Abstract:
Introduction from Dr. David Evans, Smithsonian Under Secretary for Science -- Astronomers Find Fewer White Dwarves Than Expected -- Natural Selection Favors Diversity in Tropical Forests -- Attempting to Preserve a Specimen After Death, and a Species After Extinction.
Citation:
Spotlight on Science, Vol. 4, no. 3, 3 Feb. 2006
Description:
In this edition of Spotlight on Science, we'll see how scientific exploration, more often than not, yields the unexpected. Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory scientists, scouring 6 years of detailed X-ray data of the Milky Way, discovered what is not there. Data from the Smithsonian Center for Tropical Forest Science reveals that rare tropical trees may, benefit from being rare. Natural History and National Zoo researchers join to preserve a bird specimen in a way that keeps open the possibility for future cloning of an extinct species