BioScience articles from December 2005

BioScience archives from December 2005

Vital Support for the biological sciences.(Editorial)
December 1, 2005... The year 2005 has been a time of accomplishment and self-assessment for AIBS, including an examination of our responsibility for the promotion and effective communication of our science. Events in our nation and in the world have made us look...

Quick response to natural disasters.(Viewpoint)
December 1, 2005... As chair of the Board of Professional Certification of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), I had the privilege of organizing a symposium entitled "Quick Response to Natural Disasters" for the ESA annual meeting, held in Montreal, Canada,...

Forging a common agenda for ecology and paleoecology.(Viewpoint)
December 1, 2005... Ecologists recognize the importance of taking a long-term view. That is why the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) has been heralded as such a success. But with the scale and urgency of the...

Chesapeake bay restoration: a model of what?
December 1, 2005... A dozen years ago, a newly arrived resident of the Chesapeake Bay watershed asked an environmentally active local political leader if the bay was in danger of being neglected by the public and the politicians. "Never" came the reply. "People...

Will stem cell policy evolve?(Washington Watch)
December 1, 2005... When will embryonic stem cell researchers be able to fully tap into federal funding, the financial backbone of the US science community? This is what scientists continue to ask, as well as citizens who remain enthused about cells that show...

Overfishing of inland waters.
December 1, 2005... Inland waters have received only slight consideration in recent discussions of the global fisheries crisis, even though inland fisheries provide much-needed protein, jobs, and income, especially in poor rural communities of developing...

Figs and the diversity of tropical rainforests.
December 1, 2005... Ficus (Moraceae) is arguably one of the most important plant genera in lowland tropical rainforests. A brief review of tropical florulas also demonstrates that Ficus is the only ubiquitously diverse genus in lowland rainforests. Monoecious...

Ecology, complexity, and metaphor.(Special Thinking of Biology Section)
December 1, 2005... Complexity has recently risen to prominence in ecology as part of a broader interest that suggests its status is something more than just a scientific theory or property of reality. It may be helpful to consider complexity, and related terms...

Ecosystems, organisms, and machines.(Special Thinking of Biology Section)
December 1, 2005... My theme is the concept, and the term, "self-organization." The history of this term, originally introduced by Immanuel Kant to characterize the unique properties of living organisms, is inseparable from the history of biology. Only in the...

Self-organization and the emergence of complexity in ecological systems.(Special Thinking of Biology Section)
December 1, 2005... What explains the remarkable regularities in distribution and abundance of species, in size distributions of organisms, or in patterns of nutrient use? How does the biosphere maintain exactly the right conditions necessary for life as we know...

The scarlet dye of the Holy Land.(Biology in History)
December 1, 2005... We present evidence based on chemical analysis that identifies the scarlet dye produced by the scale insect Kermes echinatus as the sham ("red" in Hebrew) used toward the end of the second Holy Temple (AD 70). We know that this dye is produced...

There's more to life than this.
December 1, 2005... Viruses and the Evolution of Life. Luis P. Villarreal. ASM Press, Washington, DC, 2005. 395 pp., illus. $120.00 (ISBN 1555813097 cloth). Are viruses alive or not? This question has plagued microbiologists since the discovery of viruses in...

A look at the evolution of evolution.
December 1, 2005... The Evolution of Darwinism: Selection, Adaptation and Progress in Evolutionary Biology. Timothy Shanahan. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2004.342 pp. $80.00 (ISBN 0521834139 cloth). Like many other scientists, I feel nervous when...

Hope for mind on earth.
December 1, 2005... Earth System Analysis for Sustainability. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Paul J. Crutzen, William C. Clark, Martin Clanssen, and Hermann Held, eds. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2004. 454 pp. $38.00 (ISBN 0262195135 cloth). This is a hopeful work....

Fighting to stay alive.
December 1, 2005... Striper Wars: An American Fish Story. Dick Russell. Island Press/Shearwater Books, Washington, DC, 2005. 288 pp. $26.95 (ISBN 1559636327 cloth). Make way, Clive Cussler and Nevada Barr. In Striper Wars: An American Fish Story,...

New titles.
December 1, 2005... The Archaeology of Global Change: The Impact of Humans on Their Environment. Charles L. Redman, Steven R. James, Paul R. Fish, and J. Daniel Rogers, eds. Smithsonian Books, Washington, DC, 2004. 308 pp., illus. $49.95 (ISBN 1588341720 cloth)....

USGS Coalition receives 2005 John Wesley Powell Award.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2005... In a ceremony in October, the USGS Coalition received the 2005 John Wesley Powell Award for successfully increasing awareness of the US Geological Survey among congressional and administration officials. The John Wesley Powell Award is named...

Careers in biology Web site update.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2005... AIBS recently updated its "Careers in Biology" Web page at www.aibs.org/ careers. The new page features comprehensive information for students interested in pursuing a career in biology, including the outlook for jobs in biology and new...

Recent articles online at www.actionbioscience.org.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2005... Original article in English * "The Importance of Agroforestry to the Maintenance of Biodiversity," by Peter Bichier, research associate at the Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, DC Spanish...

Recent public policy reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2005... Public Policy Report for 7 November 2005 * NSF receives funding boost in final appropriations legislation * Senate passes omnibus budget bill; House gears up for vote this week * NAS and NSTA say no to Kansas Board of Education ...

Calendar of meetings.(Calendar)
December 1, 2005... December 12-13 National Academy of Sciences, Arthur M. Sadder Colloquium on "The Tapestry of Life: Lateral Transfers of Heritable Elements," Irvine, CA; www. nas.edu/sackler/tapestry January 4-8 Society for Integrative and...

Understanding microbial genomes.(Bio Briefs)
December 1, 2005... Genome sequencing projects completed over the past few years have revealed unimagined genetic diversity in the microbial world. To capitalize on its investments in these projects, the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2002 created the Genomes to...