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Equatorial aberration of powder diffraction data collected with an Si strip X-ray detector by a continuous-scan integration method

Exact and approximate formulas for equatorial aberration of a continuous-scan Si strip detector are compared.




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Dark-field electron holography as a recording of crystal diffraction in real space: a comparative study with high-resolution X-ray diffraction for strain analysis of MOSFETs

A detailed theoretical and experimental comparison of dark-field electron holography (DFEH) and high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) is performed. Both techniques are being applied to measure elastic strain in an array of transistors and the role of the geometric phase is emphasized.




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The modulated low-temperature structure of malayaite, CaSnOSiO4

The crystal structure of the mineral malayaite has been studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at a temperature of 20 K and by calculation of its phonon dispersion using density functional perturbation theory. The X-ray diffraction data show first-order satellite diffraction maxima at positions q = 0.2606 (8)b*, that are absent at room temperature. The computed phonon dispersion indicates unstable modes associated with dynamic displacements of the Ca atoms. The largest-frequency modulus of these phonon instabilities is located close to a wavevector of q = 0.3b*. These results indicate that the malayaite crystal structure is incommensurately modulated by static displacement of the Ca atoms at low temperatures, caused by the softening of an optic phonon with Bg symmetry.




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The modulated low-temperature structure of malayaite, CaSnOSiO4

The crystal structure of malayaite, CaSnOSiO4, at T = 20 K has been refined, based on the presence of satellite reflections with a modulation vector of 0.26b*. The structural modulation is attributed to a soft optic phonon, dominated by motion of the Ca atoms.




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catena-Poly[[[aquacopper(II)]-μ-(biphenyl-2,2'-dicarboxylato)-μ-[N,N'-bis(pyridin-4-yl)urea]] 1.25-hydrate]

In the title compound, {[Cu(C14H8O4)(C11H10N4O)(H2O)]·1.25H2O}n, the CuII cations are coordinated in a square-pyramidal fashion by trans carboxylate O-atom donors from two diphenate (dip) ligands, trans pyridyl N-atom donors from two bis(4-pyridyl)urea (bpu) ligands, and a ligated water molecule in the apical position. [Cu(H2O)(dip)(bpu)]n coordination polymer layer motifs are oriented parallel to (overline{1}02). These layer motifs display a standard (4,4) rectangular grid topology and stack in an AAA pattern along the a-axis direction to form the full three-dimensional crystal structure of the title compound, mediated by N—H...O and O—H...O hydrogen bonding patterns involving the water molecules of crystallization.




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Scientists Determine Geese Involved in Hudson River Plane Crash Were Migratory

Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution examined the feather remains from the Jan. 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 bird strike to determine not only the species, but also that the Canada geese involved were from a migratory, rather than resident, population. This knowledge is essential for wildlife professionals to develop policies and techniques that will reduce the risk of future collisions. The team’s findings were published in the journal “Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment” in June.

The post Scientists Determine Geese Involved in Hudson River Plane Crash Were Migratory appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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New species of giant rat discovered in crater of volcano in Papua New Guinea

A Smithsonian Institution biologist, working with the Natural History Unit of the British Broadcasting Corp., has discovered a new species of giant rat on a film-making expedition to a remote rainforest in New Guinea.

The post New species of giant rat discovered in crater of volcano in Papua New Guinea appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Camera traps & radio collars reveal hoarding strategies of the South American agouti

In a series of ongoing experiments on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal, Kays and other researchers are using camera traps, radio collars and palm nuts with tracking transmitters attached to them to take a closer look at the nut-hoarding strategies of the agouti.

The post Camera traps & radio collars reveal hoarding strategies of the South American agouti appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Researchers discover treefrog embryos can evaluate different features of vibrations

Recently, researchers from Boston University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama have been taking a closer look at the vibrations that red-eyed treefrog embryos use as cues to trigger early hatching. They discovered that treefrog embryos can evaluate different features of vibrations.

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Laboratory tests reveal precise way to measure vertical lift in bumblebees and other small insects and birds

Birds do it. Bees do it. And in a laboratory in northern California, scientists using bumblebees recently figured out the best way to measure it--vertical lift!

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Smithsonian ecologists discover forests are growing at a faster rate

A new study published in the Feb. 2 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that forests in the Eastern United […]

The post Smithsonian ecologists discover forests are growing at a faster rate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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A Halloween roundup featuring recent articles on spiders, bats and rats

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.




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Environmental Research Center to help with Chesapeake Bay seagrass restoration

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.




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Rising ocean temperatures and acidity may deliver deadly one-two punch to the world’s corals

A recent experiment by scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama has revealed just how rising atmospheric carbon dioxide will deliver a one-two […]

The post Rising ocean temperatures and acidity may deliver deadly one-two punch to the world’s corals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Tiny creatures collected 100 years ago confirm accelerating carbon uptake in Antarctic Ocean

Tiny Antarctic marine creatures collected 100 years ago by British Royal Navy explorer Robert Falcon Scott are giving scientists new clues about polar environmental change.

The post Tiny creatures collected 100 years ago confirm accelerating carbon uptake in Antarctic Ocean appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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New candidate for “coldest star” is same temperature as a hot cup of coffee

There is a new candidate for coldest known star: a brown dwarf with about the same temperature as a hot cup of coffee. That’s cool enough to begin crossing the blurry line between small cold stars and big hot planets.

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Smithsonian researchers help block ship-borne bioinvaders with new screening strategy

To help regulators and engineers develop and test such treatment systems, and ultimately enforce these standards, a team of researchers developed a statistical model to see how to count small, scarce organisms in large volumes of water accurately.

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Smithsonian scientists find declining rainfall is a major influence for migrating birds

“Our results support the idea that environmental conditions on tropical non-breeding areas can influence the departure time for spring migration,” said Colin Studds, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Migratory Bird Center and lead author of the study.

The post Smithsonian scientists find declining rainfall is a major influence for migrating birds appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Evidence of asteroid mining in our galaxy may lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial civilizations

If intelligent and more advanced civilizations exist on other planets then its a good bet that some of these civilizations turned to asteroid mining long ago. If so, the hallmarks of their mining activities, such as unusual dirty halos of cast-off dust and debris around large asteroids, might be detectable from earth.

The post Evidence of asteroid mining in our galaxy may lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial civilizations appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics to own and operate ALMA Vertex Prototype Antenna

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has been selected by the National Science Foundation as the recipient of a 12-meter (39-foot) radio antenna designed for submillimeter-wavelength astronomy. The ALMA Vertex Prototype Antenna was one of three antennas built as prototypes for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, a 66-dish radio observatory currently being constructed in Chile.

The post Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics to own and operate ALMA Vertex Prototype Antenna appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Leafsnap, a new mobile app that identifies plants by leaf shape, is launched by Smithsonian and collaborators

In addition to the species name, Leafsnap provides high-resolution photographs and information about the tree's flowers, fruit, seeds and bark—giving the user a comprehensive understanding of the specie

The post Leafsnap, a new mobile app that identifies plants by leaf shape, is launched by Smithsonian and collaborators appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Changes in vegetation determine how animals migrate, scientists find in new National Zoo study

The predictability and scale of seasonal changes in a habitat help determine the distance migratory species move and whether the animals always travel together to the same place or independently to different locations.

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Methods for calculating species extinction rates overestimate extinction, says Smithsonian scientist

The most widely used methods for calculating species extinction rates are "fundamentally flawed" and overestimate extinction rates by as much as 160 percent, life scientists report May 19 in the journal Nature.

The post Methods for calculating species extinction rates overestimate extinction, says Smithsonian scientist appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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New “cloud-based” storage initiative to make vertebrate research collections available worldwide

What Google is attempting for books, the University of California, Berkeley, plans to do for the world's vertebrate specimens: store them in "the cloud."

The post New “cloud-based” storage initiative to make vertebrate research collections available worldwide appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Invertebrates are ignored, overlooked by conservationists, policymakers and the public

Invertebrates make up more than 80 percent of all known species and provide humans with a myriad of valuable services—from crop pollination to their use as food—yet they are overlooked and underrepresented in conservation decisions and on priority lists of threatened and endangered species.

The post Invertebrates are ignored, overlooked by conservationists, policymakers and the public appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Zoo celebrates birth of two Micronesian kingfishers, a species extinct in the wild

The Zoo’s Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., is celebrating the recent hatching of two Micronesian kingfisher (Todiramphus c. cinnamominus) chicks, a female and male, born July 25 and Aug. 20, respectively.

The post Zoo celebrates birth of two Micronesian kingfishers, a species extinct in the wild appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Complete evolutionary tree of the Hawaiian honeycreepers traced by Smithsonian scientists, collaborators

Smithsonian scientists and collaborators have determined the evolutionary family tree for one of the most strikingly diverse and endangered bird families in the world, the Hawaiian honeycreepers.

The post Complete evolutionary tree of the Hawaiian honeycreepers traced by Smithsonian scientists, collaborators appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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New genetic evidence confirms coyote migration route to Virginia and hybridization with wolves

In a new study researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics used DNA from coyote scat (feces) to trace the route that led some of the animals to colonize in Northern Virginia.

The post New genetic evidence confirms coyote migration route to Virginia and hybridization with wolves appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Top 10 gallery celebrates the Infrared Array Camera aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope

For the last 1,000 days the Infrared Array Camera, aboard NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, has been operating continuously to probe the universe from its most distant regions to our local solar neighborhood.

The post Top 10 gallery celebrates the Infrared Array Camera aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.



  • Science & Nature
  • Space
  • astronomy
  • astrophysics
  • Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
  • Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

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2013 exhibition to celebrate first complete human genome sequence

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of researchers producing the first complete human genome sequence — the genetic blueprint of the human body — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, will open a new high-tech, high-intensity exhibition in 2013.

The post 2013 exhibition to celebrate first complete human genome sequence appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Melting snow likely created fan deposits inside Martian craters, geologists say

Accumulations of drifting snow are the most plausible explanation for the presence of a number of puzzling alluvial fan deposits found inside large impact craters on Mars

The post Melting snow likely created fan deposits inside Martian craters, geologists say appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.



  • Science & Nature
  • Space
  • astronomy
  • astrophysics
  • Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
  • National Air and Space Museum
  • rocks & minerals


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Illustration from American game fishes, their habits, habitat, and peculiarities

Frontispiece illustration of “flies” from the 1882 book American game fishes, their habits, habitat, and peculiarities; how, when, and where to angle for them, featuring […]

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New evidence of extraterrestrial life may come from dying stars

Even dying stars could host planets with life – and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade. […]

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  • Science & Nature
  • Space
  • astronomy
  • astrophysics
  • Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
  • Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

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Small migratory birds age faster in stressful places, study reveals

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.




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Zoo scientists find sudden stream temperature changes boost hellbender immune systems

Hellbenders, aquatic salamanders from the eastern United States, are surprisingly good at dealing with unpredictable weather. In a recent study published in the Journal of […]

The post Zoo scientists find sudden stream temperature changes boost hellbender immune systems appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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New project to unlock migration mysteries from air

Unlocking the mysteries of animal migration through precise, near real-time tracking can solve major conservation challenges and transform wildlife science worldwide. For the past year, […]

The post New project to unlock migration mysteries from air appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Non-insect invertebrates are focus of new global genome-sequencing alliance

For scientists who study non-insect invertebrates, the sheer diversity of these odd and fascinating creatures is both intoxicating and daunting. Occupying niches in habitats the […]

The post Non-insect invertebrates are focus of new global genome-sequencing alliance appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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The secret formula to feeding 900 babies: Scientists uncover milk composition of naked mole-rat queens

Parents normally feel the need to provide well for their kids. For humans, that number of offspring is usually in the single digits, but a […]

The post The secret formula to feeding 900 babies: Scientists uncover milk composition of naked mole-rat queens appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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The Submillimeter Array: Celebrating a decade of discovery

Ten years ago, eight antennas on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawai’i, united to form a telescope unlike any other. Since then the Submillimeter Array […]

The post The Submillimeter Array: Celebrating a decade of discovery appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Chandra X-ray Observatory Celebrates 15th Anniversary

Fifteen years ago, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Since its deployment on July 23, 1999, Chandra has […]

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Interstellar exploration – five planets where humans may (or may not) be able to live someday

Unless you live under a lunar rock, you’ve probably heard about or seen director Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster “Interstellar.” Starring Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey, […]

The post Interstellar exploration – five planets where humans may (or may not) be able to live someday appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.





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Warming temperatures may mean more monarch generations in some areas of North America

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.




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Disease carrying ticks hitchhike into U.S. on migratory birds

Researchers who examined thousands of migratory birds arriving in the United States from Central and South America have determined that three percent carry ticks species […]

The post Disease carrying ticks hitchhike into U.S. on migratory birds appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Research shows same growth rate for farming, non-farming societies

Prehistoric human populations of hunter-gatherers in a region of North America grew at the same rate as farming societies in Europe, according to a new […]

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Rare cancer cells discovered in naked mole rats

Bald from snout to tail with baggy wrinkled skin and beady eyes, eastern African naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) are subterranean mammals long credited with […]

The post Rare cancer cells discovered in naked mole rats appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




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Two invasive species have Hawaiian reunion after 80-year separation

Fat, toxic and nocturnal, cane toads (Rhinella marina) are abundant today in Hawaii, even though they are South American natives. Released on the Hawaiian Islands […]

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Smithsonian Study shows relocated desert tortoises reproduce at lower rate

Four years after conservationists relocated 570 desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in California from a threatened habitat to a new nearby location, the tortoises outwardly appeared […]

The post Smithsonian Study shows relocated desert tortoises reproduce at lower rate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.



  • Animals
  • Research News
  • Science & Nature
  • Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
  • Smithsonian's National Zoo

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There’s more to extraterrestrial life than planets in “habitable zone” orbits

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 […]

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