BioScience articles from July 2004

BioScience archives from July 2004

Beautiful biology.(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... During 2003, BioScience invited readers to nominate worthy candidates for a short list of "the most beautiful biology experiments" in history. We thank our readers for their nominations, from among which we have selected two for recognition....

More than Specimens in Natural History Museums.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... The recent Washington Watch column (Robert E. Gropp, "Expanding Access to Natural History Museums" BioScience 54: 392) and letter to the editor (Joshua S. Harris, "Use of Collections Can Be Broadened," BioScience 54: 380) on the value of...

The global invasive species information network: what's in it for you?(Viewpoint)
July 1, 2004... A well-known article in BioScience--probably the most widely cited scientific study on invasive species in recent year--calculated the annual cost of invasive species in the United States alone at $138 billion per year (Pimentel et al. 2000)....

Invasive species: the search of solutions.
July 1, 2004... The woman in the emergency ward of a Canadian hospital has no idea of her ultimate fate. Just a bad cold, she thinks--what a way to return from a trip to Asia. Within a week, the woman has died, a victim of severe acute respiratory syndrome...

The growing relevance and role of the association of ecosystem research centers.(Society News)
July 1, 2004... Understanding ecosystems locally, regionally, and across the globe has never been as important as it is now. Over the last few centuries, human activity has accelerated the rate of environmental change, producing unanticipated, momentous...

Using bioinformatics in the undergraduate classroom.(Eye on Education)
July 1, 2004... During a BioQUEST workshop five years ago, Garry Duncan discovered the potential of bioinformatics. Using innovative software to manipulate biological data and solve problems, he realized, held enormous promise for him not just as a researcher...

Pork: the other research.(Washington Watch)
July 1, 2004... Candidates for high political office commonly pledge to curb federal spending by "putting an end to pork-barrel projects." Some, like US Senator John McCain (R-AZ), have built a national following by opposing earmarking otherwise known as...

Environmental effects on the expression of quantitative trait loci and implications for phenotypic evolution.
July 1, 2004... Organisms in natural populations experience environmental heterogeneity over a range of temporal and spatial scales, and this heterogeneity has significant evolutionary implications. By affecting patterns of selection and the expression of...

Science-based risk assessment for nontarget effects of transgenic crops.
July 1, 2004... Nontarget risk assessment for transgenic crops should be case specific, depending on the plant, the transgene, and the intended release environment. We propose an ecological risk assessment model that preserves the strengths and avoids the...

When seed dispersal matters.
July 1, 2004... A profusion of fruit forms implies that seed dispersal plays a central role in plant ecology, yet the chance that an individual seed will ultimately produce a reproductive adult is low to infinitesimal. Extremely high variance in survival...

The interaction of fire, fuels, and climate across rocky mountain forests.
July 1, 2004... Understanding the relative influence of fuels and climate on wildfires across the Rocky Mountains is necessary to predict how fires may respond to a changing climate and to define effective fuel management approaches to controlling wildfire in...

Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes.
July 1, 2004... Plant invasions are widely recognized as significant threats to biodiversity conservation worldwide. One way invasions can affect native ecosystems is by changing fuel properties, which can in turn affect fire behavior and, ultimately, alter...

The prairie dog story: do we have it right?(Forum)
July 1, 2004... As public and scientific interest in black-tailed prairie dogs has grown, views about their ecological role have become polarized. We evaluated three claims frequently made concerning the status of black-tailed prairie dogs and their...

The mysterious Mr. Smithson.
July 1, 2004... The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum: The Smithsonian. Nina Burleigh. William Morrow, New York, 2003. 320 pp., illus., $24.95 (ISBN 0060002417). In late August 1838,...

Affairs with relatives, wild or not.
July 1, 2004... Dangerous Liaisons? When Cultivated Plants Mate with Their Wild Relatives. Norman C. Ellstrand. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2003. 268 pp. $65.00 (ISBN 080187405X cloth). In the fall of 2001, a paper in the journal Nature...

Getting rigorous about developmental instability.
July 1, 2004... Developmental Instability: Causes and Consequences. Michal Polak, ed. Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. 488 pp., illus. (ISBN 0195143450). The term "developmental instability" (DI) refers to the inherent degree of variability or...

New titles.
July 1, 2004... Amazonian Dark Earths: Origin, Properties, Management. Johannes Lemann, Dirse C. Kern, Bruno Glaser, and William I. Woods, eds. Kluwer Academic, Boston, 2004. 505 pp., illus. $149.00 (ISBN 1402018398 cloth). Animal Physiology. Richard W....

BioScience now on the newsstands.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2004... BioScience is now being offered for sale at selected newsstands throughout the United States and Canada, as well as being mailed to AIBS members and subscribers and posted online. The cost of an issue of BioScience at the newsstand is $4.95...

Tracking regional NEON group development.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2004... As part of the Infrastructure for Biology at Regional to Continental Scales (IBRCS) project, AIBS is tracking the maturation of several regionally based groups of scientists, engineers, and educators who are organizing in connection with NEON,...

Carlton, Colwell, and Morse interviews at www.actionbioscience.org.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2004... The 55th AIBS annual meeting, held in March 2004, gave ActionBioscience.org an opportunity to talk to speakers James T. Carlton, Rita Rossi Colwell, and Stephen S. Morse. These interviews are posted at www.actionbioscience.org. In...

AIBS SPARS and IT operations at new location.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2004... AIBS Scientific Peer Advisory and Review Services (SPARS), the arm of AIBS that provides independent peer review and scientific support services, has moved into new office facilities. SPARS is joined at the new location by AIBS Information...

Invasive species lectures now Online.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2004... Videos of plenary lectures given at the 2004 AIBS annual meeting ("Invasive Species: The Search for Solutions) are now online at www.aibs.org/virtuallibrary/. Transcripts are also available at the Web site. The speakers and their topics are as...

Recent public policy reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2004... Public Policy Report for 7 June 2004 * House subcommittee proposes slight funding increase for USGS * Natural history collections in United Kingdom also struggling * Roseville, CA, school board rejects proposal to include...

Calendar of meetings.(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... July 11-17 Evolution and the Nature of Science Summer Institute, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, Colorado Springs, CO; Web site: www.bscs.org/ 31-August 4 American Malacological Society, Sanibel Island, FL; Web site:...

ESA's new vision for Ecology.(BioBriefs)
July 1, 2004... The science of ecology has to change course, says a new report from the Ecological Society of America (ESA), if it's going to be part of the solution for an overpopulated planet. Understanding how to sustain human society with the world's...