The true identity of the protein found in the crystals reported by Bondoc et al. [(2019), Acta Cryst. F75, 646–651] is given.

The crystal structure of MgCoGa2 (magnesium cobalt digallide) was solved by direct methods and refined in two space groups as P21/c (standard choice) and P21/n (non-standard choice). The refined lattice parameters for the standard choice are a = 5.1505 (2), b = 7.2571 (2), c = 8.0264 (3) Å and β = 125.571 (3)°, and for the non-standard choice are a = 5.1505 (2), b = 7.2571 (2), c = 6.5464 (2) Å and β = 94.217 (3)°. All parameters for MgCoGa2 refined to R1 = 0.027 and wR2 = 0.042 using 594 reflections. The crystal structure peculiarities of this compound are discussed. Particular attention has been given to relationships with other similar structures, such as YPd2Si and Fe3C. Crystallographic analysis, together with linear muffin-tin orbital electronic structure calculations, reveals the presence of three-dimensional polyatomic nets with partial covalent bonding between the Ga atoms.

Describing his project of counting bears, bobcats and other predatory mammals along the Appalachian Trail, National Zoological Park wildlife ecologist William McShea looks to American literature for a comparison.

The post Appalachian Trail survey aims hidden cameras at large predators appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For those who think that global warming is a 21st-century phenomenon, Scott Wing, a scientist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, has news about the past.

The post Fossils Show Prehistoric Global Warming appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New measurements show that the Milky Way is bigger and more massive than previous data suggested, putting us on equal footing with our neighbor. Specifically, the Milky Way is 15 percent larger in size and contains 50 percent more mass. That is the cosmic equivalent of a 5-foot-5, 140-pound man suddenly bulking up to the size of a 6-foot-3, 210-pound NFL linebacker.

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The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama was recently given a collection of more than 25,000 different pollen grains and spores, each mounted on a microscope slide and labeled according to the plant that produced it. “The collection is worldwide in coverage with an emphasis on plants of the Americas,” explains collection donor Alan Graham, professor emeritus at Kent State University and curator at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

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It was an exciting and busy 24 hours at the National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va., last week as three births took place just hours apart. On the evening of July 9, a clouded leopard cub was born, followed by a Przewalski’s horse foal and a red panda cub.

The post Baby Boom of Endangered Species at Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In southeastern Greenland, two rivers of ice named Helheim and Kangerdlugssuaq flow in spurts and starts toward the coast. They are much like any other […]

The post Astrophysical Observatory scientists are monitoring the mysterious movements of glaciers appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The fossil teeth of a 15- to 18-million-year-old three-toed browsing horse, Anchitherium clarencei, were recently discovered by scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the […]

The post Fossil teeth of 15-million-year-old browsing horse found in Panama Canal excavations. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When songwriter Oscar Hammerstein penned the lyrics “fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly,” he clearly did not have the ratites in mind. Large flightless birds, the ratites include ostriches, emus, rheas and cassowaries, along with kiwis and several extinct species.

The post DNA evidence is rearranging the branches of the avian family tree appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

While studying bats recently at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Smithsonian mammalogist Kristofer Helgen discovered a new species of flying fox bat from […]

The post Smithsonian Scientist Discovers Two New Bat Species Hiding in Museum Collections for More Than 150 Years appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new Smithsonian study that examines 10 million years of the evolution of tiny coral-like organisms called cupuladriid bryzoans has revealed that some species of this organism lingered on earth for more than one million years after the event that ultimately caused their extinction: the rising of the Isthmus of Panama.

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Already under siege from overfishing, disease and poor water quality, the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay today stands at 2 percent of what it was in colonial times. Now, new data show that rising acidity in the Bay will have a negative impact on oyster shells.

The post Rising acidification of estuary waters spells trouble for Chesapeake Bay oysters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Today the Smithsonian Institution announced Eva J. Pell, Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Pennsylvania State University, will be the new Under Secretary for Science at the Institution.

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New observations by the Smithsonian’s Submillimeter Array, a radio telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, are shedding light on planet formation. The array provides sharp views by combining eight antennas into the equivalent of a single, large telescope. It can resolve details as small as a dime seen from seven miles away.

The post Cosmic “baby photos” of distant solar systems lend insight as to how planets form appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Successes in animal health care presents many new challenges for veterinarians. Longer life spans in captivity mean zoo animals are now experiencing age-related health problems that their zoo predecessors never lived long enough to develop—like diabetes in cheetahs, arthritis in big cats and dental issues for coatis.

The post Golden years at the Zoo: Veterinarians work to help animals live longer, stay healthy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Testing caterpillars’ taste buds is no simple task. Just like your local salad bar, plants in the wild come in different shapes, textures and flavors. Herbivores rely on each of these cues to tell them what to eat. Deciphering this code is Lind’s task. He’s examining 40 different plant species – half invasive, half native.

The post Salad science: Coaxing caterpillars to reveal the secrets of their leafy desires appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo have taken blood samples from thousands of birds and mosquitoes in an effort to track the progress of the West Nile Virus in the eastern United States. Come along in this video as Smithsonian scientists net birds living in downtown Washington, D.C., extract small amounts of blood, and then release them back into the "wild."

The post Video: Common birds in Washington, D.C. are helping Smithsonian scientists track intensity of the West Nile Virus appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A major new exhibition hall dedicated to the discovery and understanding of human origins will open next year at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History: The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins

The post Hall of Human Origins to open at Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, March 17, 2010 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000, was among 35 documentary heritage items of exceptional value added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2009.

The post John Marshall Ju/’hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection added to UNESCO register appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Native to Africa and Madagascar, females of the species have a body length of 1.5 inches and a leg span of 4 to 5 inches. Males are tiny in comparison.

The post Females are giants in newly discovered species of golden orb weaver spider appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Zoo has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a captive population of the Virginia big-eared bat at the National Zoo’s Conservation & Research Center near Front Royal, Va. Only 15,000 Virginia big-eared bats remain living in caves in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina, and these are threatened by the white-nose syndrome.

The post In face of crisis, National Zoo to start captive population of Virginia big-eared bats appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invasive species, contaminants, excessive nutrient's and sediment are just some of the many factors threatening sensitive wetlands and seagrass beds.

The post Smithsonian to lead study on degradation of nearshore coastal habitats of the Chesapeake appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nearly 100 years ago, scientists detected the first signs of cosmic rays—subatomic particles (mostly protons) that zip through space at nearly the speed of light. […]

The post Telescope array finds new evidence that exploding stars are sources of cosmic rays appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The way that massive stars form remains mysterious, in part, because massive stars are rare and tend to spend their youth shrouded by dust and gas and hidden from view.

The post Radio telescopes give astronomers rare glimpse at a young protostar’s formation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a series of ongoing experiments on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal, Kays and other researchers are using camera traps, radio collars and palm nuts with tracking transmitters attached to them to take a closer look at the nut-hoarding strategies of the agouti.

The post Camera traps & radio collars reveal hoarding strategies of the South American agouti appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recently, researchers from Boston University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama have been taking a closer look at the vibrations that red-eyed treefrog embryos use as cues to trigger early hatching. They discovered that treefrog embryos can evaluate different features of vibrations.

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The newfound world, GJ1214b, is about 6.5 times as massive as the Earth. Its host star, GJ1214, is a small, red type M star about one-fifth the size of the Sun. GJ1214b orbits its star once every 38 hours at a distance of only 1.3 million miles. Astronomers estimate the planet's temperature to be about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Although warm as an oven, it is still cooler than any other known transiting planet because it orbits a very dim star.

The post Astronomers Find Super-Earth Using Amateur, Off-the-Shelf Technology appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Chi Cygni pulses once every 408 days. At its smallest diameter of 300 million miles, it becomes mottled with brilliant spots as massive plumes of hot plasma roil its surface. As it expands, Chi Cygni cools and dims, growing to a diameter of 480 million miles—large enough to engulf and cook our solar system out to the asteroid belt.

The post Distant, dying star gives astronomers preview of the fate of our Sun appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time in its history, the National Zoo has bred strawberry dart frogs (Oophaga pumilio), which are known primarily for their vibrant colors and poisonous skin. These frogs also stand out among others because of their dedication to their young as they undergo metamorphosis from egg to tadpole to frog.

The post Strawberry dart frogs bred at National Zoo for first time in Zoo’s history appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Koenig and his colleagues examined an area of space called W5, which lies about 6,500 light-years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia—about 6 trillion miles. Their research indicates the prospects for hypothetical alien life there are disappointing.

The post Planets form around many star types, but intelligent life is probably rare appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time, astronomers have found a supernova explosion with properties similar to a gamma-ray burst, but without seeing any gamma rays from it.

The post Astronomers Find Rare Supernova by New Means appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study published in the Feb. 2 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that forests in the Eastern United […]

The post Smithsonian ecologists discover forests are growing at a faster rate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian astronomers have just discovered a rare example of a galaxy that appears to have a pair of giant black holes. Now they are trying to determine if those black holes are partners tied together by gravity, or if one of the two has been kicked out in a cosmic breakup.

The post Double Black-Hole Mystery: Dance Partners or Breakup Survivors? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Staff had been on a pregnancy watch focused on the 3 1/2-year-old clouded leopard Jao Chu (JOW-chew) for four days. Jao Chu gave birth to the first cub at 6:04 p.m. and the second cub at 6:20 p.m.

The post Clouded leopard cubs born at National Zoo’s Front Royal campus on Valentine’s Day appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The results show mergers of two dense stellar remnants are the likely cause of many of the supernovae that have been used to measure the accelerated expansion of the universe.

The post Mergers of dense stellar remnants are likely trigger for many supernovae appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Finding this stellar relic wasn’t easy. It is 60,000 times dimmer than the faintest star visible to the unaided eye. The team also had to distinguish it from many surrounding stars that aren’t so old. Just like an archaeological dig, the hunt succeeded through a combination of patience and clever use of technology.

The post Ancient star discovered through patience and clever use of technology appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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.

The stars move quickly because they are very close to each other, separated by only about one-fourth the distance from the Earth to the Moon. As a result, they share strong gravitational forces. They were once farther apart but have spiraled closer together over time. Billions of years from now, they will crash together and merge.

The post At 1,500,000 mph, twin stars in the constellation Cancer win speediest orbit award appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, the University of Valencia in Spain and the University of Minnesota, recently made an important observation regarding charcoals […]

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The Stephen L. Wood collection brings the collection of bark beetles held in the Natural History Museum’s Department of Entomology to an impressive 180,000 specimens, making it one of the most extensive collections in world.

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The research and patience has paid off. The sisters, Nababiep and Shera, have spent short periods of time with the male, Luke, individually and simultaneously. This happened only after they each had spent more than a year sniffing Luke through a mesh door (called a “howdy door”).

The post Patience and research may bring lion cubs to the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Long before dawn on a recent morning, Katie Milton and a group of stalwart volunteers, each armed with flashlight and compass, spread out into the jungle to take up positions at 35 listening stations marked on maps of the island.

The post Census reveals 1,200 howler monkeys living on Barro Colorado Island appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

More than 25 years ago, researchers at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's Fish and Invertebrate Ecology Lab began taking weekley surveys of the species that make their way in and out of Muddy Creek.

The post Net survey: For quarter century, scientists have been counting creatures traveling Chesapeake Bay tributary appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.