“We are working as hard as we can to find and identify frogs before the disease reaches them, and to learn more about a disease that has the power to ravage an entire group of organisms,” said Roberto Ibanez, research scientist at STRI and local director of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project.

The post Two new frog species discovered in Panama’s fungal war zone 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.

New world megafauna such as mammoths, bison and camelids that were alive at the end of the Pleistocene epoch (some 13,000 years ago) would have produced massive amounts of methane-rich flatulence and belching, thanks to the cellulose-digesting microbes in their guts.

The post Killing of methane-producing megafauna may have caused cooling 13,000 years ago 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.

Describing a species is a serious undertaking. In the case of T. acutus, Coats and his collaborators documented its microscopic life cycle, conducted extensive DNA analysis and unearthed scientific papers dating back to 1873—when parasitic dinoflagellates were first noted by German scientist Ernst Haeckel.

The post Introducing the parasitic dinoflagellate: Tintinnophagus acutus 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.

Take to the water with this behind-the-scenes video about Maryland blue crab research at the Smithsonian's Environmental Research Center. Fisheries Ecologist Eric Johnson takes viewers on a journey along the Rhode River to show how scientists tag and monitor Maryland blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The post Maryland Blue Crab Science at the Smithsonian appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The anemones—both of which are commonly called Tealia red anemones under the species of Urticina—spawned in late April and early May, just days apart. Henley collected the eggs and sperm from the more than 2,000-gallon tank and put them together in smaller tanks to increase the chances of fertilization. After fertilization, the larvae settled and metamorphosed into a polyp.

The post National Zoo scientists successfully grow two species of anemones in aquarium tanks appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope recently spotted a surprisingly large amount of dust around three mature, close-orbiting star pairs. Where did the dust come from? Astronomers say it might be the aftermath of tremendous planetary collisions.

The post Pulverized planet dust might lie around double stars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo celebrated the completion of Phase I of Elephant Trails, an innovative and expanded home for Asian elephants, on Sept. 2. Phase […]

The post Elephant Trails exhibition opens at National Zoological Park appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On Aug, 31, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed this year’s second litter of African lion (Panthera leo) cubs. Five-year-old Shera (shown at right) gave birth […]

The post Shera, a 5-year-old lioness at the National Zoological Park appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Data from a recent study of wild takins in the high-altitude forests of the Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve in southeast China has shown that the […]

The post Great Sichuan earthquake of 2008 had little impact on of China’s wild takins appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Using the ancient magnetic field recorded in these rocks, a Smithsonian research group revealed Santa Marta’s 2,200-kilometer journey from northern Peru to its modern position on the Caribbean coast of Colombia during the past 170 million years.

The post Earth’s highest coastal mountain range moved 1,367 miles in 170 million years appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) PS1 telescope has discovered an asteroid about 150 feet in diameter that will come within 4 million miles of Earth in mid-October.

The post Rapid Response telescope system spots first potentially hazardous asteroid 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.

The Kepler spacecraft was launched in March of 2009 to study extrasolar planets. One of its major goals is the detection of terrestrial planets in habitable zones.

The post Kepler spacecraft used by Smithsonian astronomers to find other earths appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists and local dive operators first noticed coral bleaching in the waters surrounding Isla Colon, in Panama’s Bocas del Toro province in July. Smithsonian staff scientist Nancy Knowlton and colleagues documented an extensive bleaching event in late September.

The post Coral bleaching event caused by warming ocean waters is documented in Panama 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.

The science-based study will evaluate elephant welfare along a quality continuum, assessing the impact of zoo management practices by looking at the elephants’ responses to differences in practices among zoos.

The post Conservation Biology Institute to play role in elephant welfare study 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.

New research by astrophysicist David Kipping has revealed that in some special cases, a star can be weighed directly. Such a star must have a planet orbiting it with a moon orbiting the planet.

The post Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist discovers new method to weigh some distant stars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have found evidence of the youngest black hole known to exist in our cosmic neighborhood. The 30-year-old object is a remnant of SN 1979C, a supernova in the galaxy M100 approximately 50 million light years from Earth.

The post Chandra X-ray Observatory finds youngest nearby black hole 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.

Known as one of the greatest racehorses of his day and sire to more winning horses than any other American thoroughbred before or since, this Smithsonian loan returned the legendary Lexington's remains to the town of his birthplace some 160 years after he was born.

The post One hundred sixty years after his birth a racehorse’s bones return to Lexington appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Although the La Loma tree frog, Hyloscirtus colymba, is notoriously difficult to care for in captivity, the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is the first to successfully breed this species.

The post National Zoo and partners first to breed critically endangered tree frog appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The turkey has become synonymous with Thanksgiving in the United States. But when exactly where turkeys first domesticated? And where? Bruce Smith, senior archeologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has the answers.

The post Turkey’s trip to table: Domesticating North America’s largest fowl appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The extrasolar planet GJ 1214b has a radius of about 2.7 times that of the Earth and is about 6.5 times as massive putting it squarely into the class of exoplanets known as super-Earths.

The post Super-earth has an atmosphere, but is it steamy or gassy? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The team discovered that there are about 20 times more red dwarfs in elliptical galaxies than in the Milky Way, said Charlie Conroy of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The post Discovery triples number of stars in universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal, staff members are taking down a network of seven tall Automated Radio Telemetry System towers used to track animals wearing radio-transmitters. Scientists on the island are switching to GPS and camera trap systems to produce more data with less infrastructure.

The post GPS and camera traps to replace radio antennas in tracking animals on Barro Colorado Island 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.

National Zoo lion keeper Rebecca Stites, at right in photo, was joined by Georgie Henley, at left in photo, and Skandar Keynes, actors in the […]

The post Zoo lion cub named “Aslan” by actors Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes 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.

A research team from The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Virginia's Old Dominion University will be awarded $110,999 to develop a tool to help seagrass restorers predict which places will be the best for planting seagrasses, the Virginia Sea Grant has announced.

The post Environmental Research Center to help with Chesapeake Bay seagrass restoration appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new telescope has begun to virtually explore the solar system outback, and already is scoring discoveries.

The post New telescope exploring Solar System’s “outback” 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.

"Physics for the 21st Century," a free, on-line course developed at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics about current research in physics is now available.

The post Free, online course in physics offered by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics 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.

Subjects watched demonstrators for varying amounts of time. When given the pipe, each of the subjects in both groups opened the door on their first attempt using the method they had seen demonstrated.

The post Lemurs exhibit ability for social learning in zoo experiment appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The tiger reserves of Asia could support more than 10,000 wild tigers – three times the current number – if they are managed as large-scale […]

The post Tiger numbers could triple if large-scale landscapes are protected 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.

Bats living in the dense urban area of Panama City, the scientists learned, represent just a small fraction of the roughly 25 species of high-flying insectivorous bats found in Panama’s rainforests.

The post Only large, fast-flying bats can handle life in the big city; small bats can’t adapt 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.

A. sediba was discovered in 2008 in the Malapa Cave at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site located outside Johannesburg.

The post Skeletal casts of early hominin ancestor from Africa donated to National Museum of Natural History appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics continues to be a major player in the planet-hunting realm. It is part of an international collaboration building a new instrument called HARPS-North.

The post HARPS-N instrument will help confirm Kepler’s planet finds appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Last week, the Kepler team and CfA astronomers announced the discovery of a system of six transiting planets around one Sun-like star. The previous record holder for the number of transiting planets was three.

The post Six orbiting planets sets record for Sun-like stars say Kepler, Smithsonian astronmers appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.