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.
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 […]
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has named paleontologist Dr. John Long the new Vice President of Research and Collections. Dr. Long previously served as Head of Sciences for the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. In his new position, Dr. Long leads the curatorial staffs, collection stewardship, and oversees the research conducted at […]
A new survey of U.S. natural history collections is being launched by CollectionsWeb. This comprehensive survey aims to inventory all U.S. natural history collections, produce a comprehensive database of this information, and establish a baseline for periodically assessing status and trends. The collected data will be shared with the natural science collections community for use […]
Natural Science Collections Alliance President William Y. Brown will be the next President and Director of the Woods Hole Research Center, an independent, nonprofit institute focused on environmental science, education, and public policy. The Center, located in Falmouth, Massachusetts, has projects in the Amazon, the Arctic, Africa, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England, as well as […]