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.

Medium shot of forest with new growth — Susan Cook-Patton

BiodiversiTREE: Multi-species plot

A plot with 12 tree species in the forest restoration experiment BiodiversiTREE, planted at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Now in its 10th year, BiodiversiTREE has revealed that more diverse forest restorations are less likely to suffer planting failures.

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Group shot of scientists in the field — Susan Cook-Patton

BiodiversiTREE: Inaugural Team

The team of scientists and interns who planted BiodiversiTREE in 2013, along with roughly 100 volunteers. From left: Susan Cook-Patton, Whitney Hoot, Caitlyn Cecil, Jess Shue, John Parker, Kim Holzer and Lada Klimesova. (Credit: Susan Cook-Patton)

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Scientists working on inaugural BiodiversiTREE project pose for group shot — The team of scientists and interns who planted BiodiversiTREE in 2013, along with roughly 100 volunteers. From left: Susan Cook-Patton, Whitney Hoot, Caitlyn Cecil, Jess Shue, John Parker, Kim Holzer and Lada Klimesova. (Credit: Susan Cook-Patton)

Tree Species Diversity Increases Likelihood of Planting Success

Researchers and Volunteers Planted 20,000 Tree Saplings in Reforestation Experiment; Ten Years Later, the Results Are In

05.23.2023

Environmental Research Center Research News

Exoplanet LP 791-18 d — LP 791-18 d, illustrated here, is an Earth-size world about 90 light-years away. The gravitational tug from a more massive planet in the system, shown as a blue disk in the background, may result in internal heating and volcanic eruptions—as much as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most geologically active body in the solar system. Astronomers discovered and studied the planet using data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite along with many other observatories.

Astronomers Find Potentially Volcano-Covered Earth-Size World

05.17.2023

Research News

Earth rising on the horizon of the moon — NASA

Study Presents New Clues About the Rise of Earth’s Continents

One Popular Explanation for Properties That Result in Dry Land Is Unlikely According to New Experiments

05.04.2023

Natural History Museum Research News

Microscopic slide showing garnet and glass — G. Macpherson and E. Cottrell, Smithsonian

The Rise of Continents: ExperimentRUTVP20

A microscope image from an experiment conducted for this study. The image contains glass (brown), large garnets (pink) and other small mineral crystals. The field of view is 410 microns wide, about size of a sugar crystal.

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Holycross maneuvers an X-ray beam onto garnet samples for analysis. — Elizabeth Cottrell, Smithsonian

The Rise of Continents: Megan Holycross-E2

Megan Holycross, formerly a Peter Buck Fellow and National Science Foundation Fellow at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and now an assistant profes

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Megan Holycross in the laboratory — Elizabeth Cottrell, Smithsonian

The Rise of Continents: Megan Holycross-E1

Megan Holycross, formerly a Peter Buck Fellow and National Science Foundation Fellow at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and now an assistant profes

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The Rise of Continents: Megan Holycross

Megan Holycross, formerly a Peter Buck Fellow and National Science Foundation Fellow at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and now an assistant profes

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Elizabeth Cottrell loads an experiment in her lab at Natural History — Jennifer Renteria, Smithsonian

The Rise of Continents: Elizabeth Cottrell in the lab

Elizabeth Cottrell, research geologist and curator of rocks at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, loads an experiment in her lab at the museum.

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Earth rise photo of planet Earth on the horizon of the moon — NASA

The Rise of Continents: Earth Rise

Apollo 8 pilot Bill Anders took this iconic photo of Earth from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. Earth’s continents—unique in the solar system—are visible, rising above the ocean.

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Kirtland's Warbler — Research ecologist Nathan Cooper holds a radio-tagged Kirtland’s Warbler just before releasing it in The Bahamas. Credit: Tim Romano/Smithsonian

Night Flight: Tracking Data Reveal When and Why Songbirds Begin Their Massive Journeys and How They Decide To Leave

Most Birds Start Within a 69-Minute Window Just After Dusk

05.01.2023

Research News

Smithsonian’s Center for Environmental Justice at the Anacostia Community Museum Launches on Earth Day

04.07.2023

Anacostia Community Museum Research News Public Programs

Close up of coral polyps underwater — A close-up ofextended polyps of an apparently healthy great star coral colony (*Montastraea cavernosa*) on a reef near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The tentacles surrounding the mouth of each polyp help trap food particles for the coral to eat. The brown coloration is from the symbiotic microalgae (Symbiodiniaceae) that live in the coral tissues. Credit: Valerie Paul

Newly Discovered Probiotic Could Protect Caribbean Corals Threatened by Deadly, Devastating Disease

New Treatment Offers an Alternative to Antibiotic Treatment, Reducing Risk of Resistant Pathogenic Bacteria

04.06.2023

Natural History Museum Research News

Unraveling a Microbial Mystery

Why Are Some Bacteria Making Environmental Mercury Even More Toxic?

04.04.2023

Environmental Research Center Research News

Global Natural History Initiative Builds Groundbreaking Database To Address 21st-Century Challenges

Effort Connects More Than a Billion Objects in Scientific Collections Across 73 Museums in 28 Countries

03.23.2023

Natural History Museum Research News

Open book with dozens of painted silhouettes — Credit: Page spread from William Bache’s Silhouettes Album, black paper-coated silhouettes mounted on paper. Digitized by Mark Gulezian/NPG. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Sarah Bache Bloise

Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Reveals Identities of Hundreds of People in Early 19th-Century Portrait Album

Portrait Gallery Research and Conservation Project Used Getty Grant To Create a Microsite Featuring 1,800 Paper Silhouettes From Political Elite to Everyday People

03.20.2023

Portrait Gallery Research News