A new study of marmosets, small South American monkeys, indicates that obesity may begin very early in life and suggests that marmosets may be a helpful model for obesity in humans.

The post Is obesity predestined at infancy? Marmoset study may help scientists find out. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough, left, talks with Carlos Jaramillo, scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, at a research site near the Panama […]

The post Wayne Clough & Carlos Jaramillo, at a research site near the Panama Canal. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Paleontologists studying an extreme short-term global warming event have discovered direct evidence about how mammals respond to rising temperatures. In a study that appeared recently […]

The post Evolution of earliest horses driven by climate change appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The discovery of two new extinct camel species by scientists from the University of Florida and the Smithsonian is casting new light on the history of the tropics, a region containing more than half the world's biodiversity and some of its most important ecosystems.

The post Two new species of extinct camels discovered in Panama Canal excavations appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Sun’s Active Region 1429 has been shooting off flares and coronal mass ejections since it rotated into Earth’s view on March 2, 2012. Two X-class flares have been released overnight, an X1.3 and an X5.4.

The post X-Class flares released by the Sun, March 6, captured by Atmospheric Imaging Assembly appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This composite image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) shows the distribution of dark matter, galaxies, and hot […]

The post Chandra image of the core of the merging galaxy cluster Abell 520 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new X-ray study of the remains of an exploded star indicates that the supernova that disrupted the massive star may have turned it inside out in the process.

The post Remains of exploded star indicate supernova turned it inside out appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study by astrophysicists at the University of Utah and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., has found a new explanation for the growth of supermassive black holes: they repeatedly capture and swallow single stars from pairs of stars that get too close.

The post Steady diet of binary star partners makes black holes grow “supermassive” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

16,000 square kilometers of giant panda habitat will likely be lost by the year 2080

The post Panda habitat to be lost, shifted by climate change appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To celebrate its 22nd anniversary in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope has released a dramatic new image of the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known […]

The post New image of the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Roy Clarke, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, is shown in 1977 with the Old Woman Meteorite, the second largest meteorite ever […]

The post Old Woman Meteorite appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The only explanation for such symmetry across these vast distances, explains Smithsonian anthropologist Dennis Stanford, is that the method of creating the points was handed down from person to person.

The post 3-D imaging adds remarkable new understanding of North America’s mysterious Clovis people appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists from the Smithsonian and University of British Columbia have discovered a sensory organ in the chin of rorqual whales that communicates to the brain. It orchestrates the dramatic adjustments needed in jaw position and throat-pouch expansion to make lunge feeding successful

The post Scientists discover sensory organ in baleen whales that choreographs movement of their massive jaws and throat-pouch appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of researchers producing the first complete human genome sequence — the genetic blueprint of the human body — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, will open a new high-tech, high-intensity exhibition in 2013.

The post 2013 exhibition to celebrate first complete human genome sequence appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent geologic mapping of the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars—an intensely eroded deposit near the northern edge of the cratered highlands—has revealed a wider distribution of its western component than was previously recognized.

The post New mapping of Mars shows Medusae Fossae Formation older than once thought appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The newfound jets may be related to mysterious gamma-ray bubbles that Fermi detected in 2010. Those bubbles also stretch 27,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way.

The post Ghostly gamma-ray beams blast from Milky Way’s center appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Their research revealed that the types of waterbirds that inhabit urban estuaries are influenced not only by urban development, but also by a far more natural process―rain.

The post Scientists find that rain may not always be a welcome thing to waterbirds appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New research by a team of astronomers found that planets smaller than Neptune are located around a wide variety of stars, including those with fewer heavy elements than the Sun.

The post Alien Earths may have formed in Universe earlier than expected appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The newly reported reconstruction of Amazonian prehistory by a Smithsonian scientist, Dolores R. Piperno, and her colleagues suggests that large areas of western Amazonia were sparsely inhabited.

The post Report paints a new picture of early human impact on the Amazon River Basin appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Accumulations of drifting snow are the most plausible explanation for the presence of a number of puzzling alluvial fan deposits found inside large impact craters on Mars

The post Melting snow likely created fan deposits inside Martian craters, geologists say appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A July 12 news alert from NASA indicates a X1.4 class solar flare erupted from the center of the Sun, peaking July 12 at 12:52 P.M.

The post Coronal mass ejection from July 12 solar flare headed toward Earth; minor geomagnetic storm activity predicted appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The scientists made the spiders exercise by irritating them with a small paint brush and causing them to move around until they became exhausted. Spiders from the group with palps removed were able to travel 300 percent further than spiders with their palps intact.

The post Weight of genitals reduces physical endurance in male orb web spiders, researchers find appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Today, astronomers are releasing the highest-resolution images ever taken of the Sun's corona, or million-degree outer atmosphere, in an extreme-ultraviolet wavelength of light.

The post Astronomers release highest-resolution images ever of the Sun’s corona appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists determine there is more to the shape and length of bird bills than just how they “get the worm.”

The post New study determines bill size in birds varies according to climate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

They observed that no plugs were ever formed during mating trials, but instead, females exposed to many males produced the amorphous plugs during the egg-laying process.

The post Female spiders produce mating plugs to prevent unwanted sex from males appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) has released the largest three-dimensional map of massive galaxies and distant black holes ever created.

The post Largest ever 3D map of the sky released by astronomers appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

One such parasite lurks in Chesapeake Bay: an invasive barnacle that hijacks a mud crab’s reproductive system and impregnates it with parasite larvae—even if the crab is male.

The post Undersea parasite turns male mud crabs female appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A rising spike in West Nile virus is taking health officials across the country by surprise as this year more than 2,600 people in 45 states and the District of Columbia, have been stricken with severe symptoms of this mosquito-transmitted disease.

The post As robins disperse, West Nile mosquitoes switch diet to humans: Q&A with Smithsonian ornithologist Peter Marra appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute are recommending that Panama adopt revised traffic patterns and slower speeds for vessels crossing the Gulf of Panama to reduce the risk of collisions between ships and whales.

The post Ships need to slow down for whales in Gulf of Panama, scientists advise appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study finds that since 1985, half of Australia's Great Barrier Reef coral has died.

The post Smithsonian marine biologist Nancy Knowlton discusses Great Barrier Reef coral dieoff on PBS NewsHour appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A specimen recently pulled from deep in the southwest Atlantic may represent a new species of squid, say scientist who have studied the animal’s unusual morphology. But then again, it may not…

The post As they grow some squid change dramatically, making scientists cautious about naming new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A rare Longman’s beaked whale found stranded on the Hawaiian island of Maui in 2010 has scientists in Hawaii on the alert for a deadly disease known as morbillivirus which can lead to high mortality rates in dolphins and other marine mammals.

The post Rare whale beached in Hawaii infected with deadly marine-mammal virus appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, a unique program in terms of its academic offerings and contributions to the field of conservation, celebrated the completion of its expansive new academic facilities today, Oct. 18, at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.

The post Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and George Mason University dedicate new academic facilities in Front Royal, Va. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the University of Arizona and in California have completed the most challenging large astronomical mirror ever made.

The post First of seven mirrors completed for Giant Magellan Telescope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Justin Touchon, post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, discovered that climate change in Panama may be altering frogs’ course of evolution.

The post Climate change may alter amphibian evolution appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The goal of the project—the Smithsonian’s Tennenbaum Marine Observatories—is to monitor the ocean’s coastal ecosystems over a long period of time.

The post Smithsonian launches Global Marine Biodiversity Project with $10 million donation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The new Sant Director of the National Museum of Natural History, Kirk Johnson, had only been on the job for 26 days when he got […]

The post Female “spidernaut” settles into new home at Smithsonian’s Insect Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists and partners find that technique meant to keep animals and humans safe has opposite effects.

The post Relocating elephants fails to decrease human–wildlife conflict appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This past summer, Laura Walker became the first scientist to collect slime molds from soils at the Barro Colorado Nature Monument in Panama, a reserve administered by the Smithsonain since 1946.

The post Panama’s slime molds get attention from Arkansas University grad student appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The western long-beaked echidna, one of the world's five egg-laying species of mammal, became extinct in Australia thousands of years ago…or did it?

The post Scientists discover long-beaked echidna may not be a thing of the past in Australia appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Clearly visible connecting the dark-purple cephalopods was the white “terminal organ” or penis of the male, extending out through the male’s funnel.

The post First detailed sex video of deep-sea squid resolves long-standing mysteries as to how these animals mate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Archaeologists working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama have discovered a cluster of 12 unusual stones in the back of a small, prehistoric rock-shelter near the town of Boquete.

The post 4,000-year-old shaman’s stones discovered near Boquete, Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The process of freezing materials such as fertilized eggs – cryopreservation – provides researchers with a tool to repopulate endangered species.

The post Klondike, puppy born from a frozen embryo, fetches good news for endangered animals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Chris Crowe, keeper of the National Zoo’s 15 white-naped cranes, is well acquainted with the strong attachments these graceful Asian birds form with their mates.

The post With no credit to Cupid, white-naped crane couples remain faithful for life appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marc Fries, a research associate in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, answers some basic questions about meteorites.

The post Russian Meteor Q&A with Smithsonian Expert Marc Fries appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Even dying stars could host planets with life – and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade. […]

The post New evidence of extraterrestrial life may come from dying stars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Small migratory male birds that winter in a stressful environment age faster than those that winter in a high-quality habitat, according to research stemming from […]

The post Small migratory birds age faster in stressful places, study reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Imagine a sphere more than 2 million miles across – eight times the distance from Earth to the Moon – spinning so fast that its […]

The post Supermassive black hole spins super fast appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

March is Women’s History Month and to honor it Smithsonianscience.com presents six images of women scientists selected from the Smithsonian Institution Archvies’s Flicker photoset Women […]

The post Six pioneering female scientists you’ve probably never heard of… appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New maps of the subsurface of Mars show for the first time buried channels below the surface of the red planet. Mars is considered to […]

The post Water channels discovered on Mars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.