BioScience articles from September 2007

BioScience archives from September 2007

Back to the future.(Editorial)
September 1, 2007... The promise of using human embryonic stem cells to create customized tissue to replace that lost to disease has been heralded since these cells were first isolated and cultured in 1998. A steady drumbeat of reports of cell types derived from...

Clarifying the key biodiversity areas approach.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... We warmly welcome the constructive suggestions of Knight and colleagues (2007) on the key biodiversity areas (KBA) approach. However, their concerns are based in part on misapprehensions. The involvement of stakeholders, including...

Bird migratory status and habitat.(Letters)(Correction notice)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... Dr. James V. Remsen Jr. of the Louisiana Museum of Natural Science suggested that we check the habitat and migratory status assignations for bird species we included in our article on changes in bird abundance in eastern North America...

Why descriptive science still matters.(Viewpoint)
September 1, 2007... "Descriptive" in science is a pejorative, almost always preceded by "merely," and typically applied to the array of classical -ologies and -omies: anatomy, archaeology, astronomy, embryology, morphology, paleontology, taxonomy, botany,...

Deciphering development: quantifying gene expression through imaging.(Report)
September 1, 2007... Scientists can now visualize developmental gene expression quantitatively in three dimensions and at single-cell resolution. Recent advances in optical microscopy and fluorescent genetic tags allow imaging of gene expression in live animals, as...

Congress advances multiyear science and education plan.(Washington Watch)
September 1, 2007... Before leaving Washington, DC, for the August district work period, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed legislation authorizing $43.3 billion for science and science education programs at various federal agencies, and President...

Dedifferentiation: a new approach in stem cell research.(Report)
September 1, 2007... Dedifferentiation is an important biological phenomenon whereby cells regress from a specialized function to a simpler state reminiscent of stem cells. Stem cells are self-renewing cells capable of giving rise to differentiated cells when...

Globalization and forest resurgence: changes in forest cover in El Salvador.(Report)
September 1, 2007... Globalization is often associated with deforestation, but its impacts on forest recovery are less known. We analyzed socioeconomic data, land-use surveys, and satellite imagery to monitor changes in woody cover in El Salvador from the early...

Graphical methods for exploratory analysis of complex data sets.(Biologist's Toolbox)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... In scientific investigations, performing initial exploratory studies can help in generating hypotheses and deciding what to study in more detail later. Little-known modern graphical methods can be powerful tools for exploration of complex data....

Mountain plovers and the politics of research on private lands.(Professional Biologist)(Report)
September 1, 2007... The critical role of private lands in the conservation of threatened and endangered species has been well documented. Although researchers and policymakers recognize the need to include private lands in conservation planning, they often falter...

Fueling population growth in Las Vegas: how large-scale groundwater withdrawal could burn regional biodiversity.(Forum)(Report)
September 1, 2007... Explosive growth in Las Vegas, Nevada, has stimulated demand for additional water supplies. To meet these needs, local officials hope to obtain rights to about 200,000 acre-feet (246.70 million cubic meters [[m.sup.3]]) per year from a regional...

Understanding the ghost of Cactoblastis past: historical clarifications on a poster child of classical biological control.(Biology in History)(Report)
September 1, 2007... The applied ecological discipline of classical biological control (CBC) has a long history, bolstered by some spectacular successes in the management of pest insect and plant species. A major poster child of CBC is the control of prickly pear...

The fitness of goodness.(Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong. Marc D. Hauser. HarperCollins, New York, 2006. 512 pp. $27.95 (ISBN 9780060780708 cloth). The main idea behind Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of...

Engaging dynamic systems.(Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World. Brian Walker and David Salt. Island Press, Washington, DC, 2006. 192 pp., illus. $25.00 (ISBN 9781597260930 paper). Systems theorists have been divided by a common...

The transformative power of biodiversity.(Biodiversity and Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... Biodiversity and Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction. Sahotra Sarkar. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2005. 276 pp. $75.00 (ISBN 9780521851329 cloth). What exactly is biodiversity? Why does it matter? How valuable is...

New titles.
September 1, 2007... The Birds of Costa Pica: A Field Guide. Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 2007. 416 pp., illus. $29.95 (ISBN 9780801473739 paper). Cockroaches: Ecology, Behavior, and Natural History. William J. Bell,...

Rita Colwell awarded 2006 National Medal of Science.(AIBS news)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... AIBS congratulates Rita R. Colwell, AIBS president-elect, who was recently awarded the 2006 National Medal of Science. President George W. Bush presented the nation's highest honor for scientists to Colwell and seven fellow recipients at a...

AIBS and COPUS Cosponsor Science Communication Workshop at joint ESA/SER meeting.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences and Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... COPUS (Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science) and AIBS pleased to cosponsor "Communicating Science to the Public: The Where, Why, and How of Engaging Nonscientists," a special full-day workshop held on 5 August 2007 in San Jose,...

AIBS, BEN representatives at NSDL meeting.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences and BiosciEdNet's Samantha J. Katz)(National Science Digital Library)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Samantha J. Katz, AIBS director of education and outreach, attended the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Pathways Meeting, held 1-2 August 2007 in Boulder, Colorado. Katz was one of the three representatives from BiosciEdNet (BEN) who...

2007 ASM/AIBS Public Policy intern named.(AIBS news)(Joshua Smith to work for American Society of Mammalogists and American Institute of Biological Sciences)
September 1, 2007... Once again this fall, the AIBS Public Policy Office will host a graduate student public policy intern. The three-month position, funded by the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM), is an opportunity for a graduate student to experience...

AIBS education office names new associate.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences' Brian Stagg)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Brian Stagg, who graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park in May with a BS in environmental science and policy, began work at AIBS on 6 August as education and outreach associate. Stagg will focus primarily on student chapters...

Science Cafe Web site launched.(AIBS news)
September 1, 2007... COPUS is delighted to share the news that the WGBH Educational Foundation, in association with the scientific research society Sigma Xi, has launched a Web site at www.sciencecafes.org to promote the growing science cafe movement in the United...

BioOne joins SERU pilot program.(AIBS news)(Shared Electronic Resource Understanding)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... BioOne (www.bioone.org) is delighted to announce its participation in the innovative SERU (Shared Electronic Resource Understanding) pilot program, sponsored by the National Information Standards Organization (www.niso.org/ committees/SERU/)....

AIBS cosponsors Capitol Hill Science Exhibition.(AIBS news)(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... In June, AIBS cosponsored the 13th Annual Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Capitol Hill Science Exhibition and Reception. The event has become a major forum to showcase the important science, education, and training programs...

Recent AIBS education reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)
September 1, 2007... * AIBS education events calendar launches * Fourth annual evolution symposium at NABT: Evolution in Human Populations * Updates to AIBS Student Chapter program * IUBS conference: Sustainable Development, Ethics, and Education for...

Recent articles online at www.actionbioscience.org.(AIBS news)
September 1, 2007... "Students Speak Out" article * "The Global Decline of Mollusk Populations," by Christine E. Parent, PhD student in biology at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada Lessons for classroom activities * "Why? The Nature of...

Recent AIBS Public Policy Reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)
September 1, 2007... Public Policy Report for 6 August 2007 Congress completes competitiveness legislation * House passes FY 2008 science appropriations * State Department names new science adviser * House amends financial services legislation:...

Calendar of meetings.(Calendar)(Brief article)(Calendar)
September 1, 2007... September 2-6 American Fisheries Society, San Francisco; www.fisheries.org/sf 13-16 Organization of Biological Field Stations, Llano River Field Station, TX; www.obfs.org/annual_meetings/2007/Texas.html 22-26 The Wildlife Society,...

A feast to commemorate--and mourn--the eulachon.(BioBriefs)
September 1, 2007... Fisheries biologists joined indigenous communities from along the coast of British Columbia, Canada, this spring for a gathering of "mourning and shame" to publicize and protest the population decline of eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), a...