The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, more commonly known as the Jefferson bible, is a volume created by Thomas Jefferson containing passages he […]

The post Unlocking the mysteries of Jefferson’s bible with high-tech analysis and microscopic testing appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Kandula, an 8-year-old male Asian elephant at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, recently demonstrated to researchers for the first time that elephants are capable of insightful problem solving.

The post A first: National Zoo elephant shows insightful problem solving appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered the first pair of supermassive black holes in a spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way. Approximately 160 million light years from Earth, the pair is the nearest known such phenomenon.

The post Newly discovered supermassive black holes are just 160 million light years from Earth appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New research shows that some old stars might be held up by their rapid spins, and when they slow down, they explode as supernovae. Thousands of these "time bombs" could be scattered throughout our Galaxy.

The post Our galaxy might hold thousands of ticking “time bombs” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Thunder, lightning and strong winds greeted the National Zoo’s two female red panda cubs when they were born June 17, and that stormy night has […]

The post National Zoo’s red pandas named “Pili” and “Damini” for stormy night appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Humanity's most complex ground-based astronomy observatory, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), has officially opened for astronomers at its 16,500-foot high desert plateau in northern Chile.

The post Center for Astrophysics project gets first look through new ALMA telescope 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.

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.

Small monkey groups may win territorial disputes against larger groups because some members of the larger, invading groups avoid aggressive encounters.

The post Members of small monkey groups more likely to fight, researchers find appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough, left, talks with Carlos Jaramillo, scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, at a research site near the Panama […]

The post Wayne Clough & Carlos Jaramillo, at a research site near the Panama Canal. 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.

Seven years ago, astronomers boggled when they found the first runaway star flying out of our Galaxy at a speed of 1.5 million miles per hour. Theorists wondered: Could the same thing happen to planets? New research shows that the answer is yes.

The post Planet starship: runaway planets zoom at a fraction of light speed appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

An international team of scientists has discovered an ‘ordinary’ black hole in the galaxy Centaurus A. This is the first time that a normal-size black hole has been detected away from the immediate vicinity of our own Galaxy.

The post “Ordinary” black hole discovered in a galaxy 12-million-light-years away 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.

The snakes are not only eating the area’s birds, but also the birds’ eggs straight from the nest.

The post Invasive pythons in Florida now stealing bird eggs straight from the nest appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Just a few towering white fir, sugar pine and incense cedars per acre at Yosemite National Park are disproportionately responsible for photosynthesis, converting carbon dioxide into plant tissue and sequestering that carbon in the forest, sometimes for centuries,

The post Heavyweight trees are forest champs at sequestering carbon 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.

Recent geologic mapping of the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars—an intensely eroded deposit near the northern edge of the cratered highlands—has revealed a wider distribution of its western component than was previously recognized.

The post New mapping of Mars shows Medusae Fossae Formation older than once thought appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The newfound jets may be related to mysterious gamma-ray bubbles that Fermi detected in 2010. Those bubbles also stretch 27,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way.

The post Ghostly gamma-ray beams blast from Milky Way’s center appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The scientists made the spiders exercise by irritating them with a small paint brush and causing them to move around until they became exhausted. Spiders from the group with palps removed were able to travel 300 percent further than spiders with their palps intact.

The post Weight of genitals reduces physical endurance in male orb web spiders, researchers find appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study has unveiled how the tiny hummingbird adapts to flying in heavy rain.

The post Video shows how hummingbirds adjust flight in heavy rain 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.

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With the tap of a finger, keepers are introducing the Zoo’s six orangutans to iPads, which provide unique stimuli.

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Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have found that six percent of red dwarf stars have habitable, Earth-sized planets and the closest could be just 13 light-years away!

The post Earth-like planets discovered right next door to Earth appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The remora's sucker disc is "one of the most remarkable and most highly modified skeletal structures among vertebrates."

The post New study proves the remora’s sucker disc is in fact a highly modified dorsal fin / Q&A with taxonomist David Johnson appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory suggest a highly distorted supernova remnant (shown here) may contain the most recent black hole formed in the Milky Way galaxy.

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In 2009, during an expedition by a Russian research ship, a small length of yellow flesh about 5 centimeters long was dredged up from the […]

The post Last seen 140 years ago, deep sea worm resurfaces, delighting scientists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Mortlock Islands flying fox, a large, breadfruit-eating bat native to a few remote and tiny Pacific islands, has long been regarded as one of […]

The post Scientists shine light on world’s least-studied bat: Mortlock Islands flying fox appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas and oceans, Dolabrifera dolabrifera is a species of sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae. […]

The post Sea hare chemical fights leishmaniasis appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have discovered a new genus and species of attine ants that reveals key clues in the […]

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Termites and ants are not something you’re likely to pour into a cereal bowl for breakfast or munch with toast and tea, but your ancient […]

The post Termites for breakfast? Your ancestors might have! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The black-headed paradise-flycatcher of western and central Africa is a small colorful forest bird that thrives on the flying insects it chases down by swooping, […]

The post These mites should make birds quiver right down to their quills appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

After eluding scientists for nearly 80 years, the Clarion nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha unaocularus), a nocturnal reptilian species that was initially discovered in the first half […]

The post Lost species of nightsnake rediscovered in Mexico appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Why is the Sun’s million-degree corona, or outermost atmosphere, so much hotter than the Sun’s surface? This question has baffled astronomers for decades. Today, a […]

The post Tiny ‘nanoflares’ might heat the Sun’s corona appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

1. Some male spiders just want to be eaten Black widows are known for cannibalizing their mates, but this doesn’t actually happen all the time. […]

The post Eight strange but true spider facts appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The challenges of conceiving only get greater as we get older. But if you have some of the most prized genes within your entire species, […]

The post High hopes for 60 year-old crocodile to become mother again appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers announced today that they have found eight new planets in the “Goldilocks” zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where liquid water can […]

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A new water frog from the Pacific slopes of the Andes in central Peru has been described and named in the open access journal ZooKeys. Telmatobius […]

The post New species of bright-yellow water frog discovered in Peru appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new DNA study of ancient corn kernels and cobs from archaeological sites across North America has settled a long debate as to exactly where […]

The post Corn entered Southwest U.S. first along highland route, DNA shows appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

California’s Channel Islands are located dozens of miles west of the state’s coast and surrounded by Pacific waters, yet they too are experiencing the same […]

The post Drought slows wildlife reproduction on California’s Channel Islands 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.

Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts the emission of gravitational waves by massive celestial bodies moving though space-time. For the past century gravitational waves have […]

The post Astronomers complete First Search for Visible Light Associated with Gravitational Waves appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detected gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes 29 and 36 times the […]

The post Ligo’s Twin Black Holes Might Have Been Born Inside a Single Star appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A social media celebrity was born last week when the bright lights and camera of NOAA’s remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer zoomed in on a […]

The post Ghost octopod shows how little we know about deep-sea life 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.

 The distant planet GJ 1132b intrigued astronomers when it was discovered last year. Located just 39 light-years from Earth, it might have an atmosphere despite […]

The post Venus-like Exoplanet Might Have Oxygen Atmosphere, But Not Life appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To surprise their prey, some species of seabirds dive into the water at speeds greater than 50 miles per hour. A human diver entering the […]

The post Study shows how birds dive safely at high speeds 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.

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.