Research News

Newsroom of the Smithsonian

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.

Illustration of planetary objects
Alien Planet Found Spiraling to Its Doom Around an Aging Star
Condemned Planet Could Help Answer Questions About the Fate of Other Worlds as Their Solar Systems Evolve
12.19.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Aerial view of lush trees and a body of water

An aerial view of regenerating secondary tropical forest in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, Panama. Credit: Christian Ziegler, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Study Details How Animals Are Key To Restoring the World’s Forests
12.02.2022
Tropical Research Institute Research News
Illustration of the surface of a red planet with a star shining in the distance

New observations of WASP-39 b with the JWST have provided a clearer picture of the exoplanet, showing the presence of sodium, potassium, water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide in the planet's atmosphere. This artist's illustration also displays newly detected patches of clouds scattered across the planet. Credit: Melissa Weiss/Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
 

New From JWST: An Exoplanet Atmosphere as Never Seen Before
New Observations of WASP-39 b Reveal a Never-Before-Seen Molecule in the Atmosphere of a Planet—Sulfur Dioxide—Among Other Details
11.22.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Smithsonian logo
Smithsonian Launches “Life on a Sustainable Planet” Climate Change Initiative
Initiative Aims To Facilitate Scientific Research and Promote Sustainable Solutions
11.10.2022
Research News
Smithsonian sunburst logo
Sustainability at the Smithsonian Institution: Responding to Climate Change
11.09.2022
Research News Education News
Smithsonian logo
Smithsonian Receives $10 Million Donation To Support Research and Education on Climate Resilience
Gift Will Fund Several New Programs and Help Scale-Up Existing Ones
10.31.2022
Research News Education News
illustration of a lizard eating a bug in a forest

Credit information: Julius Csotonyi for the Smithsonian Institution.

Smithsonian Researchers Discover Extinct Prehistoric Reptile That Lived Among Dinosaurs
Discovery Sheds Light on the Tuatara, the Last Living Member of a Once-Diverse Group of Reptiles That Has Almost Entirely Been Supplanted by Lizards
09.15.2022
Natural History Museum Research News
Graph and illustration of interstellar object

This illustration plots changes in brightness of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, following the titanic mass ejection of a large piece of its visible surface. The escaping material cooled to form a cloud of dust that temporarily made the star look dimmer, as seen from Earth. This unprecedented stellar convulsion disrupted the monster star’s 400-day-long oscillation period that astronomers had measured for more than 200 years. The interior may now be jiggling like a plate of gelatin dessert. Credit: NASA, ESA, Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI) 

Hubble Sees Red Supergiant Star Betelgeuse Slowly Recovering After Blowing Its Top
Seething Monster Star Had Never-Before-Seen Titanic Eruption
08.11.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Underwater photo of lush green eelgrass being moved in a current

Eelgrass from the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Eelgrasses migrated to the Atlantic from the Pacific hundreds of millennia ago, and that ancient migration left marks on their DNA that still shape them today. (Credit: Christoffer Boström, Åbo Akademi University)

Legacy of Ancient Ice Ages Shapes How Seagrasses Respond to Environmental Threats Today
Past Migration, Pleistocene Ice Ages Still Impact Size and Structure of Modern Eelgrass Communities
08.01.2022
Environmental Research Center Research News
Ocean water and the foliage beneath the waves can be seen with a house above water in the bakground

Credit: Claudio Contreras-Koob / International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP)

New Study Shows Smithsonian People-Focused Conservation Initiatives Benefit Society and Nature To Support Life on a Sustainable Planet
06.24.2022
Research News
Diver floats next to suspended panels in the water

Diver Nestor Ortiz of CONICET beside an experiment in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Ortiz is adjacent to a panel open to predators. Panels contained within cages to exclude predators hang suspended in the background. Credit: Nicolas Battini, CONICET

As the Ocean Heats Up Hungrier Predators Take Control
Marine Predation Intensifies in Warmer Waters; Could Reshape Ocean Communities as Climate Changes
06.09.2022
Environmental Research Center Research News
Person kneels in wetlands

Adam Langley, an ecologist at Villanova, takes soil elevation measurements at the Global Change Research Wetland. Credit: Mikayla Manyin

For Wetland Plants, Sea-Level Rise Stamps Out Benefits of Higher CO2
Beneficial Effects of Rising CO2 for Plants Disappear Under Flooding, 33-Year Field Experiment Reveals
05.18.2022
Environmental Research Center Research News
View of lush tree tops

Northeast Australia’s relict tropical rainforests, one of the oldest and most isolated rainforests in the world. Credit: Alexander Shenkin

Tropical Trees Are Dying of Dehydration Due to Climate Change
Rainforest Trees May Be Dying Twice as Quickly Since the 1980s as a Hotter, Thirstier Atmosphere Dries Them Out
05.18.2022
Environmental Research Center Research News
Three people kneel next to river looking at a fish they caught

The research team, including Murilo Pastana (center) and William Ohara (right), collect fishes from a seine net by the river bank near Apuí, Amazonas State, Brazil. Credit: Murilo N.L. Pastana & Willian M. Ohara

Amazon Deforestation Threatens Newly Discovered Fish Species in Brazil
Smithsonian Researcher Helps Discover and Describe Two New Species of Freshwater Fish That Are at Risk of Extinction
05.16.2022
Natural History Museum Research News
Black hole in space

First image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Credit: EHT Collaboration

Astronomers Reveal First Image of the Black Hole at the Heart of the Milky Way Galaxy
05.12.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Low tide at a bay with oysters washed up on the shore

Eroding Late Holocene Native American oyster midden at low tide in Fishing Bay, Maryland. Credit: Torben Rick

Indigenous Peoples Have Shucked Billions of Oysters Around the World Sustainably
Global Study of Indigenous Oyster Fisheries Finds Evidence of Huge Harvests Spanning Hundreds and Even Thousands of Years
05.03.2022
Natural History Museum Research News
Farthest Galaxy Timeline

Timeline displays the earliest galaxy candidates and the history of the universe. Harikane et al., NASA, EST and P. Oesch/Yale

Scientists Have Spotted the Most Distant Galaxy Ever
Shining Only About 300 Million Years After the Big Bang, It May Be Home to the Oldest Stars in the Universe or a Supermassive Black Hole
04.07.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Thesan Simulation

Still image from a Thesan simulation showing the universe 251 million years after the Big Bang. The orange halos represent the burst of radiation, or light, outpouring from early galaxies. Credit: Thesan Collaboration

Astronomers Reveal Remarkable Simulations of the Early Universe From the Dark Ages Through First Light
New High-Resolution Simulations Show 1 Million Galaxies Forming Some 13 Billion Years Ago
03.24.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Volcano by the sea with wispy clouds floating around it

Credit: Daniel Rasmussen, Smithsonian. Photo taken under Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Research and Monitoring Special Use Permit #74500-16-009.

Study Finds That Water Determines Magma Depth, A Key to Accurate Models of Volcanic Activity, Eruption
03.10.2022
Natural History Museum Research News
Lone tree stands in a barren field of grassy hills

The category of losers that are not useful to humans features mostly plants that cannot survive in human-dominated environments or have suffered under direct or indirect pressures from human activities. An example of a loser not useful to humans is Araucaria muelleri, a New Caledonian endemic conifer threatened by habitat loss, forest fires and nickel-mining activities. Credit: Copyright Joey Santore, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

Smithsonian Study Finds More ‘Losers’ Than ‘Winners’ Among Plants in the Age of Humans
Researchers Categorized More Than 80,000 Plant Species as Winners or Losers According to Their Ability To Survive as Humans Shape the Future
03.10.2022
Natural History Museum Research News
Person wearing wet gear stands in a body of water while counting oysters against a pier

Chela Zabin, a marine ecologist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, counts oysters and Fucus rockweed in the intertidal zone in San Francisco Bay. (Credit: Jeff Blumenthal/SERC)

Study Finds “Portfolio Approach” Can Help Protect Restorations From Extreme Climate Events
Adding Diversity to Restoration Projects Can Buffer Them Against Hurricanes, Droughts and Other Climate Extremes
02.15.2022
Environmental Research Center Research News
Solar flare

Still image of several supra-arcade downflows, also described as “dark, finger-like features,” occurring in a solar flare. The downflows appear directly above the bright flare arcade. This solar flare occurred June 18, 2015. Image credit: NASA SDO

Scientists Explain Mysterious Finger-like Features in Solar Flares
Astronomers Have Presented New Explanation for Mysterious Downward-Moving Dark Voids Seen in Some Solar Flares
01.27.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Illustration of bubble in space

Artist's illustration of the Local Bubble with star formation occurring on the bubble's surface. Scientists have now shown how a chain of events beginning 14 million years ago with a set of powerful supernovae led to the creation of the vast bubble, responsible for the formation of all young stars within 500 light-years of the sun and Earth. Credit: Leah Hustak (STScI

1,000 Light-Year-Wide Bubble Surrounding Earth Is Source of All Young Stars Nearby
For the First Time, Astronomers Have Retraced the History of Earth’s Galactic Neighborhood, Showing Exactly How the Young Stars Nearest to Its Solar System Formed
01.12.2022
Astrophysical Observatory Research News
Illustration of the sun

Artist’s conception of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the sun. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Spacecraft Enters the Sun’s Corona for the First Time in History
Instrument Made by Scientists and Engineers at the Center for Astrophysics Has Helped Verify That—for the First Time in History—a Spacecraft Has Entered the Corona of the Sun
12.14.2021
Astrophysical Observatory Research News

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