BioScience articles from June 2008

BioScience archives from June 2008

An epidemic with global consequences.(parasitic attacks)(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... Although East Coast residents may be little aware of the devastation being caused by the tiny mountain pine beetle, lodgepole pines over thousands of square kilometers in the mountainous West have turned red and gray, a result of attacks by...

What Rachel Carson knew about marine protected areas.(Viewpoint)
June 1, 2008... In 1951, a book about the world's oceans hit the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for an astonishing 86 weeks. Rachel Carson's The Sea Around Us highlighted how people depend on the sea, and presciently predicted the...

Evolution: applications in human health and populations: the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center convened their fourth annual evolution symposium at the 2007 National Association of Biology Teachers conference in Atlanta, Georgia.(Special Report)
June 1, 2008... Gordon Uno, a botany professor at the University of Oklahoma and education committee chair for the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), welcomed educators to the fourth annual evolution symposium at the National Association of...

Crime scene genetics: transforming forensic science through molecular technologies.
June 1, 2008... Advances in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) technology over the past 25 years have led to spectacularly precise forensic identification techniques, although some applications have also unleashed controversies regarding genetic privacy. Current...

Shale oil: alternative energy or environmental degradation?(Washington Watch)
June 1, 2008... In the continuing quest to diminish US dependence on foreign oil, in 2005 Congress passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct), which calls for developing unconventional fuels. To fast-track the commercial development of oil shale and tar sands, the...

Functional genomics and a new era in radiation biology and oncology.(21st Century Directions in Biology)(Report)
June 1, 2008... Ionizing radiation is a ubiquitous stress to which all life is continuously exposed, and thus complex mechanisms have evolved to regulate cellular responses to radiation, including cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and programmed cell death....

Cross-scale drivers of natural disturbances prone to anthropogenic amplification: the dynamics of bark beetle eruptions.(Cover story)
June 1, 2008... Biome-scale disturbances by eruptive herbivores provide valuable insights into species interactions, ecosystem function, and impacts of global change. We present a conceptual framework using one system as a model, emphasizing interactions...

Bank erosion as a desirable attribute of rivers.(Report)
June 1, 2008... Bank erosion is integral to the functioning of river ecosystems. It is a geomorphic process that promotes riparian vegetation succession and creates dynamic habitats crucial for aquatic and riparian plants and animals. River managers and...

Increasing wildfire in Alaska's boreal forest: pathways to potential solutions of a wicked problem.(Report)
June 1, 2008... Recent global environmental and social changes have created a set of "wicked problems" for which there are no optimal solutions. In this article, we illustrate the wicked nature of such problems by describing the effects of global warming on...

Ecological speciation in mimetic butterflies.(Report)
June 1, 2008... There has been a recent revival of interest in the role of ecology in speciation. The wing patterns of Heliconius butterflies are signals to predators as well as mates, and can cause strong reproductive isolation between populations....

Using anecdotal occurrence data for rare or elusive species: the illusion of reality and a call for evidentiary standards.(Forum)(Report)
June 1, 2008... Anecdotal occurrence data (unverifiable observations of organisms or their sign) and inconclusive physical data are often used to assess the current and historical ranges of rare or elusive species. However, the use of such data for species...

The interconnectedness of climate, life, and society.(Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects)(Book review)
June 1, 2008... Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects. Jonathan Cowie. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2007. 504 pp., illus. $52.00 (ISBN 9780521696197 paper). Jonathan Cowie took on a monumental task in writing Climate Change--a book that...

The wonder and decline of animal migrations.(No Way Home)(Book review)
June 1, 2008... No Way Home. David Wilcove. Island Press, Washington, DC, 2007. 256 pp., illus. $24.94 (ISBN 9781559639859 cloth). Conservation strategies have struggled for decades to match the geographic scope of large-scale ecosystem processes, on which...

Evolution extended.(Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think about Our Lives)(Book review)
June 1, 2008... Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think about Our Lives. David Sloan Wilson. Delacorte Press, New York, 2007. 400 pp., illus. $15.00 (ISBN 9780385340922 paper). Undergraduate students are challenged when...

New titles.(Books)(biology)(Buyers guide)
June 1, 2008... Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins. Maddalena Bearzi and Craig B. Stanford. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2008. 322 pp. $24.95 (ISBN 9780674027817 cloth). Biology of the Snapping Turtle (Chelydra...

Biology in the federal science enterprise: NSF BIO April advisory committee meeting.(AIBS news)(National Science Foundation-Biotechnology Industry Organization)
June 1, 2008... On 17 April, AIBS Executive Director Richard O'Grady and AIBS Public Policy Director Robert Gropp joined staff from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology...

AIBS honors outstanding contributions to the biological sciences.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences)
June 1, 2008... AIBS is pleased to announce the recipients of the following awards for 2008: * Distinguished Scientist Award: Terry L. Yates, University of New Mexico (awarded posthumously) * Outstanding Service Award: David E. Blockstein, National...

AIBS members visit Congress.(AIBS news)(American Institutes of Biological Sciences)
June 1, 2008... Nearly 40 scientists and graduate students were in Washington, DC, in April to participate in the annual congressional visits event cosponsored by the Biological and Ecological Sciences Coalition (BESC) and the Coalition on Funding Agricultural...

Recent executive director's blog entries online at http://blogs.aibs. org/richardogrady.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... * Biology in the Federal Science Enterprise: NSF BIO AC April Meeting * Scientific Habits of Mind and Bunk Detectors

Recent education reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)(American Institiute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)(List)
June 1, 2008... * 2008 AIBS Meeting on Climate, Environment, and Infectious Diseases * House Members Consider Diversity in STEM Education * HHMI Awards $60 Million to Invigorate Science Teaching at Liberal Arts Colleges * April Marks 25th...

Recent articles online at www.actionbioscience.org.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)(List)
June 1, 2008... Original interviews * "Mitochondria and Aging," with Douglas C. Wallace, director of the Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics, University of California at Irvine * "The Evolution of Emerging Viruses," with Eddie...

Recent public policy reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)(List)
June 1, 2008... Public Policy Report for 9 May 2008 * European report outlines future of taxonomy * Range expansion: Threats to science education spread * Employment opportunity: AIBS Public Affairs Associate * Mikulski includes $200 million...

Calendar of meetings.(Calendar)(science associations)(Calendar)
June 1, 2008... June 8-13 American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, St. John's, Canada; www.aslo.org/ meetings/aslomeetings.html 9-13 Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Paramaribo, Suriname; www. atbc2008.org 14-18 Society...

Wildlife scores on golf courses.(BioBriefs)
June 1, 2008... Conserving America's rapidly disappearing natural world sometimes takes wildlife biologists strange places, but University of Arizona researcher Matt Goode never thought it would lead him to a golf course. Once an 18-handicap golfer, Goode is...