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New Poison Dart Frog from Panama
The poison dart frog “Andinobates geminisae” A bright orange poison dart frog with a unique call was discovered in Donoso, Panama, and described by researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research...
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New Book: A History of Life in 100 Fossils
Left-handed snails, giant wombats, spiny trilobites, zombie ants, glyptodonts…these are a few of the fascinating animals and plants whose fossils spring to life across the pages of A History of Life in...
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From spines to tequila and heavy-metal music — admit it, bats are cool
Southern Free-tailed Bat, Mormopterus species 3 (Photo: Michael Pennay) Like most icons of cool, bats are highly complex and the often-misunderstood rock stars of the animal kingdom. Check out these...
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3-D portrait of President Obama
3-D–printed bust of President Obama created by the Smithsonian using 3-D scanning technology (Photo courtesy of Digital Program Office / Smithsonian Institution) The first presidential portraits...
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International team maps ‘big bang’ of bird evolution
Ornate Fruit-Dove (Photo: Bruce Beehler) The genomes of modern birds tell a story of how they emerged and evolved after the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs 66 million years ago. But the family...
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Asteroids: Breaking up is Hard to Do
This image, taken by NASA’s Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission in 2000, shows a close-up view of Eros, an asteroid with an orbit that takes it somewhat close to Earth. A new paper argues that the...
View ArticleReptile rejuvenation at National Zoo
Reptiles have a rough exterior that make them seem like they don’t need a lot of very specific care. The reality is quite the opposite. Caretakers at Smithsonian’s National Zoo introduce us to some of...
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Mismatched Twin Stars Spotted in the Delivery Room
The majority of stars in our galaxy come in pairs. In particular, the most massive stars usually have a companion. These fraternal twins tend to be somewhat equal partners when it comes to mass – but...
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Panda Semen from China arrives at Zoo
Mei Xiang, a giant panda at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Caitlin Burrell, research scientist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, returned from China last night...
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Water may Have Been Abundant in First Billion Years after big bang
This Hubble image features dark knots of gas and dust known as “Bok globules,” which are dense pockets in larger molecular clouds. Similar islands of material in the early universe could have held as...
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Scientists Find Andean Bears with Camera Traps In Peru
For the first time, a team from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s (SCBI) Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability collected photo evidence of an Andean bear (also known as...
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The oldest microscope in the museum
In the store-rooms of the National Museum of American History curators recently discovered a small microscope made around 1750 by John Cuff (1708-1772), a talented instrument maker whose shop was...
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geologic mapping of mars
Geologic mapping is an integral part of exploration and understanding a planetary landscape, because it shows the relationships between geologic units and helps delineate the history of a surface. New...
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Oasis in the city
The Smithsonian Pollinator Garden on the grounds of the National Museum of Natural History. (Smithsonain Gardens photo) Pollinators like butterflies, bees, beetles, flies, and moths help to pollinate...
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Smithsonian and Partners To Preserve Earth’s Genomic Plant Diversity
Once captured, genomic samples will be stored in the Smithsonian’s biorepository, a complex of sub-zero freezers which can hold up to 4 million cryo-preserved samples in perpetuity, located at the...
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A Precocious Black Hole
In this illustration a black hole emits part of the accreted matter in the form of energetic radiation (blue), without slowing down star formation within the host galaxy (purple regions). (Illustration...
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Kickstarter funding: Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit
This spacesuit was worn by astronaut Neil Armstrong, Commander of the Apollo 11 mission, which landed the first man on the moon on July 20, 1969. (Image by Mark Avino, National Air and Space Museum)...
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CASSIOPEIA’S HIDDEN GEM: THE CLOSEST ROCKY, TRANSITING PLANET
This artist’s conception shows the silhouette of a rocky planet, dubbed HD 219134b, as it passes in front of its star. (Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech) Skygazers at northern latitudes are familiar...
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Smithsonian Enlists Star Trek Fans to Send USS Enterprise Back in Time
The National Air and Space Museum is asking Star Trek fans to search their memory banks for firsthand, pre-1976 images or film of the original studio model of the USS Enterprise. Conservators are...
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Colorful Caterpillar Chemists
The bright stripes and bristles of this skipper butterfly caterpillar, Pyrrhopyge thericles warn predators that it packs a toxic punch, thanks to an exclusive diet of toxic plants of the genus Vismia....
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