Prehistoric human populations of hunter-gatherers in a region of North America grew at the same rate as farming societies in Europe, according to a new […]

The post Research shows same growth rate for farming, non-farming societies appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

She was a stunning brown queen; drowned some 46 million years ago in a shallow lake in Montana. Her remains, recently recovered along the Flathead […]

The post New Montana ant species emerge from 46-million-year-old rock appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The bush dog is one of the most enigmatic of the world’s canid species, seldom seen throughout its range in Central and South America. New […]

The post Elusive bush dog widespread in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New fossils found in Northeastern China have revealed a remarkable evolutionary coincidence: an extinct group of insects known as Kalligrammatid lacewings (Order Neuroptera) share an […]

The post Remarkable butterfly look-alike lived 50 million years before butterflies appeared appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Through sheer coincidence, two Smithsonian researchers at the National Zoological Park have discovered that 18 percent of the white-tailed deer population in the Eastern United […]

The post Smithsonian study reveals white-tailed deer in eastern U.S. are infected with a malaria parasite appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts the emission of gravitational waves by massive celestial bodies moving though space-time. For the past century gravitational waves have […]

The post Astronomers complete First Search for Visible Light Associated with Gravitational Waves appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Cobia, a promising fish for aquaculture, lives throughout the world’s oceans except in the Central and Eastern Pacific. In August 2015, a large number of […]

The post Invasive Cobia Spreads in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A social media celebrity was born last week when the bright lights and camera of NOAA’s remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer zoomed in on a […]

The post Ghost octopod shows how little we know about deep-sea life appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Pop quiz! Name the first five dinosaurs that come to mind. Chances are good that one you named was Tyrannosaurs rex, a popular favorite perhaps best […]

The post New horse-sized tyrannosaur with big brain reveals how “T. rex” became top predator appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smothered in tartar sauce and cheese it’s difficult to know just what species of fish lurks beneath the breaded surface of a fast-food fish sandwich. […]

The post Smithsonian scientist creating DNA database to track Caribbean conch and lobster appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ten years ago, cownose rays in the Atlantic got a bad rap when this species (Rhinoptera bonasus) was accused of excessively eating up scallops in […]

The post Cownose Rays Aquitted: Not Guilty of Decimating Chesapeake Oysters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Remember the scene in Moonraker where Robert Kiel, as the steel-toothed character Jaws, bites through a tram cable that sends Roger Moore’s James Bond sprawling? […]

The post Smithsonian Discovery: 46-million-year-old beetle had zinc jaws appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nocturnal, solitary and fiercely territorial the adult Egyptian pigmy shrew—one of the smallest mammals on earth—weighs just 7 grams. French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire first […]

The post Sacred shrew mummies reveal species distribution in ancient Egypt appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Because there is no polite way to ask a mite to sit still for its portrait, Gary Bauchan often gives his tiny subjects a shot […]

The post Enjoy Face Time with Seven of Earth’s 3-5 Million Mite Species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Higher acidity in coastal waters can make fish more sensitive to low oxygen, causing them to become debilitated and suffocate in water with oxygen levels […]

The post Acidification, Low Oxygen Can be Deadly Combination for Fish appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers announced today that they have found the organic molecule methyl alcohol, or methanol, in the TW Hydrae protoplanetary disk. This is the first such […]

The post Methanol reveals comets forming in distant solar system appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As the Zika virus is rapidly taking hold around the world, health officials are racing to find its cause and prevent further spread of the […]

The post Smithsonian’s mosquito collection is weapon in battle against Zika appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The planet’s last stronghold of wild cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) is losing genetic diversity at an alarming rate according to a new study from the Smithsonian […]

The post Smithsonian Study reveals Decline of Genetic Diversity in Wild Cheetahs appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Meet Scorpaenodes barrybrowni is a scorpionfish species newly discovered by Smithsonian scientists using a manned submersible in the deep-reef waters of the Caribbean island of Curaçao. It […]

The post New bright orange-red scorpionfish discovered deep in Caribbean appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A bite mark on a homicide victim’s skin is not an unusual discovery. A criminal’s teeth marks are also occasionally found on food at a […]

The post Crime bite: DNA on half-eaten food may someday send crooks to jail appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

With over 138 million collection objects, 2.1 million library volumes, and 137,000 cubic feet of archives, the stories of how our collections have made their […]

The post Seventeen Objects for 170 Years (Happy Birthday to us!) appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

(Study is one of dozens to be presented by bird scientists this week at the 2016 North American Ornithological Conference in Washington, D.C.) To catch tuna […]

The post Fishing gear entanglements of marine birds is focus of Smithsonian ecologist’s study appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Keith Gagnon, a 9-year-old fascinated by birds, talks about the importance of bird conservation and why birds really matter. Step outside your house in the […]

The post Why Birds Really Matter: Keith Gagnon appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

President Jimmy Carter, an avid birder, talks about the importance of bird conservation and why birds really matter. Step outside your house in the morning […]

The post Why Birds Really Matter: President Jimmy Carter appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The center of the Milky Way galaxy is currently a quiet place where a supermassive black hole slumbers, only occasionally slurping small sips of hydrogen […]

The post The Milky Way’s blowout bash 6 million years ago! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

According to a new study, eating sea turtle eggs increases the health risk of heavy metal exposure in local communities in Panama and may provide […]

The post Human health risks of eating sea turtle eggs could benefit species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ricardo Moreno, research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama and director of the Yaguará Panamá Foundation, reported at the 20th Congress […]

The post 26 jaguars killed in Panama so far this year appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

There’s something exciting and strange about having an idea. It can come suddenly. Unexpectedly. Randomly. Intensely. Ideas can uninvitingly appear full-forced and bright—like the cliché […]

The post Making the Smithsonian’s New “Sidedoor” podcast series a reality appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Crustaceans that thrive in the vastness of the open ocean have no place to hide from their predators. Consequently, many creatures that live at depths […]

The post Tiny ocean crustaceans wear invisibility cloak of living bacteria appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

With roughly 5,500 individuals remaining in the wild, the black rhino population is critically endangered. To help save these iconic African giants, at risk for […]

The post A Planet in Peril: Q&A with Suzan Murray of the Smithsonian Global Health Program appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Living in deep reefs in the Atlantic Ocean, the banded basslet, a small and colorful species with a wide range of distribution, has long been […]

The post Fishy Caribbean ‘juveniles’ recognized as new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In 1969, 60 to 100 peacock bass imported from Buga, Colombia, were introduced into a pond in Panama for sport fishing. Several individuals escaped. By […]

The post Peacock bass invasion Had devastating, long-term impact on Panama’s Fish appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent underwater photographs and video from the National Marine Park of the southern Caribbean island of Bonaire has led to the discovery of a new species […]

The post Meet the candy striped hermit crab, a new Caribbean species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fat, toxic and nocturnal, cane toads (Rhinella marina) are abundant today in Hawaii, even though they are South American natives. Released on the Hawaiian Islands […]

The post Two invasive species have Hawaiian reunion after 80-year separation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief spurts of radio emission, lasting just one-thousandth of a second, whose origins are mysterious. Fewer than two dozen have […]

The post Astronomers propose cell phone search for galactic radio bursts appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To fully know a species and develop sound conservation efforts, its full life cycle must be understood. But tracking small migratory birds for thousands of […]

The post Keeping Track of Kirtland’s Warbler All Year Long―A Scientific First appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

“Think of a lion shrunk to the size of a mouse that needs to eat every 20 minutes or so.” That is a shrew, says […]

The post New Costa Rican shrew species named from a single specimen found 44 years ago appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Tool use by sea otters to break open well-armored food is not necessarily a family matter, according to a new study published this week by […]

The post Tool use by sea otters has little to do with genetic ties: Smithsonian study appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A bizarre change occurs in the mouth of a humpback whale during its development in the womb. Several dozen tooth buds sprout in a row […]

The post Paleo-detectives energize great whale mystery: how & when baleen evolved appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Whales from both poles migrate long distances to breed in tropical waters. Smithsonian scientist Hector M. Guzman and Fernando Félix at the Salinas Whale Museum […]

The post Whale tagging in Southeast Pacific provides data for species protection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fetching close to $1,500 per pound, ivory ranks fourth in black-market traded items just behind illegal drugs, weapons, and humans. Governments across the globe are […]

The post New technique may help authorities quickly ID real and fake ivory products appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The world’s most indestructible species, the tardigrade, an eight-legged micro-animal, also known as the water bear, will survive until the Sun dies, according to a […]

The post Study determines microscopic water bears will be Earth’s last survivors appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Using new numerical simulations and observations, scientists may now be able to explain why the Sun’s magnetic field reverses every eleven years. This significant discovery […]

The post 3D simulations reveals why the Sun flips its magnetic field every 11 years appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a new study in which one of humankind’s most high-tech tools was used to analyze one of its most primitive, scientists have uncovered evidence […]

The post Laser beams unveil secrets locked inside primitive stone spear points appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Covered in sharp spines, when harassed the porcupine fish inflates like a balloon. Think of a small soccer ball bristling all over with nails. Most predators […]

The post Indestructible jaws from ancient, extinct porcupine fish reveal new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In everyday life, ultraviolet, or UV, light earns a bad reputation for being responsible for sunburns and other harmful effects on humans. However, research suggests […]

The post In search for life, ultraviolet light may be ultra important appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Plastic debris floating in the ocean has become a powerful new passport to far-away destinations for a wide variety of invasive species, according to new […]

The post Tsunami reveals drifting ocean plastic opens globe to invasive castaways appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Chances are, if you’ve been stung by a jellyfish along the Chesapeake Bay it was by a sea nettle jellyfish–one of the most common and […]

The post Scientists discover common sea nettle jellyfish is actually two distinct species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A bat specimen collected in France at the end of World War I, since housed in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural […]

The post DNA on 100-year-old bat from France may help fight deadly fungus in North America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

With a non-stop babble of hums, grunts and shrill squeals as they argue over fish and defend their territories, the Amazon’s giant otters are one […]

The post With voices joined in chorus, giant otter families create a distinct sound signature appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.