“Probably no genus of birds in the American avifauna has received the amount of attention that has been bestowed upon the turkeys…there has been no […]

The post Happy Thanksgiving! Here are 25 fun turkey-related objects in Smithsonian collections! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

People often use the words turtle and tortoise interchangeably, but these reptiles have distinct differences: Turtle shells are typically more flattened and not as deeply […]

The post Five fun turtle and tortoise facts from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists have joined NASA and other organizations this summer to do something incredible: launch a spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, into space and have […]

The post A solar probe is on its way to touch the sun. The Smithsonian built the tool that will measure the sun without melting appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Every queen deserves a castle, and the ruler of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s naked mole-rat colony is no different. After 27 years in a maze […]

The post Building a naked mole-rat dream home at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When many people think of the Chesapeake Bay, one of the first creatures that comes to mind is the iconic blue crab. But parts of […]

The post Smithsonian scientists become shark detectives to track species in the Chesapeake Bay appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a prokaryotic pathogen that colonizes the respiratory ciliated epithelial cells in swine. Infected animals suffer respiratory lesions, causing major economic losses in the porcine industry. Characterization of the immunodominant membrane-associated proteins from M. hyopneumoniae may be instrumental in the development of new therapeutic approaches. Here, the crystal structure of P46, one of the main surface-antigen proteins, from M. hyopneumoniae is presented and shows N- and C-terminal α/β domains connected by a hinge. The structures solved in this work include a ligand-free open form of P46 (3.1 Å resolution) and two ligand-bound structures of P46 with maltose (2.5 Å resolution) and xylose (3.5 Å resolution) in open and closed conformations, respectively. The ligand-binding site is buried in the cleft between the domains at the hinge region. The two domains of P46 can rotate with respect to each other, giving open or closed alternative conformations. In agreement with this structural information, sequence analyses show similarities to substrate-binding members of the ABC transporter superfamily, with P46 facing the extracellular side as a functional subunit. In the structure with xylose, P46 was also bound to a high-affinity (Kd = 29 nM) Fab fragment from a monoclonal antibody, allowing the characterization of a structural epitope in P46 that exclusively involves residues from the C-terminal domain. The Fab structure in the complex with P46 shows only small conformational rearrangements in the six complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) with respect to the unbound Fab (the structure of which is also determined in this work at 1.95 Å resolution). The structural information that is now available should contribute to a better understanding of sugar nutrient intake by M. hyopneumoniae. This information will also allow the design of protocols and strategies for the generation of new vaccines against this important swine pathogen.

This user-friendly, portable, and extensive identification guide features large color illustrations of more than 900 species; the first range maps published to show the distribution of Panama's birds and concise text that describes field marks for identification, as well as habitat, behavior, and vocalizations.

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Now, for the first time, Charles Darwin's life is portrayed pictorially in an illustrated biography in graphic novel-style for all ages to enjoy.

The post “Darwin: A Graphic Biography,” new release from Smithsonian Books appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In the first volume of the Secret Smithsonian Adventures graphic-novel series from Smithsonian Books, The Wrong Wrights, four middle-school kids visit the Smithsonian’s National Air […]

The post ‘The Wrong Wrights’: A Graphic Novel from Smithsonian Books appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time in its history the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art opened an exhibition on the continent of Africa. “Chief S.O. Alonge: […]

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Kasun Buddika, Ishara S. Ariyapala, Mary A. Hazuga, Derek Riffert, and Nicholas S. Sokol

Stressed cells downregulate translation initiation and assemble membrane-less foci termed stress granules (SGs). Extensively characterized in cultured cells, the existence of such structures in stressed adult stem cell pools remain poorly characterized. Here we report that Drosophila orthologs of mammalian SG components AGO1, ATX2, CAPRIN, eIF4E, FMRP, G3BP, LIN-28, PABP, and TIAR are enriched in adult intestinal progenitor cells where they accumulate in small cytoplasmic messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes (mRNPs). Treatment with sodium arsenite or rapamycin reorganized these mRNPs into large cytoplasmic granules. Formation of these intestinal progenitor stress granules (IPSGs) depended on polysome disassembly, led to translational downregulation, and was reversible. While canonical SG nucleators ATX2 and G3BP were sufficient for IPSG formation in the absence of stress, neither of them, nor TIAR, either individually or collectively, were required for stress-induced IPSG formation. This work therefore finds that IPSGs do not assemble via a canonical mechanism, raising the possibility that other stem cell populations employ a similar stress-response mechanism.

Smithsonian Institution Libraries has recently acquired a rare first edition of Darwin's Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands, Visited During the Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle.

The post With 1844 first edition, Smithsonian Libraries completes its collection of Charles Darwin’s three-volume geology series appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fluorite is well known and prized for its rich variety of colors, most commonly pale green, purple, yellow, orange, blue, pink and colorless. “We acquired this specimen because it is a very nice quality fluorite with an attractive color and it is large enough to be exhibited,” Curator Jeff Post says.

The post Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection acquires a yellow fluorite from Tanzania appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The number and diversity of tectonic landforms in our solar system “is truly remarkable,” Watters and Schultz write. Photographs of these structures have stimulated a range of scholarly investigations.

The post Book Review: Planetary Tectonics examines otherworldly landforms appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Research Online program recently surpassed the mark of 10,000 publications in the Digital Repository. This collection of digital publications by Smithsonian staff represents a broad review of research done by researchers at the Institution.

The post Smithsonian Digital Repository Now Contains 10,000 Items appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To understand the long-term effects of a prolonged tropical storm in the Panama Canal watershed, Robert Stallard, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and Armando Ubeda, the LightHawk Mesoamerica program manager, organized four flights over the watershed to create a digital map of landslide scars.

The post Smithsonian hydrologist discovers that rainfall has dried up Panama’s drinking water appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Richard Wunderman is managing editor of the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network and a geologist in the Division of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian’s […]

The post Q&A: Smithsonian volcanologist Richard Wunderman answers questions about the Aug. 23, East Coast earthquake appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The new island visible in the satellite photograph is the top of a giant shield volcano located on the rift axis in the Red Sea where the continental plates of Africa and Arabia are pulling apart.

The post A hot new island has just surfaced in the Red Sea. What’s going on? Smithsonian scientists explain. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Museum of Natural History will permanently display the Dom Pedro Aquamarine, which is the largest single piece of cut-gem aquamarine in the world, beginning Dec. 6.

The post Magnificent Dom Pedro aquamarine to go on view in the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Images obtained by NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft during the low-altitude orbital phase of the mission have revealed previously undetected […]

The post Mercury Joins Earth As Tectonically Active Planet appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian recently renewed their agreement to search for, collect and curate Antarctic meteorites in a partnership known as […]

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Odile Madden knows a lot about plastic. A materials scientist with the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, she has spent the past eight years studying plastics […]

The post Microplastics in our environment: A conversation with Odile Madden, Smithsonian plastics scientist appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To get a better idea of just what is going on with the current volcanic eruption of Kilauea on the island of Hawaii, take a […]

The post Kilauea’s activity is nothing new, says a Smithsonian volcano expert appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As you read here
In a 24-hour-period between July 9 and 10, 2009 a clouded leopard cub, a Przewalski's horse, and a red panda cub were all born at Smithsonian's National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia.

The post A clouded leopard cub, a Przewalski’s horse and a red panda cub were all recently born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

John Ososky, preparator in the Osteology Laboratory at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., explains how skeletons of animal specimens are prepared for exhibtion and for study—with the assistance of nearly 1 million flesh-eating beetles.

The post Flesh Eating beetles help prepare skeletons for study at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

"The Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions in International Governance" will be convened at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 2009. More information on this event can be found at the Web site: www.atsummit50.aq/

To assess legacy lessons about managing nearly 10% of the Earth "for peaceful purposes only"

Find out how you can be involved:

www.atsummit50.aq

The post Antarctic Treaty Summit, Nov. 30-Dec. 3, 2009, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Forensic anthropologists from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History discover African remains at a Colonial burial site in Maryland. Follow them as they study the remains, reconstruct the face and body, and share what they learn about the African experience in the Chesapeake in the 1600s.

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Bruce Campbell, of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, is at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, W. Va., to make a radar map of the Moon.

The post Smithsonian geophysicist Bruce Campbell explains his work of making a detailed radar map of the Moon appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When animal care staff at the Smithsonian's National Zoo need to know when to breed their pandas or when to expect a cub they turn to the Endocrine (Hormones) Research Lab at the Zoo's Front Royal, Va. facility.

The post The science of panda cubs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Rick Wunderman of the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History talks about the current volcanic activity in Iceland.

The post Smithsonian volcanologist Rick Wunderman talks about volcanos and the recent eruptions in Iceland appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Dr. JoGayle Howard of the Smithsonian's National Zoo discusses her work to breed and study one of the world's most endangered cats, the clouded leopard. More about the National Zoo's work to save clouded leopards: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/ReproductiveScience/ConsEn...
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/support/annualappeal/cloudedleo... ... (more info)

The post Meet Our Scientist: Dr. JoGayle Howard of the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Here come the stinkbugs...With the cooler temperatures of fall the brown marmorated stinkbug begins a determined quest to find a warm place to spend the winter. Crowding around window screens and searching for other ways to get inside, homeowners in the United States will share their indoor living space this winter with millions of brown marmorated stinkbugs. In this video Gary Hevel, an entomolgist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, shares some information about these interesting creatures, as well as some advice about how to deal with those that inevitably gain entry to your home.

The post Smithsonian entomologist Gary Hevel gives information and advice about stinkbugs in your home appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Smithsonian ecologist John Parker discusses his work with white-tailed deer and invasive plant species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Device at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center examines how phytoplankton would react if the ozone layer vanished appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post “How Soil Savvy are You?, is featured in the exhibition “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil,” from the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Many years of research are celebrated in the December 2010 birth of two cheetah cubs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post After a bulldozer unearthed five statues in Ain Ghazal, Jordan in 1984, Smithsonian conservators carefully restore these otherworldy figures appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Roland Kays, curator of mammals at the New York State Museum, discusses a new Smithsonian Website for sharing camera-trap images of wild animals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Smithsonian geologist Liz Cottrell discusses the March 11, 2011 Japan earthquake and its mechanics appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Invasive Caribbean lionfish under scrutiny by Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute intern appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Which is more important for a career as a scientist, good grades in math or a strong sense of adventure? Hear what Smithsonian geologist Liz Cottrell has to say as she recounts her own school years and the steps that led to a career she can't imagine ever giving up.

The post Smithsonian geologist Liz Cottrell talks about what it takes to be a scientist. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In 2010 Dr. Rachel Collin visited her colleagues at the Universidad Austral de Chile in Valdivia to collect some very special snails for her research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama.

The post Smithsonian biologist Rachel Collin visits the Universidad Austral de Chile to collect special snails for her research. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A short history of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The post Lighthouse of the skies, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Animal care staff at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, are hand-rearing the pair of clouded leopard cubs born on March 28, increasing the chances that the cubs will be more successful at breeding later in their life.

The post Hand-rearing clouded leopard cubs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Kari Bruwelheide, forensic anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, discusses how she came to work at the museum, the power of human remains and the information that bones can contain. She and her colleagues continue to discover new ways to interpret evidence from bones and burials.

The post Kari Bruwelheide, forensic anthropologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, discusses the power of bones. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Meet the Smithsonian's Matthew Carrano, curator of Dinosauria at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Matthew studies all things dinosaur, but focuses on the evolutionary history of predatory (meat eating) dinosaurs.

The post Meet Our Scientist: Matthew Carrano, curator of dinosauria at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Meet Smithsonian scientist Justin Touchon, a National Science Foundation (NSF) postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

Justin's work focuses on developmental ecology and reproductive plasticity of the hourglass treefrog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus) and red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas). Justin and his advisor, Karen Warkentin, were the first to have witnessed the frogs laying eggs in water, in addition to doing so on land -- something with major implications for the evolutionary biology of similar creatures.

The post Meet Our Scientist: Justin Touchon, Frog Follower at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post How do paleontologists identify dinosaur teeth? Smithsonian Curator Matthew Carrano identifies Cretaceous dinosaur teeth from the Washington D.C. area. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.