Archaeology & Paleontology

120 Million Years Old, Fossil Shows Divergence of Platypus and Anteater (N.Y. Times, Jan. 29) Site requires free registration

Oil paintings found in Afghan cave (ioL, Jan. 28)

First-century Lindow Man goes back to his roots (Guardian UK, Jan. 28)

Humans Force Earth into New Geologic Epoch (Yahoo!/LiveScience, Jan. 27)

Cradle of civilization being robbed of history--under the cover of war, thieves are looting Mesopotamia (Philly.com/L.A. Times, Jan. 27)

Mystery ‘mound’ to be saved from the sea [Bronze Age.] (The Shetland News, Jan. 26)

Shining a light on ancient stromatolites (Nature News, Jan. 25)

Grim secrets of Pharaoh's city [Egypt.] (BBC News, Jan. 25)

Worship at Zeus's "Birthplace" Predates the Greek God (Nat'l. Geographic News, Jan. 25)

The Lost Fort of Columbus (Smithsonian, Jan. 2008)

Environment

The Preservation Predicament (N.Y. Times, Jan. 29) Site requires free registration

'Action needed' on home emissions (BBC News, Jan. 28)

Earth's Soils Bear Unmistakable Footprints Of Humans (ScienceDaily, Jan. 28)

Value of U.S. House's Carbon Offsets Is Murky (Washington Post, Jan. 28) Site requires free registration

Maldives Builds Barriers to Global Warming (NPR, Jan. 28)

World's Coral Reefs Face Renewed Threats (NPR, Jan. 27)

Can Darwin’s Lab Survive Success? [Galapagos Islands.] (N.Y. Times, Jan. 27) Site requires free registration

Great Lakes' Lower Water Levels Propel a Cascade of Hardships (Washington Post, Jan. 27) Site requires free registration

Exploration & Adventure

Camping in Antarctica (Planet Ark/Reuters, Jan. 29)

First Antarctic marine census launched (Yahoo!/AP, Jan. 29)

Thirst for knowledge drives Explorers Club to extremes (Foster's Daily Democrat/AP, Jan. 27)

North Pole Winter: The horizontal death zone (ThePoles, Jan. 25)

Medicine & Health

Sedentary life 'speeds up ageing' (BBC News, Jan. 29)

Hitting It Off, Thanks to Algorithms of Love (N.Y. Times, Jan. 29) Site requires free registration

Cells' internal clocks revealed (BBC News, Jan. 28)

Indonesia bird flu deaths hit 100 (BBC News, Jan. 28)

Is Diabetes Linked To Environmental Pollution? (ScienceDaily, Jan. 28)

Breast milk 'may be allergy key' (BBC News, Jan. 28)

Black Death did not kill indiscriminately, experts say (Yahoo!/Reuters, Jan. 28)

Is climate change making us sick? (Times UK, Jan. 26)

The Science of Presidential Complexity [Human behavior.] (Washington Post, Jan. 28) Site requires free registration

Peoples & Culture

Germany Confronts Holocaust Legacy Anew (N.Y. Times, Jan. 29) Site requires free registration

A tiny native village in Alaska copes with urban encroachment (Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 28)

Saudi Women May Get to Drive (NPR, Jan. 28)

Britain Seeks Its Essence, and Finds Punch Lines(N.Y. Times, Jan. 26) Site requires free registration

Building Boom Threatens St. Petersburg's Style (NPR, Jan. 26)

Anne Frank's chestnut tree saved (San Francisco Chronicle/AP, Jan. 25)

Natural Disasters & Weather

Fiji lashed by powerful cyclone (BBC News, Jan. 29)

Bangladesh Cyclone Survivors Struggle With Cold, Rain (Planet Ark/Reuters, Jan. 29)

Mozambique to Forcibly Evacuate 10,000 from Floods (Planet Ark/Reuters, Jan. 29)

Freak Blizzards Leave 200,000 Stranded in China (Nat'l. Geographic News, Jan. 25)

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

World's Big Polluters Meet in Hawaii Over Climate (Planet Ark/Reuters, Jan. 29)

Is big business still thinking green? (BBC News, Jan. 28)

China to build 97 new airports by 2020 (SpaceMart/AFP, Jan. 27)

World Leaders Call for Global Climate Change Effort, Strengthened Public Governance (GreenBiz, Jan. 27)

War, Disease Create Quiet Crisis in Congo (NPR, Jan. 26)

Greenpeace vessel ends pursuit of Japanese whalers (TerraDaily/AFP, Jan. 26)

Iraq ratifies Kyoto Protocol on climate change (TerraDaily/AFP, Jan. 26)

In Cairo the noise pollution can be a killer (Yahoo!/AP, Jan. 25)

Japan Unveils $10 Billion Climate Change Fund (Red Orbit, Jan. 26)

Climate change 'significantly worse' than feared: Al Gore (TerraDaily/AFP, Jan. 24)

Plants & Animals

Sea lions massacred in Galapagos (BBC News, Jan. 29)

Chameleons' colourful flashes are social signals (New Scientist, Jan. 29)

Antarctica on Alert for Alien Invaders (Planet Ark/Reuters, Jan. 29)

Thousands of Miles From Home, and Possibly Carrying Avian Flu [Ornithology.] (N.Y. Times, Jan. 29) Site requires free registration

Bangladesh's majestic dolphins at risk (BBC News, Jan. 28)

This Beetle Really Rocks [New species named after Roy & Barbara Orbison.] (Yahoo!/LiveScience, Jan. 28)

Flame Retardants Found in Rare Tasmanian Devils (Nat'l. Geographic News, Jan. 28)

A Rare Find in Madagascar Gets Its Own Genus [Palm tree.] (Washington Post, Jan. 28) Site requires free registration

A Dying Breed [Africa's Ankole cow.] (NYT Magazine, Jan. 27)

Flying robot to track whales off Australia (TerraDaily/AFP, Jan. 27)

Great Apes Endangered By Human Viruses (ScienceDaily, Jan. 26)

Creepy-crawlies head to Europe thanks to globalisation, climate (Yahoo!/AFP, Jan. 25)

For troubled orcas, relief may be near (Seattle Times, Jan. 24)

Thinking Like a Monkey (Smithsonian, Jan. 2008)

Science & Technology

Researchers seek animal test alternative (Yahoo!/AP, Jan. 27)

Testing Limits of Moore's Law [Semiconductors.] (Red Orbit, Jan. 26)

Could Tiny Diatoms Help Offset Global Warming? (ScienceDaily, Jan. 26)

New Fault Found in Europe; May "Close Up" Adriatic Sea (Nat'l. Geographic News, Jan. 25)

The Coldest Place in the Universe [Ultracold physics.] (Smithsonian, Jan. 2008)

Space

Rogue Stars: The Miscreants of Our Galaxy (Yahoo!/Space.com, Jan. 29)

Remembering When U.S. Finally (and Really) Joined the Space Race (N.Y. Times, Jan. 29) Site requires free registration

Dramatic Wind Action Detailed On Mars (ScienceDaily, Jan. 28)

Paper Boomerang will be Tested on Space Station (Universe Today, Jan. 28)

Satellite could plummet to Earth (BBC News, Jan. 27)

Giant Particle Accelerator Discovered In The Sky (ScienceDaily, Jan. 27)

Scientists Designing "Ion Shield" To Protect Astronauts From Solar Wind (Universe Today, Jan. 27)

Skies dim for British astronomers [Budget cuts.] (BBC News, Jan. 26)

Cosmic Suburbia is a Better Breeding Ground for Stars (Red Orbit, Jan. 25)

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