Science Spotlight
Recent Posts
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VIDEO: 3-D scanning at the Smithsonian
What can you do to bring some of the Smithsonian’s 137 million objects to life? Put them in 3-D! This is a full-time job for two of the Smithsonian’s very own “laser cowboys,” Vince Rossi...
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Smithsonian anthropologist Rick Potts answers questions about the Anthropocene
There is little doubt that human activity is affecting planet Earth, but just how much? And is it all negative? Rick Potts is the director of the Human Origins Program and curator of anthropology at...
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Gray whale specimen an important addition to Natural History Museum collections
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 stomachs of the dead whales he has helped necropsy over...
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Scientists uncover relationship between lavas erupting on sea floor and deep-carbon cycle
Scientists from the Smithsonian and the University of Rhode Island have found unsuspected linkages between the oxidation state of iron in volcanic rocks and variations in the chemistry of the deep Earth. Not only do...
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Forensic analysis of 17th-century human remains at Jamestown, Va., reveals evidence of survival cannibalism
Douglas Owsley, the division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, presented today a forensic analysis of 17th-century human remains proving that survival cannibalism took place in historic Jamestown. The...
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First five years of Panama Canal excavations reveal fossil finds
Miniature camels and horses, a rhinoceros and a giant bear-dog are among fossils unearthed in the recent excavations of the Panama Canal expansion project. These findings shed light on events millions of years ago that...
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“Hear My Voice”: Smithsonian identifies 130-year-old recording as Alexander Graham Bell’s voice
The inventions of Alexander Graham Bell—most famously the telephone but also methods of recording sound—have allowed people to hear each other’s voices for more than 130 years. Until now, no one knew what the inventor...
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Biologist Andrew Sellers turns lionfish invasion into research opportunity
Covered in venomous spines the exotic and strikingly banded Indo-Pacific lionfish would be a painful mouthful to any creature that may try to catch and eat it. Brought into the United States by aquarium hobbyists...
