BioScience articles from August 2006

BioScience archives from August 2006

Perennials Forever.(Editorial)(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... Humanity has achieved its present world-dominating status fueled largely by annual crops, principally maize, rice, wheat, and other grains, as well as legumes. Perennial crops supply most forage (and fruits and nuts), but have not thus far hit...

Tunnel vision: what happens to Bioscience trainees?(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2006... In their article "Hiring Criteria in Biology Departments of Academic Institutions" (BioScience 56: 430-436), Fleet and coauthors consider the training that young scientists receive with regard to potential faculty positions across various...

Faith-based evolution education?(Viewpoint)
August 1, 2006... Scientists nationwide breathed a collective sigh of relief after a federal judge barred a Pennsylvania public school district from teaching intelligent design (ID) in biology classrooms. Unfortunately, although a battle has been won, the war...

Who is science writing for?(science publishing)
August 1, 2006... We all know the dismal statistics: Our children's test scores on international assessments of math and science literacy are plummeting; the number of PhD students in science and engineering is at a 40-year low; we are desperately short of...

On a collision course: ocean plankton and climate change.
August 1, 2006... Plankton are showing the effects of a warming climate as marine populations worldwide experience a regime shift caused by climate change. In northern oceans, biogeographical boundaries are shifting northward as warm-water species displace...

Senators propose fundamental change to scholarly publishing.(Washington Watch)
August 1, 2006... Proposals to require free and open access to scholarly publications have spawned an active public policy debate. Until recently, the focus was on making articles arising from research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) available...

Prospects for developing perennial grain crops.
August 1, 2006... Perennial plants, growing in mixtures, make up most of the world's natural terrestrial biomes. In contrast, monocultures of annual crops are sown on more than two-thirds of global cropland. Grain and oilseed crops are the foundation of the...

A thirty-year study of phenotypic and genetic variation of blue tits in Mediterranean habitat mosaics.
August 1, 2006... In recent years, the study of phenotypic and genetic variation has been enhanced by combining genetic, physiological, demographic, and behavioral components of life histories. Using these new approaches, we address the problem of adaptation to...

Tidal marshes: a global perspective on the evolution and conservation of their terrestrial vertebrates.
August 1, 2006... Globally, tidal marshes are found in small pockets or narrow bands totaling only approximately 45,000 square kilometers. The combination of salinity, low floristic and structural complexity, and regular tidal inundation, as well as...

Toward a synthetic view of extinction: a history lesson from a North American rodent.(Forum)
August 1, 2006... Although it is recognized that many factors interact to cause extinctions, it is difficult to consider multiple factors when investigating species declines. I conducted a post hoc exploration of the major hypotheses for the decline of the...

Through the eyes of the invader.(Species Invasions: Insights into Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeography)(Book review)
August 1, 2006... Species Invasions: Insights into Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeography. Dov F. Sax, John J. Stachowicz, and Steven D. Gaines, eds. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA, 2005. 495 pp. $51.95 (ISBN 0878938117 paper). Species invasions have long provided...

Biology through the robustness lens.(Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems)(Book review)
August 1, 2006... Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems. Andreas Wagner. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2005. 408 pp., illus. $49.50 (ISBN 0691122407 cloth). If you are an active member of the biological scientific community, you cannot...

Do we need holism in evolution?(Holistic Darwinism: Synergy, Cybernetics, and the Bioeconomics of Evolution)(Book review)
August 1, 2006... Holistic Darwinism: Synergy, Cybernetics, and the Bioeconomics of Evolution. Peter A. Corning. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2005. 546 pp. $28.00 (ISBN 0226116166 paper). Peter Corning is the director of the Institute for the Study...

New titles.
August 1, 2006... The Biology of Vibrios. Fabiano L. Thompson, Brian Austin, and Jean Swings, eds. ASM Press, Washington, DC, 2006. 454 pp., illus. $139.95 (ISBN 1555813658 cloth). Bones: Structure and Mechanics. John D. Currey. Princeton University Press,...

Calendar of meetings.(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... August 5-9 American Society of Plant Biologists and Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists, Boston, MA; www.aspb.org/meetings/pb-2006/ 6-11 American Society of Parasitologists, Glasgow, Scotland; www.icopaxi.org/ 6-11 Ecological...

Chase Lake pelicans make a comeback.(BioBriefs)
August 1, 2006... What had been the largest nesting colony of American white pelicans in the United States appears to be back in business after two years during which adults abandoned their nests and fledged virtually no chicks. Scientists and wildlife...