A groundbreaking study by Harvard University’s Harvard Forest and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute reveals that, if left unchecked, recent trends in the loss of […]

The post Sprawl threatens water quality, climate protection, and land conservation in Massachusetts appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For scientists who study non-insect invertebrates, the sheer diversity of these odd and fascinating creatures is both intoxicating and daunting. Occupying niches in habitats the […]

The post Non-insect invertebrates are focus of new global genome-sequencing alliance appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

W49A might be one of the best-kept secrets in our galaxy. This star-forming region shines 100 times brighter than the Orion nebula, but is so […]

The post SMA reveals giant star cluster in the making appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute rung in 2014 with the hatching of the most endangered species in its collection—a Micronesian kingfisher—Jan. 1. The chick, whose […]

The post Micronesian kingfisher chick hatches at the National Zoo’s Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Out in Montana’s Big Sky Country Dale Greenwalt spends his summers seeking the incredibly tiny and fragile. Armed with a putty knife honed razor-sharp on […]

The post Quality of insect fossils from Montana’s Flathead River astounds scientists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Animal keepers at the National Zoo have been hand feeding a female gray seal pup, born Jan. 21 at 10:21 p.m., in the holding area […]

The post Gray seal pup born appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new coral species, Psammogorgia hookeri, has been collected by scuba divers from rocky ledges at depths to 25 meters in Peru’s Paracas National Reserve. The […]

The post Fiery-red coral species discovered in the Peruvian Pacific appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Paddling the remote oxbow lakes and bayous of the White River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, the team of scientists was seeking proof of a […]

The post Nest discovery turns back the clock to days of Daniel Boone and Colonial America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

It has all the hallmarks of a paleontological crime scene: a massive graveyard along a remote desert highway containing the fossil bones of at least […]

The post Algae assassin found responsible for whale mass grave in Chile appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The largest fully preserved great ape collection in the world is about to make its online debut.

The post Unlocking secrets–technology allows scientists to peer inside great apes appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Chip a tooth and expose a nerve and the result can be a searing sensitivity to hot and cold. The hard outer layer of a […]

The post Scientists map pathway from narwhals’ sensitive tusk to brain appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Mention coral reefs and images like snorkeling, tropical fish and sunny island getaways pop to mind. Vacation packages are not being offered, however, for many […]

The post Cold, dark and lonely: Deep-water corals thrive where the sun never shines appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

John Kovac of the Harvard-­Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has been named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. 

The post Kovac among Time’s most influential appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Save the Rhinos! Save the Elephants! Save the humans?! It seems strange to be connecting our own fate to that of wildlife but new research […]

The post Losing large mammals increases human risk from rodent-borne diseases appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The galaxy known as M87 has a fastball that would be the envy of any baseball pitcher. It has thrown an entire star cluster toward […]

The post Star cluster thrown out of its galaxy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Move over Matrix, astronomers have done you one better. They have created the first realistic virtual universe using a computer simulation called “Illustris.” Illustris can […]

The post Astronomers create first realistic virtual universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A newly released study focusing on an extinct species, the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), has revealed just how evolutionarily unique its only two living […]

The post Too valuable to lose: Extinct relative reveals rarity of last two remaining monk seal species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time in roughly 2 million years, melting Arctic sea ice is connecting the north Pacific and north Atlantic oceans. The newly opened […]

The post Global warming will open Arctic to invasive species, Smithsonian scientists say appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Republic of Panama’s proposal to implement four Traffic Separation Schemes for commercial vessels entering and exiting the Panama Canal and ports was approved unanimously […]

The post Commercial shipping lanes changed in Panama to save humpback whales appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A research team from the Smithsonian and Arizona State University have developed a new, non-destructive method using spectroscopic analysis to help unravel the complex chemistry […]

The post Feathers yield mysteries of pigment chemistry to spectroscopic analysis appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Two worlds orbiting a distant star are about to become a snack of cosmic proportions. Astronomers have announced that the planets Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c will […]

The post Star set to swallow two planets appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The world of astronomy has changed. An astronomer used to have to travel to a remote location and endure long, cold nights, patiently guiding a […]

The post Mining astronomical archives yields haul of “red nugget” galaxies appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A mysterious X-ray signal has been found in a detailed study of galaxy clusters using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton. One intriguing possibility […]

The post Mysterious X-ray signal from space appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The name Panama is said to mean “abundance of fish.” Now a new study estimates that between 1950 and 2010, the amount of fish taken […]

The post Panamanian fish catch is vastly under-reported, study reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity predicts that accelerated masses emit gravitational waves, or ripples in space-time. Even though gravitational waves have yet to be detected […]

The post Gemini reveals a gravitational wave source in hiding appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Defining what makes a star “Sun-like” is as difficult as defining what makes a planet “Earth-like.” A solar twin should have a temperature, mass, and […]

The post Sun-like stars reveal their ages appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The practice of selectively fishing male blue crabs in the Chesapeake—intended to give females a chance to reproduce—may have a hidden cost. A Bay without […]

The post With too few males, blue crab population may be put at risk appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Humanity is on the threshold of being able to detect signs of alien life on other worlds. By studying exoplanet atmospheres, we can look for […]

The post Finding ET by searching for alien air pollution appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., are celebrating the anniversary of the first birth of a Przewalski’s horse by artificial […]

The post First Przewalski’s horse born by artificial insemination birthday appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In the United States, natural-gas production from shale rock has increased by more than 700 percent since 2007. Yet scientists still do not fully understand […]

The post Biological fallout of shale-gas production still largely unknown appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Wetlands Wetlands are one of the habitats to benefit most from conservation. The North American Wetlands Conservation Act has enabled strategic conservation projects covering a […]

The post The State of the Birds: Four critical habitats (videos) appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

One hundred years after the extinction of the passenger pigeon, the nation’s top bird science and conservation groups have come together to publish The State […]

The post “The State of the Birds” assesses health of nation’s birds appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The report card is in for the state of the birds in the USA. So how did we do? Certainly not an A+ or even […]

The post Our birds are in real trouble. Can we fix it? Yes we can! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Before iPhones and laptops there were human computers, some of whom worked at the Harvard College Observatory. Women like Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Williamina Fleming, and […]

The post Volunteers needed to preserve astronomical history and promote discovery appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Human skin and gut microbes influence processes from digestion to disease resistance. Despite the fact that tropical forests are the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems on […]

The post Smithsonian scientists discover tropical tree microbiome in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

What crunchy food did Americans spend $5.5 billion on last year—with sales that spiked before snow and ice storms? If you guessed birdseed then you […]

The post Simple tips to keep your backyard birds healthy this winter appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When some of the world’s largest mammals come your way, most animals steer clear. Not the genet. The small cat-like carnivore was captured on film […]

The post Maybe it’s safer riding a rhino. Genet expert poses new ideas on the mammal’s hitchhiking behavior appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Imagine sitting down at your favorite restaurant when something under the table begins painfully pinching and snipping at your toes. This is basically how T. […]

The post Diversity of resident crabs is key to coral survival appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study by Florida State University and Smithsonian Institution biologists shows that bleaching events brought on by rising sea temperatures are having a detrimental […]

The post Study: Bleaching events impair long-term coral reproduction appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

You too can meet a kiwi! Micaela Jemison from Smithsonian Science takes us to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo where she gets up close and personal […]

The post Meet a Kiwi at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study of microorganisms living on the skin and in the intestines of North America vultures (black and turkey vultures) has turned up a […]

The post Vultures remarkably tolerant to deadly bacteria, study reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The genomes of modern birds tell a story of how they emerged and evolved after the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs 66 million years […]

The post International team maps ‘big bang’ of bird evolution appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Cassiopeia A, or Cas A for short, is one of the most well studied supernova remnants in our galaxy. But it still holds major surprises.  […]

The post 3-D Map of Supernova Remnant Reveals Frothy Interior appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Reptiles have a rough exterior that make them seem like they don’t need a lot of very specific care. The reality is quite the opposite. […]

The post Reptile rejuvenation at National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Native Americans and America’s early colonists ate many more blue crabs than modern researchers previously thought, according to a team of scientists studying crab remains […]

The post American Indians, colonists had healthy appetite for crabs, study shows appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Zombies have been part of popular culture for decades. The living dead rising and taking over the world is a terrifying concept, worthy of Hollywood […]

The post It’s science: zombies already walk among us appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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 […]

The post Corn entered Southwest U.S. first along highland route, DNA shows appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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 […]

The post New App adds Virtual Flesh to Victorian-era Bone exhibit appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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 […]

The post As Stars Form, Magnetic Fields Influence Regions Big and Small appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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 […]

The post Study: Male bonding brings peace, lets primates live in big groups appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.