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New species of bright-yellow water frog discovered in Peru

A new water frog from the Pacific slopes of the Andes in central Peru has been described and named in the open access journal ZooKeys. Telmatobius […]

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Mismatched Twin Stars Spotted in the Delivery Room

The majority of stars in our galaxy come in pairs. In particular, the most massive stars usually have a companion. These fraternal twins tend to […]

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Dark matter guides growth of supermassive black holes

Every massive galaxy has a black hole at its center, and the heftier the galaxy, the bigger its black hole. But why are the two […]

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  • Science & Nature
  • Space
  • astronomy
  • astrophysics
  • Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
  • Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

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Corn entered Southwest U.S. first along highland route, DNA shows

A new DNA study of ancient corn kernels and cobs from archaeological sites across North America has settled a long debate as to exactly where […]

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What squirms inside a tiny bird? Odd new tapeworm species

Parasites such as nematodes, tapeworms, flukes, ticks and lice are normal in nature and can even be beneficial for animals, including humans, says Anna Phillips, […]

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Poison Dart Frog Hatched in Captivity

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) scientists working as part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project hatched the […]

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Coming soon: Vacancy at the crawdad hole?

Yabbies, mudbugs, crayfish, crawdads, call them what you will, but one-third of the world’s crayfish species are facing extinction according to a recent report by […]

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New App adds Virtual Flesh to Victorian-era Bone exhibit

Point your smartphone at the skeleton of a vampire bat mounted in a museum case, wait a minute and you will see it wiggle, jump […]

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Golden Frogs with Unique Skin Microbes Survive Frog-Killing Fungus

A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) found unique communities […]

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Newly named mites have thick skins to deter predators

Lurking on leaves in the tropical forests of Brazil microscopic mites in the family Cheyletidae are ambush predators. They wait quietly until another mite crawls […]

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6 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Andean Bears

Giant pandas. Grizzlies. Polar bears. You’ve probably heard a lot about these bear species, but what about Andean bears? To the Quechua and Aymara, the […]

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As Stars Form, Magnetic Fields Influence Regions Big and Small

Stars form when gravity pulls together material within giant clouds of gas and dust. But gravity isn’t the only force at work. Both turbulence and […]

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Clouded leopards, from crisis to success: Q&A with Janine Brown

The clouded leopard, a native of Southeast Asia, is among the most charismatic, secretive and least understood cat species in the world. In 2002, the […]

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3 new species of dwarf dragons discovered in Ecuador & Peru

Three new species of dragon-esque woodlizards have been discovered in the Andean cloud forests of Peru and Ecuador. The new species differ from their closest […]

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“Early Women in Science” Profiles Trailblazing Women

“Early Women in Science” is an online exhibition of 16 women scientists who began their work before 1922. A Biodiversity Heritage Library exhibition, it profiles forward-thinking […]

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Complex Organic Molecules Discovered in Infant Star System

For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in a protoplanetary disk surrounding a young […]

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Bird nests: Variety is Key for the world’s avian Architects

A bird’s nest is a small bowl-shaped collection of twigs and straw built on a tree branch. Right? Well…maybe. As Chris Milensky, museum specialist in […]

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Panda Semen from China arrives at Zoo

Caitlin Burrell, research scientist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, returned from China last night April 20, with frozen giant panda semen that had been […]

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Arthur C. Clarke papers come to Air and Space Museum Archives

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has acquired a large collection from the Sir Arthur C. Clarke Trust. The collection consists of 87 cubic […]

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Study: Male bonding brings peace, lets primates live in big groups

While studying the social dynamics of the bearded saki, a primate living in the rainforests of Suriname, primatologist Tremaine Gregory of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology […]

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Water may Have Been Abundant in First Billion Years after big bang

How soon after the Big Bang could water have existed? Not right away, because water molecules contain oxygen and oxygen had to be formed in […]

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Video from Solar Dynamics Observatory wows museum visitors

Tucked in the shadow of the towering Skylab exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, there’s an inferno raging. Lucky for all of […]

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In Belize, Critically endangered wrasse now favorite food of invasive lionfish

Scientists examining the stomach contents of invasive lionfish caught on the inner barrier reef of Belize have discovered that nearly half of the diet of […]

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Hi-Tech Analysis Cracks Curious Case of Contaminated Cremains

Studies show that on average, the weight of cremated remains for men is about 7.13 pounds (plus or minus 1.2 pounds) and for women, 4.9 […]

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Fossil shows Prehistoric Reptile Gave Birth in Open Ocean

A case of mistaken identity turned out to be the key for proving that a prehistoric aquatic reptile did not lay eggs, but rather gave […]

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Scientists Find Andean Bears with Camera Traps In Peru

For the first time, a team from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s (SCBI) Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability collected photo evidence of an Andean […]

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The oldest microscope in the museum

  In the store-rooms of the National Museum of American History curators recently discovered a small microscope made around 1750 by John Cuff (1708-1772), a […]

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Satellite tracking helps with curlew conservation

Ever heard the joke about flying in from Mexico, and boy, are my arms tired? Try telling that to the blackpoll warbler. Researchers recently tracked […]

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Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Marks 50 Years of Making a Difference

The world’s coasts are home to more than 70 percent of the human population and experience intense development as a result. The rate of environmental […]

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New study may help free whales from fishing rope entanglement

New data just published in the journal Marine Mammal Science may help save the whales, or at least a good many of them. Using vertebrae […]

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5 Reasons the Inka Road is one of the Greatest Achievements in Engineering

The Inka Empire is one of the greatest civilizations in the Western Hemisphere, spanning from the 13th century until the Spanish invasion in 1532. To […]

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Unplugged: 5 batteries that gave the world a jolt

Batteries power virtually every aspect of modern life. So small, so portable, and so easy to forget—but how many times have you simply started your […]

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To hunt, bats listen for signals in prey mating calls

When it’s time for a meal of katydids, bats use their ears. When hunting and eating male katydids, different bat species locate their prey by […]

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Miniaturized GPS Tags Allow Tracking of Small Songbirds for first time

For the first time, researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center have accurately tracked small migratory ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla) to their tropical […]

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This simple trick helped fix a wildlife water shortage in Cambodia

It is a simple solution to a wildlife water shortage. During the annual dry season [November through April] in a protected forest in eastern Cambodia, […]

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To Preserve Rare WWII bomber, Conservators Turn to Science

Ah, that new car smell. New plane smell is nice, too. Bright and shiny and fresh is good, right? Sure, unless it is a very […]

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Key Link in Turtle Evolution discovered

An international team of researchers from the United States and Germany have discovered a key missing link in the evolutionary history of turtles. The new […]

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Cats Don’t Roam in Places Coyotes Call Home

In one of the largest studies of its kind, a volunteer-fueled camera trapping effort showed that where coyotes have moved in, cats are nowhere to […]

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Sol Man: John Grant is on a road trip across Mars

Two rovers are active right now on the surface of Mars: Opportunity, which landed in January 2004, and Curiosity, which started exploration in August 2012. […]

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Meet a new true bug: “Wheelerodemus muhlenbergiae”

Who: Wheelerodemus muhlenbergiae What: A newly discovered species of plant eating bug belonging to the family Blissidae, members of which are found worldwide. W. muhlenbergiae […]

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Study reveals more Pygmy Sloths, But There Still Aren’t Many

Size isn’t the only thing that’s small about the pygmy sloth―its population is too. But scientists at the Smithsonian say things may be looking up […]

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Kickstarter funding: Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit

The Smithsonian is embarking on a multi-project partnership with Kickstarter, the funding platform for creative projects. The inaugural project will support conservation of Neil Armstrong’s […]

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Digitized, Searchable Archives Help Revive ‘Sleeping’ Languages

Like other kids at summer camp, a group of youngsters in the cities of Miami, Okla. and Fort Wayne, Ind. play games, work on crafts […]

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Trapped in Amber: Ancient fossils reveal remarkable stability of Caribbean lizard communities

Tiny Anolis lizards preserved since the Miocene in amber are giving scientists a true appreciation of the meaning of community stability. Dating back some 15 […]

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Jamestown skeletons identified as colony leaders

Within the 1608 church where Pocahontas and John Rolfe married, the skeletal remains of four early settlers were uncovered during a 2013 archaeological dig at […]

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Old bombs, chemical weapons now home for deep-sea starfish

Surplus mustard gas canisters and unexploded bombs dumped in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii after WWII, have become, scientists say, a potential reef that is […]

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