| Report: Climate science panel needs change at top By SETH BORENSTEIN 2010-08-30T17:40:31ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists reviewing the acclaimed but beleaguered international climate change panel called Monday for major changes in the way it's run, but stopped short of calling for the ouster of the current leader.... hosted.ap.org |
Bloodhound budgets Are speed records indulgent or are there big benefits? bbc.co.uk |
Florida panthers bound back thanks to Texas mates By LAURAN NEERGAARD 2010-09-23T19:34:37ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- In the quest to save the endangered Florida panther, their Texas cousins were the cat's meow. Wildlife biologists moved eight female panthers from Texas - close relatives yet genetically distinct - into south Florida 15 years ago in hopes of boosting reproduction, and the immigration paid off.... hosted.ap.org |
Today's Mystery Bird for you to identify | GrrlScientist This beautiful African species has an unusual common name that was suggested by a special reproductive behaviour that many other birds in the family do not share. What behaviour is that?Mystery Bird photographed at Tarangire National Park, northeastern Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]Image: Dan Logen, 17 January 2010. [with binoculars].Nikon D300, 200-400 mm lens at 400, ISO 500, f/10, 1/1000 sec.This beautiful African species has an unusual common name that was suggested by a special reproductive behaviour that many other birds in the family do not share. What behaviour is that?Daily Mystery Bird Rules: 1. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification, keeping in mind that more than one field mark is often necessary to distinguish between species. IDs without any supporting information are not valid and may be deleted by the moderators. 2. Expert and intermediate level birders: do NOT try to be the first to blurt out the mystery bird's ID. Instead, please provide helpful hints, such as descriptions, literary references, puns, personal anecdotes, and other forms of discussion and assistance for beginning birders and for those following on their iPhones without naming the species. Expert and intermediate birders are free to name the bird species 24 or more hours after it was first published.3. Each mystery bird is usually accompanied by a question or two. These questions can be useful for identifying the pictured species, but may instead be used to illustrate an interesting aspect of avian biology, behaviour or evolution, or may be intended to generate conversation on other topics, such as conservation. 4. Each bird species will be demystified 48 hours after publication. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Researchers react to news of funding freeze Britain's scientists and engineers will hear today how they have fared in the comprehensive spending review. We ask them for their reaction to the likely freezing of the science budgetPlease post your own reactions belowThe day of reckoning has arrived. This afternoon, George Osborne will lay out where the axe will fall across government departments, and the picture is likely to be a grim one for many in the public sector. Sources in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills tell me that the ﾂ｣4.6bn spent each year on scientific research will be maintained and ringfenced for the next four years, a cut in real terms of around 10% in the science budget taking account of inflation. The capital expenditure budget - a further ﾂ｣1.4bn - is not protected, and could be halved. The full impact of this may not be clear for some time.In recent months and weeks, the science budget has been fiercely defended by researchers and supporters of science. Those in DBIS I spoke with said that science got its act together and put a strong case. I'm told that both the business secretary, Vince Cable, and the science minister, David Willetts, negotiated hard with the Treasury to limit the depth of cuts to science.The chancellor's speech is due to begin at 12.30pm, but my colleague Andrew Sparrow has already begun live blogging the spending review and will push on through until the end of the day. Evan Harris, a former MP and Liberal Democrat science spokesman, has written a blog on how to judge the spending review here. He advises we avoid jumping for joy until the fat lady has sung. I will be gathering reactions to the announcement from researchers and campaign groups and posting them in the comments below, but do please join in with your own thoughts on what the cuts mean. We can only expect an overall figure for the science budget today. It could take months for Cable's team to work out how the money is allocated between the research councils, the national academies, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (which funds university research) and other bodies. Adrian Smith, the Business, Innovation and Skills director general for research, will be advising Cable on this. This is a crucial process, as it will shed light on the fields of research that the government wants to prioritise. The bottom line is that it could be some time before researchers in a particular field know how well - or not - their area has fared.Science funding crisisScience policySpending review 2010Ian Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |