Archaeology & Paleontology

Eden? Maybe. But Where’s the Apple Tree? [Genetic survey of Africans.] (N.Y. Times, May 1) Site requires free registration

'Looted' Chinese relic auctioned (BBC News, Apr. 30)

"Dark Age" Temple Found in Turkey (Nat'l. Geographic News, Apr. 29)

Cache Of Mummies Unearthed At Egypt's Lahun Pyramid (Planet Ark/Reuters, Apr. 29)

Unique Roman glass dish found at London grave site (Yahoo!/Reuters, Apr. 29)

Native Americans Descended From a Single Ancestral Group, DNA Study Confirms (UC Davis News & Information, Apr. 28)

China's earliest known carving found in central Henan Province (Window of China, Apr. 28)

Environment

'Safe' climate means 'no to coal' (BBC News, Apr. 29)

Africa climate change monitoring station launched (Yahoo!/Reuters, Apr. 29)

Hundreds of miles of ice drop from Antarctic shelf (Independent UK/AP, Apr. 29)

Greenland Methane Danger Far Less Than Feared (TerraDaily/SPX, Apr. 28)

Water Levels Dropping In Some Major Rivers As Global Climate Changes (TerraDaily/SPX, Apr. 28)

Exploration & Adventure

Volvo Ocean Race routed around whale sanctuary (Yachting Monthly, Apr. 27)

This Is Your Brain On Adventure (Outside, April 2009)

Medicine & Health

Mexico shuts down to control flu (BBC News, May 1)

Researchers identify new gene link to autism (Wellcome Trust, Apr. 30)

Young Couch Potatoes Face Mental Health Risks (redOrbit, Apr. 30)

Swine flu goes global (Nature News, Apr. 29)

The mother of all flu pandemics [1918 flu.] (BBC News, Apr. 29)

'Barcode' shows mosquito threats (BBC News, Apr. 29)

New Details About Mysterious Giant Virus Uncovered (ScienceDaily, Apr. 29)

Brain processes written words as unique 'objects' (PhysOrg, Apr. 29)

Goal Of Eliminating Malaria In Sight (Planet Ark/Reuters, Apr. 29)

Bangladesh diarrhoea 'epidemic' (BBC News, Apr. 28)

Dreading the Worst When it Comes to Epidemics (Smithsonian, Apr. 28)

Peoples & Culture

Dancing for Mao [China's Cultural Revolution.] (Smithsonian, May 2009)

Bust of Sojourner Truth, Former Slave, Unveiled at US Capitol (VOA News, Apr. 30)

Builders find Auschwitz message (BBC News, Apr. 28)

Natural Disasters & Weather

Levees Cannot Fully Eliminate Risk Of Flooding To New Orleans (TerraDaily/SPX, Apr. 28)

Weather Satellites Continue To Face Cost Overruns And Delays (TerraDaily/SPX, Apr. 27)

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

Taking jobs to Bangladesh's poor (BBC News, Apr. 30)

Pope Hears Victims' "Silent Cry" In Quake Zone [L'Aquila.] (Planet Ark/Reuters, Apr. 30)

A Year After Storm, Subtle Changes in Myanmar (N.Y. Times, Apr. 30) Site requires free registration

Arctic Councils Denies Membership Amid Seal Hunting Debate (redOrbit, Apr. 30)

Food Scare Sparks Developing World Land Rush: Think Tank (Planet Ark/Reuters, Apr. 30)

Locking up Nigeria's 'civil lunatics' [Mental illness.] (BBC News, Apr. 29)

Report lists worst, best cities for air quality (ENN/MSNBC, Apr. 29)

The Kentucky Derby’s Forgotten Jockeys [African Americans.] (Smithsonian, Apr. 24)

Plants & Animals

In Search of the Mysterious Narwhal (Smithsonian, May 2009)

Fertilisers 'reducing diversity' (BBC News, May 1)

Fish Feel Pain, Study Finds (Yahoo!/LiveScience, Apr. 30)

Pakistan's blind dolphins face hazardous existence (Yahoo!/AFP, Apr. 30)

The 5,500-Pound Question: How to Move a Hippo 800 Miles? Zoo Officials Are Thinking: Very Carefully. (Washington Post, Apr. 30) Site requires free registration

Spider sex violent but effective (BBC News, Apr. 30)

Boogie birdie: Animals shown to 'dance' to music (Yahoo!/AP, Apr. 30)

US Interior Revokes Bush Endangered Species Rule (Planet Ark/Reuters, Apr. 29)

Identifying Hyenas By Their Giggle (ScienceDaily, Apr. 28)

Science & Technology

Could Energy Innovation Create A 'Green Bubble'? (NPR, May 1)

Invisibility cloak edges closer (BBC News, Apr. 30)

Debut for world's fastest camera (BBC News, Apr. 29)

Nanowire network measures cells' electrical signals (New Scientist, Apr. 29)

Space

Mercury flyby unveiled active inner planet: studies (Yahoo!/AFP, Apr. 30)

Russia mulls rocket power 'first' (BBC News, Apr. 29)

NASA may abandon plans for moon base (New Scientist, Apr. 29)

Rogue Black Holes May Roam the Milky Way (PhysOrg, Apr. 29)

The missing sunspots: Is this the big chill? (Independent UK, Apr. 27)

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