White-faced capuchin monkeys in Panama’s Coiba National Park habitually use hammer-and-anvil stones to break hermit crab shells, snail shells, coconuts and other food items, according […]

The post Scientists observe stone tool use by Cebus monkeys appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Two grass species that had been relatively rare in the plots, Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata, began to respond vigorously to the excess nitrogen. Eventually the grasses became much more abundant. Nitrogen ultimately changed the composition of the ecosystem as well as its capacity to store carbon.

The post Scientists find excess nitrogen favors plants that respond poorly to rising CO2 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Visits to the Smithsonian's National Zoo just became a little bit sweeter with the arrival of a new honeybee colony. With a hive made of glass in the Zoo's Pollinarium and full access to the outdoors, these bees are showing off the wondrous ways of their world.

The post Honeybees fascinate visitors at the National Zoological Park appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Center for Tropical Forest Science, which manages a global network of temperate and tropical forest research plots, will utilize the funds to conduct workshops in the Americas and Asia to investigate how taxonomic, functional, and genetic dimensions of diversity affect tree communities and their resilience to global change.

The post Center for Tropical Forest Science receives grant to study diversity of tree communities appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recently a team of scientists working at the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute in Panama, decided to try and learn for the first time just which body parts the gliding ant C. atratus uses to steer as they glide.

The post Gliding ants steer with hind legs as they fly backwards, scientists learn appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., and the Alaska Sea Grant Program of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, were recently identified as the […]

The post Smithsonian scientists to help identify and eradicate invasive species in Alaskan waters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Cool science is being carried out on a Smithsonian island in the Panama Canal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

By pulling together data from eight different studies, we now have irrefutable evidence that vines are on the rise not only in the Amazon, but throughout the American tropics.

The post Scientists race to determine why vines are taking over forests in the American tropics appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Can a tendency to get distracted lead to a career in science? It did for paleoecologist Conrad Labandeira. Working on his family's farm, he would find himself falling into a study of insect life in the fields. "If you go after what interests you," he says, "the rest will always fall into place."

The post Smithsonian paleoecologist Conrad Labandeira talks about how he became a scientist and why he loves his work 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.

Nutmeg-loving toucans wearing GPS transmitters recently helped a team of scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama address an age-old problem in plant ecology: accurately estimating seed dispersal.

The post Toucans wearing GPS backpacks help Smithsonian scientists study seed dispersal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The move enhances coordination efforts for the 46-plot research network, which partners with more than 75 institutions in 21 countries.

The post Global forest science research center moves from Harvard to the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Smithsonian scientists work to ensure survival of North America’s wild orchids appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

South American rainforests thrived during three extreme global warming events in the past, say paleontologists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in a new report […]

The post Smithsonian scientists discover that rainforests take the heat 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.

Invasive species have become a problem in marine environments around the world, and the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are no exception. Non-native species of […]

The post Smithsonian Scientists Work to Stop Invasions appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ubiquitous as they may be today, the origin of the Christmas tree is unknown to most. The tradition of decorating a tree, usually an evergreen […]

The post Agustín Stahl: Scientist Who Introduced the “Arbol de Navidad” (Christmas Tree) to Puerto Rico appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fort Pierce, Fla. – Fall in southern Florida is festival season: when the weather stops being oppressively hot and 70 degrees is positively autumnal.  On […]

The post Annual Smithsonian-led science festival draws crowds in Fort Pierce, Florida appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Federal agencies act as custodians of hundreds of diverse scientific collections that contain everything from plant and animal specimens, tissues, and DNA to microbes, minerals, […]

The post One-Stop Shopping for Federal Scientific Collections appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists have discovered two new gecko species—the Lenya banded bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus lenya) and Tenasserim Mountain bent-toed gecko (C. payarhtanesnsis)—in the little-studied lowland forests […]

The post Smithsonian Scientists Discover Two New Gecko Species in Vanishing Myanmar Rainforest appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ninety Limosa harlequin frogs (Atelopus limosus) bred in human care are braving the elements of the wild after Smithsonian scientists sent them out into the […]

The post Scientists Release Frogs Wearing Mini Radio Transmitters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Apr 16, 2020; 133:jcs245373-jcs245373
CELL SCIENTISTS TO WATCH

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Many wild southern sea otters in California are infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, yet the infection is fatal for only a fraction of sea otters, which has long puzzled the scientific community. A National Science Foundation-funded study identifies the parasite's specific strains that are killing southern sea otters, tracing them back to a bobcat and feral domestic cats from nearby watersheds. The study marks the first time a genetic link has been clearly established between the Toxoplasma strains in felid hosts and parasites causing fatal disease in marine wildlife. The study's results highlight how infectious agents like Toxoplasma can spread from cat feces on land to the sea, leading to detrimental impacts on marine wildlife.

Image credit: Trina Wood/UC Davis

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Scientists have recovered the first genetic data from an extinct bird in the Caribbean, thanks to the remarkably preserved bones of a Creighton's caracara in a flooded sinkhole on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Studies of ancient DNA from tropical birds have faced two formidable obstacles. Organic material quickly degrades when exposed to heat, light and oxygen. And birds' lightweight, hollow bones break easily, accelerating the decay of the DNA within. But the dark, oxygen-free depths of a 100-foot blue hole known as Sawmill Sink provided ideal preservation conditions for the bones of Caracara creightoni, a species of large carrion-eating falcon that disappeared soon after humans arrived in the Bahamas about 1,000 years ago. Florida Museum of Natural History researcher Jessica Oswald and her colleagues extracted and sequenced genetic material from the 2,500-year-old C. creightoni femur. Because ancient DNA is often fragmented or missing, the team had modest expectations for what they would find –- maybe one or two genes. But instead, the bone yielded 98.7% of the bird's mitochondrial genome, the DNA most living things inherit from their mothers. The mitochondrial genome showed that C. creightoni is closely related to the two remaining caracara species alive today: the crested caracara and the southern caracara. The three species last shared a common ancestor between 1.2 and 0.4 million years ago. "This project enhanced our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary implications of extinction, forged strong international partnerships, and trained the next generation of researchers," says Jessica Robin, a program director in National Science Foundation's Office of International Science and Engineering, which funded the study.

Image credit: Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace

Many public school students receive little or no exposure to the theory of evolution, the most important concept in understanding biology, says a new guidebook from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

Outdated food safety laws and a fragmented federal structure serve as barriers to improving protection of the nations food supply from contamination or other hazards, according to Ensuring Safe Food From Production to Consumption.

Good morning and welcome. There has been unprecedented interest in recent years about whether marijuana or its constituent compounds should be used as medicine. Since 1996, voters in seven states have approved the medical use of marijuana.

Although there is evidence of harmful health and ecological effects associated with exposure to high doses of chemicals known as hormonally active agents – or endocrine disrupters – little is understood about the harm posed by exposure to the substances at low concentrations, such as those that typically exist in the environment, says a new report from a National Research Council committee.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys guideline for protecting the public from a toxic form of mercury is justifiable based on the latest scientific evidence, some children of women who consume large amounts of fish and seafood during pregnancy may be at special risk of neurological problems.

The high rate of premature births in the United States constitutes a public health concern that costs society at least $26 billion a year, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) today released SCIENCE, EVOLUTION, AND CREATIONISM, a book designed to give the public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom.

Ten questions driving the geological and planetary sciences were identified today in a new report by the National Research Council.

Good morning. I am Dr. Alice Gast and I am here today with Dr. David Relman as the chair and vice chair of the Committee on the Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI’s Investigation of the 2001 Bacillus anthracis Mailings.

Each year, tens of millions of Americans, young and old, choose to learn about science in informal ways -- by visiting museums and aquariums, attending after-school programs, pursuing personal hobbies, and watching TV documentaries, for example.

A congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council finds serious deficiencies in the nations forensic science system and calls for major reforms and new research.

Evidence exists that people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina between the 1950s and 1985 were exposed to the industrial solvents tricholorethylene (TCE) or perchloroethylene (PCE) in their water supply, but strong scientific evidence is not available to determine whether health problems among those exposed are due to the contaminants, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Eleven questions that should shape the next decade of geographical sciences research were identified today in a new report by the National Research Council.

A National Research Council committee asked to examine the scientific approaches used and conclusions reached by the Federal Bureau of Investigation during its investigation of the 2001 Bacillus anthracis mailings has determined that it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the anthrax in letters mailed to New York City and Washington, D.C., based solely on the available scientific evidence.

A report released today by the National Research Council presents a new framework for K-12 science education that identifies the key scientific ideas and practices all students should learn by the end of high school.

Legal responses to juvenile offending should be grounded in scientific knowledge about adolescent development and tailored to an individual offenders needs and social environment, says a new report from the National Research Council.

President Barack Obama reiterated his strong support for science and technology today in a speech to members of the National Academy of Sciences at its 150th annual meeting.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society, the national science academy of the U.K., released a joint publication today in Washington, D.C., that explains the clear evidence that humans are causing the climate to change, and that addresses a variety of other key questions commonly asked about climate change science.

The National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine are launching a major initiative to guide decision making about controversial new research involving human gene editing.

As researchers’ and teachers’ understanding of how best to learn and teach science evolves and curricula are redesigned, many teachers are left without the experience needed to enhance the science and engineering courses they teach, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Today the science academies of the G7 countries and seven additional academies issued three joint statements to their respective governments to inform discussions during the G7 summit to be held in May in Japan, as well as ongoing policymaking.

A series of educational modules has been developed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to help students in professional schools – law, public policy, medicine, journalism, and business – understand science and its role in decision making.

U.S. adults perform comparably to adults in other economically developed countries on most measures of science knowledge and support science in general, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine highlights the complexity of communicating about science effectively, especially when dealing with contentious issues, and proposes a research agenda to help science communicators and researchers identify effective methods.