Exhibition: “Whales: From Bone to Book”
The Smithsonian Libraries will open its new exhibition “Whales: From Bone to Book” in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History on May 25. This exhibition is a...
Science Spotlight
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Scientists find impact of open-ocean industrial fishing within centuries of bird bones
The impact of industrial fishing on coastal ecosystems has been studied for many years. But how it affects food webs in the open ocean―a vast region that covers almost half of the Earth’s surface―has not...
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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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Ancient mummies reveal atherosclerosis is very likely just a part of aging
Cheeseburgers. Ice cream. French fries. These are a few of the culprits, doctors warn us, responsible for atherosclerosis, a disease commonly known as hardening of the arteries. Fatty materials from richly processed modern foods accumulate...
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Penguins once thrived in Africa; one endangered species lives there today
Africa isn’t the kind of place you might expect to find penguins. But one species lives along Africa’s southern coast today, and newly found fossils confirm that as many as four penguin species coexisted on...
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Replicating whale fossils found in Chile
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New study proves the remora’s sucker disc is in fact a highly modified dorsal fin / Q&A with taxonomist David Johnson
The remora’s sucker disc is “one of the most remarkable and most highly modified skeletal structures among vertebrates.”
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Scientists discover sensory organ in baleen whales that choreographs movement of their massive jaws and throat-pouch
Scientists from the Smithsonian and University of British Columbia have discovered a sensory organ in the chin of rorqual whales that communicates to the brain. It orchestrates the dramatic adjustments needed in jaw position and throat-pouch expansion to make lunge feeding successful
