From the New York Times (use "biol203" for the username and password)

Idealistic lawyers and idealistic scientists often describe themselves as
engaging in a search for truth. The scientists follow the scientific
method. They state their hypotheses, describe the ways they test them,
present their findings — and wait for another researcher to prove them
wrong. Lawyers’ practice is built on the idea that the best way to shake
the truth out of a complex dispute is for advocates on each side to argue
it, as vigorously as they can, in front of an impartial judge or jury.

This isn't new news, but it came up in conversation with a few of you ...

Norway is starting construction on a "doomsday vault" in the Arctic which is designed to house all known varieties of the world's crops.

Read more

Sean McKenzie forwarded the link to this interesting news report.

How Many Animals Are Too Many?

NEW YORK, New York, November 29, 2006 (ENS) - Setting population target levels for wildlife species can be a tricky business - especially when there are 18 distinct approaches currently in use. All 18 are cataloged in a new paper appearing in the journal Bioscience authored by Wildlife Conservation Society ecologist Dr. Eric Sanderson.

Sanderson says "minimum viable populations," the goal commonly used by wildlife managers aiming for self-sustaining populations, should be seen as "the beginning, not the end, of conservation."

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

Today's Headlines - September 21, 2006

Carbon from Dying Trees May Add to Climate Change

from the San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required)

In the middle of Terry McGlynn's lab at the University of San Diego sits a
seemingly incongruous object for a biologist dedicated to teasing out
secrets about how tropical rain forests work. It's a brown metallic Singer
sewing machine that looks to be decades old. Around it are neatly sewn bags
about the size of McGlynn's hand and remnants of mesh materials from which

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

Today's Headlines - September 15, 2006

Scientists Baffled by Death of Aspen Trees in the Rockies
From The Chicago Tribune (Registration Required)

DENVER -- Something is killing the aspen trees of the Rocky Mountain West.
Or so it seems to some scientists, who say the slender, white-bark trees
that paint the hills gold every autumn are dying, leaving bald patches
across the Rockies. The scientists are scrambling to figure out what's
happening.

"As soon as we understand what's going on, then maybe we can do something

CNN: POSTED: 1:54 p.m. EDT, September 13, 2006

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- El Nino, an extreme warming of equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean that wreaks havoc with world weather conditions, has formed and will last into 2007, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday.

Follow the link below for the full story:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/09/13/weather.nino.reut/index.html

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

Today's Headlines - September 13, 2006

A New Bird Species Is Confirmed in India
From The New York Times (Registration Required)
[You can use "biol203" for the username and password]

NEW DELHI, Sept. 12 -- A new bird species has been found in India, the first
such discovery here in more than 50 years, the amateur ornithologist who
first spotted the bird said Tuesday.

The multicolored bird, Liocichla bugunorum, was first sighted in May in the
remote Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

Today's Headlines - September 12, 2006

Report Links Global Warming, Storms
From The San Francisco Chronicle

Scientists say they have found what could be the key to ending a yearlong
debate about what is making hurricanes more violent and common -- evidence
that human-caused global warming is heating the ocean and providing more
fuel for the world's deadliest storms.

Employing 80 computer simulations, scientists from Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory and other institutions concluded that there is only one