Archaeology & Paleontology

Selection Spurred Recent Evolution, Researchers Say (N.Y. Times, Dec. 11) Site requires free registration

Ancient polar bear jawbone found (BBC News, Dec. 10)

Were Dinosaurs Colorful? (Yahoo!/LiveScience, Dec. 8)

Bloody rituals revealed by X-ray machine [Africa.] (New Scientist, Dec. 8)

Fungus Once Again Threatens French Cave Paintings (N.Y. Times, Dec. 8) Site requires free registration

Ancient bamboo slips reveal tomb owner's identity (China.org, Dec. 7)

Sinkhole opens way to weird fossil world (MSNBC/LiveScience, Dec. 7)

Glue used by the Romans has stuck around for 2,000 years (Independent UK, Dec. 6)

Ancient wheat suggests early China, Middle East trade (Radio Australia, Dec. 6)

Epic Flood Triggered Ancient "Big Chill," Study Says (Nat'l. Geographic News, Dec. 6)

Environment

In Midwest Duck Blinds, Visions of Global Warming (N.Y. Times, Dec. 11) Site requires free registration

China's Mother River Under Threat (NPR, Dec. 10)

South Korea fights worst-ever oil spill (Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 10)

The Cost of a Dead Bird (San Francisco Bay Area spill.] (Red Orbit, Dec. 10)

Preserving Tropical Forests Is Key Issue at Talks on Global Warming (Washington Post, Dec. 9)

High Weedkiller Levels Found in River Checks (Washington Post, Dec. 9)

Exploration & Adventure

Flying Humans, Hoping to Land With No Chute (N.Y. Times, Dec. 10)

'The biggest environmental crime in history' (Independent UK, Dec. 10)

Peak performance [Marathon on Everest.] (BBC News, Dec. 8)

The Fast and the Curious: Fossett Didn't Stop Challenging the Limits of Human Endeavor Until the Day He Disappeared (Washington Post, Dec. 8) Site requires free registration

Snow Cyclist Checks In: 'Now I'm Frightened' [Iditarod.] (NPR, Dec. 7)

Medicine & Health

The Soul of a New Vaccine [Malaria.] (N.Y. Times, Dec. 11) Site requires free registration

Virus Starts Like a Cold But Can Turn Into a Killer (Washington Post, Dec. 11) Site requires free registration

Music is in our genes (Nature News, Dec. 10)

Brain 'irrelevance filter' found (BBC News, Dec. 10)

Stress makes us depressed, fat, sick - and we do it to ourselves (San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 10)

Neurorealism (NYT Magazine, Dec. 9) Site requires free registration

Peoples & Culture

Long Desired, Streetcar Returns to New Orleans (NPR, Dec. 10)

With Pen and Paper, a Hindu Priest Helps Pilgrims Trace Their Past [India.] (Washington Post, Dec. 10) Site requires free registration

Ganges' Most Sacred Stretch Rich with Tradition (NPR, Dec. 9)

In Southern Sudan, A Drive to Update The Image of Cows (Washington Post, Dec. 8) Site requires free registration

Natural Disasters & Weather

Stormy weather ahead for US [Climate change.] (New Scientist, Dec. 10)

Cyclone Flattens Fiji Villages (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 10)

Does it rain less on the weekend? (Nature News, Dec. 7)

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

Risk Taking Is in His Genes [Shinya Yamanaka's stem cell research.] (N.Y. Times, Dec. 11) Site requires free registration

Nobel Winner Gore: "Make Peace With The Planet" (ENN/Reuters, Dec. 10)

Nobel winners say science must transcend borders (ENN/Reuters, Dec. 10)

Gore Receives Nobel in Oslo Ceremony (NPR, Dec. 10)

No unity yet at UN climate talks (BBC News, Dec. 10)

Sierra Leone sets up forest park (BBC News, Dec. 10)

Greenland Ice Could be Next Puzzle for UN Panel (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 10)

A visit to Santa's workshop on the Arctic Circle [Finland.] (Miami Herald, Dec. 9)

S. Arabia, United States do least for climate (Yahoo!/AFP, Dec. 7)

Plants & Animals

Knocking Out Top Predator May Not Save Prey (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 11)

Fin Whale at Feeding Time: Dive Deep, Stop Short, Open Wide (N.Y. Times, Dec. 11) Site requires free registration

Anatomy of a rainforest (BBC News, Dec. 10)

Threatened birds may be rarer than geographic range maps suggest (ENN/Univ. of Calif., San Diego, Dec. 10)

Indonesia vows to protect endangered orangutans (ENN/Reuters, Dec. 10)

The wolfman and his pack of wild beasts [Bringing back native species to Scotland.] (Independent UK, Dec. 10)

Florida’s Manatees Almost Not Endangered (ENN/Environmental Graffiti, Dec. 10)

Mysterious mammal caught on film [Long-eared jerboa.] (BBC News, Dec. 10)

Largest Spitting Cobra Found -- New Species (Nat'l. Geographic News, Dec. 7)

Science & Technology

Scientists Discover How to Make Robots Bounce on Water (ENN/Environmental Graffiti, Dec. 10)

Scientists sort cells with beams of light (PhysOrg, Dec. 10)

Knot Physics (NYT Magazine, Dec. 9) Site requires free registration

Wireless Energy (NYT Magazine, Dec. 9) Site requires free registration

Age-old Mystery Of Missing Chemicals From Earth's Mantle May Be Solved (ScienceDaily, Dec. 9)

Humid baseball theory a bit wet [Aerodynamics.] (Nature News, Dec. 7)

Space

Spacecraft chases highest clouds (BBC News, Dec. 11)

From a Japanese Satellite, Here Comes the Sun (N.Y. Times, Dec. 11) Site requires free registration

Hot spot on Enceladus causes plumes (PhysOrg, Dec. 10)

Microbes May Threaten Lengthy Spaceflights (Washington Post, Dec. 10) Site requires free registration

Daunting technical problem mars a good year for NASA (Yahoo!/AFP, Dec. 10)

Scientists Snap Images Of Solar Wind Sweeping Past Earth (ScienceDaily, Dec. 10)

Shuttle Launch Delayed Until January 2 (Universe Today, Dec. 9)

Earliest galaxies had building blocks of life (New Scientist, Dec. 8)

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