Archaeology & Paleontology

Ecologists Receive Mixed News From Fossil Record (Terra Daily, Apr. 6)

Scientists to Unearth Ice Age Secrets from Preserved Tree Rings (Science Daily, Apr. 6)

Fossil find shows Velociraptor eating another dinosaur (BBC News, Apr. 6)

African Fossil Changes Ideas of Ant Origins (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

In Syria, a Prologue for Cities (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

Digging into Fuji's religious side / Archaeologists searching for clues to history of worship on mountain (Daily Yomiuri, Apr. 5)

Cows are key to 2,500 years of human progress (Guardian, Apr. 4)

Nagaon excavations reveal ceramic tradition (Assam Tribune, Apr. 3)

Environment

Charities warm to climate [Philanthropic support for climate-change issues tripled in 2008.] (Nature News, Apr. 6)

Proposed Grid Could Make Offshore Wind Power More Reliable (Science Daily, Apr. 6)

Cooling Towers for Indian Point? (ENN, Apr. 5)

How Wind Farms Affect the Global Climate (ENN Apr. 5)

After Copenhagen setback, UN seeks way forward on climate (Terra Daily, Apr. 5)

Zero Baggage Eliminates the Need for Checked Luggage (ENN, Apr. 5)

Clean Water Act might be used to fight ocean acidification (Yahoo!/McClatchy, Apr. 4)

Exploration & Adventure

Apa Sherpa to Climb Everest for 20th Time (CRIEnglish.com, Apr. 6)

Solo balloonist en route to N. Pole (The Province, Apr. 6)

Six RI climbers look to conquer seven summits (Jakarta Post, Apr. 6)

Medicine & Health

Experts: Lithium doesn't slow Lou Gehrig's disease (Yahoo!/AP, Apr. 6)

Special Report: Fast machines, genes and the future of medicine (Yahoo!/Reuters, Apr. 5)

Cancer deaths drop as colonoscopy rates soar (Yahoo!/Reuters, Apr. 5)

Too many pregnancy pounds ups future obesity risk

Gene mutation ups women's risk of double breast cancer (Yahoo!/AFP, Apr. 5)

Seeking Emotional Clues Without Facial Cues (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

"Sound Bullets" to Zap Off Tumors? (National Geographic News, Apr. 5)

Chocolate Might Reduce Blood Pressure and Risk of Heart Disease, Research Suggests (Science Daily, Apr. 4)

Out of This World: New Study Investigates Infection of Human Cells in Space (Science Daily, Apr. 4)

Peoples & Culture

Study Sheds Light on What Makes People Shy (LiveScience, Apr. 6)

For Many Couples, Toll of Miscarriage Lingers (Yahoo!/Health Day, Apr. 5)

Surprisingly, Family Time Has Grown (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5)Site requires free registration

Words Really Can Hurt (LiveScience, Apr. 5)

Does Old Age Bring Happiness or Despair? (LiveScience, Apr. 4)

Brain Remembers One Fear vs. Another, Study Suggests (LiveScience, Apr. 4)

Natural Disasters & Weather

Model Predicts Shifts In Carbon Absorption By Forest Canopies (Terra Daily, Apr. 6)

Ice Sheet Melt Identified As Trigger Of Big Freeze (Space Daily, Apr. 6)

Study: Northeast seeing more, fiercer rainstorms (Yahoo!/AP, Apr. 5)

Strong Mexico quake rattles southwestern US (Terra Daily, Apr. 5)

Earthquakes Cross Political Boundaries (LiveScience, Apr. 5)

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

Canadian Cement Plant Becomes First to Capture CO2 in Algae (ENN, Apr. 6)

Masdar: Abu Dhabi's carbon-neutral city (ENN, Apr. 5)

Battle to stabilise ship aground near Barrier Reef (BBC News, Apr. 5)

China rejects Mekong River dam criticism (BBC News, Apr. 5)

Not So Fast! Andes Rise Was Gradual, Not Abrupt (Science Daily, Apr. 4)

Morocco to unveil green projects on Earth Day (Yahoo!/AFP, Apr. 4)

Plants & Animals

Star-Patterned Tortoise Could Die Out in 20 Years (LiveScience, Apr. 5)

Diet of Contaminated Insects Harms Endangered Carnivorous Plants (Science Daily, Apr. 5)

Caterpillars That Thrive in Water and on Land (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

From a Songbird, New Insights Into the Brain (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

Even Among Animals: Leaders, Followers and Schmoozers (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

Bringing Dehydrated Plants 'Back to Life': Possible Key to Desiccation-Tolerant Plants< (Science Daily, Apr. 5)

Non-native animals cause rural problems, charity warns (BBC News, Apr. 4)

Traces of Early Native Americans -- In Sunflower Genes (Science Daily, Apr. 4)

Science & Technology

Battery Boost: Lithium-Ion Anode Uses Self-Assembled Nanocomposite Materials to Increase Capacity (Science Daily, Apr. 6)

For Nuclear Reactors, Metals That Heal Themselves (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

All for One and One for All: Computer Model Reveals Neurons Coordinating Their Messaging, Yielding Clues to How the Brain Works (Science Daily, Apr. 5)

Turning Noise Into Vision: New Way to Reveal Images of Hidden Objects (Science Daily, Apr. 5)

Significant Step Toward Lightweight Batteries (Science Daily, Apr. 4)

Plastic Electronics Could Slash the Cost of Solar Panels (Science Daily, Apr. 3)

Space

Antenna failure hampers crew's shuttle inspection (Yahoo!/AP, Apr. 6)

3 women flying on space shuttle Discovery (Yahoo!/AP, Apr. 5)

Double Play: Spacecraft to Image Two Saturn Moons This Week (Yahoo!/Space.com, Apr. 5)

Seeing What the Hubble Sees, in Imax and 3-D (N.Y. Times, Apr. 5) Site requires free registration

Space shuttle Discovery blasts off from Florida (BBC News, Apr. 5)

Fermi Maps an Active Galaxy's 'Smokestack Plumes' (Science Daily, Apr. 5)

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