It is a simple solution to a wildlife water shortage. During the annual dry season [November through April] in a protected forest in eastern Cambodia, […]

The post This simple trick helped fix a wildlife water shortage in Cambodia appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Two rovers are active right now on the surface of Mars: Opportunity, which landed in January 2004, and Curiosity, which started exploration in August 2012. […]

The post Sol Man: John Grant is on a road trip across Mars 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.

Warming temperatures may mean more generations of monarch butterflies in North America during summer months, say scientists who recently finished experiments with monarch caterpillars and […]

The post Warming temperatures may mean more monarch generations in some areas of North America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

From patterns etched into the skin of an ancient mummy to the colorful designs that adorn people today, tattoos are not just skin deep; they […]

The post Tattoos: Telling Stories in the Flesh. Q&A with Lars Krutak 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.

The Mojave Desert and Death Valley are among the hottest, driest places in North America. So how might climate change impact a resilient reptile that […]

The post Warming may shrink ancient range of heat loving desert lizard appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Now here is something to ruminate on. About 85 percent of the methane produced by a cow comes out of its mouth as burps. The […]

The post Monitoring methane? Now there is a better way to measure appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Tucked away on the lower levels of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of American History are some of science’s most […]

The post Smithsonian Libraries’ rare texts include early superstars of science appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Most people think of black holes as giant vacuum cleaners sucking in everything that gets too close. But the supermassive black holes at the centers […]

The post Event Horizon Telescope Reveals Magnetic Fields at Milky Way’s Central Black Hole appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In April 2015, after traveling for about half the age of the universe, a flood of powerful gamma rays from a distant galaxy slammed into […]

The post VERITAS Detects Gamma Rays from Galaxy Halfway Across the Visible Universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Osteoarthritis in dogs is a serious and painful malady that effects many breeds. Recently Janine Brown, a biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in […]

The post X-ray fluorescence shines new light on arthritis in dogs appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and partners have published a paper that will help them save Panamanian frog species from extinction due to a deadly […]

The post New Study Helps Smithsonian Scientists Prioritize Frogs at Risk of Extinction appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Bei Bei, Bao Bao, Tian Tian. Many people recognize the names of the giant pandas that reside at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Yet Juan Rodriguez […]

The post Meet Juan Rodriguez, panda keeper at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How did the universe begin? And what came before the Big Bang? Cosmologists have asked these questions ever since discovering that our universe is expanding. […]

The post Theorists Propose a New Method to Probe the Beginning of the Universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Through sheer coincidence, two Smithsonian researchers at the National Zoological Park have discovered that 18 percent of the white-tailed deer population in the Eastern United […]

The post Smithsonian study reveals white-tailed deer in eastern U.S. are infected with a malaria parasite appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smothered in tartar sauce and cheese it’s difficult to know just what species of fish lurks beneath the breaded surface of a fast-food fish sandwich. […]

The post Smithsonian scientist creating DNA database to track Caribbean conch and lobster appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nocturnal, solitary and fiercely territorial the adult Egyptian pigmy shrew—one of the smallest mammals on earth—weighs just 7 grams. French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire first […]

The post Sacred shrew mummies reveal species distribution in ancient Egypt appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Seven fossil teeth exposed by the Panama Canal expansion project are the first evidence of a monkey on the North American continent before the Isthmus […]

The post First North American Monkey Fossils Found in Panama Canal Excavation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

One of the primary features that distinguish hominids such as chimpanzees, gorillas and humans from the rest of the animal kingdom are uniquely dexterous hands. […]

The post Did ripening fruit help hominids develop complex hands? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When soil temperatures 8 inches under the ground reach a balmy 64 degrees Fahrenheit, periodical cicadas emerge on the U.S. East Coast. They tend to […]

The post Billions & Billions of Periodical Cicadas appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Thanks to a recent reassessment of specimens preserved in jars of alcohol at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, New Hampshire is now on […]

The post Discovery in Smithsonian collection broadens understanding of rare North American leech appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Meet Scorpaenodes barrybrowni is a scorpionfish species newly discovered by Smithsonian scientists using a manned submersible in the deep-reef waters of the Caribbean island of Curaçao. It […]

The post New bright orange-red scorpionfish discovered deep in Caribbean appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise…and you know the rest, probably even if you’re not a huge fan of […]

The post Five things only a conservator would know about the USS Enterprise appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A bite mark on a homicide victim’s skin is not an unusual discovery. A criminal’s teeth marks are also occasionally found on food at a […]

The post Crime bite: DNA on half-eaten food may someday send crooks to jail appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

(Study is one of dozens to be presented by bird scientists this week at the 2016 North American Ornithological Conference in Washington, D.C.) To catch tuna […]

The post Fishing gear entanglements of marine birds is focus of Smithsonian ecologist’s study appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A fossil that has been in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History since it was discovered in 1951 is today helping […]

The post New Species of Extinct River Dolphin Discovered in Smithsonian Collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

According to a new study, eating sea turtle eggs increases the health risk of heavy metal exposure in local communities in Panama and may provide […]

The post Human health risks of eating sea turtle eggs could benefit species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

An extraordinary arrangement of bristles, wrinkles and wart-like bumps cover the cold skin of Sphaerephesia amphorata, a new deep-sea worm described and named by researchers […]

The post Bizarre new marine worms covered in bristles, wrinkles & bumps appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In August astronomers announced that the nearby star Proxima Centauri hosts an Earth-sized planet (called Proxima b) in its habitable zone. At first glance, Proxima […]

The post Proxima Centauri Might Be More Sunlike Than We Thought appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This brief squid made a surprise appearance in a Smithsonian Environmental Research Center trawl survey at the mouth of Maryland’s Rhode River last Thursday—the first […]

The post Brief squid surprise appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

There’s something exciting and strange about having an idea. It can come suddenly. Unexpectedly. Randomly. Intensely. Ideas can uninvitingly appear full-forced and bright—like the cliché […]

The post Making the Smithsonian’s New “Sidedoor” podcast series a reality appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Crustaceans that thrive in the vastness of the open ocean have no place to hide from their predators. Consequently, many creatures that live at depths […]

The post Tiny ocean crustaceans wear invisibility cloak of living bacteria appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

With roughly 5,500 individuals remaining in the wild, the black rhino population is critically endangered. To help save these iconic African giants, at risk for […]

The post A Planet in Peril: Q&A with Suzan Murray of the Smithsonian Global Health Program appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In 1935, 101 cane toads from Hawaii were set loose in Australia to help control beetles that were decimating the Australian sugar crop. But instead […]

The post Discovery: Australia’s invasive cane toads modify their bodies to conquer new territory faster appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Living in deep reefs in the Atlantic Ocean, the banded basslet, a small and colorful species with a wide range of distribution, has long been […]

The post Fishy Caribbean ‘juveniles’ recognized as new species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A one-cubic-foot approach to studying biodiversity as showcased in the new Biocube exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has led to the […]

The post New parasitic crab species discovered during Smithsonian Biocube work in Solomon Islands appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The 11 farthest known stars in our galaxy are located about 300,000 light-years from Earth, well outside the Milky Way’s spiral disk. New research by […]

The post Farthest Milky Way stars might be ripped from another galaxy appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent underwater photographs and video from the National Marine Park of the southern Caribbean island of Bonaire has led to the discovery of a new species […]

The post Meet the candy striped hermit crab, a new Caribbean species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

NASA’s InSight probe, scheduled to land on the surface of Mars in November 2018, will be boring. Boring a hole, that is. It will drill […]

The post ISO: a boring Martian landing spot for NASA’s InSight probe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Washington, D.C. is a city of symbols. The rites, rituals, and places that define Washington capture the aspirations of our nation and its citizens. Just […]

The post Trusted Sources: Why Museums and Libraries Are More Relevant Than Ever appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

“Think of a lion shrunk to the size of a mouse that needs to eat every 20 minutes or so.” That is a shrew, says […]

The post New Costa Rican shrew species named from a single specimen found 44 years ago appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence has looked for many different signs of alien life, from radio broadcasts to laser flashes, without success. However, newly published […]

The post Could Fast Radio Bursts Be Powering Alien Probes? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fetching close to $1,500 per pound, ivory ranks fourth in black-market traded items just behind illegal drugs, weapons, and humans. Governments across the globe are […]

The post New technique may help authorities quickly ID real and fake ivory products appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Sometimes there’s just no telling what will turn up at the local market. Fish biologist Jeff Williams of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History […]

The post Surprise: Distinctive new surgeonfish species makes an improbable debut appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Finding clean ways to store water is a challenge that humans have faced for millennia. In a new paper in Environmental Health, anthropologist Sabrina Sholts […]

The post Study shows ancient California Indians risked toxins from bitumen-coated bottles appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Two separate teams of scientists have identified major challenges for the development of life in what has recently become one of the most famous exoplanet […]

The post There’s more to extraterrestrial life than planets in “habitable zone” orbits appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a new study in which one of humankind’s most high-tech tools was used to analyze one of its most primitive, scientists have uncovered evidence […]

The post Laser beams unveil secrets locked inside primitive stone spear points appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.