Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

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

From fish to flamingos, here’s what scientists know — and what they hope to find out — about how plants and animals react to a total solar eclipse

A blue bird with white and grey spots lies against a white background.

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

A large, brown tooth sits on top of a colorful map of the California coast

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

Not much is known about the megamouth, which was first observed by scientists in 1976. A new specimen (not pictured above) has traveled to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where researchers will study it to learn more about its behavior and life cycle. (Zola Chen)

Rare Megamouth Shark Arrives at the Smithsonian

Invasive species like lionfish can harm natural, human, and economic health. (Barry Brown)

Five Species to Wrap Up Invasive Species Week

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History discovered all sorts of cool things in 2019 including the first North American medicinal leech (Macrobdella mimicus) in more than 40 years. (Anna Phillips, Smithsonian)

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries from 2019

South American rivers are home to at least three different species of electric eels. One species, Electrophorus varii, named after the late Smithsonian ichthyologist Richard Vari, swims through murky, slow-flowing lowland waters. (D. Bastos)

Fish Detective Solves a Shocking Case of Mistaken Identity

Researchers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History traveled the world and made many new discoveries this year—including 18 new species of pelican spiders. (Nikolai Scharff)

Check Out Some of Our Most Popular Discoveries From 2018

C. David de Santana and his team exploring the Javari River on the border of Brazil and Peru on a misty morning. (Douglas Bastos)

Discovery and Danger: The Shocking Fishes of the Amazon's Final Frontier

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

Celebrate Planets Near and Far This April

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