Archaeology & Paleontology

Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? (Smithsonian, Jan.)

Modern Behavior of Early Humans Found Half-Million Years Earlier Than Thought (ScienceDaily, Dec. 22)

Archaeologists to explore feasting habits of ancient builders of Stonehenge (Culture 24, Dec. 21)

Venomous Dinosaur Discovered--Shocked Prey Like Snake? (National Geographic News, Dec. 21)

Jesus-era home found in Nazareth (BBC News, Dec. 21)

Excavation Sites Show Distinct Living Areas Early in Stone Age (N.Y. Times, Dec. 21) Site requires free registration

Sixty Headless Skeletons -- 3,000 Years Old -- Discovered in Pacific Ocean Archipelago Vanuatu (ScienceDaily, Dec. 21)

Environment

The Geoengineering Gambit (Technology Review, Jan./Feb.)

1 Year Later: TVA Still Cleaning UP Coal Ash Spill (NPR, Dec. 22)

What Was Agreed And Left Unfinished In U.N. Climate Deal (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 22)

U.N. Climate Talks End With Bare Minimum Agreement (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 22)

Dams linked to more extreme weather (New Scientist, Dec. 22)

Desert Vistas vs. Solar Power (N.Y. Times, Dec. 21) Site requires free registration

How aircraft emissions contribute to warming (Nature News, Dec. 21)

Toxic Releases Decrease Nationwide (ENN, Dec. 21)

US Geological Survey Study of Oceanic Circulation (ENN, Dec. 21)

Oceans becoming nosier thanks to pollution -- report (TerraDaily/AFP, Dec. 20)

Earth on track for epic die-off, scientists say (San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 19)

Exploration & Adventure

Antarctic Researchers Need Solid Sun Block: Study (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 22)

ExplorersWeb Year in Review: Mount Everest (ExplorersWeb, Dec. 19)

Medicine & Health

Study shows one dose of H1N1 vaccine may be enough for children (L.A. Times, Dec. 22)

Pong-ology: Sniffing out a cure for iffy whiffs (New Scientist, Dec. 22)

Building a Search Engine of the Brain, Slice by Slice (N.Y. Times, Dec. 21) Site requires free registration

Fake blood-clotting products to heal wounded soldiers (BBC News, Dec. 18)

Peoples & Culture

Santa Claus: The Real Man Behind the Myth (LiveScience, Dec. 22)

Cubans groove to US disco hits (BBC News, Dec. 21)

Genetic study clarifies African and African-American ancestry (PhysOrg, Dec. 21)

Religion Finds Home On IPhones, Social Networks (NPR, Dec. 21)

Sorcery Charges On The Rise In Saudi Arabia (NPR, Dec. 21)

Challenging Traditions at the Heart of Judaism (N.Y. Times, Dec. 21) Site requires free registration

Bill May Restore Land, Government For Native Hawaiians (NPR, Dec. 20)

Iranians Wage War In The Twitterverse (NPR, Dec. 19)

Natural Disasters & Weather

Most of 47,000 Filipinos safe from raging volcano (Yahoo News/AP, Dec. 22)

Russians plan to use cloud seeding to curtail heavy snowfall in Moscow (Washington Post, Dec. 22) Site requires free registration

Two Dead After Earthquakes Hit Malawi, Tanzania (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 21)

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

The Legacy of Bhopal (ENN, Dec. 22)

Obama to name Howard Schmidt as cybersecurity coordinator (Washington Post, Dec. 22) Site requires free registration

Teachers Defying Gravity to Gain Students’ Interest (N.Y. Times, Dec. 21) Site requires free registration

NASA Data Reveal Major Groundwater Loss In California (TerraDaily/SPX, Dec. 21)

Newsmaker of the year: The power player [U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu] (Nature News, Dec. 20)

Rising prices spark a new gold rush in Peruvian Amazon (Washington Post, Dec. 19) Site requires free registration

Data to expose 'ghost mountains' [Gamburtsevs in Antarctica] (BBC News, Dec. 18)

Plants & Animals

'Bumper year' for botanical finds (BBC News, Dec. 22)

Kangaroo 'plague' follows Australian rains (BBC News, Dec. 22)

Holy Baboon! A 'Mystical' Moment In Africa (NPR, Dec. 22)

British Antarctic Survey finds rich Antarctic marine life (ENN, Dec. 22)

African countries set for new fight over ivory sales (Yahoo News/AFP, Dec. 22)

Microbes survive 30,000 years inside a salt crystal (New Scientist, Dec. 22)

Czech Zoo Sends Four Rare White Rhinos to Kenya (National Geographic News, Dec. 21)

"Pregnant" Fish Fathers Suck the Life From Their Young (National Geographic News, Dec. 21)

Whatever Doesn’t Kill Some Animals Can Make Them Deadly (N.Y. Times, Dec. 21) Site requires free registration

African Leaf-Eating Primates 'Likely to Be Wiped Out' by Climate Change (ScienceDaily, Dec. 21)

Chimps Master First Step in Controlling Fire (LiveScience, Dec. 21)

2009 A Deadly Year For Florida's Manatees (Planet Ark/Reuters, Dec. 21)

Wiggling and waggling: Study sheds light on amazing bee brain (PhysOrg, Dec. 21)

Birds Favor Most Promising Offspring (LiveScience, Dec. 20)

Science & Technology

Scientists Harness Bacteria to Turn Microscopic Gears (LiveScience, Dec. 22)

A Quantum Leap in Battery Design (Technology Review, Dec. 21)

Winter Solstice 2009: Facts on Shortest Day of the Year (National Geographic News, Dec. 21)

The Real Reason Cell Phone Use Is Banned on Airlines (LiveScience, Dec. 21)

Space

Search for extraterrestrial life gains momentum around the world (Washington Post, Dec. 22)

Astronauts blast off for Christmas space mission (Yahoo News/AP, Dec. 21)

NASA Image Confirms Lake on Titan (ENN, Dec. 21)

Brown dwarf pair mystifies astronomers (PhysOrg, Dec. 21)

Spirit Surprise: Long-Defunct Mars Rover Wheel Spins (Space.com, Dec. 21)

'Boat' could explore Saturn moon (BBC News, Dec. 19)

Enceladus plume is half ice (Nature News, Dec. 18)

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