Archaeology & Paleontology

Ancient Protein Tells a Story of Changing Functions (N.Y. Times, Aug. 21) Site requires free registration

Discovering How the Maya Fed the Multitude (N.Y. Times, Aug. 21) Site requires free registration

Italian Village Demands Return of Ancient Chariot (NPR, Aug. 21)

Student dig unearths ancient gum (BBC News, Aug. 20)

Egypt discovers what may be oldest human footprint (Yahoo!/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Archaeologists solve riddle of site of original Montreal settlement (CNews, Aug. 19)

The Byzantine castle 'Hieron Oros' remains vulnerable (Turkish Daily News, Aug. 18)

Environment

Warming Will Exacerbate Global Water Conflicts (Washington Post, Aug. 20) Site requires free registration

Africa Wages War on Scourge of Plastic Bags (ENN/Reuters, Aug. 20)

A House Made of What? Straw Finds Niche as Eco-Friendly Building Materia (Washington Post, Aug. 20) Site requires free registration

Australian Scientists Call For Ocean Network Probe (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 20)

'25 years of Arctic ice left' (Vancouver Sun/CanWest News, Aug. 18)

Critics worry that military interest in Arctic creating massive junkyard (CNews, Aug. 18)

Scientists seek new ways to feed the world amid global warming (TerraDaily/AFP, Aug. 17)

Exploration & Adventure

Older Climbers Face Uphill Battle On Mount Everest (ScienceDaily/Univ. of Washington, Aug. 20)

'New Continent' And Species Discovered In Atlantic Study (ScienceDaily/Census of Marine Life, Aug. 20)

Jamaican dogsledder trains for Yukon race (Scripps Howard/Toronto Globe & Mail, Aug. 19)

Medicine & Health

Sleights of Mind (N.Y. Times, Aug. 21)

The Pernicious Allure of Lead (N.Y. Times, Aug. 21)

HIV is a 'double hit' to the brain (ScienceDaily/UPI, Aug. 20)

Body clock might stop during hibernation (News@nature.com, Aug. 20)

Looking Past Blood Sugar to Survive With Diabetes (N.Y. Times, Aug. 20) Site requires free registration

Pronouns Aid Brain Function (ScienceDaily/Univ. of South Carolina, Aug. 20)

Sex is prime cause of China's HIV (BBC News, Aug. 20)

Nanoparticle Could Help Detect Many Diseases Early (PhysOrg, Aug. 20)

Women may be hardwired to prefer pink (New Scientist, Aug. 20)

Pain Medicine Use Has Nearly Doubled [United States.] (NPR/AP, Aug. 20)

In Despair Over the Polar Bear [Eco-anxiety.] (Time/CNN, Aug. 17)

Peoples & Culture

Modern marriage and mortgages enter Chinese lexicon (Yahoo!/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Journey from Congo to Motherwell [Scotland.] (BBC News, Aug. 20)

How the Vast Desert Teaches a Man Introspection [Egypt.] (N.Y. Times, Aug. 18) Site requires free registration

Natural Disasters & Weather

Category 5 Hurricane Dean slams Mexico (Yahoo!/AP, Aug. 21)

Hurricane Dean batters Jamaica (ENN/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Volcano erupts in east Indonesia (Yahoo!/AP, Aug. 20)

More Rain, Diseases Worsen South Asia Floods (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Typhoon Sepat Slams Taiwan, Heads For China (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Asia-Pacific bears brunt of disasters in recent years (TerraDaily/AFP, Aug. 20)

Global and U.S. Hazards/Climate Extremes (updated weekly on Wednesdays)

Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet [pdf] (updated late Fridays)

People & Places in the News

Norway Debates the Promise, Costs of New Drilling (Washington Post, Aug. 21) Site requires free registration

For Russians, Summer in the City Means a Freeze on Hot Water (N.Y. Times, Aug. 21) Site requires free registration

Fish Farms Help Families in Africa Hit by AIDS (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 20)

US Coast Guard joins in Arctic oil rush: US scientists will map part of the seafloor as nations vie for the region's oil and minerals (Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 20)

India's Lower Castes Seek Social Progress In Global Job Market (Washington Post, Aug. 20) Site requires free registration

Anchovy War’s Collateral Damage: Idle Fishermen (N.Y. Times, Aug. 20) Site requires free registration

Hundreds Pose Naked on Shrinking Swiss Glacier (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Girls at risk amid India's prosperity (BBC News, Aug. 19)

Eco-Millionaires See Boom Times Ahead (ENN/Reuters, Aug. 19)

Ireland Learns to Adapt to a Population Growth Spurt (N.Y. Times, Aug. 19) Site requires free registration

Italian islands ponder oil-free lifestyle (ScienceDaily/UPI, Aug. 18)

Plants & Animals

Telltale Isotopes in Marijuana Are Nature’s Tracking Devices (N.Y. Times, Aug. 21) Site requires free registration

What Can Dying Penguins Tell Us About the Future of the Planet? (Red Orbit, Aug. 20)

Hot Weather Impacts Animal Reproduction (Yahoo!/AP, Aug. 20)

Buyer beware: WWF seeks help of British tourists to stamp out illegal wildlife trade (ENN/WWF, Aug. 20)

Fifth Rare Gorilla Found Dead After Congo Attack (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Illegal Wildlife Trade Grows in India (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 20)

Bat Breath Reveals The Identity of a Vampire’s Last Victim (ENN/Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Aug. 19)

Female hyenas prefer wandering males (New Scientist, Aug. 19)

Malaysia to export monkeys for research (Yahoo!/AP, Aug. 17)

Science & Technology

In Japan, 3D images in your pocket (PhysOrg, Aug. 21)

Artificial life likely in 3 to 10 years (Yahoo!/AP, Aug. 20)

Ocean Supergyre Link To Climate Regulator (TerraDaily/SPX, Aug. 20)

Thermochemical process converts poultry litter into bio-oil (ENN/Virginia Tech, Aug. 20)

Want The Next Big Energy Source? Dig in The Weeds (ENN/Reuters, Aug. 20)

System Would Use Effluent to Produce Power (Washington Post, Aug. 19) Site requires free registration

Space

Endeavour prepares for midday landing (Yahoo!/AP, Aug. 21)

Podcast: Venus (Universe Today, Aug. 20)

Closest Neutron Star Discovered (Universe Today, Aug. 20)

Caution Over Shuttle Shows Shift at NASA (N.Y. Times, Aug. 20) Site requires free registration

Where is the Rest of the Universe? (Yahoo!/Space.com, Aug. 20)

Was the brightest supernova the birth of a quark star? (New Scientist, Aug. 20)

Voyagers' Records Wait for Alien Ears (NPR, Aug. 19)

Lectures, Meetings, & Conferences

Sources:

Conference Calendar for Zoology (BIOSIS)

Meridian International Center Events

National Academy of Sciences Events

National Air and Space Museum Events

National Journal Daybook [includes environment-related events in Washington]

National Museum of Natural History Events

National Press Club

Smithsonian Resident Associate Programs