Volcanoes are a source of fascination for many, attracting a steady stream of visitors worldwide. While the danger of sudden eruptions may add to the […]

The post When will a volcano explode, ooze or lie silent? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Looking for another Earth? An international team of researchers has pinpointed which of the more than 4,000 exoplanets discovered by NASA’s Kepler mission are most […]

The post Another Earth? Kepler astronomers pinpoint likeliest candidates 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.

Single-wavelength X-ray anomalous diffraction (SAD) is a frequently employed technique to solve the phase problem in X-ray crystallography. The precision and accuracy of recovered anomalous differences are crucial for determining the correct phases. Continuous rotation (CR) and inverse-beam geometry (IBG) anomalous data collection methods have been performed on tetragonal lysozyme and monoclinic survivin crystals and analysis carried out of how correlated the pairs of Friedel's reflections are after scaling. A multivariate Bayesian model for estimating anomalous differences was tested, which takes into account the correlation between pairs of intensity observations and incorporates the a priori knowledge about the positivity of intensity. The CR and IBG data collection methods resulted in positive correlation between I(+) and I(−) observations, indicating that the anomalous difference dominates between these observations, rather than different levels of radiation damage. An alternative pairing method based on near simultaneously observed Bijvoet's pairs displayed lower correlation and it was unsuccessful for recovering useful anomalous differences when using the multivariate Bayesian model. In contrast, multivariate Bayesian treatment of Friedel's pairs improved the initial phasing of the two tested crystal systems and the two data collection methods.

A novel approach for finding and evaluating structural models of small metallic nanoparticles is presented. Rather than fitting a single model with many degrees of freedom, libraries of clusters from multiple structural motifs are built algorithmically and individually refined against experimental pair distribution functions. Each cluster fit is highly constrained. The approach, called cluster-mining, returns all candidate structure models that are consistent with the data as measured by a goodness of fit. It is highly automated, easy to use, and yields models that are more physically realistic and result in better agreement to the data than models based on cubic close-packed crystallographic cores, often reported in the literature for metallic nanoparticles.

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.

A mysterious nocturnal animal was leaving its tracks on the delicate mirrors of the telescopes at the Smithsonian's Whipple Observatory in Arizona. With a little ingenuity and a live trap, the mystery was solved. The visitor proved to be a ringtail cat, a member of the raccoon family.

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"The Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions in International Governance" will be convened at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 2009. More information on this event can be found at the Web site: www.atsummit50.aq/

To assess legacy lessons about managing nearly 10% of the Earth "for peaceful purposes only"

Find out how you can be involved:

www.atsummit50.aq

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Rick Wunderman of the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History talks about the current volcanic activity in Iceland.

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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.

Smithsonian Scientist Helen James dives into dormant Hawaiian volcanoes to find bird fossils. Her work to identify these species (some new species, some extinct) helps us learn about the past--specifically, how humans might have caused the extinction of certain bird species.

The post Meet Our Scientist–Helen James dives into dormant Hawaiian volcanoes to find bird fossils appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The three male cheetahs that left the Zoo's D.C. campus in 2009 returned in November and are now on exhibit. The five-and-a-half-year-old brothers―Draco, Granger, and Zabini, named after characters in the Harry Potter stories―have been living at the Zoo's Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Cheetah Science Facility in Front Royal, Virginia.

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Meet the Smithsonian's Matthew Carrano, curator of Dinosauria at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Matthew studies all things dinosaur, but focuses on the evolutionary history of predatory (meat eating) dinosaurs.

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The post How do paleontologists identify dinosaur teeth? Smithsonian Curator Matthew Carrano identifies Cretaceous dinosaur teeth from the Washington D.C. area. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post How do we know if dinosaurs cared for their young? Smithsonian curator Matthew Carrano reveals the fossil evidence. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Learn about the ash that comes from volcanoes with Dr. Liz Cottrell, a geologist from the National Museum of Natural History appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Natural History Museum curator Nick Pyenson explains how scientists know what dinosaurs and other extinct animals ate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Killer carnivores: Titanoboa vs. T-Rex — Premieres April 1 on Smithsonian Channel appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Smithsonian planetary scientist Tom Watters explains how he knows the moon is shrinking appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If a supernova vaporized Earth’s ozone layer, what would happen to life in the ocean? Smithsonian biologist Pat Neale shows how UV rays could harm […]

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Maintaining natural movement of animals that live in the tropical rainforest canopy in South America is important for the health of the ecosystem. As development […]

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The National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., has closed its Dinosaur Hall for a five-year renovation. But before the overhaul can begin, the […]

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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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Jan. 6, 2015—As the year’s first blanket of snow coated the Washington, D.C. area today, giant panda Bao Bao at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park […]

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NASA’s Kepler mission is responsible for history’s first detection of Earth-sized planets orbiting other suns in their temperate “habitable zones.” The team in charge of […]

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How do you bring a nearly complete T. rex back to life? You send the fossils to Canada where craftsmen create a creature of steel. […]

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National Air and Space Museum Curator John Anderson describes major flight innovations made possible by the Full Scale Tunnel, built in 1931 at the National […]

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Join Dr. Elizabeth Cottrell as she explores the volcanoes of Alaska’s Western Aleutian Islands.

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At age 19, athlete Amy Purdy had both legs amputated below the knee due to a sudden illness that culminated in septic shock. Two years […]

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Smithsonian staff gathered on Thursday, June 1 outside the National Museum of African American History and Culture to show their support and listen to Director […]

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Ashkii, a North American river otter, at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park

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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 […]

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When talk turns to the economy, it's clear that LA brings out the best and the worst.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, where do you see the best of it here?

Mark Lacter: You see the best of the economy, Steve, with all kinds of startup activity - much of it tech-related - and you also see the large number of auto sales, the improved housing market, and the record number of people visiting Southern California - all indications of a growing economy.  But then, you have the other L.A. economy, with large numbers of families struggling to make ends meet, and seeing very little sign of recovery.  You know, the government has been releasing income data covering the last few years, and what you see is that the disparity between the richest 1 percent and the other 99 percent is at its widest point since the 1920s.  You especially see that kind of bifurcated economy in Southern California, which has some of the wealthiest people in the country, and also some of the poorest.

Julian: Now, the split between rich and poor has been happening for a good long time, hasn't it?

Lacter: Yes, but L.A. is in a special class because there are so many immigrants with limited job skills - in fact, a new study by the UCLA Anderson Forecast says it's a much higher percentage than immigrants living in Miami, San Francisco, and New York.  What's interesting is that 20 years ago the job skills among immigrants were significantly higher in L.A.  Limited job skills mean there's very little opportunity to move up the income ladder.  That factors into buying homes, sending your kids to college - really becoming part of the middle class.

Julian: I imagine that's particularly true for factory work…

Lacter: Yes, some of the same jobs that newly-arrived immigrants in previous generations would gravitate to.  Today, many of those jobs are gone, and they're being replaced by positions that require greater skill that's borne out of greater education.  And that, of course, is another problem: a sizable percentage of recently-arrived immigrants never finished high school, much less college, and that makes it even less likely that they'll be able to move up.

Julian: Related, or unrelated, to the recession?

Lacter: Actually, L.A. had serious income inequality in December of 2006, before the recession, when the county's unemployment rate was just 4.3 percent - a stunningly low rate when you consider that as of July, the jobless rate was almost 10 percent.  This points out that the division of haves and have-nots can happen even when the economy is doing well.

Julian: And it seems the last C-17 to be built for Air Force is a reminder of wage gap.

Lacter: That's right - it'll be up to foreign customers to keep the program in Long Beach alive.  Boeing currently has an order from India for 10 of the cargo planes, which will keep the line moving through the third quarter of next year.  Frankly, the only reason the C-17 has lasted this long is heavy political pressure by congressional lawmakers whose districts have an economic stake in the program.  At one time, as many as 16,000 people may have worked on the C-17 in Long Beach, but that number has fallen sharply over the years.

Julian: Still, this is the last airplane manufacturing plant in Southern California.

Lacter: And that, of course, speaks volumes about the state of the aerospace business, which had been one of the main economic drivers back in the days leading up to World War II.  Aerospace continued to be very important until the end of the Cold War, when you had a huge industry consolidation that resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of local jobs throughout the 1990s.  There's still quite a bit of aerospace activity locally that involves missiles, satellites, and electronics - both for the major defense contractors like Boeing and Northrop, and for smaller contractors and sub-subcontractors that still get a piece of the military pie.

Julian: But most of them require high skill levels…

Lacter: Yes, and that gets us back to the folks who are stuck in low-paying jobs with little prospect for moving up.  This is what the L.A. economy is all about, the good and the bad.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

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