New excavations in Indonesia and dating analyses by scientists at the Smithsonian and their colleagues show that modern humans never co-existed with Homo erectus.

The post Scientists show that modern humans never co-existed with <em>Homo erectus</em> appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Gray whales survived many cycles of global cooling and warming over the past few million years, likely by exploiting a more varied diet than they do today, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, and Smithsonian Institution paleontologists.

The post Varied diet has allowed gray whales to survive millions of years, study reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Small tissue samples collected from 238 wild turtles at 15 different locations across their range in Southern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala revealed a “surprising lack” of genetic structure, the scientists write in a recent paper in the journal Conservation Genetics.

The post Endangered river turtle’s genes reveal ancient influence of Maya Indians appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The far-out planet, named 55 Cancri e, is twice as big as Earth and nearly nine times more massive. It is most likely composed of rocky material, similar to Earth, supplemented with light elements such as water and hydrogen gas. Scientists estimate the planet’s surface is much hotter than ours: close to 2,700 degrees Celsius.

The post Stellar eclipse gives glimpse of exoplanet: New data reveals a ‘super-Earth’ next door, astronomically speaking appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On Aug. 10, 1846, U.S. President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust administered by a Board of […]

The post Science at the Smithsonian: 165 years of scientific achievement appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Now, for the first time scientists at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute have developed a fast and reliable method to date silk.

The post New technique for dating silk developed by Smithsonian conservation team appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study on the dodo’s island home of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, paints a picture of this unusual bird as an intrepid survivor on par with the giant tortoise for its resiliency.

The post Dodo bird a resilient island survivor before the arrival of humans, study reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New observations by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, show there are significantly fewer near-Earth asteroids in the mid-size range than previously thought.

The post Infrared survey reveals fewer near-Earth asteroids than previously thought appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a new paper, Avi Loeb, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Edwin Turner, Princeton University, suggest a new technique for finding aliens: look for their city lights.

The post City lights could reveal E.T. civilization appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers are confident the Cygnus X-1 system contains a black hole, and with these latest studies they have remarkably precise values of its mass, spin, and distance from Earth.

The post New details on birth of black hole Cygnus X-1 revealed by Chandra X-ray Observatory appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ornithologists Carla Dove and Storrs Olson used 700- to 1,100-year-old feathers from a long extinct species of Hawaiian ibis to help determine the bird’s place in the ibis family tree. The feathers are the only known plumage of any of the prehistorically extinct birds that once inhabited the Hawaiian Islands.

The post Fossil feathers from a Hawaiian cave help reveal lineage of extinct, flightless ibis appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As a coastal archaeologist and expert in prehistoric and historic settlement sites in the Chesapeake Bay region, Darrin Lowery of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and University of Deleware, is carefully watching the effects of coastal erosion and rising sea levels on coastal archaeological sites.

The post Rising seas, development are altering prehistoric artifacts in the Chesapeake’s tidal zone appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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.

Slithering in at 48 feet long and weighing an estimated one-and-a-half tons, the largest snake the world has ever seen is being brought back to […]

The post Largest snake the world has ever seen is being brought back to life by Smithsonian Channel 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.

When most people look at a forest, they see walking trails, deer yards, or firewood for next winter. But scientists at the Harvard Forest and […]

The post Development will reduce carbon stored in forests, Smithsonian & Harvard scientists predict appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Two new species of blind snakes found living on small, low-lying atolls in the Caroline Islands, are an unexpected discovery that is quite difficult to explain,

The post Not on a plane, but how did blind snakes ever get to the Pacific’s Caroline Islands? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists have discovered several specimens of tiny insects covered with pollen grains in two pieces of amber, revealing the first record of pollen transport and social behavior in this group of animals.

The post First ever record of insect pollination captured in 100 million-year-old amber appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The specimen’s skull measures 24 centimeters, roughly the size of a regulation NFL football. The shell which was recovered nearby – and is believed to belong to the same species – measures 172 centimeters, or about 5 feet 7 inches, long.

The post Giant prehistoric turtle from Colombia chomped everything in sight–including crocodiles! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Today, astronomers are releasing the highest-resolution images ever taken of the Sun's corona, or million-degree outer atmosphere, in an extreme-ultraviolet wavelength of light.

The post Astronomers release highest-resolution images ever of the Sun’s corona appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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.

The post Female spiders produce mating plugs to prevent unwanted sex from males appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) has released the largest three-dimensional map of massive galaxies and distant black holes ever created.

The post Largest ever 3D map of the sky released by astronomers appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the University of Arizona and in California have completed the most challenging large astronomical mirror ever made.

The post First of seven mirrors completed for Giant Magellan Telescope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists and collaborators have found that the island scrub-jay’s population on Santa Cruz Island—its only habitat—is significantly smaller than previously believed […]

The post New count reveals scrub-jay on Santa Cruz Island is among rarest bird species in the U.S. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Found in well preserved shale deposits the fossils are so detailed that scientists were able to determine they represent two previously unknown species.

The post Discovery of new prehistoric mosquitoes reveal these blood-suckers have changed little in 46 million years appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Using echolocation alone the bats found, identified and captured insects perched motionless and silent on the leaves of plants.

The post Common tropical bat uses echolocation with precision previously considered impossible, new experiments reveal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Small migratory male birds that winter in a stressful environment age faster than those that winter in a high-quality habitat, according to research stemming from […]

The post Small migratory birds age faster in stressful places, study reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

March is Women’s History Month and to honor it Smithsonianscience.com presents six images of women scientists selected from the Smithsonian Institution Archvies’s Flicker photoset Women […]

The post Six pioneering female scientists you’ve probably never heard of… appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Among vertebrates few animals rival poison dart frogs for their vibrant electric blue, yellow, red and orange skin colors. Some experts have long believed these […]

The post Poison dart frog toxins best suited for deterring biting arthropods, research reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Cheeseburgers. Ice cream. French fries. These are a few of the culprits, doctors warn us, responsible for atherosclerosis, a disease commonly known as hardening of […]

The post Ancient mummies reveal atherosclerosis is very likely just a part of aging appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marmosets on track for obesity appeared to be more efficient in their feeding behavior. “Although all animals consumed the same amount of liquid, the ones […]

The post Obese marmosets are more developmentally advanced as infants, study shows appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent spectroscopic analysis of macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) crest feathers and king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) neck feathers have shown they contain a yellow pigment that […]

The post Yellow pigment in penguin feathers is chemically distinct, spectroscopic studies reveal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Douglas Owsley, the division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, presented today a forensic analysis of 17th-century human remains […]

The post Forensic analysis of 17th-century human remains at Jamestown, Va., reveals evidence of survival cannibalism appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Unique among Earth’s creatures, turtles are the only animals to form a shell on the outside of their bodies through a fusion of modified ribs, […]

The post Discovery: Turtle shells appeared 40 million years earlier than previously believed 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.

Ants dominate the earth’s ecosystems and many are voracious predators that use their mandibles and sheer numbers to pin down and tear apart most other […]

The post Carabidae in the colony, seven new beetles that bunk with ants: Q&A with Terry Erwin 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Inka Empire is one of the greatest civilizations in the Western Hemisphere, spanning from the 13th century until the Spanish invasion in 1532. To […]

The post 5 Reasons the Inka Road is one of the Greatest Achievements in Engineering appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Size isn’t the only thing that’s small about the pygmy sloth―its population is too. But scientists at the Smithsonian say things may be looking up […]

The post Study reveals more Pygmy Sloths, But There Still Aren’t Many appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Tiny Anolis lizards preserved since the Miocene in amber are giving scientists a true appreciation of the meaning of community stability. Dating back some 15 […]

The post Trapped in Amber: Ancient fossils reveal remarkable stability of Caribbean lizard communities appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Since researchers began surveys in the 1980s, coral reefs in the Caribbean have undergone widespread change following bleaching and disease epidemics that have reduced the […]

The post Study reveals Agriculture and Fishing Cause Coral Reef Decline appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recently crowned the “astronomy photo of the year” by Slate’s Bad Astronomy blog, a new image of a region of Orion’s belt reveals the deepest […]

The post Stunning deep space photo reveals new details of Orion nebulae appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists and colleagues have discovered a new genus and species of river dolphin that has long been extinct. They made the discovery after carefully […]

The post Fossil Specimen Reveals a New Species of Ancient River Dolphin appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.