Some of the earliest humans to inhabit America came from Europe according to a new book "Across Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America's Clovis Culture."

The post New book reveals Ice Age mariners from Europe were America’s first inhabitants appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When it comes to the birds of South Asia, Pamela Rasmussen wrote the book on it. Literally. Twice.

The post New Book: “Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

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.

Between the world wars of the early Twentieth Century, an age of adventure travel and cultural exploration flourished when newly developed transport and recording technologies–particularly […]

The post New Book: “Recreating First Contact: Expeditions, Anthropology, and Popular Culture” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nearly 20 years since Kennewick Man was serendipitously discovered along the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State, the scientific saga of his life […]

The post New book brings Kennewick Man to life appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Javad Fahanik-babaei, Bahareh Rezaee, Maryam Nazari, Nihad Torabi, Reza Saghiri, Remy Sauve, and Afsaneh Eliassi

We have determined the electropharmacological properties of a new potassium channel from brain mitochondrial membrane by planar lipid bilayer method. Our results showed the presence of a channel with a conductance of 150 pS at potentials between 0 and –60 mV in 200 cis/50 trans mM KCl solutions.

The channel was voltage-independent, with an open probability value ~0.6 at different voltages. ATP did not affect current amplitude and Po at positive and negative voltages. Notably, adding iberiotoxin, charybdotoxin, lidocaine, and margatoxin had no effect on the channel behavior. Similarly, no changes were observed by decreasing the cis-pH to 6. Interestingly, the channel was inhibited by adding sodium in a dose dependent manner. Our results also indicated a significant increase in mitochondrial complex IV activity and membrane potential and decrease in complex I activity and mitochondrial ROS production in the presence of sodium ions.

We propose that inhibition of mitochondrial K⁺ transport by Na ions on K⁺ channel opening may be important for cell protection and ATP synthesis.

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.

Left-handed snails, giant wombats, spiny trilobites, zombie ants, glyptodonts…these are a few of the fascinating animals and plants whose fossils spring to life across the […]

The post New Book: A History of Life in 100 Fossils appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Admired from afar by the ancient Romans, the moon was once deified as a goddess, Luna. Today, two-thousand years later, geologists who scrutinize the moon’s […]

The post Orbiting Camera Unveils New Moon in Air and Space Museum Exhibition 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 […]

The post NASA, Smithsonian renew hunt for Antarctic meteorites appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On Monday, Aug. 21, beginning shortly after 9 a.m. Pacific Time, the sky will darken across North America as the moon’s orbit carries it between […]

The post Enrich your solar eclipse experience with this new app! 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.

Structural investigations of amorphous and nanocrystalline phases forming in solution are historically challenging. Few methods are capable of in situ atomic structural analysis and rigorous control of the system. A mixed-flow reactor (MFR) is used for total X-ray scattering experiments to examine the short- and long-range structure of phases in situ with pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. The adaptable experimental setup enables data collection for a range of different system chemistries, initial supersaturations and residence times. The age of the sample during analysis is controlled by adjusting the flow rate. Faster rates allow for younger samples to be examined, but if flow is too fast not enough data are acquired to average out excess signal noise. Slower flow rates form older samples, but at very slow speeds particles settle and block flow, clogging the system. Proper background collection and subtraction is critical for data optimization. Overall, this MFR method is an ideal scheme for analyzing the in situ structures of phases that form during crystal growth in solution. As a proof of concept, high-resolution total X-ray scattering data of amorphous and crystalline calcium phosphates and amorphous calcium carbonate were collected for PDF analysis.

Keeper Tracey Barnes talks about Billie Jean, an Andean bear, and her two new cubs at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.

The post Keeper Tracey Barnes talks about the National Zoo’s Andean bear, Billie Jean, and her two new cubs appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Researchers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo's new genetics lab use animal DNA to diagnose new diseases, discover new species help in conservation efforts and solve mysteries.

The post Scientists at a new National Zoo laboratory use DNA to diagnose illnesses and discover new species of animals 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.

Jim Zimbelman, planetary geologist in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, shares his three favorite images from the exhibition "Beyond: Visions of Our Solar System.” On view at the Air and Space Museum through May 2, 2011, the exhibition by artist Michael Benson combines art, science, photography and exploration to unveil the diverse landscapes found on the planets in our Solar System.

The post A new perspective on the Solar System with Planetary Geologist Jim Zimbelman appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This new PBS Newshour video takes a look at a new exhibit at the Air and Space Museum celebrating NASA's space art program.

The post PBS Newshour takes a look at the new National Air and Space Museum exhibition “NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Don your clean room clothing and take a glimpse into the Smithsonian's new Antarctic meteorite storage facility in Suitland, Md., where all of the Antarctic meteorites in the national collection are kept under tight security and tight airlocks.

The post Glimpse into the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s new meteorite storage facility appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

myVolcano is a crowd-sourcing app that enables you to share your photographs and descriptions of volcanic hazards, as well as collecting samples and measurements of […]

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The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History released a new mobile app “Skin and Bones” Jan. 13. The free app is available for download in […]

The post Museum specimens come to life in new “Skin and Bones” mobile app appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Get a look behind the scenes as we installed “Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-vehicular Activity,” a new exhibition on view at the Museum […]

The post “Outside the Spacecraft,” a new exhibition at the Air and Space Museum appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute are working together as part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project have […]

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No divers were in danger when two large squid (species Taningia danae) began acting aggressively toward a robot submersible operated deep in the Pacific from NOAA’s […]

The post Rare squid “T. danae” captured in new video appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) captures a new species of deep-reef fish, the Godzilla goby, using the Curasub submersible. The lead scientist on […]

The post Capturing a new species with a submersible appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Gwen Ifill sat down with Lonnie Bunch, the director of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, which is due to open this […]

The post PBS Newshour interview with Lonnie Bunch, African American Museum director appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists in the US are helping to preserve this near-threatened species native to South America.

The post Meet the Smithsonian’s new maned wolf pups appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Amateur paleontologist, Ray Stanford, describes his experience of discovering the impression of a dinosaur and determining that it was a new species. This video is […]

The post What is it like to discover a new dinosaur? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

 This film depicts the Onward Brass Band parading through the French Quarter of New Orleans and picking up second liners along the way. The […]

The post New Orleans Jazz Parade – 1968 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: This official music video is for “Ripest of Apples” by Anna & Elizabeth, from the new album ‘The Invisible Comes […]

The post Smithsonian Folkways new release appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This animation tells a Cheyenne story of how the Big Dipper came to be when a girl and her loyal brothers escape from a bison. […]

The post Quillwork Girl and Her New Seven Brothers appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Obsessive in his collecting and emotionally invested in contributing to science and perpetuating knowledge, Palmer lived the adventurous yet nomadic life of a collector.

The post Remarkable ethnobotany collections of Edward Palmer highlighted in new Smithsonian Website appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time researchers from the Smithsonian, South Dakota State University and the University of Nebraska described the immature stages of the switchgrass moth, first collected in Denver in 1910.

The post Potential biofuel pest, the switchgrass moth, under renewed scrutiny of entomologists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In 1909, naturalist Dr. Edgar A. Mearns joined Theodore Roosevelt and scientists from the Smithsonian and New York’s American Museum of Natural History on an […]

The post New project will improve access to thousands of scientific field books, journals and notes in Smithsonian collections appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The chief appeal of The Anatomy of Palms is some 800 color photographs that document the extent of palm anatomical diversity.

The post With 800 color photographs, new book takes a fascinating look inside palms appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent botanical exploration efforts in the rugged Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) have increased the known flora of the archipelago by an impressive 20 percent. Field research and collecting in conjunction with the Vascular Flora of the Marquesas Islands and Flore de la Polynesie française projects have yielded 62 new species of ferns and flowering plants bringing the total native species to 360, of which 18 are newly described and illustrated in a special issue of PhytoKeys.

The post Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia yield 18 new species of rare ferns and flowering plants appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fulcaldea stuessyi is a newly discovered member of the Barnadesioideae, a subfamily of the Compositae, or sunflower family of flowering plants. It was found in northeastern […]

The post Fulcaldea stuessyi is newly discovered member of the Barnadesioideae, a subfamily of the Compositae, or sunflower family of flowering plants, appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has created NEMESIS--National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System--an online public database that provides key information about the non-native marine species throughout the United States.

The post New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A joint research initiative carried out by scientists from the Smithsonian Institution, Saint Louis University and the Universidad de Los Andes in Venezuela, has resulted in […]

The post New daisy species discovered in Venezuela appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The hard rocklike material on which the living algae Clathromorphum compactum sits are layers of calcified crusts the algae deposit year after year. These “red […]

The post New climate ‘archive’ discovered in sub-Arctic appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For centuries untold numbers of this tiny arachnid (cousin to spiders and ticks) have ended up in teapots, invisibly steeping alongside the leaves of the tea plant on which it lives.

The post Primitive, bizarre, beautiful: New mite species reveal a lost world awaiting discovery appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When Gary Graves cranks up his boom box and drives remote back roads through pine plantations in Texas, Louisiana and other southern states, a few […]

The post Rare American warbler surprises scientists by adapting, thriving in a new ecosystem appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invertebrate Zoology Scientists studying pollinators of the yellow poppy (Meconopsis integrifolia) in the highlands of southern China have discovered a striking new species of flower fly […]

The post New species of poppy pollinating fly discovered in China appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

What plant species has just been discovered but is almost gone? Bidens meyeri–a just discovered flowering plant from the small South Pacific island of Rapa, […]

The post New South Pacific cliff flower is critically endangered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nausea, vomiting and weakness are but a few of the symptoms one might anticipate after eating leaves from the Taiwanese shrub Erycibe henryi. This wild […]

The post Meet the (flea) beetles! New species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How much is a wetland worth? It’s a question that has plagued policymakers, scientists and other leaders looking to protect their communities and slow down […]

The post New report enables creation of carbon credits for restored wetlands appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Rattlesnake, zebra and peacock plants have a new wild relative, discovered by Rodolfo Flores, Panamanian botanist and intern at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). […]

The post Smithsonian Botanist Discovers New Ground-Flowering Plant in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.