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Once only charming, family trees have become a commodity fewer can access.

Companies gather to learn about opportunities for public-private partnerships.

Report urges giant genome initiative for organisms at Earth's extremes.

Foundations | Lewis and Clark Expedition, Fritillaria affinis 1804-1806 Courtesy of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Ewall Sale Stewart Library Courtesy of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Ewall Sale Stewart Library In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson asked his private secretary, army Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a first-time expedition to the Pacific Coast. One goal: collect indigenous flora. Two centuries later, botanist Richard McCourt of the Academ

* Based on average score for 34 factors SURVEY METHODOLOGY We posted a Web-based survey and invited our postdoc readers to respond. From about 30,000 invitations, we received 2,800 usable responses from postdocs in the United States, Canada, and western Europe. We asked respondents to assess their postdoc experience by indicating their level of agreement with 34 positive statements about various factors. We identified responses from 681 separate institutions but included only the 150 instituti

Courtesy of University of Miami Conventional wisdom says to choose a place to do a postdoctoral fellowship in the same way that you choose a college or graduate school: Just go with the institution that offers the most money and has the most prestige and you can't go wrong. Right? Not according to The Scientist's "Best Places for Postdocs" survey.1 The top-10 list overflows with lesser-known schools that may lack the panache of the Ivy Leaguers or the big research institutes, and they certain

Whining and righteousness get you no place in politics. Nevertheless, those are the pop-gun responses of mainstream science to the Bush administration's persistent moves to stack federal science-advisory committees with appointees friendly to its conservative agenda. Here and there, a protesting letter to the editor, a bit of irate testimony on Capitol Hill, preachments to the faithful via an editorial in Science. But when it comes to real politics--raising money and running ads for friendly

We surveyed 751 readers to find out what their ideal occupation would be other than science. The most popular choices were writer (18.3%), doctor (13.0%), and musician (10.7%). More than three times as many readers would prefer to be teachers than lawyers. Of the 32.4% of readers who opted for the ubiquitous "Other," the most popular careers among 143 alternatives listed were artist, photographer, and cabinetmaker/carpenter. And, yes, we do have readers who would like to be professional surfer

Senate bill introduced this week would allow research cloning.

New Natural History chief expected to undo past damage to Smithsonian science and image.

17 billion research programme receives mixed reception from UK academics.

Shuttle disaster leaves future of space-based research unclear.