Smithsonian
Newly discovered sensory organ in the chin of baleen whales allows them to be world's largest hunters
Lunge feeding in rorqual whales (a group that includes blue, humpback and fin whales) is unique among mammals, but details of how it works have remained elusive. Now, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution ...
May 23, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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Scientists discover largest orb-weaving spider
Researchers from the United States and Slovenia have discovered a new, giant Nephila species (golden orb weaver spider) from Africa and Madagascar and have published their findings in the Oct. 21 issue of the ...
Oct 21, 2009 |
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New mapping of Mars shows western Medusae Fossae formation older than once thought
(Phys.org) -- 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 ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 24, 2012 |
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Ancient whale species sheds new light on its modern relatives
Beluga whales and narwhals live solely in the cold waters of the Arctic and sub-arctic. Smithsonian scientists, however, found that this may not have always been the case. They recently described a new species ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 22, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
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Multiple species of seacows once coexisted: study
Sirenians, or seacows, are a group of marine mammals that include manatees and dugongs; today, only one species of seacow is found in each world region. Smithsonian scientists have discovered that this was ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 08, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (5) |
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Study shows earthworms to blame for decline of ovenbirds in northern Midwest forests
A recent decline in ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla), a ground-nesting migratory songbird, in forests in the northern Midwest United States is being linked by scientists to a seemingly unlikely culprit: earthw ...
Feb 29, 2012 |
4 / 5 (2) |
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Fungi-filled forests are critical for endangered orchids
When it comes to conserving the world's orchids, not all forests are equal. In a paper to be published Jan. 25 in the journal Molecular Ecology, Smithsonian ecologists revealed that an orchid's fate hinges ...
Jan 24, 2012 |
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Scientists use fossil feathers reveal lineage of extinct, flightless ibis
A remarkable first occurred recently at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History when ornithologists Carla Dove and Storrs Olson used 700- to 1,100-year-old feathers from a long extinct species ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 22, 2011 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Details of ancient shark attack preserved in fossil whale bone
A fragment of whale rib found in a North Carolina strip mine is offering scientists a rare glimpse at the interactions between prehistoric sharks and whales some 3- to 4-million years ago during the Pliocene.
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 10, 2011 |
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Coasts' best protection from bioinvaders falling short
Invasive species have hitchhiked to the U.S. on cargo ships for centuries, but the method U.S. regulators most rely on to keep them out is not equally effective across coasts. Ecologists from the Smithsonian Environmental ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 04, 2011 |
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New genetic evidence confirms coyote migration route to Virginia and hybridization with wolves
Changes in North American ecosystems over the past 150 years have caused coyotes to move from their native habitats in the plains and southwestern deserts of North America to habitats throughout the United States.
Oct 25, 2011 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
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Team develops new technique for dating silk
Strand for strand no fabric can compare to the luxurious feel, luminosity and sheen of pure silk. Since millennia, the Chinese have been unraveling the cocoons of the silk worm (Bombyx mori) and weaving the fibers into s ...
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Sep 13, 2011 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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Scientists reveal a first in Ice Age art
Researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Florida have announced the discovery of a bone fragment, approximately 13,000 years old, in Florida with an incised image ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 21, 2011 |
4.3 / 5 (10) |
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Stranding records are faithful reflection of live whale and dolphin populations: study
Whales are the earth's largest creatures, yet they are incredibly hard to study in the open ocean. For decades scientists have used boats, aircraft and even high cliffs to conduct visual surveys and gather ...
Jun 07, 2011 |
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Scientists discover the largest assembly of whale sharks ever recorded
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are often thought to be solitary behemoths that live and feed in the open ocean. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and colleagues, however, have found that this is not ...
May 25, 2011 |
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