Natural Science Collections Alliance
Our members are part of an international community of museums, botanical gardens, herbariums, universities and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award (EPPLA). This award recognizes current graduate students in the biological sciences and/or science education who have demonstrated initiative and leadership in science and science policy. Award recipients receive first-hand experience at the interface of science and public policy, including an expense-paid trip […]
The Inspector General (IG) for the Department of the Interior (DOI) has “found that DOI is failing to fulfill its stewardship responsibilities over museum collections.” In a December 2009 report, the IG found that DOI has failed to properly accession, catalogue, or inventory museum collections, leaving artifacts “unavailable for research, education, or display and … […]
In 2008, the Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) conducted an online survey to assess how scientific collections were responding to worsening economic conditions. The complete findings of this survey have now been published in the online publication, CLS Journal of Museum Studies. The publication includes the survey results and some possible actions for scientific […]
A recent article in the UK newspaper, The Guardian, highlights the importance of botanic garden plant collections to science and conservation. The report describes how a botanist at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in West London discovered a new plant species during a lunchtime stroll through the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The new plant, now named […]
On December 10, 2009, the U.S. Chief Financial Officers Council, a division of the federal government, will host a webcast for stakeholders regarding reporting requirements for grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The live webcast will be held from 2-3:30 pm. The event will provide a general overview of Recovery […]
A group of scientists recently published in the Journal of Heredity a proposal to sequence the genome of over 10,000 vertebrate species. The project, Genome 10K, supporters argue, should be possible to complete in five years at a cost of $50 million. The Genome 10K project would provide comparative information on molecular, developmental, and evolutionary […]
The National Park Service (NPS) plans to require researchers using specimens collected from national parks to enter into a benefits-sharing agreement with NPS if their research produces discoveries or inventions with some valuable commercial application. Discoveries would not be permitted to be used for commercial applications without the benefits-sharing agreement. Under the new rules, researchers […]
Several fish fossils were taken from the Johnston Geology Museum at Emporia State University, located in Emporia, Kansas, on or around October 12, 2009. Information on the whereabouts of the stolen fossils is being sought by Dr. DeWayne Backhus, chair of the Department of Physical Sciences at the university. The part and counterpart of two […]
An international group of researchers have extracted DNA from two birds collected by Charles Darwin during his voyage on the HMS Beagle in the hopes of reintroducing the now extinct sub-population to the Galapagos Islands. A study published by the Royal Society journal Biology Letters documents the scientists’ efforts to determine genetic differences among three […]
The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is requesting nominations and proposals for several awards and grants. Nominations are currently being accepted for the SPNHC President’s Award and the Carolyn B. Rose Award. The President’s Award is presented to a current or former SPNHC member whose activities have furthered the objectives of […]