Rope, golf balls, sweat pants, bottles and aluminum cans are a few of the discarded items biologist Matt Klope says he has found inside the […]

The post Gray whale specimen an important addition to Natural History Museum collections appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

                  The Smithsonian Libraries will open its new exhibition “Whales: From Bone to Book” in the Smithsonian’s National Museum […]

The post Exhibition: “Whales: From Bone to Book” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Did you know the Smithsonian created the world’s first full cast of a whale? It was a blue whale exhibited in 1904 at the St. […]

The post 100 Years of Whales @ Smithsonian! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Museum of Natural History announced this summer that it has reached a 50-year loan agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to […]

The post T. rex to rule Dinosaur Hall in Washington, D.C. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

  This image is a close-up of the skull of the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known as the Wankel T. rex which was installed in front […]

The post T-rex to rule Dinosaur Hall appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

It has all the hallmarks of a paleontological crime scene: a massive graveyard along a remote desert highway containing the fossil bones of at least […]

The post Algae assassin found responsible for whale mass grave in Chile appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Chip a tooth and expose a nerve and the result can be a searing sensitivity to hot and cold. The hard outer layer of a […]

The post Scientists map pathway from narwhals’ sensitive tusk to brain appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Republic of Panama’s proposal to implement four Traffic Separation Schemes for commercial vessels entering and exiting the Panama Canal and ports was approved unanimously […]

The post Commercial shipping lanes changed in Panama to save humpback whales appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In the United States, natural-gas production from shale rock has increased by more than 700 percent since 2007. Yet scientists still do not fully understand […]

The post Biological fallout of shale-gas production still largely unknown appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New data just published in the journal Marine Mammal Science may help save the whales, or at least a good many of them. Using vertebrae […]

The post New study may help free whales from fishing rope entanglement appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) were widespread across Europe and Western Asia for a long time, starting about 400,000 years ago. But things began to change when […]

The post Why did Neanderthals go extinct? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A Smithsonian team of scientists re-examined a fossil sperm whale for the first time in 90 years and created an entirely new group in the […]

The post “Call Me Albicetus”: Fossil Sperm Whale Is Named in Honor of Moby-Dick appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In April 2015, after traveling for about half the age of the universe, a flood of powerful gamma rays from a distant galaxy slammed into […]

The post VERITAS Detects Gamma Rays from Galaxy Halfway Across the Visible Universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A bite mark on a homicide victim’s skin is not an unusual discovery. A criminal’s teeth marks are also occasionally found on food at a […]

The post Crime bite: DNA on half-eaten food may someday send crooks to jail appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A bizarre change occurs in the mouth of a humpback whale during its development in the womb. Several dozen tooth buds sprout in a row […]

The post Paleo-detectives energize great whale mystery: how & when baleen evolved appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Whales from both poles migrate long distances to breed in tropical waters. Smithsonian scientist Hector M. Guzman and Fernando Félix at the Salinas Whale Museum […]

The post Whale tagging in Southeast Pacific provides data for species protection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The blue whale, which uses baleen to filter its prey from ocean water and can reach lengths of over 100 feet, is the largest vertebrate […]

The post Only recently did whales become giant appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Swimming in the frigid waters of the Arctic and surfacing in narrow gaps in the sea ice to breathe, the narwhal is one of the […]

The post Meet the world’s weirdest whale appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

X-ray emission under electron-channelling conditions is used to distinguish between a non-centrosymmetric half-Heusler and a centrosymmetric full-Heusler crystal. For TiCo1.5+xSn the space-group determination based on a Rietveld refinement procedure became challenging for increasing Co content (x > 0.2), while electron channelling proved successful for higher Co content (x = 0.35). This technique can be used on crystals as small as (10 nm)3.

The post Conservators challenged by contemporary artworks at the Hirshhorn Museum appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invasive plant species are threatening native species across the globe. Learn how scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Center in Panama are trying to fight one species of grass in Panama that is wreaking havoc on the country's tropical biodiversity.

The post Meet Our Scientist: Jefferson Hall – Invasive Plant Science appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Learn about the National Zoo’s flamingo flock with keeper Sara Hallager appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Replicating whale fossils found in Chile appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Seeing a massive skeleton on display in a museum gallery is the last step in a long journey from living animal to educational specimen. Where […]

The post Where Dead Whales Go To Live: Smithsonian Whale Warehouse appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Air and Space Museum will reopen the “Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall” July 1 in conjunction with the museum’s 40th anniversary. The two-year […]

The post Air and Space Museum’s “Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall” Reopens July 1! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Did you know the Smithsonian’s museum support center is home to the largest collection of whale bones EVER? Madeline Sofia from Joe’s Big Idea takes […]

The post Why the Smithsonian has world’s largest whale bone collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Aymar Ccopacatty (Aymara), NMAI Artist Leadership Program (ALP) participant, tells his personal story of the environmental impact on Puno, Peru, of all-too-commonly discarded commercial plastic […]

The post Knitting plastic Wiphalas in Peru appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Life and the Earth have always evolved together. When it opens on June 8, 2019, the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils — Deep Time […]

The post Sneak Peek: David H. Koch Hall of Fossils appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Experimental electron-density studies based on high-resolution diffraction experiments allow halogen bonds between heavy halogens to be classified. The topological properties of the electron density in Cl⋯Cl contacts vary smoothly as a function of the inter­action distance. The situation is less straightforward for halogen bonds between iodine and small electronegative nucleophiles, such as nitro­gen or oxygen, where the electron density in the bond critical point does not simply increase for shorter distances. The number of successful charge–density studies involving iodine is small, but at least individual examples for three cases have been observed. (a) Very short halogen bonds between electron-rich nucleophiles and heavy halogen atoms resemble three-centre–four-electron bonds, with a rather symmetric heavy halogen and without an appreciable σ hole. (b) For a narrow inter­mediate range of halogen bonds, the asymmetric electronic situation for the heavy halogen with a pronounced σ hole leads to rather low electron density in the (3,−1) critical point of the halogen bond; the properties of this bond critical point cannot fully describe the nature of the associated inter­action. (c) For longer and presumably weaker contacts, the electron density in the halogen bond critical point is only to a minor extent reduced by the presence of the σ hole and hence may be higher than in the aforementioned case. In addition to the electron density and its derived properties, the halogen–carbon bond distance opposite to the σ hole and the Raman frequency for the associated vibration emerge as alternative criteria to gauge the halogen-bond strength. We find exceptionally long C—I distances for tetra­fluoro­diiodo­benzene molecules in cocrystals with short halogen bonds and a significant red shift for their Raman vibrations.

Crystals of the rare earth metal polytelluride LaTe1.82(1), namely, lanthanum telluride (1/1.8), have been grown by molten alkali halide flux reactions and vapour-assisted crystallization with iodine. The two-dimensionally incommensurately modulated crystal structure has been investigated by X-ray diffraction experiments. In contrast to the tetra­gonal average structure with unit-cell dimensions of a = 4.4996 (5) and c = 9.179 (1) Å at 296 (1) K, which was solved and refined in the space group P4/nmm (No. 129), the satellite reflections are not compatible with a tetra­gonal symmetry but enforce a symmetry reduction. Possible space groups have been derived by group–subgroup relationships and by consideration of previous reports on similar rare earth metal polychalcogenide structures. Two structural models in the ortho­rhom­bic superspace group, i.e. Pmmn(α,β,1 over 2)000(−α,β,1 over 2)000 (No. 59.2.51.39) and Pm21n(α,β,1 over 2)000(−α,β,1 over 2)000 (No. 31.2.51.35), with modulation wave vectors q1 = αa* + βb* + 1 over 2c* and q2 = −αa* + βb* + 1 over 2c* [α = 0.272 (1) and β = 0.314 (1)], have been established and evaluated against each other. The modulation describes the distribution of defects in the planar [Te] layer, coupled to a displacive modulation due to the formation of different Te anions. The bonding situation in the planar [Te] layer and the different Te anion species have been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) methods and an electron localizability indicator (ELI-D)-based bonding analysis on three different approximants. The temperature-dependent electrical resistance revealed a semiconducting behaviour with an estimated band gap of 0.17 eV.

Features of azimuthal plots for RHEED and its new counterpart, RHEPD, are discussed. The plots, for both electrons and positrons, are determined using dynamical diffraction theory.

Apr 8, 2020; 133:e0701-e0701
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Focused attention by world leaders is needed to address the substantial challenges posed by disposal of spent nuclear fuel from reactors and high-level radioactive waste from processing such fuel for military or energy purposes.

As the recent spread of West Nile virus and the anthrax scare of 2001 dramatically illustrate, America faces a variety of new health challenges in the 21st century, along with a number of persistent problems, such as racial disparities in health status and care delivery.

The U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) today announced the grand challenges for engineering in the 21st century. A diverse committee of experts from around the world, convened at the request of the U.S. National Science Foundation, revealed 14 challenges that, if met, would improve how we live.

Young adults ages 18-26 should be viewed as a separate subpopulation in policy and research, because they are in a critical period of development when successes or failures could strongly affect the trajectories of their lives, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome -- commonly referred to as ME/CFS -- is a legitimate, serious, and complex systemic disease that frequently and dramatically limits the activities of affected individuals, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

The U.S. Agency for International Development should speed its transformation into a global leader and catalyst in applying science, technology and innovation to the challenges facing developing countries, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Despite broad understanding of volcanoes, our ability to predict the timing, duration, type, size, and consequences of volcanic eruptions is limited, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies the most promising scientific breakthroughs that are possible to achieve in the next decade to increase the U.S. food and agriculture system’s sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience.

The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) is pleased to announce the recipients of three $500,000 NAKFI Challenge awards. A 15-year, $40 million dollar program funded by the W.M. Keck Foundation, NAKFI was initiated in 2003 to break down barriers between fields and to promote interdisciplinary research.

The winners of the sixth annual D.C. Public Health Case Challenge were announced at this year’s National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Annual Meeting.

Over the next several decades as the global population grows, society will be faced with pressing challenges such as providing reliable supplies of food and water, diminishing climate change and adapting to its impacts, and building healthy, resilient cities.

In light of the many costs generated by child poverty for the United States, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides evidence-based policy and program packages that could cut the child poverty rate by as much as 50 percent while at the same time increasing employment and earnings among adults living in low-income families.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers guidance to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on how to conduct a hazard assessment of nonpolymeric, additive organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs), which are used in some consumer products.

International thought leaders will join the next generation of engineers in London from Sept. 16 to 18 for the Global Grand Challenges Summit 2019. The summit aims to help inspire and equip future engineering leaders to address the rapidly evolving challenges of an unpredictable world.

You can find a nurse navigating city streets, on her way to a home visit. Or, maybe he is recording educational videos on preventing ear infections. She might even be running for city council.