Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

A green ridged cactus towers vertically over the camera with a deep blue sky in the background

How a Smithsonian Botanist Cracked the Cactus Code a Century Ago

Celebrate National Cactus Day by meeting the pioneering botanist, Joseph Nelson Rose

A gray and white bird perches among leafy branches

Celebrate Black Birders Week and More Natural History Programs This May

A large elm tree with branches full of green leaves stands in the sunlight

How a Historic Smithsonian Elm Thrives, Over 150 Years After its Planting

Close-up of a black and yellow hornet preserved on a pin

What Mummified Shrews and Giant Hornets Reveal About Biodiversity

Pink Hyperiid

Say Hello to the Scientist Using DNA to Track Plankton Diversity

Composite photo of seven different colorful and partially transparent deep-sea animals on black background

Massive Yet Misunderstood, What Is the Ocean's Midwater?

Landscapes have been managed by humans for thousands of years – some sustainably, others less so. The Martu people of Australia burn the grasses in continent’s Western Desert. The practice yields food, but also increases biodiversity in the area. (Rebecca Bliege Bird)

New Study Pushes Origins of Human-Driven Global Change Back Thousands of Years

Scientists described a new species of Bryde’s-like whale using the skeleton of a whale that washed ashore in the Florida Everglades in 2019 and is now part of the Smithsonian’s marine mammals collection. (NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC Permit No. 779-1633-0)

Scientists Describe New Species of Rare Bryde’s Whale

Scientists discovered a new species of odd-scaled burrowing snakes in northern Vietnam. (American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists)

Rare Iridescent Snake Discovered in Vietnam

The National Museum of Natural History’s newest curator in the paleobiology department, Dr. Stewart Edie, opens a drawer with mollusk fossils in the museum’s invertebrate paleobiology collection. (Katie Collins, National History Museum, London)

Say Hello to the Smithsonian’s Newest Mollusk Expert

This mummified steppe bison was donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in the 1970s. Right now, museum audiences can see it online during a virtual tour. (Michelle Pinsdorf, Smithsonian)

Bison Mummies Help Scientists Ruminate on Ancient Climate

Giant squids can grow to over 40 feet long. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has a giant squid specimen on display in the Sant Ocean Hall and several others in its collections. (John Steiner, Smithsonian)

How Scientists Learn What Lives in the Deep Ocean

Bat ticks (Ornithodoros) under a microscope. These parasites primarily feed on bats and were collected from bats roosting beneath a Mayan Temple in Belize. Very little is known about these ticks and many species are unknown to science. (Kelly Speer)

Why We Need to Save the Parasites

Scientists plan to piece together the genetic code of all plants, animals, fungi and protists within the next ten years as part of the Earth BioGenome Project.

Scientists to Read DNA of All Eukaryotes in 10 Years

South American rivers are home to at least three different species of electric eels. One species, Electrophorus varii, named after the late Smithsonian ichthyologist Richard Vari, swims through murky, slow-flowing lowland waters. (D. Bastos)

Fish Detective Solves a Shocking Case of Mistaken Identity

Researchers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History traveled the world and made many new discoveries this year—including 18 new species of pelican spiders. (Nikolai Scharff)

Check Out Some of Our Most Popular Discoveries From 2018

C. David de Santana and his team exploring the Javari River on the border of Brazil and Peru on a misty morning. (Douglas Bastos)

Discovery and Danger: The Shocking Fishes of the Amazon's Final Frontier

Latest

Iconic Photos Give Rare Glimpse of Smithsonian's Storage Rooms

How Shipwrecks Shape the Seafloor

Categories
Archive