Archive | November, 2009

Smithsonian to lead study on degradation of nearshore coastal habitats of the Chesapeake

Smithsonian to lead study on degradation of nearshore coastal habitats of the Chesapeake

Invasive species, contaminants, excessive nutrient's and sediment are just some of the many factors threatening sensitive wetlands and seagrass beds. [...more]

conservation biology Comments (0)

New Acquisition: Robo-car enters Smithsonian collection

New Acquisition: Robo-car enters Smithsonian collection

Stanley is one of the first autonomous robotic vehicles to enter the Smithsonian collection. This blue 2005 Volkswagen Toureg is equipped with custom drive-by-wire system, a sensor rack and a computing system that enables Stanley to navigate without a human in the driver’s seat. [...more]

New Acquisitions Comments (2)

Digital Stradivari: computer models of violins reveal master luthier’s techniques

Digital Stradivari: computer models of violins reveal master luthier’s techniques

In a pilot study that used seven Stradivari violins made between 1670 and 1709, the researchers scanned each violin with a CT scanner then used the data to create digital, 3-D images of each violin. [...more]

Featured, materials science Comments (12)

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Science Spotlight

This fossil represents a new genus and species of extinct aneuretopsychid, Jeholopsyche liaoningensis, recently described in a paper in the journal ZooKeys by Conrad Labandeira of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and Dong Ren and ChungKun Shih of the College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing. The aneuretopsychidae are a family of long-proboscid insects that lived in Asia from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. The paper documents the first formal record of fossil Aneuretopsychidae in China. The new fossils reveal previously unknown and detailed structure of the mouthparts, antennae, head, thorax, legs and abdomen of this distinctive insect lineage.

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