Archaeology & Paleontology

Top 10 Discoveries of 2007 (Archaeology, Jan./Feb., 2008)

Found: a real old man of the sea [Discoveries in Lapita cemetary on island of Vanuatu] (Sydney Morning Herald, Dec. 13)

Fossils of Ancient Tank-Like Mammal Found in Andes (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Ancient Meat-Eating Fungus Found Trapped in Amber (National Geographic News, Dec. 13)

Captain Kidd Ship Found (Yahoo News/LiveScience, Dec. 13)

New meat-eating dinosaur unveiled (BBC News, Dec. 12)

An undersea treasure hunt, playing out in court (Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 12)

Archaeology: Pieces of the puzzle [Afghanistan scrambles to restore cultural heritage] (Nature News, Dec. 12)

Ancient fish bones reveal impacts of global warming beneath the sea (EurekAlert, Dec. 12)

Great beasts peppered from space (BBC News, Dec. 11)

Spartans did not throw deformed babies away: researchers (Yahoo News/AFP, Dec. 10)

Environment

Europeans Raise Ante at Bali Climate Talks (Washington Post, Dec. 14) Site requires free registration

Ice boat details ozone collapse (BBC News, Dec. 14)

Bitter Divisions at Climate Talks (N.Y. Times, Dec. 14) Site requires free registration

11 Hottest Years Occurred in Past 13 (LiveScience, Dec. 13)

High winds likely to spread S.Korea oil spill (ENN/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Gore: US blocking climate talks progress (Yahoo News/AP, Dec. 13)

Harsh Weather Hinders Clean-Up of N.Sea Oil Spill (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Climate Change Drying Up Mountains in Western US (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Arctic summers ice-free 'by 2013' (BBC News, Dec. 12)

Greenland Ice Sheet Melting at Record Rate (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 12)

Study finds White House manipulation on climate science (Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 12)

Exploration & Adventure

No man is one island for explorer [Profile of adventurer Andy Strangeway] (BBC News, Dec. 14)

Fossett team to attempt new land speed record on Diamond Valley Playa (Ely Times, Dec. 12)

More than 100 members of off-road expedition stranded in Malaysian jungles by floods (International Herald Tribune/AP, Dec. 10)

Medicine & Health

Climate Change Poses Dangerous Health Risks - WHO (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 14)

Body clock 'control switch' found (BBC News, Dec. 13)

Face-Transplant Patient 'Satisfied' (Washington Post, Dec. 13) Site requires free registration

Menopause May Be Unique to Humans (LiveScience, Dec. 13)

Researchers Find Great Granddaddy of All Blood Cells (LiveScience, Dec. 13)

Lingering toxins continue to cause cancer: study (Vancouver Sun, Dec. 13)

Polymer scaffolds may restore damaged nerves (New Scientist, Dec. 13)

Semen chemical promotes HIV infection (New Scientist, Dec. 13)

Why Pregnant Women Don't Tip Over (National Geographic News, Dec. 12)

Where You Live Could Kill You [Mysterious discrepancies on longevity based on location] (LiveScience, Dec. 12)

Peoples & Culture

In Japan, denial over Nanjing still holds sway after 70 years (Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 14)

Indigenous people fear double climate hit (ENN/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Tourism Along the Yellow River Glorifies China's Past (NPR, Dec. 13)

Ancient Indian Tales Inspire a Modern Indian Art (NPR, Dec. 13)

Natural Disasters & Weather

Malaysia Floods Kill 12, More Than 20,000 Displaced (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 14)

25 dead in Caribbean Tropical Storm Olga (Yahoo News/AP, Dec. 13)

Bangladesh: Sundarbans Devastated by November Cyclone (N.Y. Times, Dec. 13) Site requires free registration

US Scientists Shed Light on Monster Sea Waves (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Deep-Ocean Drilling Researchers Target Earthquake And Tsunami Zone (TerraDaily/SPX, Dec. 13)

Large Earthquakes May Broadcast Warnings, But Is Anyone Tuning In To Listen? (ScienceDaily, Dec. 13)

Natural Climate Changes Can Intensify Hurricanes More Efficiently Than Global Warming (ScienceDaily, Dec. 13)

Major Quake May Strike Bay Area Next Year, Experts Say (National Geographic News, Dec. 12)

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

4 Lanes of Hope in China and Vietnam (N.Y. Times, Dec. 14) Site requires free registration

Waves threaten Zanzibar paradise (BBC News, Dec. 13)

Malaysia leprosy settlement fights on (BBC News, Dec. 13)

Hungry bears plague Chinese World Heritage site (ENN/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Development Threatens Morocco's Wild Shoreline (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 13)

In a Funk, Italy Sings an Aria of Disappointment (N.Y. Times, Dec. 13) Site requires free registration

Venezuela and the politics of time [Country out of sync with global standardised time] (BBC News, Dec. 12)

Nuclear Fallout Layer Missing in Himalayan Glacier (LiveScience, Dec. 12)

Chronic Water Shortages Hit Rural Chinese Hard (NPR, Dec. 12)

Plants & Animals

Unique orca hunting technique documented (Nature News, Dec. 14)

Sea Lice From Fish Farms May Wipe Out Wild Salmon (National Geographic News, Dec. 13)

South Africa elephants get birth control (L.A. Times, Dec. 13)

How Female Fish Lose Inhibitions (LiveScience, Dec. 13)

Moss is a super model for feeding the hungry (PhysOrg, Dec. 13)

Oil-Eating Bugs May Unlock Clean Energy from Crude (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 13)

Scientists uncover how plants invaded the land, learned to survive heat, drought (ENN, Dec. 13)

A worrisome forecast for the world's crops (Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 13)

Genetically Engineered Mice Don't Fear Cats (National Geographic News/AP, Dec. 13)

For The Fruit Fly, Everything Changes After Sex (ScienceDaily, Dec. 13)

Threatened Birds May Be Rarer Than Geographic Range Maps Suggest (ScienceDaily, Dec. 13)

Increasing Acid Could Kill Most Coral by 2050 (LiveScience, Dec. 13)

Plague of rats hits Indian state (BBC News, Dec. 12)

Antarctica's Penguins Threatened by Global Warming (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 12)

Animals, Plants Need Help Adapting to Climate Change (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 12)

SKoreans clone cats that glow in the dark: officials (Yahoo News/AFP, Dec. 12)

Science & Technology

'Snakebot' navigates its way round slippery problem (New Scientist, Dec. 14)

Homespun Electricity, From the Wind (N.Y. Times, Dec. 13) Site requires free registration

Cellphone takes the confusion out of foreign menus (New Scientist, Dec. 13)

Storing light with sound (Nature News, Dec. 13)

Sshhh, it's listening: totally new computer interfaces (PhysOrg, Dec. 13)

Micro-robot Olympics reveal champion swimmer (New Scientist, Dec. 12)

Space

NASA Again Pushes Back Shuttle Launch (Washington Post/AP, Dec. 14) Site requires free registration

Space Station Plans an Inspection Spacewalk (N.Y. Times, Dec. 14) Site requires free registration

Saturn's Rings as Old as Solar System, Study Says (National Geographic News, Dec. 13)

Voyager 2 Proves Solar System Is Squashed (ScienceDaily, Dec. 13)

North Pole Meteor Shower (Space.com, Dec. 13)

NASA Names Next Generation Moon Lander 'Altair' (Yahoo News/Space.com, Dec. 13)

Gliese 581: one planet might indeed be habitable (PhysOrg, Dec. 13)

NASA spacecraft to study Moon's lumpy interior (New Scientist, Dec. 13)

Building Blocks of Life Formed on Early Mars? (National Geographic News, Dec. 13)

There may be life yet in Mars rovers (L.A. Times, Dec. 12)

Riddle of Mars's Mysterious "Spiders," "Fans" Solved (National Geographic News, Dec. 12)

NASA's Lunar Orbiter Mission Could Slip (Space.com, Dec. 12)

Northern Lights flow on celestial magnetic ropes: study (Yahoo News/AFP, Dec. 11)

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