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National Museum of Natural History

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To Understand How Species Evolve, Scientists Flock to Where Charismatic Birds Intermingle

For decades, researchers have explored a region in Panama that serves as a “manakin melting pot”

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How Lugging a Liquid Nitrogen Tank into the Amazon Helped Spark Ornithology’s Genetic Revolution

Almost 40 years ago, Smithsonian zoologist Gary Graves collected tissue samples in the jungle that formed the nucleus of the museum’s DNA collection

A big-eared, large-nosed, frown-mouthed furry grey and white medium-sized animal sits in the "v" of a small tree, holding one of the branches. In front of the animal is a woman with black hair wearing business clothes and smiling as she snaps a selfie.

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Unlocking Crucial Conservation Clues in the Genetic Code of Koalas

For Save the Koala Day, learn how conservation geneticist Rebecca Johnson’s work helps protect these iconic marsupials

A fruit bat with large, dark eyes, big ears and light brown fur wraps its gray wings around a tree branch.

To Uncover the Origins of Diseases, Smithsonian Researchers Dust Bat Specimens for Viral Fingerprints

Smithsonian scientists utilize a new formula to extract fragile genetic data from bats collected decades ago

A wide shot of a museum exhibit, featuring a dark, faceless, naked female mannequin covered in orange genetic code in the background with a monitor in the foreground showing an orange and white graphic of two people with "What do you think?" between them.

Your Genomic Story Awaits at Smithsonian

Exhibit returns to unravel the complexities of humans' shared genetics

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