Eleven bats remain in the National Zoo’s colony. The initial challenge the team faced was how to feed the animals. Virginia big-eared bats, which are a subspecies of the Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinuss townsendii), eat while flying.

The post Captive colony of Virginia big-eared bats providing valuable lessons in battle against deadly white-nose syndrome appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recently, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama discovered that the brain region responsible for learning and memory is larger in the social queens than in the solitary queens of this species. Their study is the first comparison of the brain sizes of social and non-social individuals of the same species.

The post For sweat bees, being social builds a more developed brain appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Eric Silver of SAO is pursuing innovative and interdisciplinary uses of his technique for chemical imaging at the cellular level.

The post Technology developed for X-ray astronomy is being adapted to study cancer cells appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Caddo people of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma have maintained many of their traditional ways and actively work to preserve their unique tribal cultural today. One example is the pottery of Jeri Redcorn.

The post Clay vessels by Native American potter Jeri Redcorn added to Smithsonian collections appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When it comes to brains, is bigger better? Can the tiny brain of a newly hatched spiderling handle problems as adeptly as the brain of a larger adult spider?

The post Tiny, new brains prove just as adept as large, mature brains among tropical orb-web spiders appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is a major partner in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, which is a group of four telescopes on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory that photograph the sun in 10 different wavelength bands, or colors, once every 10 seconds.

The post NASA’s new eye on the sun delivers stunning images appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This innovative facility will be at the front line of Earth defense by searching for "killer" asteroids and comets. It will map large portions of the sky nightly, making it an efficient sleuth for not just asteroids but also supernovae and other variable objects.

The post Super sensitive telescope will detect “killer” asteroids and comets on collision course with Earth appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

It seems the stuff of science fiction, but astronomers have found a real-life “Death Star” that shredded a rocky planet and is swallowing the dusty remains.

The post “Death Star” Shreds, Swallows Dwarf Planet appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo recently acquired Japanese giant salamanders given to the Zoo by the City of Hiroshima Asa Zoological Park. This donation will be the foundation of a new long-term breeding program in the United States and may play an important role in saving amphibians around the globe.

The post Japanese giant salamanders given to the National Zoo by Asa Zoological Park in Hiroshima appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The funding will allow the National Science Resources Center to validate its LASER (Leadership Assistance for Science Education Reform) Model. LASER, a systemic approach to reform, is a set of processes and strategies designed to help state, district and school leadership teams effectively implement and sustain
high-quality science education for elementary, middle and secondary school students.

The post NSRC to receive $25 million Investing in Innovation grant from U.S. Department of Education appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To understand the effects of road salting on ants, Michael Kaspari of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the University of Oklahoma led a team that looked at how ant colonies are affected by these conditions; their research is published in a recent issue of the journal Ecological Entomology.

The post Study reveals road salt may promote health and well-being of roadside ant colonies appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Breitburg and her team want to determine just how much stress they cause. Over the next five years they will conduct a series of lab and field experiments that examine how diel-cycling hypoxia and the associated acidification affects the growth and disease rates in striped bass, the eastern oyster and other ecologically and economically important Chesapeake Bay species. They will also study the animals’ behavioral responses to these changes.

The post Smithsonian ecologists to examine “dead zones” in Chesapeake Bay with $1.4 million NOAA grant appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Darwin's bark spider cast giant webs across streams, rivers and lakes, suspending the web’s orb above water and attaching it to plants on each riverbank. Bridgelines of these water-spanning webs have been measured as long as 25 meters.

The post Newly discovered Madagascar spider spins largest, toughest webs on record appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new computer simulation by Gurtina Besla of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and her colleagues now shows that the Magellanic Stream resulted from a past close encounter between two dwarf galaxies rather than effects of the Milky Way.

The post Milky Way sidelined in galactic tug of war appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Should global warming cause sea levels to rise as predicted in coming decades, thousands of archaeological sites in coastal areas around the world will be lost to erosion. With no hope of saving all of these sites, three archaeologists—Leslie Reeder of Southern Methodist University, Jon Erlandson of the University of Oregon and Torben Rick from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History—have issued a call to action for scientists to assess the sites most at risk around the world.

The post Scientists issue call to action for archaeological sites threatened by rising seas, urban development appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A roundup of recent articles featuring spiders, bats and rats....

The post A Halloween roundup featuring recent articles on spiders, bats and rats appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The most puzzling characteristic of deep-sea dragonfishes (stromiids) is found where their backbone (or vertebral column) approaches the back of their skull. In the anterior region of the backbone, these […]

The post Deep-sea dragonfish research appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Today, researchers who found the first hypervelocity stars escaping the Milky Way announced that their search also turned up a dozen double-star systems. Half of those are merging and might explode as supernovae in the astronomically near future.

The post Astronomers discover merging star systems that might explode appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Scarlet Knight, as the glider is called, made nautical history as the first submersible glider to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The post Rutgers glider added to the collections of the National Museum of Natural History appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Thepytus carmen, a newly described species of butterfly from Brazil, was recently named in memory of Carmen Lúcia Buck in recognition of the gracious support […]

The post Thepytus carmen, a newly described species of butterfly from Brazil appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, may have been the result of a giant impact that sent rocks and debris into orbit around Mars, instead of asteroids that were captured by the planet’s gravity as previously thought.

The post Giant impact may explain origin of Martian moons Phobos and Deimos appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Despite the general perception of exurban development as environmentally preferable to urban sprawl, this is not necessarily correct. Housing development is detrimental for natural bird communities even at low housing levels.

The post Exurban development is changing communities of birds in Eastern Forests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute community ecologist Sunshine Van Bael primarily examines the relationship between leaf cutter ants–the world’s first farmers–and the fungi that they cultivate.

The post New online video series to feature Tropical Research Institute scientists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Office of Public Affairs videographers Johnny Gibbons and Brian Ireley recently headed down to the Punta Culebra Nature Center on the edge of Panama City […]

The post New online video series to feature Tropical Research Institute scientists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A recent experiment by scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama has revealed just how rising atmospheric carbon dioxide will deliver a one-two […]

The post Rising ocean temperatures and acidity may deliver deadly one-two punch to the world’s corals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To honor Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer John Huchra, who passed away in October 2010, his friends and colleagues at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have created a […]

The post New interactive World Wide Telescope tour chronicles career of Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer John Huchra appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a new paper, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer Hagai Perets studies the role of binary planetesimals--clumps that orbit each other and jointly mature via three basic processes.

The post New study examines how planetesimals influence the development of a planetary system appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The male’s fluke design helps it overcome the drag caused by their long tusks, the scientists determined. The female’s fluke design gives them increased speed for diving while foraging.

The post Narwhal fluke design helps compensate for drag caused by tusk appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has discovered the first direct evidence for a superfluid, a bizarre, friction-free state of matter, at the core of a neutron star.

The post Astronomers detect bizarre superfluid in core of neutron star appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Evidence for a diversified sea-based economy among North American inhabitants dating from 12,200 to 11,400 years ago is emerging from three sites on California's Channel Islands.

The post New archaeological evidence reveals California’s Channel Islands as North America’s earliest seafaring economy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The words “box jelly” may bring to mind something sweet and tasty, but the banded box jelly of Bonaire is a highly venomous jellyfish with […]

The post “Ohboya!” It’s the Bonaire banded box jellyfish, a new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

There is a new candidate for coldest known star: a brown dwarf with about the same temperature as a hot cup of coffee. That’s cool enough to begin crossing the blurry line between small cold stars and big hot planets.

The post New candidate for “coldest star” is same temperature as a hot cup of coffee appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Faced with insufficient time and inadequate library resources to tackle the problem on their own, they instead posted a catalog of specimen images to Facebook and turned to their network of colleagues for help.

The post Facebook friends help scientists quickly identify nearly 5,000 fish specimens collected in Guyana appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The discovery of a pattern of X-ray “stripes” in the remains of an exploded star may provide the first direct evidence that a cosmic event […]

The post X-ray stripes in exploded star may reveal highest energies of cosmic rays produced in our Galaxy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To help regulators and engineers develop and test such treatment systems, and ultimately enforce these standards, a team of researchers developed a statistical model to see how to count small, scarce organisms in large volumes of water accurately.

The post Smithsonian researchers help block ship-borne bioinvaders with new screening strategy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

“Our results support the idea that environmental conditions on tropical non-breeding areas can influence the departure time for spring migration,” said Colin Studds, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Migratory Bird Center and lead author of the study.

The post Smithsonian scientists find declining rainfall is a major influence for migrating birds appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If intelligent and more advanced civilizations exist on other planets then its a good bet that some of these civilizations turned to asteroid mining long ago. If so, the hallmarks of their mining activities, such as unusual dirty halos of cast-off dust and debris around large asteroids, might be detectable from earth.

The post Evidence of asteroid mining in our galaxy may lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial civilizations appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a recent study of the mating behavior of these Asian spiders, researchers found that 87.5 percent of males had both palps amputated during copulation.

The post Don’t pick a fight with a eunuch spider. It has nothing to lose appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Sita (SEE-ta), a 2-year-old female clouded leopard at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., gave birth to these two cubs on Monday, […]

The post Clouded leopard cubs born at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Discovery, the longest-serving orbiter in the space shuttle fleet, will be accepted into the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum collection. The space shuttle has been the icon for American spaceflight for a generation, and Discovery has flown every type of mission during its 27-year career.

The post Space shuttle Discovery to be added to National Air and Space Museum collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new bacterial genome sequence could help researchers solve a mystery as to how microorganisms produce a highly toxic form of mercury.

The post New bacteria genome may help solve mystery of how methylmercury is made appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers of the future won't have to take the Big Bang on faith. With careful measurements and clever analysis, they can find the subtle evidence outlining the history of the universe.

The post Astronomers in distant future might still deduce the Big Bang origin of the Universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A remarkable 5,000-year-old deposit of bones representing an entire herd of Persian gazelles recently discovered in northeastern Syria is firm evidence, scientists say, of an ancient hunting practice largely responsible for the near extinction of gazelles in this region today.

The post Archaeological evidence confirms mass hunting of gazelles 5,000 years ago appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In addition to the species name, Leafsnap provides high-resolution photographs and information about the tree's flowers, fruit, seeds and bark—giving the user a comprehensive understanding of the specie

The post Leafsnap, a new mobile app that identifies plants by leaf shape, is launched by Smithsonian and collaborators appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The predictability and scale of seasonal changes in a habitat help determine the distance migratory species move and whether the animals always travel together to the same place or independently to different locations.

The post Changes in vegetation determine how animals migrate, scientists find in new National Zoo study appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists have discovered hundreds of new species around the world. To mark this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22, here is a […]

The post Slideshow: Species discovered by Smithsonian researchers the past decade appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This new research, which involved both surface and aerial surveys, has revealed an enormous aggregation of whale sharks—the largest ever reported—with up to 420 individuals off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

The post Scientists discover the largest assembly of whale sharks ever recorded appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Zoo’s great cat program recently expanded with the arrival of two-and-a-half-year-old female Sumatran tiger, Damai, who is now out of quarantine and spending time outside in her exhibit where visitors can see her.

The post Damai, a two-and-a-half-year-old female Sumatran tiger, makes her debut at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A description and photos of the green-headed tanager (Tangara seledon), a bird native to east-central South America, can be found in the Species of the […]

The post Green-headed Tanager (Tangara seledon) of east-central South America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists have confirmed that chytridiomycosis, a rapidly spreading amphibian disease, has reached a site near Panama’s Darien region. This was the last area in the entire mountainous neotropics to be free of the disease. This is troubling news for the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, a consortium of nine U.S. and Panamanian institutions that aims to rescue 20 species of frogs in imminent danger of extinction.

The post Deadly amphibian disease detected in the last disease-free region of Central America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.