Winners of 2013 AAAS Student Poster Competition Tuesday, April 30, 2013 The 2013 Student Poster Competition took place at the AAAS Annual Meeting In Boston February 14-18. The student winners' work displayed originality and understanding that set them apart from their peers. The AAAS Poster Sessions provide individuals with an opportunity to present their research, offering an excellent venue for extended informal discussion with meeting attendees. All posters are peer-reviewed, and accepted posters are listed in the AAAS Annual Meeting Poster Book. Abstracts appear on the Annual Meeting Abstract CD, within the Program Book. VIDEO: Plants for medicine with ethnobotanist Michael Balick Video April 29, 2013 Traditional cultures in tropical, subtropical, and desert environments have long understood and used plants for the treatment of illness and to promote well-being. Michael Balick studies the relationship between plants and people as an ethnobotanist for The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. His work has taken him all over the world. Just recently Balick was on a remote Pacific island in the republic of Vanuatu where he was working with indigenous people, talking to them about health care and their interest in documenting the medicinal knowledge of their elders. OSTP seeks nominations for presidential mentoring award OSTP seeks nominations for presidential mentoring award Capitol Connection April 8, 2013 The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are now accepting nominations for PAESMEM, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. OSTP/NSF seeks individuals and organizations that have demonstrated at least five years of excellence in mentoring students, trainees, and/or early career scientists and engineers from groups that are underrepresented in STEM. Marcia McNutt appointed new Editor-in-Chief of Science Marcia McNutt appointed new Editor-in-Chief of Science Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Marcia McNutt, most recently Director of the US Geological Survey, has been appointed the new, full-time Editor-in-Chief of Science. She will begin her tenure at Science on June 1. McNutt will take over the position from Bruce Alberts who decided to step down at the end of his five-year term. VIDEO: Jon Foley on feeding the planet Video February 16, 2013 Jonathan M. Foley of the University of Minnesota, talks about the current state of agriculture around the world. He explains how we need to change things to feed our planet's exploding human population, and how to make those changes sustainably so we protect our planet for future generations. Learn more about this session *Audio distortion for most of presentation VIDEO: 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting reception Video February 15, 2013 Find out what attendees are looking forward to at this year's meeting in Boston. Related Links: AAASMC's complete video coverage from the 2013 Annual Meeting in Boston VIDEO: 2013 Annual Meeting: The president's address Video February 15, 2013 AAAS President William Press, researcher in computer science, genomics, statistical methods, astrophysics, and international security, welcomes attendees to Boston. This year's AAAS Annual Meeting highlights the rich and complicated connections between basic and applied research, and how they bring about both practical benefits and the beauty of pure understanding. Read more about Press's keynote. National Medal of Science AAAS members awarded medal at White House ceremony Monday, February 4, 2013 Fifteen AAAS fellows and members were awarded the U.S's top prize for scientists, engineers, and inventors, the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, at a White House ceremony on February 1. President Barack Obama handed out the medals to the nearly two dozen researchers and innovators honored in 2012. Twelve researchers received the National Medal of Science and eleven inventors received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. VIDEO: Coverage of the 2013 Annual Meeting in Boston Video February 12, 2013 Here is AAASMC's video coverage of the 179th AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston. The program for 2013 highlights the rich and complicated connections between basic and applied research, and how they bring about both practical benefits and the beauty of pure understanding. Old Tjikko Worldwide decline in large, old trees alarms scientists Qualia December 31, 2012 Large, old trees play a critical role in many environments, from forests and savannahs to human-dominated areas like cities and farm lands. But a new study in the journal Science documents an alarming decline among trees 100-300 years old in ecosystems around the world.