacao appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A newly released study focusing on an extinct species, the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), has revealed just how evolutionarily unique its only two living […]

The post Too valuable to lose: Extinct relative reveals rarity of last two remaining monk seal species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

After eluding scientists for nearly 80 years, the Clarion nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha unaocularus), a nocturnal reptilian species that was initially discovered in the first half […]

The post Lost species of nightsnake rediscovered in Mexico appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Authoritative, intelligent and always accompanied by a young assistant, television’s Mr. Wizard brought science to America’s kids from the 1950s through 1980s with experiments using […]

The post Smithsonian acquires archives of Mr. Wizard, Don Herbert appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Catalina Suarez Gomez made the type of discovery that most scientists only dream about – and she did it while interning at the Smithsonian Tropical […]

The post Intern aids in discovery of Titanoboa appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time in roughly 2 million years, melting Arctic sea ice is connecting the north Pacific and north Atlantic oceans. The newly opened […]

The post Global warming will open Arctic to invasive species, Smithsonian scientists say appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Republic of Panama’s proposal to implement four Traffic Separation Schemes for commercial vessels entering and exiting the Panama Canal and ports was approved unanimously […]

The post Commercial shipping lanes changed in Panama to save humpback whales appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A research team from the Smithsonian and Arizona State University have developed a new, non-destructive method using spectroscopic analysis to help unravel the complex chemistry […]

The post Feathers yield mysteries of pigment chemistry to spectroscopic analysis appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers announced today that they have discovered a new type of planet – a rocky world weighing 17 times as much as Earth. Theorists believed […]

The post Astronomers find new type of planet: The “Mega-Earth” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Two worlds orbiting a distant star are about to become a snack of cosmic proportions. Astronomers have announced that the planets Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c will […]

The post Star set to swallow two planets appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Life in the universe might be even rarer than we thought. Recently, astronomers looking for potentially habitable worlds have targeted red dwarf stars because they […]

The post Harsh space weather dooms life on red-dwarf planets appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

WHAT A new species of stick catfish from South America, so called because the thin, elongated bodies of these fish mimic sticks. About 5 inches […]

The post New species of armored catfish from Colombia appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The world of astronomy has changed. An astronomer used to have to travel to a remote location and endure long, cold nights, patiently guiding a […]

The post Mining astronomical archives yields haul of “red nugget” galaxies appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Here at Smithsonian Science we are celebrating Sloth Week with four little-known facts about sloths, some of which we found in the Smithsonian’s very own […]

The post Discover sloths in a whole new way! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ten years ago, eight antennas on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawai’i, united to form a telescope unlike any other. Since then the Submillimeter Array […]

The post The Submillimeter Array: Celebrating a decade of discovery appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A mysterious X-ray signal has been found in a detailed study of galaxy clusters using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton. One intriguing possibility […]

The post Mysterious X-ray signal from space appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The name Panama is said to mean “abundance of fish.” Now a new study estimates that between 1950 and 2010, the amount of fish taken […]

The post Panamanian fish catch is vastly under-reported, study reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity predicts that accelerated masses emit gravitational waves, or ripples in space-time. Even though gravitational waves have yet to be detected […]

The post Gemini reveals a gravitational wave source in hiding appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Defining what makes a star “Sun-like” is as difficult as defining what makes a planet “Earth-like.” A solar twin should have a temperature, mass, and […]

The post Sun-like stars reveal their ages appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Tasty and easy to find, the heath hen was a favorite dish of America’s colonial settlers. This beautiful little bird, however, was no match for […]

The post Urban landscapes becoming increasingly bird-unfriendly appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

It is related to one of the world’s most destructive invasive species, and possibly the slimiest. Thirty-five pounds of live giant West African snails (Archachatina […]

The post Slimy invaders, giant snails: Q&A with mollusk expert Ellen Strong appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The practice of selectively fishing male blue crabs in the Chesapeake—intended to give females a chance to reproduce—may have a hidden cost. A Bay without […]

The post With too few males, blue crab population may be put at risk appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers have discovered a transiting exoplanet with the longest known year. Kepler-421b circles its star once every 704 days. In comparison, Mars orbits our Sun […]

The post Transiting exoplanet with longest known year appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fifteen years ago, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Since its deployment on July 23, 1999, Chandra has […]

The post Chandra X-ray Observatory Celebrates 15th Anniversary appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Investigators from Rock County, Wisconsin, are one step closer to solving the mystery surrounding the death of an unknown teenager thanks to Smithsonian scientists. Christine […]

The post Smithsonian/Wisconsin police narrow search in 20 year mystery appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Humanity is on the threshold of being able to detect signs of alien life on other worlds. By studying exoplanet atmospheres, we can look for […]

The post Finding ET by searching for alien air pollution appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., are celebrating the anniversary of the first birth of a Przewalski’s horse by artificial […]

The post First Przewalski’s horse born by artificial insemination birthday appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the SVF Foundation have launched a new collaboration to strengthen rare and endangered livestock breed conservation through the preservation […]

The post Smithsonian & SVF launch rare-breed livestock conservation partnership appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In the United States, natural-gas production from shale rock has increased by more than 700 percent since 2007. Yet scientists still do not fully understand […]

The post Biological fallout of shale-gas production still largely unknown appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The carabid beetle tribe Lachnophorini is the focus of an extensive new study by two Smithsonian entomologists just published in a special issue of the […]

The post New study focuses on carabid beetles appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If you love new animal species and have an Internet connection, chances are you have already seen the beautiful new golden bat species, Myotis midastactus. […]

The post Bolivia’s golden bat: one of six new species found by the Smithsonian’s bat detective appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Over the vast, empty reaches of interstellar space, countless small molecules tumble quietly though the cold vacuum. Forged in the fusion furnaces of ancient stars […]

The post Mysterious molecules in space appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Today the Smithsonian launches its Transcription Center website to the public. The website is designed to leverage the power of crowds to help the Smithsonian […]

The post Volunteers needed for massive Smithsonian digitization project appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

One year ago, the olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina) stepped out of the forest shadows into the spotlight and onto the pages of science—the first carnivore species […]

The post Crowdsourcing the Olinguito appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.