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National Museum of Natural History

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Meet the Scientist Digitizing Millions of Fossilized Pollen Grains to Reveal Earth’s Climate History

A circular rock is cut in half against a black background, revealing the plant material fossilized inside.

Meet the Scientist Studying 'Fossil Snapshots' of Ancient Insect Life

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National Museum of Natural History Scientists Discover That Ancient Insects Perfected Their Plant Palates 165 Million Years Ago

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Top Discoveries at the National Museum of Natural History in 2024

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Through the Fossil Grapevine: Museum Scientist Helps Untangle How the Fruit Thrived in the Aftermath of Extinction

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2022 in Review: Smithsonian Staff Sifts Through an Ocean of Fossils

A man wearing a white hard hat, neon vest, dark gray pants and yellow gloves sits in a pit of dark rock. Just below his knees is a boulder with a piece of lighter gray fossil sticking out of the top.

Meet the Smithsonian Director Bringing a Deep Time Perspective to the International Climate Discussion

A grey, orange, and brown expanse of layered rock formations under a gray sky.

Ancient Pollen Offers Clues to How Plants Adapted to Climate Change in the Past — and Potentially the Future

Fossil plants reveal information about the temperature and precipitation of past climates. Scientists use what they learn from fossil plants to inform their research on modern climate change (USNM PAL 606436, Smithsonian)

What Fossil Plants Reveal About Climate Change

Smithsonian paleobiologist Scott Wing digs for plant fossils in Wyoming. (Tom Nash)

Old Fossils, New Meanings: Smithsonian Exhibit Explores the History of Life and What it Means for Our Future

Ginkgo biloba leaves could be the key to reconstructing past changes in carbon dioxide and climate (Rich Barclay, Smithsonian).

Can You Help Us Clear The Fossil Air?

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