Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

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After 50 Years, Scientists Still Love Lucy

Paleoanthropologists have learned a lot about Lucy, the world’s most famous hominin fossil, since she was discovered in 1974. And her fossils are still yielding new insights

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

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

Yellow and white lichens are pictured against a back background on a tree branch.

Meet the Smithsonian Fellow Alumni Helping to Save the Planet

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How A 190-Year-Old Shorebird Preserves Darwin’s Legacy

A white, fluffy dog stands in front of a brown mural with other dogs

NMNH in Review: Top Discoveries by Museum Scientists in 2023

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Meet the Scientist Studying the Scary Speed of Spider Jaws

A man wearing a ripped white shirt stands among thick greenery, holding a plastic sample bag

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Untangling the Branches of Hawaii’s Evolutionary Tree

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How 3D Worms Provide a Peek Into Historic Smithsonian Collection

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

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Smithsonian Scientists Discover One of the Earliest Mammal Ancestors That Ate Its Veggies

In an aerial shot of the desert, a dry lakebed is surrounded by swaths of white salt flats.

Clay-Encrusted Microbes Provide Clues to How Early Life Developed on Earth and Potentially Mars

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2022 in Review: The Year’s Top Discoveries by Museum Researchers

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How Leafcutter Ants and Other Culinary Creatures Prepare a Feast

Jun Wen sits at a wooden table in front of a bookshelf examining a herbarium booklet of pressed plant specimens.

Meet the Scientist Who Maps the World’s Past and Present Plants

An orange-colored fly, as seen from above and below

Get to Know the Scientist Studying How Parasitic Flies Stomach Bat Blood

A chimpanzee sits among leaves

Explore How Chimpanzees Perceive Gender and More Natural History Programs This April

Male acorn woodpeckers, like the one on the left, have more offspring over their lives when they’re polygamous, according to new research. (Vivek Khanzode)

Study Finds Polygamy Helps Male Acorn Woodpeckers Thrive

The vast diversity of anole lizards found throughout the Americas helps scientists understand what factors drive the evolution of life. (goatling, CC BY 2.0)

Say Hello to the Scientist Using Lizard Limbs to Unlock Evolution's Secrets

The Tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, is a unique reptile found in New Zealand. New research suggests the species has two mitochondrial genomes. (Robert Sprackland)

Intern Helps Find First Vertebrate With Two “Powerhouse” Genomes

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After 50 Years, Scientists Still Love Lucy

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