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

Computer generated rendering of medium-sized dog with white, fluffy coat.

Researchers, Coast Salish People Analyze 160-Year-Old Indigenous Dog Pelt in the Smithsonian’s Collection

Analysis Conducted To Pinpoint the Origin and Sudden Disappearance of the Culturally Significant Coast Salish Woolly Dog

Smithsonian To Host Symposium Focused on Endangered Rice’s Whale in Partnership With NOAA, Marine Mammal Commission

Museum Will Display Remains of the First Scientifically Described Rice’s Whale

Protecting Lands Slows Biodiversity Loss Among Vertebrates by Five Times

Effective Government Key To Ensuring Protected Areas Safeguard Biodiversity

New Technique Could Facilitate Rapid Cryopreservation of All Coral Species

Successfully Cooling and Thawing Coral Fragments Key to Global Conservation Milestone for Vanishing Coral Reefs

More Than 800 Human-Harvested Shellfish Species Tend To Be More Resistant to Extinction

Researchers Caution That Harvests Must Be Sustainably Managed To Preserve Populations for Future Generations

Red brick building with large windows, spires and manicured landscaping in front.

Analysis Reveals Ancestry, Possible Descendants of Enslaved and Free African Americans

Scientists Analyzed DNA From an African American Burial Ground Located at a Historic Maryland Ironworks

Bezos Earth Fund Grants $12 Million to Smithsonian To Support Major Forest Carbon Project

Composite photo showing cut marks on 3 different bones

Humans’ Evolutionary Relatives Butchered One Another 1.45 Million Years Ago

Cut Marks on a Fossil Leg Bone Belonging to a Relative of Modern Humans Were Made by Stone Tools and Could Be Evidence of Cannibalism

Fisherman casts seine net from small boat

Marine Protected Areas Improve Health, Wealth of Nearby Communities

New Smithsonian-Led Study Shows Protecting Marine Life Can Support Multiple U.N. Sustainable Development Goals in Mesoamerican Reef

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and Kenyan Partners Awarded $5 Million Grant To Prevent Emerging Diseases in Northern Kenya

Five-Year Study of Three Animal-Borne Pathogens Aims To Enhance Local and Global Health Security

Tree Species Diversity Increases Likelihood of Planting Success

Researchers and Volunteers Planted 20,000 Tree Saplings in Reforestation Experiment; Ten Years Later, the Results Are In

Astronomers Find Potentially Volcano-Covered Earth-Size World

May 17, 2023
Research News

Earth rise photo of planet Earth on the horizon of the moon

Study Presents New Clues About the Rise of Earth’s Continents

One Popular Explanation for Properties That Result in Dry Land Is Unlikely According to New Experiments

Night Flight: Tracking Data Reveal When and Why Songbirds Begin Their Massive Journeys and How They Decide To Leave

Most Birds Start Within a 69-Minute Window Just After Dusk

May 1, 2023
Research News

January 31, 2023
Research News

Fossil CSI: Analysis of Giant Extinct Marine Reptile Graveyard Suggests Mysterious Site Was Ancient Birthing Grounds

Nevada Site Has Been Studied for Decades, but Explanations for Why So Many Ichthyosaurs Died There Some 230 Million Years Ago Have Eluded Researchers

Research News

Researchers, Coast Salish People Analyze 160-Year-Old Indigenous Dog Pelt in the Smithsonian’s Collection

Smithsonian To Host Symposium Focused on Endangered Rice’s Whale in Partnership With NOAA, Marine Mammal Commission

Protecting Lands Slows Biodiversity Loss Among Vertebrates by Five Times

New Technique Could Facilitate Rapid Cryopreservation of All Coral Species

More Than 800 Human-Harvested Shellfish Species Tend To Be More Resistant to Extinction

Analysis Reveals Ancestry, Possible Descendants of Enslaved and Free African Americans

Bezos Earth Fund Grants $12 Million to Smithsonian To Support Major Forest Carbon Project

Humans’ Evolutionary Relatives Butchered One Another 1.45 Million Years Ago

Marine Protected Areas Improve Health, Wealth of Nearby Communities

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and Kenyan Partners Awarded $5 Million Grant To Prevent Emerging Diseases in Northern Kenya

Tree Species Diversity Increases Likelihood of Planting Success

Astronomers Find Potentially Volcano-Covered Earth-Size World

Study Presents New Clues About the Rise of Earth’s Continents

Night Flight: Tracking Data Reveal When and Why Songbirds Begin Their Massive Journeys and How They Decide To Leave

Smithsonian’s Center for Environmental Justice at the Anacostia Community Museum Launches on Earth Day

Newly Discovered Probiotic Could Protect Caribbean Corals Threatened by Deadly, Devastating Disease

Unraveling a Microbial Mystery

Global Natural History Initiative Builds Groundbreaking Database To Address 21st-Century Challenges

Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Reveals Identities of Hundreds of People in Early 19th-Century Portrait Album

National Museum of African American History and Culture Releases New Book on Black Music and Its Global Impact

2.9-Million-Year-Old Butchery Site Reopens Case of Who Made First Stone Tools

Getting to the Root of Blue Carbon Storage in Belize’s Mangroves

AAAS Honors Three Smithsonian Scientists as Lifetime Fellows

Fossil CSI: Analysis of Giant Extinct Marine Reptile Graveyard Suggests Mysterious Site Was Ancient Birthing Grounds