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National Museum of Natural History

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A New Pterosaur, Ancient Asteroid Brine and More Discoveries from the National Museum of Natural History in 2025

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Ginseng Family Secrets, Super-Flexible Whale Jaw Joints and More in the National Museum of Natural History's Summer Summary

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Meet the Scientist Who Discovered a New Genus of Curious Catfish Hiding in Colombia’s Most Endangered River

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To Correct Some Fishy Anatomy, Researchers at the National Museum of Natural History Get Inside the Head of a Coelacanth

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Meet the Scientist Using Micro-CT Scans to Explore Big Questions About Evolution

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This Invasive Species Awareness Week, Learn How Museum Researchers Track the Rogue Wildlife Infiltrating American Ecosystems

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Meet the Museum Scientist Who Sails the Ocean and Sifts Through Seafood Markets to Identify Fishes

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Building a Library of Life: How Smithsonian Collections Are Revolutionizing Ocean eDNA Research

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When the Moon Obscures the Sun, How Does Life on Earth Respond?

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Celebrate the Holiday Season with the Museum’s Stunning Collection of Blue Specimens

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Summer Summary: A Mysterious Fossil Tooth, Metallic Planet and Marine Hitchhikers

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Discover How Domesticating Dogs Influenced Human Evolution and Other Natural History Programs This May

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2022 in Review: The Year’s Top Discoveries by Museum Researchers

Several grey, white and orange king penguins perch on top of their eggs, which are snuggly sheltered under a flap of their flabby skin between their feet.

Get To Know the Natural World’s Most Devoted Dads

A diver uses a camera to study a barnacle-covered submarine resting on the seafloor

How Shipwrecks Shape the Seafloor

A humpback whale breaches the surface of the ocean on a sunny day as three birds fly overhead.

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries From 2021

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Meet the Expert Studying Fishes That Spit Water to Hunt

Climate change is causing oceans to warm, which in turn affects fish and fishers. Now, scientists are turning towards management strategies to protect species and the industry. (Claudio Contreras-Koob/International League of Conservation Photographers)

Why Fishes are the Catch of the Day for Climate Research

The Volta’s electric eel, Electrophorus voltai, emits the strongest shocks of any animal on Earth. Although these eels were thought to be loners, the species was recently seen hunting in a group. (L. Sousa)

Shocking Study Finds Electric Eels Hunt Together

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History sequenced the genomes of 363 bird species in 2020. (Brian Schmidt, Smithsonian)

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries from 2020

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