Suddenly there was a word for chili peppers. Information about archaeological remains of ancient chili peppers in Mexico along with a study of the appearance of words for chili peppers in ancient dialects helped researchers to understand where jalapenos were domesticated. Special issue of PNAS on plant and animal domestication.

Smithsonian scientists found that 7,000 years ago, the Caribbean fighting conch contained 66 percent more meat than its descendants do today. Because of persistent harvesting of the largest conchs, it became advantageous for the animal to mature at a smaller size, resulting in evolutionary change.

A new coral species, Psammogorgia hookeri, has been collected by scuba divers from rocky ledges at depths to 25 meters in Peru's Paracas National Reserve.

A grass called teosinte is thought to be the ancestor of corn, but it doesn't look much like corn at all. Smithsonian scientists were surprised to find that teosinte planted in growth chambers under climate conditions that simulate the environment 10-12,000 years ago looks more like corn. This may help to explain why early farmers chose to cultivate teosinte and lends support to the idea that teosinte was domesticated to become one of the most important staple crops in the world.

Male túngara frogs call from puddles to attract females. Their call incidentally creates ripples. Researchers at the Smithsonian in Panama revealed that ripples are used by frog-eating bats to locate their prey.

Trees put on weight faster and faster as they grow older, according to a new study in the journal Nature. The finding that most trees' growth accelerates as they age suggests that large, old trees may play an unexpectedly dynamic role in removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Soil contains more carbon than air and plants combined. This means that even a minor change in soil carbon could have major implications for the Earth's atmosphere and climate. New research by Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute scientist Benjamin Turner and colleagues at the University of Texas, Austin, and Boston University points to an unexpected driver of soil carbon content: fungi.