Message to Members: Evolution on the Front Line
AAAS in Action: News to Note
AAAS at Work: Programs at the Forefront
AAAS Announcements: Items of Interest
Read On, Online: Science Sites

Message to Members
EVOLUTION ON THE FRONT LINE

Dear AAAS Member,

AAAS has become a leading voice in the public debate about the teaching of intelligent design along with evolution in U.S. public school science classrooms.

We're speaking out against attempts to blur distinctions between scientific evidence and other ways of knowing, including those concerned with the supernatural. We're defending strong, high quality science education to encourage students to pursue careers in science, mathematics, and technology. When the Kansas State Board of Education voted 6-4 to redefine science and introduce intelligent design, we backed two highly respected science organizations that denied permission for continued use of their copyrighted materials. When the Dover , Pennsylvania , school board that was the first in the U.S. to order the introduction of intelligent design was voted out of office, we applauded the members of the new board. Now, scientists and educators await the verdict by a U.S. Federal District Court in a suit filed by Dover parents against the previous board.

AAAS is sponsoring banner messages on the New York Times and Washington Post websites' science pages saying "Teach only science in science classrooms." And we're urging all AAAS members to join us as spokespeople in the public arena, engaging in the debate in our communities' churches, schools, and clubs. See our comprehensive "Evolution on the Front Line" site, featuring resources and news that are freely accessible to all: http://www.aaas.org/news/press_room/evolution/.

Thank you for supporting the effort to defend the integrity of science education.

Sincerely,

Alan I. Leshner, CEO, AAAS

P.S. Look for a special online presentation of Science 's Breakthrough of the Year, to be featured 23 December at http://www.sciencemag.org/. We have big plans for the announcement, and you won't want to miss it.

AAAS in Action
NEWS TO NOTE

Darwin Exhibition Selects Kinetic City Exercise
"Nowhere to Hide" is a playful exercise explaining natural selection and evolution from the award-winning AAAS Kinetic City online after-school program. It caught the eye of curators at New York City 's American Museum of Natural History who were searching for media related to evolution, and it became part of the major new Charles Darwin exhibition portraying the importance of evolution to the development of modern biology. Read more: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1121nohide.shtml.

Panel Critiques the Film "Dirty War"
"It's all too real" and "We live in a society of almost infinite vulnerability" were among the comments from a panel of experts after a 14 November showing of the BBC/HBO produced film at AAAS. The panel concluded that the plot, in which terrorists smuggle small amounts of radioactive material into the U.K. seeking to deliver a lethal strike, could credibly be applied to the unprepared U.S. Read more about a continuing public program organized by AAAS's Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy to address present security challenges: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1129dirtywar.  

Hack Attacks Spread Cyber Terrorism
The AAAS Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy and the Center for Media and Security sponsored a briefing for journalists in November on the sophisticated international hacking community of criminal gangs, terrorist organizations, and rogue nations. Find out what three experts had to say about cyber security and vulnerability to identity and information theft as they gave background to science reporters to improve the public dialogue: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1122cyberterror.shtml.

DoSER Lecture Discusses Synthetic Life Research
A Harvard Medical School professor and an attorney with a Ph.D. in biology discussed "Synthetic Biology: Hardware, Software, and Wetware" in a 10 November public lecture sponsored by AAAS's Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER). Read about the use of synthetic building blocks to design and construct living systems—an effort that advances the engineering of microbes to make drugs and other valuable products but also causes some concern about the accidental or deliberate creation of harmful organisms: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1116synthlifeIntro.shtml.

AAAS Remembers Science Policy Expert Willis Shapley
Long-term consultant Willis H. Shapley died in Washington , D.C. ,on 24 October at age 88. In 1975, AAAS called on Mr. Shapley to prepare a report analyzing the budget process as it applies to R&D in a way that is comprehensible to scientists. His work launched the internationally known AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program, now in its 31 st year. Read more about his impressive career with NASA and the U.S. Bureau of the Budget: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1116willisshapley.shtml.

AAAS at Work
PROGRAMS AT THE FOREFRONT  

Retooled and Redesigned: The New Science Website
Now, Science makes it even easier to keep up with the day's breaking news and the week's breakthrough research, plus Science archives, article collections by subject, careers, and resources. Check out the updated design and improved navigation of the recently launched site: http://www.sciencemag.org/.

Bigger, Better, Free: Job Search and Career Advice
Responding to readers' requests, Science has merged two career sites: ScienceCareers.org and Science 's Next Wave. Now, it's quicker to search 1,000 job postings updated daily, find career advice and funding opportunities, and access the Postdoc Network and Minority Scientists Network. Visit http://www.sciencecareers.org/. Find out more about the AAAS Center for Careers in Science and Technology, a broad international effort to provide career information to S&T students, postdocs, and professionals: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1020careers.shtml.

AAAS S&T Policy Fellowships: Apply by 10 January
Each September, a new class of S&T policy fellows begins work with the U.S. Congress or a federal agency in one of 10 program areas to enhance public policy as they advance science careers. U.S. citizens with a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral-level degree in one of the sciences or engineering, or a master's degree and three years of professional experience in engineering are invited to apply. Learn more about plugging science into public policy and find out how to apply online: http://www.fellowships.aaas.org/.

AAAS Announcements
ITEMS OF INTEREST

Historic Milestone of the Month: Structure of the Atom
As part of the 2005 celebration of the 125th anniversary of Science , last December's Voice Your Opinion Poll asked AAAS members to name the leading scientific breakthrough since 1880. Their top choices have been selected for a monthly free-access reprint from the archives of the journal Science , courtesy of JSTOR.org.
http://promo.aaas.org/kn_marketing/pdfs/Science_1970_1030.pdf
http://promo.aaas.org/kn_marketing/pdfs/Science_1917_1102.pdf

Register Online Today: AAAS 2006 Annual Meeting
Join us 16-20 February 2006 in St. Louis , Missouri , for "Grand Challenges, Great Opportunities." Choose from more than 200 symposia, plenary lectures, topical lectures, and seminars that address national and global challenges and opportunities in climate change, bioterrorism, nanotechnology, and other major issues. For information including Family Science Days and to register: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/Annual_Meeting/.

Read All About It: Science Journalism Awards Winners
During the AAAS Annual Meeting, a special ceremony will confer prestigious awards recognizing outstanding science writing that is enlightening, engaging, and builds critical public understanding of cutting-edge science and research. Read about the winning topics including evidence for global warming, treatment of cystic fibrosis, and the frontiers of cosmology in newspaper, magazine, television, radio, online, and the new category of children's science news: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1108sja.shtml.

Scientists Meet the Media: The Royal Society in London
On 25 January 2006 , Science , the BBC, and other major U.K. science media will meet with scientists to honor the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize winner. The annual event cites science popularizers for excellence in communicating science in lay terms to U.K. audiences. This year's winner, Professor Frances Balkwill, well known as a writer of science books for children, will give the lecture. Read more about the prize: http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/page.asp?tip=1&id=1783.

"Fur, Feathers & Fossils": Exhibit of Nature Illustrations
From now through 31 March 2006 , highly detailed dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals come to life in an exhibit at AAAS in Washington , D.C. Renowned science illustrator Mark A. Klingler of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History works closely with scientists to assure masterworks that are as accurate as they are aesthetic. Read more and plan to visit the exhibit: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/1101klingler.shtml.

Communicating European Research: Brussels Conference
In November, more than 2,500 international participants convened for the CER 2005 Conference to discuss need for scientists and educators to improve public understanding of research. An address by AAAS's CEO Alan I. Leshner referred to the continuing debate in the U.S. about the presentation of "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolutionary theory in U.S. science classrooms. Noting the growing divide, Leshner urged scientists to reach out and engage the public on an equal basis in the debate. Read more: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/conferences/2005/cer2005/pdf/cer_news_2_e.

Meet Up at Upcoming Events
Stop by the AAAS booth to pick up your member pin.

American Astronomical Society, 8-12 January 2006, Washington , D.C. , U.S.A. Information: http://www.aas.org/.

Cell Signaling World 2006 , 25-28 January 2006, Luxembourg . "Signal Transduction Pathways as Therapeutic Targets," sponsored by STKE and Science , gathers an international group of experts. Information: http://www.transduction-meeting.lu/.

Additional Meetings of Interest

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 2006 Meetings and Courses , 9 March-3 December 2006, Cold Spring Harbor , New York , U.S.A. Information: .

Upcoming ScienceCareers.org Outreach Events
Sciencecareers.org, the AAAS/ Science careers website has a full schedule of outreach events in the United States , Canada and Europe in 2006. Below are two in the northeast U.S. 

Interviewing Skills Workshop for Graduate Students and Postdocs,
30 January 2006, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus
Want to learn good interviewing skills from actual interviewers, recruiters, and research scientists in industry science? Then join your fellow graduate students and postdocs on Monday, 30 January 2006 for a workshop featuring recruiters and industry scientists from the local Boston area. The Interviewing Skills for Scientists and Technical Professionals workshop is sponsored by the MIT Careers Office, MIT Postdoctoral Advisory Council, MIT Graduate Student Council, and is brought to you by ScienceCareers.org. The panel will be moderated by ScienceCareers.org's Garth A Fowler, Ph.D.

Taking your Ph.D. Outside Academia, 31 January 2006, Providence, RI, U.S.A., Brown University, Pembroke Hall
Want practical suggestions on how to think about and pursue alternative careers? Join ScienceCareers.org's Outreach Program Manager, Garth A. Fowler, Ph.D., for a career development event that will feature how to market yourself to careers and jobs outside institutional research. Learn more about such careers as science writing, industry research, and work in public policy. Tips on understanding the application process and how to market yourself will also be presented. This workshop is free, but we ask that you register with the Brown University Career Development Center at careerdevelopment3@brown.edu . Information:

READ ON, ONLINE

AAAS News & Notes appears in Science in the last issue of each month. Or access http://www.aaas.org/or http://www.scienceonline.org/.