A recent decline in Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla), a ground-nesting migratory songbird, in forests in the northern Midwest United States is being linked by scientists to a seemingly unlikely culprit: earthworms.

The post Earthworms to blame for decline of Ovenbirds in northern Midwest forests, study reveals 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.

A newly described species of toothed whale that lived some 3-4 million years ago during the Pliocene, is causing scientists to reconsider what is known about its living cold-water relatives: narwhals and belugas.

The post New fossil whale species raises mystery regarding why narwhals and belugas live only in cold water appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists conducting deep-sea research in the Galapagos have described a new species of catshark. The new shark is approximately a foot long and has a chocolate-brown coloration with pale, irregularly distributed spots on its body. The spotted patterns appear to be unique to each individual.

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A baby boom is underway at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Two Guam rail (Gallirallus owstoni) chicks hatched March 3 and 4; they join six others in the Zoo’s collection—three of which live at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.

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One problem in unraveling the mystery of quasars is that many (perhaps most) quasar nuclei seem to be surrounded by a torus of obscuring dust that makes them difficult to study.

The post The origins of a torus in a galactic nucleus 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.

An international team of scientists has discovered an ‘ordinary’ black hole in the galaxy Centaurus A. This is the first time that a normal-size black hole has been detected away from the immediate vicinity of our own Galaxy.

The post “Ordinary” black hole discovered in a galaxy 12-million-light-years away appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The same device used to detect early warning signs of heart disease in humans will now benefit two male sub-adult gorillas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

The post Heart disease study to benefit lowland gorillas at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The crustaceans are much more effective when they fight together than when they fight alone, a process McKeon calls the Multiple Defender Effect. “It is a clear example of synergy, and one that underscores the importance of biodiversity in the ocean.”

The post Preventing home invasions means fighting side-by-side for coral-dwelling crabs and shrimp appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The young primate seems bright, alert, and increases its activity and independence day by day.

The post Howler monkey born at National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The snakes are not only eating the area’s birds, but also the birds’ eggs straight from the nest.

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In celebration of the annual spring appearance of the Easter bunny on Sunday, April 8, Smithsonian Science offers these five facts from the book "Rabbits: The Animal Answer Guide"

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Smithsonian astronomers have joined their colleagues from other observatories in a daring new venture: to photograph the giant black hole at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy.

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For the last 1,000 days the Infrared Array Camera, aboard NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, has been operating continuously to probe the universe from its most distant regions to our local solar neighborhood.

The post Top 10 gallery celebrates the Infrared Array Camera aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Incredibly, the narwhale’s only visible tooth is outside of its mouth. Its tusk, in fact, is a giant canine tooth—that can grow as long as 9 feet!

The post For a dentist, the narwhal’s smile is a mystery of evolution 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.

An extraordinary outburst produced by a black hole in a nearby galaxy has provided direct evidence for a population of old, volatile stellar black holes.

The post Astronomers witness black hole outburst in Spiral Galaxy M83 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Museum of Natural History will construct a new dinosaur exhibition hall made possible by a $35 million donation from David H. Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries and philanthropist.

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Researchers led by David Nesvorny of Southwest Research Institute and David Kipping of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has inferred an unseen planet, this time orbiting a distant star, marking the first success of this technique outside the solar system.

The post Unseen planet’s gravity allows Kepler Telescope to “see” it 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.

Scientists have discovered an incredible story of fungal fidelity among certain species of ants.

The post Fungal fidelity: some ants have been eating the same meal for 5 million years! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers have found strong evidence that a massive black hole is being ejected from its host galaxy at a speed of several million miles per hour.

The post Giant black hole kicked out of home galaxy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Last summer and this spring Boy Scout Arthur Carlton-Jones (shown here), working in conjunction with researchers at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., […]

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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.

This image shows a 3-D scan of the type specimen of Odobenocetops, the walrus whale, in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The skull […]

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Coral reefs worldwide are being destroyed by changes in ocean temperature and chemistry faster than at any time since the last reef crisis 55 million years ago, thousands of marine scientists warned from the International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, Australia.

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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.

By attaching tiny radio transmitters to more than 400 seeds, Patrick Jansen, scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Wageningen University, and his colleagues found that 85 percent of the seeds were buried in caches by agoutis, common, house cat-sized rodents in tropical lowlands.

The post Thieving rodents hiding seeds drives continual rejuvination of tropical forests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Two Cuban crocodiles were born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo on July 6 and 14 and they are among the most genetically valuable in the […]

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Almost half of the tropical forest reserves examined in a new study are ineffective, researchers say.

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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.

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“Ignition Sequence,” 1968, Vincent Cavallaro, oil on canvas. The power of the ignition and launch sequence of a NASA rocket is portrayed in an abstract […]

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The dying star, which lit the galactic scene, is the most distant stellar explosion of its kind ever studied.

The post Dying star illuminates distant galaxy, lifting veil of interstellar darkness for 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.

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Hew research by astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows that planets still can form in the cosmic maelstrom of Milky Way's center.

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Mei Xiang (may-SHONG), the National Zoo’s female giant panda, gave birth to a cub Sunday, Sept. 16, at 10:46 p.m.

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The Smithsonian’s National Zoo community mourns the loss of the giant panda cub born Sunday, Sept. 16.

The post New panda cub dies at National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

stronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to find evidence our Milky Way Galaxy is embedded in an enormous halo of hot gas that extends for hundreds of thousands of light years.

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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.

What scientists found was that the domestic turkey that ends up on the dinner table exhibits less genetic variation than its ancestral wild counterparts, which were first domesticated in 800 B.C..

The post Today’s domestic turkeys are genetically distinct from wild ancestors 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.

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.

Astronomers have discovered that one well-known elliptical galaxy has a split personality. Centaurus A is hiding a gassy spiral in its center.

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