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"Will Deepwater Horizon Set a New Standard for Catastrophe? 1. Richard Kerr, 2. Eli Kintisch and 3. Erik Stokstad Summary The fiery destruction of an oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April may have triggered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The impact of the crisis, which began with the deaths of 11 workers and then simmered for several days before an expanding oil slick grabbed worldwide attention, promises to test the federal government's ability to protect habitat, wildlife, and the economic well-being of a four-state region on a scale never before imagined. "

Evolution Two Critics Without a Clue What Darwin Got Wrong by Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2010. 286 pp. $26. ISBN 9780374288792. Profile, London. 280 pp. £20. ISBN 9781846682193. 1. Douglas J. Futuyma + Author Affiliations 1. The reviewer is at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, 650 Life Sciences Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5245, USA. 1. E-mail: futuyma@life.bio.sunysb.edu Summary Objecting on both philosophical and empirical grounds, Fodor and Piattelli-Palmarini reject natural selection as the mechanism of adaptive evolution.

"Science 25 November 2011: Vol. 334 no. 6059 p. 1040 DOI: 10.1126/science.334.6059.1040 * News & Analysis Climate Change Humans Are Driving Extreme Weather; Time to Prepare 1. Richard A. Kerr Figure View larger version: * In this page * In a new window Thai floods 2011 Hurricane Katrina 2005 Texas drought 2011 "CREDITS (LEFT TO RIGHT): PAULA BRONSTEIN/GETTY IMAGES; JEFF SCHMALTZ, MODIS RAPID RESPONSE TEAM, NASA/GSFC; NOAA" An international scientific assessment finds for the first time that human activity has indeed driven not just global warming but also increases in some extreme weather and climate events around the world in recent decades. And those and likely other weather extremes will worsen in coming decades as greenhouse gases mount, the report finds. But uncertainties are rife in the still-emerging field of extreme events. Scientists cannot attribute a particular drought or flood to global warming, and they can say little about past or future trends in the risk of high-profile hazards such as tropical cyclones. Damage from weather disasters has been climbing, but the report can attribute that trend only to the increasing exposure of life and property to weather risks. Climate change may be involved, but a case cannot yet be made. Despite the uncertainties, the special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released 18 November stresses that there is still reason for taking action now. The panel recommends "low-regrets measures," such as improvements in everything from drainage systems to early warning systems. Such measures would benefit society in dealing with the current climate as well as with almost any range of possible future climates. The report takes a cautious, consensus-based approach that draws on the published literature. Headlines and even some scientists may point to the current Texas drought or the 2003 European heat wave as the result of the strengthening greenhouse. But the report fin

Summary: Assess coral bleaching using water temperature data from the NOAA National Data Buoy Center. Objectives * Describe the relationship between corals and zooxanthellae. * Identify stresses to corals. * Explain coral bleaching and the processes that cause coral bleaching. * Examine water temperature data and compare to levels known to induce coral bleaching. * Predict the effects of prolonged, increased temperaturs on coral reefs. Introduction The magnificent beauty of a coral reef is a true masterpiece of Mother Nature. A reef is a sculpture of living organisms, varied in color, texture, shape, and size. The creation of these works of art takes many, many years (some reefs are thousands of years old), and they don't exist solely for show. Reefs are building blocks for rich communities, providing habitat for a myriad of organisms, and they are some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. In addition, they support fishing grounds, attract tourists, and protect shorelines from waves and storms. "

Information Science Bounds and Vision Atlas of Science Visualizing What We Know by Katy Börner MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2010. 266 pp. $$29.95, £22.95. ISBN 9780262014458. 1. Mason A. Porter + Author Affiliations 1. The reviewer is at the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3LB, UK, and at the CABDyN Complexity Centre and Somerville College, University of Oxford. 1. E-mail: porterm@maths.ox.ac.uk Visualization is a crucial but underappreciated part of science. As venues like the American Physical Society's Gallery of Fluid Motion and Gallery of Nonlinear Images illustrate every year, good visuals can make science more beautiful, more artistic, more tangible, and often more discernible. Katy Börner's continuing exhibition Places & Spaces: Mapping Science (1) and her book Atlas of Science: Visualizing What We Know arise from a similar spirit but are much more ambitious. Visualization is one of the most compelling aspects of science. Breathtaking visuals from sources like fractals and Disneyland's long-dead "Adventure Thru Inner Space" ride are what originally inspired me toward my personal scientific path, so I welcome any resource that promises to bring the visual joys of discovery to a wide audience. Importantly, Börner's exhibition and book are not mere artistic manifestations, although they would be impressive accomplishments even if that were her only goal. Some scientists have occasionally had great success in the visual arts; for example, physicist Eric Heller has long exhibited the gorgeous fruits of his research on quantum chaos and other topics (2). To fully appreciate Börner's efforts, however, one must be conscious that she is deeply concerned not just with visualization itself but with the science of visualization. Accordingly, her book discusses the history of the science of visualization, where it is now, and where she thinks it can go. Atlas of Scie

Science 3 February 2012: Vol. 335 no. 6068 pp. 520-521 DOI: 10.1126/science.335.6068.520 News Focus Ecology Rebuilding Wetlands by Managing the Muddy Mississippi Carolyn Gramling Coastal managers and scientists have struggled to find ways to restore water flow through the wetlands of the Mississippi delta and bring back the sediment, supply of which has been cut in half by humanmade river channels, levees, and dams intended to control the river and save coastal communities from flooding. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza spillway during the 2011 Mississippi River floods to divert floodwaters, which offered a rare opportunity to conduct a large-scale natural experiment in real time. The floodwaters did carry enough sediment to help rebuild the wetlands, but that material didn't always stay where it could do the most good. However, researchers gained valuable insights-including ideas about how spillway design can help produce more targeted sediment deposits, and what volume of flow through the spillways might be required for effective wetland rebuilding.