Research News

The Smithsonian is one of the world’s foremost research centers in science, the arts, and the humanities. In addition to research pursued by the museums, our research centers specialize in areas of inquiry spanning the globe and the farthest reaches of the universe.

Research News Feed

Ocean Plastic Is Creating New Communities of Life on the High Seas

Coastal Organisms Thrive on Floating Plastic Debris in the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”

Astronomers Observe a New Type of Binary Star Long Predicted To Exist

Researchers Predicted the New Class of Star’s Existence for 50 Years but Until Now Had Never Observed It in Space

World’s Largest Whales Eat More Than Previously Thought, Amplifying Their Role as Global Ecosystem Engineers

Recovery of Baleen Whales to Pre-Whaling Levels Could Restore Lost Ocean Function and May Help Curb Climate Change

Orchid Bees Show Remarkable Resistance to Major Climate Events

Longest Continuous Study of Euglossines in the Tropics Found Relatively Stable Populations of These Wild Bees Over Four Decades

Chandra Sees Evidence of Possible Planet in Another Galaxy

Unique Dinosaur-Era Fossil Bridges a Gap in the Evolution of Crabs

The Oldest and Most Complete Fossil Crab Ever Discovered Suggests These Animals Ventured Onto Land at Least 25 to 50 Million Years Earlier than Previously Thought

Gigantic Cavity in Space Sheds New Light on How Stars Form

Astronomers Discover a Humongous Cavity in Space While Mapping Interstellar Dust; the Sphere-shaped Phenomenon May Explain How Supernovae Lead to Star Formation

Planets Form in Organic Soups With Different Ingredients

Series of New Images Reveals That Planets Form in Organic Soups—and No Two Soups Are Alike

Smithsonian and Partners Pioneer Method To Boost Endangered Coral Populations Separated by Vast Distances

Assisted Gene Flow Using Cryopreservation Is a Critical Step Toward Buffering Coral Reefs Against Warming Oceans

Study Reveals Evidence Mercury’s Mantle Goes With the Flow

New Paper Published by Smithsonian Scientist Tom Watters

Interstellar Comets Like Borisov May Not Be All That Rare

Astronomers Calculate That the Oort Cloud May Be Home to More Visiting Objects Than Objects That Belong to Earth’s Solar System

Similar to Human Babies, This Bat Species Learns to Communicate Through Babbling and Vocal Imitation

Long-Term Monitoring of the Bat Species Saccopteryx bilineata in Their Natural Setting Revealed That Pups Display Babbling Behavior Strikingly Similar to That of Human Infants

Sharing the Love Helps Male Acorn Woodpeckers Father More Chicks

Males in Polygamous Breeding Groups With One or Two Other Male Woodpeckers Sire Significantly More Chicks Over Their Lifetimes

For Bay Oysters, Protection Plus Restoration Creates Healthiest Reefs

Underwater Videos Reveal Thriving Reefs and Provide Scientists a Quick, Low-cost Method To Rate Habitats

Aerial view of river and surrounding forest

Indigenous Peoples Were Stewards of the Western Amazon

Study Points to a History of Indigenous Sustainable Use of the Western Amazon Stretching Back 5,000 Years

New Model for Infectious Disease Could Better Predict Future Pandemics

Potential Benefits to Health Across Species, Communities and Environments Are Enormous

Astrophysicists Launch Largest Sky Survey Yet To Map the Universe

Nearly 40 Years After Creating the First, Iconic Map of the Universe, Researchers Aim for the Largest Map Ever

Interior of crystals seen through electron microscope

Earth’s Oldest Minerals Date Onset of Plate Tectonics to 3.6 Billion Years Ago

Ancient Zircons From the Jack Hills of Western Australia Hone Date of an Event That Was Crucial To Making the Planet Hospitable to Life

How the Chicxulub Impactor Gave Rise to Modern Rainforests

How Will the Biggest Tropical Trees Respond to Climate Change?

Harvard, Smithsonian Astronomers Help Capture First Image of Black Hole’s Magnetic Fields

This Is the First Time Scientists Have Imaged Magnetic Fields So Close to a Black Hole

Recreational Blue Crab Harvest in Maryland Higher Than Current Estimates

First Statewide Tagging Study To Estimate Maryland’s Recreational Take Finds It Amounts to 11% of the Commercial Take

Astronomers Detect a Black Hole on the Move

Astronomers Have Detected a Moving Supermassive Black Hole

Stressed-Out Young Oysters May Grow Less Meat On Their Shells

Early Exposure to Heat and Low Oxygen Makes Oysters More Vulnerable to Same Stressors Later On