Library of Congress: What's New in Science Reference

Upcoming Lecture: How to Fly a Satellite at 17,000 MPH; the Historic Flight of Landsat 5

Sensitive and complex Landsat satellites monitor Earth's lands as they travel at high speeds through a crowded space environment about 440 miles above Earth's surface. Managing their positions in relation to other satellites, avoiding space debris and keeping their kinetic, chemical and electrical systems healthy and responsive requires the skill and attention of some of the best engineers in the country.

Steve Covington- flight systems manager for Landsat 5 and 7 for the U.S. Geological Survey EROS Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., and systems director at the Aerospace Corp.- will tell the remarkable story of Landsat 5, which was launched in 1984 for a three-year lifetime and was kept alive for nearly 29 years through ingenuity and luck.

How to Fly a Satellite at 17,000 MPH; the Historic Flight of Landsat 5 will be held on Wednesday, May 22 at 11:30 a.m. in the Pickford Theater, 3rd floor, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Updated LC Science Tracer Bullet: Space Science Projects

This bibliography provides information sources which provide guidance to students, parents and teachers throughout the process of planning, developing, implementing and competing in science fair activities related to space science. Sources range in suitability from elementary to secondary school levels.

New Science Reference Guide: The Science of Taste and Flavor

This guide accompanied our exhibit on the Science of Taste and Flavor. If this is an area that interests you, it will lead you to helpful print resources on the topic.

New Science Webcast Available: By Endurance We Conquer

A team of adventurers who hope to traverse the Antarctic continent along the same route planned by Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1914 discuss the ill-fated early expedition and their plans for 2014.

This Webcast is also available on the Library's YouTube Channel, Topics in Science Playlist
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38rKHxAT2s&list=PL7D437230CAAB6B9C

Upcoming Lecture: Extraterrestrial Real Estate Assessment- Measuring Habitability on Mars with the Curiosity Rover

ST&B & NASA Goddard Speakers Series begins its 7th Year on April 16, 2013 with "Extraterrestrial Real Estate Assessment: Measuring Habitability on Mars with the Curiosity Rover" with Dr. Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist and mineralogist, at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

The program will be held on April 16 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm in Dining Room A of the Madison Building, Library of Congress.

NASA Spring Lecture Series: Mars, Satellites, and Exotic Earths

The lecture series, in its seventh year, is sponsored by the Library's Science, Technology and Business Division, in collaboration with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Mark your calendars:

On Tuesday, April 16 at 11:30 a.m., in Dining Room A, astrobiologist Pamela Conrad will present "Extraterrestrial Real Estate Assessment: Measuring Habitability on Mars with the Curiosity Rover."

On Wednesday, May 22 at 11:30 a.m. in the Pickford Theater, Steve Covington will present "How to Manage a Satellite Going 17,000 Miles per Hour."

On Wednesday, June 19 at 11:30 a.m. in the Pickford Theater, astrobiologist Avi Mandell will present "Exotic Earths: Exploring Planets Around Other Stars."

See our press release for more details.

Upcoming Lecture: How to Put Your Brain on the Internet

On Wednesday March 20th, 2013 from 11:30-12:30 the Science, Technology, and Business division is sponsoring the lecture How to Put Your Brain on the Internet with science writer Dr. Michael Chorost in the Mumford Room, 6th floor of the James Madison Building , Library of Congress.

In this provocative and entertaining talk and book signing, author Michael Chorost will show emerging technologies that allow brain activity to be read and altered in unprecedented detail.

Dr. Michael Chorost is the author of World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet (2011) and Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human (2005). Between books Chorost freelances for Wired, New Scientist, Technology Review, and other magazines. He makes frequent radio and TV appearances, and has given 130 lectures at places such as Google, MIT, Brown University, and Duke University. Totally deaf since 2001, Dr. Chorost now hears with two cochlear implants.

New Everyday Mystery: Why is Pluto no Longer a Planet?

Learn about the history of pluto and why it is now known as a dwarf planet.

New Webcast: Looking Homeward to Earth

The picture, "Earthrise," changed forever society's view of our celestial home, according to NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati. The image of Earth--beautiful and vulnerable, and suspended in dark stillness--inspired an appreciation that there is one human race, whose fate hinges delicately on mankind's collective actions. Abdalati demonstrates the tremendous power of the space-based perspective in science, exploration and in daily life.

Curl up with a Good Science Book

This guide lists a selection of science book award winners and nominees, books written by speakers in the LC Science, Technology, and Business Lecture Series, and a few other good reads from the past.

Upcoming Lecture: Imperial Trans-Antarctic Centenary Expedition 2014

A team of adventurers who hope to traverse the Antarctic continent along the same route planned by Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1914 will discuss the ill-fated early expedition and their plans for 2014, in a lecture at the Library of Congress on Feb. 20, 2013. The talk will start at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the West Dining Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Margaret Clifton (202) 707-7450
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ada@loc.gov

New Webcast: My Winter in Greenland & Summer in Antarctica

The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets contain 99 percent of the Earth's freshwater ice, according to NASA scientist Lora Koenig. Changes to these regions can profoundly affect sea level and the rate at which the Earth's climate warms or cools, placing them at the heart of research into the planet's future.

New Science Reference Guide: Hispanic American Health

This guide provides a selection of general and specialized books related to Hispanic American health and wellness topics that can be found in the Library of Congress collection. Also listed in this guide are Internet resources that will point researchers to online sources about Hispanic health in the United States

New Science Reference Guide: Container Gardening

Attention Gardeners- We have published a new Science Reference Guide that lists a selection of books about container gardens, edible container gardens, and specialized container gardening. Also listed in the guide are articles and Internet resources related to container gardens.

Upcoming Lecture: Looking Homeward Toward Earth- The Power of Perspective

The Library of Congress welcomes NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati who will discuss the tremendous power of the space-based perspective in science, exploration and in daily life in his lecture "Looking Homeward Toward Earth: The Power of Perspective."

Date:Tuesday, October 16
Time: 11:30 am-12:30pm
Where: Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664; NASA Headquarters (202) 358-2451

New Science Reference Guide: Eating Outdoors

Just in time for football season--the Eating Outdoors Guide presents a selection of cookbooks and articles about cold cuisine and tailgating, along with cookbooks for camp cooking, sailing, and picnics.

New Science Reference Guide: West Nile Virus

This guides lists a selection of websites, articles, and books about the West Nile Virus.

Upcoming Lecture: Climate Science, Public Understanding and Climate Policy in the American Democracy- Lessons from an Experiment in Progress

Ecologist Peter Frumhoff will discuss whether scientific findings can or should inform the public discourse on climate-change policy.

When: Tuesday October 2, 2012
Time: 11:30am- 12:30pm
Where: Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Tomoko Steen (202) 707-1212

New Webcast: Beyond Hubble- A New Era of Astronomy with the James Webb Telescope

Amber Straughn, a research astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and serving deputy project scientist for JWST Education and Public Outreach, discussed the James Webb Space Telescope. This telescope is expected to launch in 2018 and is an international collaboration of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. NASA calls it the premier observatory of the next decade.

Upcoming Lecture: My Winter in Greenland and Summer in Antarctica

Lora Koenig, a physical scientist in Cryospheric Sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, will give insight into what it is like to conduct field research measuring temperatures and snowfall, or accumulation, over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets during both the polar night and polar day, and on the meaning of her research results.

"My Winter in Greenland and Summer in Antarctica"
Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 11:30 a.m.
Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.
The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed.

Upcoming Lecture: Human Migration, Malaria, and Modernization in the Pacific

Similar to opening a time capsule, molecular anthropological techniques are used on ancient DNA in organisms to open up their time capsules and reveal the history of their migration, as well as their disease transmissions. On August 28th from 11:30-12:30 in the Madison Building's West Dining Room, Library of Congress, Professor Koji Lum of the State University of New York, Binghamton, will discuss "Human Migration, Malaria, and Modernization in the Pacific: DNA Studies."

Professor Lum, molecular anthropologist and population geneticist, is a Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences, and the Director of the Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology and Health (LEAH) at SUNY Binghamton. He also chairs the Human Subjects Research Review Committee. His research focuses on the origins, interactions, and resulting genetic characteristics of Pacific Island populations, the evolution of the malaria parasite's (Plasmodium falciparum) drug resistance, malaria epidemiology in Melanesia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, forensic genetics, animal and plant domestication, behavioral genetics, and molecular evolution.

If you cannot make it to the lecture, it will be recorded and available for viewing shortly after on the Library's webcast and YouTube web pages.

Human Migration, Malaria, and Modernization in the Pacific: DNA Studies
August 28th, 11:30-12:30
West Dining Room, Library of Congress

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639:
Public contact: Tomoko Steen (202) 707-1212; tste@loc.gov
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6382 (voice/tty) or ada@loc.gov

The event is jointly sponsored by the Science, Technology and Business Division and the Library of Congress Asian American Association.

New Science Reference Guide: Food Preservation

This guide will point you to general books about food preservation and specific books about food canning, preserving, freezing, drying, fermentation, salting, and smoking.

New Webcast: Mapping Water Use from Space

Martha Anderson talks about using images from the Landsat satellite program to monitor water use and drought on U.S. farms with pinpoint accuracy.
You can also view this video on the LC YouTube page, Topics in Science Playlist
URL: http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress

Update Science Reference Guide: American Barbecue- History and Geography

This guide replaces our previous Science Reference Guide on BBQ History. It contains a selection of books, articles, and Internet resources that focus on the history of American barbecue.

New Science Reference Guide: Particle Physics and the Higgs Boson

The nature of matter is the subject of particle physics; it is concerned with the basic constituents of matter and the forces that drive their interaction. The discovery of the Higgs boson, the so-called "God particle" is one of the biggest science stories of our time.

This guide lists a selection of books, articles, and online resources about particle physics and the Higgs Boson.

New Everyday Mystery: Why do we yawn?

The study of yawning is anything but boring. It boasts a rich history of theories that go back to Antiquity, but thus far the biological function of yawning remains a mystery.

There are numerous theories on why we yawn and scientists have yet to come to any consensus. However, many scientists suggest that yawning might serve a social function (to communicate boredom) and a physiological function (regulation of body state).

Library Acquires Carl Sagan Papers

The Library of Congress has acquired the personal papers of American astronomer, astrobiologist and science communicator Carl Sagan (1934-1996).

The Sagan collection has come to the Library through the generosity of writer, producer and director Seth MacFarlane, and is officially designated The Seth MacFarlane Collection of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive.

Upcoming Lecture: Man, Food, and Fire- The Evolution of Barbecue

Award-winning cookbook author and "master griller" Steven Raichlen will lecture at the Library of Congress on the history of barbecue, from the discovery of live-fire cooking nearly 2 million years ago to the invention of the charcoal briquette, gas grills and modern barbecue restaurants.

Raichlen will present "Man, Food, Fire: The Evolution of Barbecue" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 24, in Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. Following the lecture, Raichlen will sign his new book, "Best Ribs Ever," and other titles.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Alison Kelly (202) 707-0911

Upcoming Lecture: Mapping Water Use from Space with Scientist Martha Anderson

Access to fresh water is a daily issue of life or death in many parts of the world. Now the means to objectively measure and map water use with observations from space-based satellites has been discovered. As the technology moves from innovation to everyday operations, a revolution in practical water monitoring is underway.

Research scientist Martha Anderson will discuss these issues in her lecture "Mapping Water Use from Space" at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 14 in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public. No tickets are needed.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664
Public contact: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6382 (voice/tty) or ada@loc.gov

New Webcast: Transit of Venus

NASA's Sten Odenwald discusses the rare astronomical event of the Transit of Venus, which occurs on June 5/6, 2012, and not again until the 22nd Century.
Also available on the Library of Congress YouTube channel Topics in Science playlist
URL: http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress

New Webcast: Jeanne Guillemin's American Anthrax (2011)

May 16, 2012
Jeanne Guillemin discusses her new book, American Anthrax: Fear, Crime, and Investigation of the Nation's Deadliest Bioterrorist Attack (2011) , a definitive account of the five-year investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks.

You can also view this on the LC YouTube channel Topics in Science playlist
URL: http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress

New Science Reference Guide: Bioterrorism and Bio-Weapons

May 2, 2012
This guide represents a selection of books, technical reports, and Internet resources on bioterrorism and bio-weapons.

New Science Tracer Bullet: Science and Technology in South Korea

May 2, 2012
This bibliographic guide provides English language sources available in the Library of Congress on scientific and technological developments in South Korea from antiquity to the present.

Upcoming Lecture: A Rare Astronomical Event- Transit of Venus

On June 5, 2012, the planet Venus will move across the face of the sun. Such transits of Venus are among the rarest of planetary alignments, and they come in pairs that are eight years apart but separated by more than a century. Only six such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope, according to NASA scientist Sten Odenwald.

Odenwald will discuss "A Rare Astronomical Event: Transit of Venus" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 8, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed.

New Reference Guide: National Recovery Administration (NRA)- an Inventory of Publications in the Collections of the Library of Congress

This guide from our Business Reference Service represents an inventory of several of the major series issued by the United States National Recovery Administration between 1933 and 1935, such as administrative and statistical materials, codes of fair competition, and press releases.

In a short two years, 557 Codes were approved by the President, and hundreds more were proposed and either revised or not approved. There is over 11,000 documented press releases, almost one hundred sets of working papers, and innumerable amendments, supplements, and revisions- most of which are housed in the General Collections of the Library of Congress.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Economic Botany- Useful Plants and Products

This guide offers a systematic approach to the wide variety of published materials on the use of plants by people. It includes references to materials on food plants, fiber plants, dye plants, edible plants, medicinal plants, oilseed plants, as well as plants used in ceremonies, cultivated for commercial purposes, or used as shelter.

New Science Reference Guide: Chemistry

This new guide lists reference books on the various branches of chemistry available in the Science and Business Reading Room. Also, listed is a selection of online chemistry resources guides.

Upcoming Lecture: Author Jeanne Guillemin to Discuss "American Anthrax" April 3

Jeanne Guillemin, author of "American Anthrax: Fear, Crime and the Investigation of the Nation's Deadliest Bioterrorist Attack" (2011), will discuss the case in a lecture at the Library of Congress at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Guillemin is a senior adviser to the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She studied social psychology at Harvard as an undergraduate and completed her doctorate degree in sociology and medical anthropology at Brandeis University. Guillemin has done research on infectious diseases and biological weapons throughout her career. Her other published works include "Anthrax: The Investigation of a Deadly Outbreak" (1999), which documents the inquiry into the controversial cause of the 1979 Sverdlovsk anthrax outbreak in the former Soviet Union, and "Biological Weapons: The History of State-Sponsored Programs and Contemporary Bioterrorism" (2005), which covers the biological weapons history of several countries.

Upcoming Lecture: The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Amber Straughn, a research astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and serving deputy project scientist for JWST Education and Public Outreach, will discuss the James Webb Space Telescope. This telescope is expected to launch in 2018 and is an international collaboration of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. NASA calls it the premier observatory of the next decade.

New Webcast: Eleanor Lambert- Still Here

John A. Tiffany discusses his new book on Eleanor Lambert, best known as the inventor of Fashion Week, creator of the International Best-Dressed List and founder of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. When she died in 2003 at age 100, she was one of the most influential women in the American fashion industry. But well before she became a fashion doyenne, Lambert represented artists, including Jackson Pollock, Jacob Epstein and Isamu Noguchi.

New Webcast: Mapping the Moon with WALL-E

NASA found the perfect partner in education in 2007 when the robot WALL-E, the title character in a computer-animated film from Pixar Studios, became a part of the space agency's family. WALL-E helps students across the country learn how scientists and engineers work together to accomplish robotic missions.

New Webcast: Malaria & War- The U.S. Antimalarial Program in World War II

Leo B. Slater, a historian with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, discusses the U.S. Antimalarial Program in World War II.

Upcoming Lecture: NASA's Desert RATS

The Black Point Lava Flow in northern Arizona offers a research haven for NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) team of scientists and engineers, because this rough, dusty terrain, with its extreme temperatures that swing from hot to cold, resembles other places in the solar system.

NASA scientist Jacob Bleacher will discuss "NASA's Desert RATS" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

New Business Reference Guide: The Fashion Industry

This guide was compiled to accompany a 2012 exhibit mounted in the Business Reference Alcove of the Science and Business Reading Room of the Library of Congress to highlight resources related to the fashion and apparel industries, including books, journals, and databases available at the Library of Congress.

Upcoming Lecture: Author to Discuss Fashion Industry Impresario Eleanor Lambert

Through enthusiastic and tireless promotion of American fashion designers, Eleanor Lambert elevated the American fashion industry from a rag-trade status to international respectability. She advanced the careers of numerous American designers and also created the International Best-Dressed List, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the Cody Awards and the twice-a-year Fashion Week in New York City.

Fashion historian John A. Tiffany will discuss his book "Eleanor Lambert: Still Here" at the Library of Congress at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

New Science Reference Guide: History of Media Technology and Opera

By 1880, listeners connected by telephones turned opera into the first electronic home entertainment, leading to the first stereo sound transmission (1881) and the first consumer headphones (by 1888). Thomas Edison indicated in his 1888 patent caveat that the purpose of movies would be the delivery of opera. Opera provided early movies with known titles, stories, stars, and music. The earliest recording to sell a million copies was an opera aria, and opera was also the first commercial digital recording.

This guides lists a selection of books, essays, and websites on the history of media technology, with an emphasis on opera.

New Webcast: The Fandom of the Opera

A lecture by Mark Schubin on how a 400-year-old art form helped create modern media technology.

New Science Reference Guide: Leftovers. Being Festive and Frugal

As Fiona Beckett notes in her The Frugal Cook: Buy Cleverly, Waste Less, Eat Well (2011), "the very word 'leftover' has a dreary sound to it, conjuring up visions of drab, reheated meals, odd dun-coloured soups and tired-looking salads. But it doesn't have to be like that. With a little imagination your leftovers can not only be turned into delicious meals for you and your family, but feasts for your friends." Food Thrift: Scraps from the Past (1911), a webcast highlighting the Library's 19th- and 20th-Century culinary and household manual collections (http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/foodthrift.html), shows how our ancestors economized in hard times by making good use of leftovers. It is our hope that titles, such as The Turkey Trots Once More: 200 Ways to Recycle Holiday Leftovers; the Use-it-Up Cookbook; and Leftovers Made into Gourmet Meals will make your life a little less stressful and save you a penny or two this holiday season. Enjoy

New Webcast: "The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America"

Marc Levinson discusses his book, "The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America" at the Library of Congress

Upcoming Lecture: When Washington Bailed Out Mom and Pop

Economic historian Marc Levinson will present "When Washington Bailed Out Mom & Pop" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Library of Congress in the Mary Pickford Theater, located on the third floor of the Madison Building at 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Library's Science, Technology and Business Division, the event is free and open to the public.

Levinson is the author of "The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America," which was published in September 2011.

New Webcast: Big Ice Sheet Doing Big Things- Why its a Big Deal

This loss of ice in areas of the World such as Antarctica and Greenland is causing an increasing rate of sea-level rise, making it critically important to provide accurate predictive models as a basis for policymakers and citizens to take action. The challenges to science are great, and a more detailed understanding of ice-sheet dynamics is urgently needed. In an illustrated lecture, the fourth in a series of programs in 2011 presented through a partnership between the Science, Technology and Business Division of the Library of Congress, and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, scientist Robert Bindschadler presents his theories as to why this is occurring.

New Science Tracer Bullet: Nuclear Energy

The use of nuclear power to generate electricity began in the late 1950s. About one-third of all electric power worldwide now comes from nuclear power plants; 20.7 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption, including electrical energy generation and transmission losses, is attributed to nuclear power.

This guide to nuclear energy is not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, but highlights selected works about the production, distribution, and transmission of nuclear energy.

Upcoming lecture: How Opera Created the Modern Media World

The first demonstration of stereo-sound transmission--in 1881--came from an opera house. The first consumer headphones were also used for opera, as part of the first form of subscription electronic home entertainment. In 1910, 10 years before the first licensed commercial radio station, a transmitter in the Metropolitan Opera House broadcast operas, and one form of wireless opera broadcasting is even older, dating to the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.

Emmy-Award-winning engineer Mark Schubin will present an illustrated lecture, "The Fandom of the Opera: How a Four-Century-Old Art Form Helped Create the Modern Media World," at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The lecture is free and open to the public; no tickets are needed.

Upcoming Lecture: Mapping the Moon with WALL-E and Children

NASA found the perfect partner in education in 2007 when the robot WALL·E, the title character in a computer-animated film from Pixar Studios, became a part of the space agency’s family. WALL·E helps students across the country learn how scientists and engineers work together to accomplish robotic missions.

Marcianna Delaney, a NASA educator, will discuss "Mapping the Moon with WALL·E and Children" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The lecture is free and open to the public; no tickets are needed.

Science Reference Guide: Hurricanes

As the Eastern United States prepares for Hurricane Irene, we would like to point out the Science Reference Service's guide to hurricane information. Contained in this guide is a selection of books and articles about the science and history of hurricanes. Of great interest is the Internet Resources section which lists U.S. Government websites that focus on health, safety, and environomental issues.

New Science Reference Guide: African Americans in Medicine

This guide contains a selection of books about and by African Americans in Medicine found in the Library of Congress collections.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet:Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum engineering applies a wide range of technologies to the exploration, drilling, recovery, production, distribution, and storage of oil, gas, and liquefiable hydrocarbons.

Not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, this compilation is designed--as the name of the series implies--to put the reader "on target."

New Science Reference Guide: Army Technical Manual Collection Series TM6, TM7, TM8, TM9

This inventory focuses on those United States War Department Army Technical Manuals that were primarily received into the general collections from the 1940s to the 1970s. (In the 1970s the Library of Congress ceased receipt of this material.)
Not a complete inventory, this guide supplements the previously compiled Army Technical Manual Collection: Inventory in Library of Congress General Collections, Series TM1, TM2, TM3, TM4, TM5.

New Science Reference Guide: Environmentalism

This guide provides a selection of print and electronic resources on environmentalism for children ages K-12. It also includes environmental education resources for educators and parents.

New Science Reference Guide: Veganism-Eating Consciously

The resources within this guide focus on the many questions people have regarding veganism - the elimination of the consumption of any animal products, including meat, eggs, and dairy. Included are sections covering individuals' reasons for becoming vegan, vegan nutrition, vegan cookbooks, and resources on the vegan movement, past and present. Organizations and websites provide additional information.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Plant Exploration and Introduction

Plant exploration and introduction is one of the oldest activities of mankind. Since the dawn of civilization, individuals have gathered new and useful plants from far away places. Today, plant hunters scour the rain forest, desert, mountain, and the tundra for plants that might contain a chemical to fight a fatal disease or be used to create a new product. Because genetic diversity is key to maintaining and improving agriculture, today's botanists collect seeds to preserve an endangered species, to improve an existing food plant, or to develop a disease-resistant variety. As wilderness and rainforest habitats are eliminated, plants and diversity disappear, and the role of the plant hunter becomes more critical.

This compilation supersedes TB 83-5 and is intended for those who wish to learn something about the history of plant exploration and introduction through a review of the literature available in the collections of the Library of Congress.

New Science Reference Guide: Civil War Aeronautics (1861-1865)

In honor of the Civil War’s Sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary this guide brings together various publications about the use of balloons for aerial reconnaissance and mapping during the United States Civil War (1861-1865). The Balloon Corps of the Army of the Potomac became the first official use of aviation in American military operations and was the forerunner to the United States Air Force.

Updated LC Science Tracer Bullet: Solar Energy

This compilation, an update of TB 06-5, provides a review of new resources on solar energy available in the collections of the Library of Congress. While the emphasis is on four topics–solar heating and cooling; photovoltaics and solar cells; solar thermal engineering; and solar building design, many of the sources listed in the Abstracting and Indexing Services section also include references to literature on other aspects of solar energy and their applications

Upcoming Lecture on July 20: Big Ice Sheets Doing Big Things- Why It's a Big Deal

NASA scientist Robert Bindschadler, an expert on glaciers and ice sheets, will discuss "Big Ice Sheets Doing Big Things: Why it's a Big Deal" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 20, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.
The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

New Webcast: Chicago Victory Gardens- Yesterday and Tomorrow

LaManda Joy is an award-winning gardener, blogger and founder of Chicago's Peterson Garden Project discusses Chicago Victory Gardens.

During World War II, Chicago led the nation in urban food production with its Victory Gardens program of 1,500 community gardens and more than 250,000 home gardens. The city's North Park neighborhood was also home to the largest Victory Garden in the United States. In fact, the Victory Gardens campaign in Chicago was so successful that it was emulated across the country. Seventy years later, Chicago continues this tradition with an estimated 700 community gardens. In 2010, LaManda Joy launched the Peterson Garden Project, on land that was part of an original World War II Victory Garden from 1942-1945. The Peterson Garden is Chicago's largest community-allotment vegetable garden, with 157 plots tended by community members growing only organic vegetables. Volunteers and students also tend several garden plots and donate their produce to local food pantries and homeless shelters.

New Webcast: Predicting Disease Outbreaks from Space

NASA scientist Assaf Anyamba, an expert on using earth science satellite data to see links among weather, disease and famine, discusses predicting disease outbreaks from Space.

New Curatorial Webcast: Food Thrift- Scraps from the Past

This special curatorial webcast features Constance Carter, head of the Library's science reference section, discussing the resourceful ways American housewives found to feed their families during hard times of the past.

If you would like to learn more, see the accompanying guide under the Food Thrift: Related Materials link located at the bottom of the webcast page.

New Webcast: Health Risks of Atomic Bomb Exposure

Human geneticist William Jack Schull outlines the health effects of exposure to atomic bomb radiation.

New Webcast: The Many Colors of the Sun

W. Dean Pesnell of the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory presents an illustrated lecture on new observations and views of solar phenomena.

New Science Reference Guide: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

There are many guides, lists, and other resources for what and where and how to recycle just about anything you can think of; here is a short list that will easily lead you to the right one.

Upcoming Lecture: Predicting Disease Outbreaks from Space

NASA scientist Assaf Anyamba, an expert on using earth science satellite data to see links among weather, disease and famine, will discuss "Predicting Disease Outbreaks from Space" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 18, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Upcoming lecture: Chicago Victory Gardens- Today and Tomorrow

During World War II, Chicago led the nation in urban food production with its Victory Gardens program of 1,500 community gardens and more than 250,000 home gardens. Seventy years later, Chicago continues this tradition with an estimated 700 community gardens.

Award-winning gardener, blogger and founder of Chicago’s Peterson Garden Project, LaManda Joy, will discuss "Chicago Victory Gardens: Yesterday and Tomorrow" at 11:30 on Friday, May 13, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington DC.

This event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Jennifer Harbster (202) 707-4751
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664

New Webcast: Gamma Ray Bursts & Black Holes

Black holes are immensely compact stars with gravity so strong that even light cannot escape. Born when stars collapse, they emit bright flashes known as gamma-ray bursts. These bursts have been observed since the 1960s and are now known to occur in distant galaxies. NASA scientist Neil Gehrels and his team are using a new NASA satellite to detect the bursts, and astronauts around the world are pointing their telescopes at the fading afterglow, gathering more data on the birth of black holes and expanding our understanding of the universe.

New Everyday Mystery: Can You Really Build a House with Straw?

The Three Little Pigs had it all wrong! Homes, schools, parks, and even businesses have used straw bales to build sustainable, durable and attractive structures.

Updated Cherry Blossoms Internet Resources Guide

The cherry trees are once again blooming here in DC so we have updated our Cherry Blossoms Internet Resources Guide. Enjoy!

2011 ST&B Lecture Series

Updated LC Science Tracer Bullet: Global Warming and Climate Change

Upcoming lecture: The Many Colors of the Sun

W. Dean Pesnell, project scientist for the Solar Dynamics Observatory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will discuss "The Many Colors of the Sun" at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 17, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

New Science Reference Guide: Diets and Diets- A History of Weight Loss in America

This guide lists a selection of material on dieting and food habits in the United States starting with William Banting's "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public" from 1864 and carry up to the present.

New Science Reference Guide: United States War Department/Department of the Army Technical Manual (TM) Collection

This inventory focuses on those War Department and Department of the Army Technical Manuals that were primarily received into the general collections of the Library of Congress from the 1940s to the 1970s. (After the mid-70's the Library no longer received this material.) A little over 300 titles were fully cataloged; individual volumes were received as serials with the TM number issued as the volume number, under the single Library of Congress classification "U408.3.A13."

The Library of Congress does not have a complete set of these publications, but its holdings are extensive and significant. This inventory attempts to reveal the depth and breadth of the collection available to the researcher.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Forensic Sciences

Forensic science is the use of science to solve criminal cases. It can include the use of many disciplines, such as anthropology, biology, botany, chemistry, computer science, engineering, entomology, genetics, medicine, and toxicology.

This guide highlights the diversity of the scientific professions and disciplines used in investigations and provides sources on the general practice of criminalistics. Also included is information on ballistics, firearm examination, and scientific examination of documents.

New Webcast: Volcanoes- Near, Far, and Really Far

New Webcast: Observing the Living Oceans from Space

According to oceanographer Gene Feldman, there is no question among scientists that the Earth is changing. Observing the oceans from space enables NASA to monitor the biological consequences of that change and determine how it affects Earth's ability to support life.

New Webcast: Weight Loss Through the Ages

Nutrition, obesity and weight-loss experts gathered at the Library of Congress to present "Weight Loss Through the Ages: Where We've Been, What We've Learned and Where We're Going."

New Science Reference Guide: Health Effects of Obesity

A person is considered obese if the body mass index, which is based on height and weight, is 30 or greater (40 or greater is morbidly obese; 25-29 signifies overweight). More than one third of U.S. adults and 16% of U.S. children are obese. Being obese, whether by genetic factors, metabolism, hormonal imbalances or changes (e.g., menopause), body type (most likely endomorph), medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease, side effects of medication, smoking cessation, or poor lifestyle habits, can lead to early mortality. Obesity can contribute to a multitude of health effects

This guide provides a selection of book titles, journal articles, Internet resources, and organizations that will helpful to researchers studying diet, nutrition, and obesity.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Olfaction- the Sense of Smell

Olfaction - the sense of smell - is a form of chemoreception, the biological recognition of chemical stimuli, by which living organisms collect information about their environments. The importance of the sense varies in different types of animals – in most mammals it is quite well developed among those that are either predator or prey and is highly developed in those that depend on smell to find food. Dogs are famous for their excellent sense of smell which is approximately a thousand times more sensitive than that of a human.

How the brain perceives a particular chemical is both a physiological and a psychological phenomenon. The sensory cells in the nose convert chemical signals into electrical signals and the brain recognizes and interprets these signals as pleasurable or repellant or something in between, and these may then result in emotions or memories.

This guide is a review of the literature and vetted online resources on the subject of smell.

Upcoming lecture: Weight Loss Thru the Ages

Weight loss, of course, ranks high on many lists of New Year's resolutions. What better time for a comprehensive and fascinating discussion on the struggle to shed pounds?

Nutrition, obesity and weight-loss experts will gather at the Library of Congress to present "Weight Loss Through the Ages: Where We've Been, What We've Learned and Where We're Going" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 19, in the Mumford Room, on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The panel discussion will be moderated by David Kirchhoff, president and chief executive officer of Weight Watchers International, and will feature four distinguished experts. Sponsored by the Library's Science, Technology and Business Division and Weight Watchers International, the event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are needed. Afterward, a reception provided by Weight Watchers will take place in the Mumford Room foyer, and attendees will have the opportunity to talk with panelists.

More than 100 books from the Library's collection on diets and diet cookbooks will be on display. Copies of low-calorie recipes and bibliographies on "Diets and Dieting: A History of Weight Loss in America" and "Health Effects of Obesity"-compiled by Library staff members-will be available to the public. The "Diets and Dieting" bibliography will begin with William Banting's "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public" from 1864 and carry up to the present.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664

New Science Reference Guide: Islam and Science

This guide provides a selected list of books, key texts, journals, journal articles, and Web resources for researchers wanting to learn about Islam and science.

Upcoming lecture: Joan Nathan to Discuss Jewish Cooking in France

Joan Nathan, whose name is synonymous with Jewish cooking around the world, will discuss her latest book, "Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France," at the Library of Congress at noon on Monday, Dec. 13.

The event will be held in the Mary Pickford Theater, located on the third floor of the Library's James Madison Building at 101 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C.

This event is free and open to the public but seating is limited. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing following the talk.

Upcoming lecture: Volcanoes--Near, Far, and Really Far Away

Does life exist elsewhere in our solar system? NASA believes the best place to answer this question is Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. The best way to understand how Europa works may be through studying the massive lava lakes on a neighboring Jupiter moon, Io.

Ashley Gerard Davies, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, has traveled the world studying lava lakes. He will discuss the topic in his lecture "Volcanoes—Near, Far and Really Far Away" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 27, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building at the Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Updated Guide: Locating Medical and Health Information

The following guide is a list of sources (print and online) used to answer questions related to health and medicine in the Science Reading Room at the Library of Congress.

Updated Guide: Nature & Science of Autumn

Fall is here! The weblinks in the Nature & Science of Autumn guide has been updated.

Upcoming lecture: Observing the living oceans from space

Gene Carl Feldman, an oceanographer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will discuss "Observing the Living Oceans from Space" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22, in Dining Room A, on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639,
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664
Public contact: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627

New Everyday Mystery: What is the origin of the phrase "it's raining cats and dogs?"

We don't know for certain. Etymologists- people who study the origins of words- have suggested a variety of mythological and literal explanations for why people say 'it's raining cats and dogs" to describe a heavy downpour.

New Everyday Mystery: Can it rain frogs, fish, and other objects?

There have been reports of raining frogs and fish dating back to ancient civilization. Of course, it doesn't "rain" frogs or fish in the sense that it rains water - no one has ever seen frogs or fish vaporize into the air before a rainfall. However, strong winds, such as those in a tornado or hurricane, are powerful enough to lift animals, people, trees, and houses. It is possible that they could suck up a school of fish or frogs and "rain" them elsewhere.

New Science Reference Guide: Girls & Science Education

This guide gathers select print and electronic resources for educators, parents, researchers, and young women on how to get girls (particularly middle and high school aged) interested in science and scientific careers/

New Science Reference Guide: Biography of Women Scientists

This guide provides a list of selected books for girls and young women about famous and contemporary female scientists. It is limited to books written in English within the past 20 years.

New Science Reference Guide: Latinos in Math and Sciences

This guide includes a selection of resources for children K-12 on Latinos in science, mathematics, engineering, medicine, and related fields. It also includes resources for teachers on multicultural science education and science for English Language Learners (ELLs). All sources have been published within the last 20 years. Most of the sources are in English, with selected children's books and websites in Spanish.

New Everyday Mystery: What is a blue moon?

Have you ever heard the expression "once in a blue moon?"

It means "not very often," or "very rarely," but exactly how often does a so-called blue moon occur? Does the moon ever really appear blue?

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Bridges

This guide includes materials on the design and construction of bridges, as well as resources on how to manage, inspect, maintain, repair, rehabilitate, and preserve bridges.

New Webcast: Shedding Light on Dark Matter

Richard Mushotzky, an astronomy professor at the University of Maryland, presents "Shedding Light on Dark Matter".

Upcoming lecture: Chesapeake Bay from Space- New Views of a National Treasure

NASA scientist Eric Brown de Colstoun will present "Chesapeake Bay from Space: New Views of a National Treasure" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 22, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are needed.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Science and Technology in the People's Republic of China

This bibliographic guide references English-language sources on scientific and technological developments in China beginning in October 1949, following the Communist revolution.

New Science Tracer Bullet: Science and Technology Policy

This guide lists relevant sources of information on how science and technology policy is formulated, as well as its effects on the development and application of scientific and technological knowledge on a nation's growth, economy, and well-being. In addition to the United States, this compilation includes references to the science and technology policies of other nations and groups of nations.

New Science Tracer Bullet:

Update of School Gardens Guides

Also update is School Garden Activities <http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/schoolgardenactivities.html>

New LC Tracer Bullet: Science Projects in Biology, Natural History and Agriculture

This guide lists sources to assist middle-school students and teachers in planning, preparing, and executing science fair projects in biology, natural history, nature study and agriculture. A few books with experiments suitable for elementary grade students are also cited here.

Selected Internet Resources: Cherry Blossoms

It is that time of the year-Washington cherry trees are blooming and they are beautiful! Check out our updated Internet guide to cherry blossoms- you can find information about Washington cherry blossoms, cherry blossom festivals, and information on flowering cherry.

Upcoming Lecture: Mars Update

What have scientists learned so far about Mars? Does life exist there? Will human beings someday colonize the Red Planet? NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Chief Scientist James B. Garvin will discuss the latest findings and the Mars exploration strategy, in a lecture at the Library of Congress.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Library of Congress, Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd floor, Madison Building

11:30-12:30 pm

This event is free and open to the public.

New Webcast: Galileo- 400 Years of the Telescope

The Webcast for our lecture Galileo: 400 Years of the Telescope is now available to view from our Website:

Also see our post Stars in His Eyes for more information about Galileo and the publishing of 1610 Sidereus nunicus or Starry Messenger.

Upcoming Lecture and rare book viewing: NASA scientist will discuss "Galileo: 400 Years of the Telescope" and special viewing of Galileo's 1610 "Sidereus Nuncius"

On Wednesday, Feb. 17, NASA scientist Michelle Thaller will discuss "Galileo: 400 Years of the Telescope." Thaller, who is assistant director of Science for Communications at Goddard, will discuss the story of Galileo's discoveries with the telescope and the implications of those findings for him and for science thereafter.

Briefly following the lecture an original printing of Galileo's "Sidereus Nuncius" from the Library's Rare Book ans Special Collections will be on display. Mark Dimunation, chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division will be present to talk about the Galileo work.

This event is free and open to the public
"Galileo: 400 Years of the Telescope"
Wednesday, Febuary 17, 2009
11:30-12:30
Dining Room A, sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664
Public contact: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627

New Web cast: On Thin Ice--Changing Ice Cover on Polar Oceans

NASA scientist Thorsten Markus shares his expertise on polar ice in a lecture at the Library of Congress.

Updated Science Reference Guide: Winter Gardening

A guide of selected titles, journal articles, Internet resources, and online sources for seed and plant catalog information related to winter gardening.

New Web cast: Hubble - A New Beginning

Dave Leckrone, just-retired senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope Program speaks about Hubble's final mission.

Blogging from Inside Adams: Science, Technology, and Business

The Science, Technology, and Business Division of the Library of Congress has launched a new blog, Inside Adams. Inside Adams will point readers to the Library's large and diverse collections of books, journals, prints, photographs, digital collections, finding aids, and Webcasts related to science, technology, and business. This blog will give us the opportunity to highlight the bibliographies, research guides, and special pages that have been developed by staff, as well as share the history, art, and architecture of the John Adams Building. We hope you will join and participate along with us.

New Web cast: Peering into the Storm-NASA's Exploration of Hurricanes

Dr. Braun, a research meteorologist with Goddard Space Flight Center, provides an overview of questions that motivate NASA's research on hurricanes and describes how NASA addresses these questions with the use of satellites, aircraft field campaigns, computer modeling, and other instrumentation that are used to interpret hurricanes.

Upcoming Lecture: On Thin Ice-The Changing Ice Cover on Polar Oceans,

NASA scientist Thorsten Markus has closely observed the changes in the polar sea-ice cover, sometimes doing field work directly on the ice or from a NASA airplane and other times via satellite remote sensing. He will be sharing his expertise on polar ice in a lecture at the Library of Congress on Nov. 17 at 11:30 a.m. in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Free and Open to the Public

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627

Upcoming lecture Oct. 13: The Hubble Space Telescope. A New Beginning,

For more than 19 years, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope-one of the celebrated scientific instruments of our time-has revolutionized our understanding of the universe and how it works.

David S. Leckrone, just-retired senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope Program, will present "The Hubble Space Telescope: A New Beginning" at the Library of Congress at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

New Web cast: Jane Goodall Discusses "Hope for Animals and Their World"

Jane Goodall, renowned primatologist, conservationist and humanitarian spoke at the Library of Congress Coolidge Auditorium on Sept. 10 to an overflow crowd of enthusiastic listeners. She discussed the inspiring stories of dedicated environmentalists, scientists and ordinary citizens who have -project by project- saved endangered species and improved habitats.

New Selected Internet Resources: Endangered Species

This guide will help you find online information on endangered species.

Upcoming Event: Scientist Scott A. Braun Discusses “Peering Into the Storm: NASA’s Exploration of Hurricanes”

Scott A. Braun, a research meteorologist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, studies hurricanes from the inside out. His expertise is using computer modeling and satellite data to study the components of hurricanes, including winds, rainfall and in-cloud heating.

Braun will present "Peering Into the Storm: NASA’s Exploration of Hurricanes" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Library of Congress in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The lecture is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627

Upcoming Event: Jane Goodall Discusses "Hope for Animals and Their Worlds"

Jane Goodall will discuss her new book "Hope for Animals and Their Worlds: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink" at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10 in the Coolidge Auditorium on the ground level of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Open and Free to the public.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Constance Carter (202) 707-1205

New Web cast: Our Sun- Its Influence on Climate and Life

New Web cast: Astrobiology - Life in Space

Daniel P. Glavin, an astrobiologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, says the possibility of extraterrestrial life in our solar system is not limited to Mars; other "habitable" worlds might exist including the icy Moons of Jupiter and Saturn, known as Europa and Enceladus. The challenge for scientists and engineers in the next couple of decades, he says, will be to design miniaturized instruments and technologies capable of detecting the signatures of life in our own solar system and beyond.
Glavin, who is currently involved in the analysis of organic compounds in meteorites and in the search for extraterrestrial life, presented "Astrobiology: Are We Alone?"
In his talk, Glavin described the concept of a "habitable environment" and the conditions on Earth that led to the origin of life. Understanding the basic requirements for life and the prebiotic chemistry that led to the emergence of life on Earth will help guide the search for life beyond Earth. He also gave an overview of the Mars Exploration Program and future plans for sending instrumentation to Mars to explore habitable environments.

New Web cast: Dinosaurs Along the Silk Road

During the past seven years, James M. Clark has been part of a team that found the bones of small dinosaurs mired in mud, stacked one on top of another, in the northern part of Xinjiang, China, near the ancient Silk Road. Clark, who is the Ronald Weintraub Professor of Biology at George Washington University, says a spectacular bestiary of dinosaurs and their contemporaries lies buried in the Gobi Desert of China and Mongolia. The desert, according to Clark, has grudgingly yielded their bones to paleontological expeditions that can endure its rugged terrain, harsh sandstorms and flash floods.

In his lecture, Clark showed images of his work in the Gobi and discuss the discoveries made by his expeditions and by others. Many of the discoveries provide critical support for the hypothesis that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and he will discuss this controversial theory.

New Science Reference Guide: Women of Invention- Women Inventors and Patent Holders

A guide of selected material and Internet resources about women inventors.

Updated Selected Internet Resources: Astronomy

An update of Selected Internet Resources for Astronomy includes sections on Astronomy News & Events, Digital Libraries & Data Catalogs, and Observatories & Telescopes.

New Science Tracer Bullet: Science Education

This guide provides references and resources that highlight methods, curricula, standards, and strategies that promote learning in the nation's elementary, middle, and secondary schools. Many of the books and resources list activities and projects designed to engage and capture the imagination of the K-12 student. Some provide incentives and novel ideas for science teachers, methods of integrating standards into the classroom, or new ways of making connections between mathematics and science, looking at physics, or exploring the environment. Other materials seek to inspire and enthuse both teacher and student, to encourage further study and/or careers in the sciences, or to advance science literacy through the school into the community.

This present guide complements LC Science Tracer Bullet 90-5, The Crisis in Science Education, and TB 75-5, Science Education in America. The latter provides an historical overview.

Update Tracer Bullet: Environmental Science Projects

This guide provides sources to assist middle school students and teachers in planning, preparing, and executing environmental science fair projects and updates Environmental Science Projects (TB 97-6).

Upcoming Lecture: Dinosaurs Along the Silk Road

During the past seven years, James M. Clark has been part of a team that found the bones of small dinosaurs mired in mud, stacked one on top of another, in the northern part of Xinjiang, China, near the ancient Silk Road.

In this illustrated lecture Clark will show images of his work in the Gobi and discuss the discoveries made by his expeditions and by others. Many of the discoveries provide critical support for the hypothesis that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and he will discuss this controversial theory.

The lecture is free and open to the public; tickets and reservations are not needed.

Dinosaurs Along the Silk Road
Wednesday, June 24, 11:30 a.m
Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building
101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Press contact: Donna Urschel, (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology & Business Division, (202) 707-5664

Updated Selected Internet Resources in Zoology

New Everyday Mystery: How do spiders avoid getting tangled in their own webs?

The sticky, complex nets of silk are effective hunting tools for catching prey, but how do the spiders themselves avoid entangling themselves in their own webs?

New Webcast: Healthy Bites. Great-Tasting, Healthy Food on a Budget

Sally Squires, award-winning journalist and former syndicated nutrition columnist of the Lean Plate Club in the Washington Post, discussed "Healthy Bites: Great-Tasting, Healthy Food on a Budget."

Upcoming lecture: Are We Alone? Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Daniel P. Glavin, an astrobiologist at NASAâs Goddard Space Flight Center will present "Astrobiology: Are We Alone?" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Upcoming lecture: Our Sun- Its Influence on Climate and Life

Edward Guinan, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Villanova University, is a scientist on NASA-sponsored research programs that explore the behavior of the sun - and stars like the sun- to determine the effects of their radiation, magnetic activity and ejected plasmas on planets and life.

In the illustrated lecture, Guinan will discuss how the young sun's high-energy emissions played a major role in the loss of all water on Venus and much of Mars' original atmosphere, and how the Earth survived the early ravages of the young sun.

In addition, Guinan will address the effects of the sun's magnetic-generated energy on the Earth's climate, possibly playing a major role in the "Little Ice Age" from 1500 to 1850, a time when the sun had low levels of magnetic activity and the Earth had a cooler climate. He will also discuss the role the sun may have played in global warming over the past 150 years.

The lecture will conclude with a discussion of the sun's future and how the sun's ever-increasing luminosity affects the Earth's long-term climate and its habitability.

Our Sun- Its Influence on Climate and Life
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 from 11:30 a.m- 12:30 p.m.
Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the Madison Building,
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not needed.

New Everyday Mystery: How do fortunes get inside of fortune cookies?

If you’ve ever been to a Chinese restaurant, you’ve most likely received a fortune cookie at the end of your meal. You’ve also probably wondered how they managed to get that tiny slip of paper into a hard, closed cookie.

New Science Reference Guide: Women and Minorities in Science and Technology

This guide will be helpful to those studying women and minorities in the sciences. Included in the guide are selected book titles, journal titles, Library of Congress guides and Internet resources.

Upcoming lecture: Healthy Bites. Great-Tasting, Healthy Food on a Budget with Sally Squires

Award-winning medical and health writer Sally Squires will present "Healthy Bites: Great-Tasting, Healthy Food on a Budget."

Squires recently retired from a two-decade career at the Washington Post. She is now director of Health and Wellness at the Washington, D.C., public affairs firm Powell Tate. While at the Post, she created the nationally syndicated column "The Lean Plate Club." In 2006, she parlayed the popular column into the best-selling book "Secrets of the Lean Plate Club," which will be available for purchase at the lecture. A book signing will follow the talk.

Free and Open to the Public
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, Library of Congress 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Constance Carter (202) 707-1205

New Science Reference Guide: American Church, Club and Community Cookbooks

Guide to a collection of approximately 100 historically significant American community cookbooks from the Library of Congress general collection. These books have been digitized from an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant and the digital services of the Internet Archive. This project is part of a movement , which includes 100 libraries, to digitize and make public-domain books freely available on the Internet.

New Tracer Bullet: e-Science

The term e-Science refers to large scale science that is carried out through distributed global collaborations enabled by the Internet. Typically, such collaborative scientific enterprises require access to very large data sets, very large scale computing resources, and high performance visualization. e-Science is a digital infrastructure that allows scientists to conduct research in new ways. Common terminology related to e-Science include cyberinfrastructure, grids, grid computing, distributed networks, and high performance computing.

This compilation is a collection of print and electronic resources on e-Science, and is designed, as the name of the series implies, "to put the reader on target."

Upcoming lecture: Farming, Food Security, and Climate Change

This illustrated lecture, the first in a series of programs in 2009, is presented through a partnership between the Library’s Science, Technology and Business Division and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

Molly E. Brown, a research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will describe the global food system, how climate change will differentially affect the poorest countries with subsistence agricultural systems, and how local agricultural capacity continues to be at the center of food provision for many of the world’s poorest. As climate change exerts pressure on global food production, the importance of other social, political and economic pressures on the system emerge.

Tuesday March 3, 2009
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627

Science Reference Guide: Cooking with Love and Chocolate

Just in time for Valentine's Day! This guide lists selected titles from the Library of Congress collection on cooking with love and chocolate.

Science Reference Guide: Chocoloate

A selected list of cooking with chocolate and history of chocolate books. Also listed are Web sites about chocolate. Happy Valentine's Day.

Upcoming lecture: Charles Darwin, Geologist

Library of Congress Celebrates Darwin's Bicentennial With Lecture By Sandra Herbert, Feb. 18.

The Science, Technology and Business Division of the Library of Congress will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth with a lecture by Sandra Herbert, one of the world’s leading authorities on Darwin. She will discuss her book "Charles Darwin, Geologist," which explores how geology changed Darwin and how Darwin changed science.

Herbert will lecture at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in the Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. A book-signing will follow the lecture, and the science reference staff will display Darwin items from the Library’s collections.

The event is free and open to the public; tickets or reservations are not needed.

New Everyday Mystery: Is a coconut a fruit, nut or seed?

This mystery explains how botanists classify the coconut.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Biotechnology

While the term "biotechnology" covers a very broad area, this guide focuses on the most recent uses of biotechnology in its four major fields: 1. medicine (vaccine development, chemotherapy drugs, stem cell therapy, gene therapy, and pharmacogenomics); 2. agriculture (genetically modified organisms and cloning); 3. energy and environment (biofuel and waste management); and 4. the bioethical and legal implications of biotechnology.

This guide updates and replaces TB 84-7, and furnishes a review of the literature in the collections of the Library of Congress on the topic. Not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, this compilation is designed--as the name of the series implies--to put the reader "on target."

New Science Reference Guide: Presidential Food

This 8-page guide provides references to books, magazine articles, and Internet resources chronicling the history of presidential food and entertaining of the Chief Executive and his family both in and out of the White House.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy is the interdisciplinary study of prehistoric, ancient, and traditional astronomies within their cultural context. Its sources include both written and archaeological remains and it embraces calendrics, practical observation, sky lore, celestial myth, and more. Its true scope establishes it as an âanthropology of astronomy.â

This guide is intended to provide a selection of resources on archaeoastronomy.

Everyday Mystery: What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

Fun science facts for your Thanksgiving holiday.

Everyday Mystery: What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

Fun science facts for your Thanksgiving holiday.

Everyday Mystery: How did the squash get its name?

Fun Science facts for your Thanksgiving holiday.

Everyday Mystery: Why do turkeys have dark and white meat?

Fun science facts for your Thanksgiving holiday.

Music and the Brain Lecture Series

The Library of Congress presents a thought-provoking two-year cycle of lectures and special presentations that highlight an explosion of new research in the rapidly expanding field of "neuromusic."

Presented by the Library's Music Division and the Science, Technology and Business Division, through the generous support of the Dana Foundation. Project Chair, Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, Psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry, Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Biomass Energy

Almost any combustible organic matter can potentially be used as an energy source. Biomass is typically defined as any organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis. Materials from biomass can be used as fuel (biofuels), biobased chemicals (bioproducts), or for energy production (bioenergy).

This guide is not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, but rather highlights selected works and resources about biomass energy.

Updated Science Reference Guide: The Nature & Science of Autumn

A guide to selected resources on the nature and science of autumn.

New Science Reference Guide: Migration of the Monarchs

There are two main populations of monarch butterflies in North America; one in the East and one in the West--new evidence shows that these populations may intermix. Every fall, the monarch begins its migration south to an overwintering site. In the spring the monarch leaves its winter roost and heads northward, about half way back, to lay its eggs on milkweed plants. The offspring of this monarch must continue the journey north on its own. In the fall, this new generation will begin the migration cycle south. To learn more about these amazing creatures, this guide lists selected titles, journal articles and Web sites about monarch butterflies, conservation initiatives, and migration projects.

New Science Reference Guide: Space Based Ornithology

This reference guide highlights the literature on using remote sensing to study bird migration. This guide supplemented Dr. James A. Smith's lecture "Space-Based Ornithology: On the Wings of Migration and Biophysics" on September 10, 2008.

Upcoming event: Space-Based Ornithology to be Discussed By NASA Scientist

Dr. James Smith's talk will cover his development of tools that might help to answer questions on how drought, floods and changing climate affect bird migration, and how human alterations to wetland geography may affect migratory patterns.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008
11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m
Mary Pickford Theater, third floor of the Madison Building, Library of Congress 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627

New Science Reference Guide: Beer and Brewing

A guide of selected resources on the history and science of beer and brewing from the Library of Congress collections.

New Science Reference Guide: Aeronautics- A Selected Bibliography

A guide to books used in preparing Aeronautical and Astronautical Resources of the Library of Congress: A Comprehensive Guide. This guide was compiled to accompany a talk by Tom Crouch, senior curator of the Division of Aeronautics at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, on October 24, 2007, at the Library of Congress. His talk, "Aeronautics at the Library of Congress: Forty Years of One User's Expertise." celebrated the publication of a Library of Congress book, Aeronautical and Astronautical Resources of the Library of Congress: A Comprehensive Guide.

New Science Reference Guide: Podcasts, Webcasts & Other Digital Media Files

A quick guide to sources for Podcasts, Webcasts & Other Digital Media Files in Science and Technology.

Update of LC Science Tracer Bullet: Wind Power

Wind power or wind energy is the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity and is one of the fastest-growing forms of electricity generation in the world. An update of TB 81-5, this guide is a review of the literature in the Library's collections on wind power with an emphasis on recent material.

Update: Japanese Science, Technology, and Medicine

An update of Selected Internet Resources for Japanese Science, Technology and Medicine.

New Web cast: Earth's Water Cycle in a Changing Climate

Water is always in motion, changing from liquid to water vapor to ice - on, under and over the surface of the Earth. A leading NASA scientist explained how this water cycle can be affected by a warming climate and what we might expect for the future. Peter Hildebrand, chief of the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, discussed "Earth's Water Cycle in a Changing Climate."

New Science Reference Guide: Earth's Water Cycle and Climate Change

A selected reading list of water cycle and climate change books.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Infrastructure and Public Works

This guide, an update of TB 91-2, furnishes a review of the literature in the collections of the Library of Congress about the public infrastructure, its history and development, and proposals for its maintenance and improvement.

New Science Reference Guide: Solar Ovens and Solar Cooking

Cooking with the sun's power is a fun way to use a renewable resource, and with excellent results. This guide lists books on solar oven design, solar cookbooks and Internet resources for the solar chef.

New Web cast: Avoiding the Fate of the Mayans

Upcoming Event: "Earth's Water Cycle in a Changing Climate" To Be Discussed By NASA Scientist, June 4

Water is always in motion, changing from liquid to water vapor to ice – on, under and over the surface of the Earth. A leading NASA scientist will explain how this water cycle can be affected by a warming climate and what we might expect for the future.
Peter Hildebrand, chief of the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will discuss "Earth’s Water Cycle in a Changing Climate" at the Library of Congress at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

New Everyday Mystery: How does a stone "skip" across water?

When skipping stones spin, speed, shape and angle are the crucial factors, with angle being the most important.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Science Education

Science matters. Almost no one disagrees. Agreement on how science is taught, the curriculum designed, the method used, and the measure of literacy achieved is quite another matter. Almost everyone has an opinion or suggestion. This compilation provides references and resources that highlight methods, curricula, standards, and strategies that promote learning in the nation’s elementary, middle, and secondary schools. Many of the books and resources list activities and projects designed to engage and capture the imagination of the K-12 student. Some provide incentives and novel ideas for science teachers, methods of integrating standards into the classroom, or new ways of making connections between mathematics and science, looking at physics, or exploring the environment. Other materials seek to inspire and enthuse both teacher and student, to encourage further study and/or careers in the sciences, or to advance science literacy through the school into the community.

Upcoming Lecture: Avoiding the Fate of the Mayans

The Maya civilization, at its peak, was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world. But after flourishing for a thousand years, it abruptly disappeared. Thanks to Landsat satellite data and climate models, NASA archaeologist Tom Sever has gained insights into the event known as the Maya Collapse. His findings can inform our lives today.

Sever will present a lecture at the Library of Congress titled "Avoiding the Fate of the Mayans" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664

New Science Reference Guide: Earth Day

A guide to online resources produced by the Science Reference Section of the Library of Congress as well as relevant sites from other organizations.

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Time

Before the development of modern science, and for most of human existence, time was perceived as a circle or spiral; a cyclical pattern of renewal and rebirth. More familiar to us now is the Western tradition of linear time, a forward moving direction, a flow that represents a line between the past and the future implicit with the idea of progress. As the discoveries of evolution have come to underpin most of modern science so the "arrow of time" has become a given in our collective consciousness.

You can'tt see it or smell or taste it or hear it, yet it is of the physical world. We witness evidence of time all around in death and decay. Yet perception of time is largely a human phenomenon and certainly we are the only creatures who measure it, apply tools to it, and create tools to use it. Time is an aspect of the natural world and the characteristics of physical time are determined by the processes of the physical world. It is the essence of cosmology, astronomy, and physics but is equally important in the disciplines of biology and geology. Certainly it is critical to modern technology. The precision of its measurement drives our daily lives.

As Tolkien wrote in The Hobbit, it is "This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town And beats high mountain down." From Newtonian to Einsteinian physics and quantum mechanics to thermodynamics and satellite communications, time is of the essence to virtually all scientific disciplines. This bibliographic guide attempts to present a selection of works across the sciences, and is not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, but is designed -- as the name Tracer Bullet implies -- to put the reader "on target."

New Science Web cast: The New Science of Addiction and What It Means to Society

Advances in science in recent decades have revolutionized the understanding of the nature of drug abuse and addiction and what society needs to do about them. According to Alan Leshner, there is now a clear understanding that drug abuse and addiction are bio-behavioral phenomena with important biological, behavioral and social-context components. Those components must be recognized in developing prevention, treatment and social-policy responses to the problems

New LC Science Tracer Bullet: Biographical Sources in the Sciences -- Life, Earth and Physical Science (1989-2006)

This guide offers a systematic approach to the wide variety of published biographical information on men and women of science in the life, earth and physical sciences, primarily from 1989 to 2006.

New Everyday Mystery: Does your heart stop when you sneeze?

Learn fun facts about sneezing and the origin of the response "God Bless You."

New Science Reference Guide: Specialized Gardens- Fragrant Gardens, Sanctuary Gardens and Evening Gardens

This guide lists selected titles from the Library of Congress collection on Fragrant Plants, Scented Gardens, Herbs, Individual Plants for Fragrance, Evening Gardens and Sanctuary Gardens.

Upcoming lecture: Gardening for Ozone Air Quality on April 8, 2008

Anne Douglass and Jeannie Allen from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will present a program at the Library of Congress titled "Gardening for Ozone Air Quality (Citizen Science)" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 8, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627

Updated: Global Warming and Climate Change Tracer Bullet

Newly revised. The following guide is intended for those who are looking for a review of the literature and vetted online resources on global warming and climate change. Materials cited are available in the collections of the Library of Congress or on the Internet.

New Science Reference Guide: The Science of Addiction

This guide gathers together selected representative titles, journals, and Internet Resources on the science of addiction.

Updated: Selected Internet Resources- Cherry Blossoms

This guide will help you find online information about cherry blossoms in Washington DC and other locations. Also included are links to information about flowering cherry trees.

New Science Reference Guide: Parking and Parking Structures: A Selected Bibliography

A list of books used in a display to augment architect Shannon Sanders McDonald's lecture, "Designing for Man, Machine, and Movement: The Parking Garage." The bibliography will be of interest to those researching parking structures, automobiles, and urban planning. Many of these titles were used by McDonald in writing her Parking Garage: Design and Evolution of a Modern Urban Form (Washington, Urban Land Institute, 2008. 312 p.)

New Web cast: Discovery! The Search for Arabian Oil

The world was forever changed when American geologists and engineers in the 1930s and 1940s discovered oil in Saudi Arabia and developed the Middle Eastern oil industry. Timothy J. Barger and Thomas W. Lippman examined this significant period in history when they discussed a book by the late, award-winning author Wallace Stegner titled "Discovery! The Search for Arabian Oil."

New Web cast: The Parking Garage and Its Impact on Urban Planning

The parking garage, often considered a dull and forgettable structure, is a crucial element of building design and urban planning. Architect Shannon Sanders McDonald discussed "Designing for Man, Machine and Movement: The Parking Garage."

New Science Reference Guide: Chocolate- A Resource Guide

Just in time for Valentine's Day! This guide lists selected titles from the Library of Congress collection on cooking with chocolate and the history of chocolate. Also included are selected Web sites about chocolate.

New Everyday Mystery: What is the strongest muscle in the human body?

This mystery lists the muscles that have been deemed the strongest based on various definitions of strength.

Upcoming Lecture: New Science of Addiction and What It Means to Society

Alan Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), will discuss "The New Science of Addiction and What It Means for Society" at the Library of Congress at noon on Tuesday, March 4, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.
Free and Open to the Public
Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Tomoko Steen (202) 707-5664

Upcoming Lecture: The Parking Garage and Its Impact on Urban Planning

The parking garage, often considered a dull and forgettable structure, is a crucial element of building design and urban planning.

Architect Shannon Sanders McDonald will discuss "Designing for Man, Machine and Movement: The Parking Garage" at the Library of Congress at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15, in the West Dining Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: John Budyos (202) 707-1191

New Web Cast: Aeronautics at the Library of Congress- Forty Years of One User's Experience

A nationally known aviation historian and biographer of the Wright brothers, Tom Crouch has been mining the treasures of the Library of Congress for more than four decades. Crouch discussed the Library of Congress collections, and his many hours searching through materials.
The occasion of the lecture was to celebrate the publication of a Library of Congress book titled "Aeronautical and Astronautical Resources of the Library of Congress: A Comprehensive Guide."

New Science Reference Guide: Food Writing

Not intended to be a comprehensive bibliography, this guide gathers together selected representative food writing. It is limited to works in English, most of which were published within the past 50 years.

New Web Cast: Celebrated Cookbook Editor Judith Jones

Judith Jones, celebrated editor and the first to champion Julia Child shares stories from her new memoir "The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food" (New York, Knopf, 2007). Jones, vice president and senior editor at Alfred A. Knopf, is the winner of the coveted James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award and editor of culinary luminaries such as Julia Child, James Beard, Madhur Jaffrey, Marcella Hazan, Edna Lewis and Joan Nathan.

New Web Cast: Observing, Fighting and Mitigating Damage from Wildfires

Satellites are making it possible to observe, investigate and understand wildfires in ways that are impossible from the ground. What are they showing us? In an illustrated presentation at the Library of Congress, a NASA scientist explains the profound effect of fires on Earth's natural systems and methods used to better manage these fires.

Updated Science Tracer Bullet: Science Fair Projects

Selected sources provide guidance to students, parents, and teachers throughout the process of planning, developing, implementing and competing in science fair activities. Sources range in suitability from elementary to high school levels. This guide updates LC Science Tracer Bullet 01-4. More specialized titles are listed in Space Science Projects (TB 06-3), Environmental Science Projects (TB 97-6), and Science Projects in Biology (TB 93-6). Not intended to be a comprehensive bibliography, this guide is designed--as the name of the series implies--to put the reader “on target.”

Updated Science Tracer Bullet: Food History

Interdisciplinary in nature, the history of food is a subject well suited to research using the Library’s extensive collections of cookery books, scholarly works, and bibliographies on food history. Researchers also often consult additional sources and primary materials including wartime food manuals, serials of all types, travelers’ memoirs, letters and diaries, advertising, exposition guides, and manufacturers’ pamphlets.

This guide, a revision of Library of Congress Science Tracer Bullet 04-1, focuses on works on food history. The intent is to assist researchers in identifying resources and trends in food history studies, through a broad sampling of writings and bibliographies. Rather than being a comprehensive listing, the titles listed here are intended to give an idea of the breadth of information available, with the focus being on works published in English, during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, and mainly in the United States, though other time periods and areas have occasionally been included. Not intended to be a comprehensive bibliography, this guide is designed--as the name of the series implies--to put the reader “on target.”

New Science Tracer Bullet: Extraterrestrial Life

Extraterrestrial life is life that originated any place but on Earth. Although its existence remains purely hypothetical, due to the lack of universally accepted scientific evidence, there are several hypotheses about how and where life might have emerged elsewhere in the Universe, and whether or not those origins resemble the origins of life on Earth. The origin of all life and the search for its existence in extraterrestrial locales is the focus of this Science Tracer Bullet

Upcoming lecture: Celebrated Cookbook Editor Judith Jones To Speak on Nov. 5

Culinary historians, food lovers and cookbook readers will want to mark their calendars for Nov. 5, when Judith Jones, celebrated editor and the first to champion Julia Child, will speak at the Library of Congress.
Jones, author of "The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food," will start her talk at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 5, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

For more information contact Constance Carter 202-707-1205

New Everyday Mystery: How can you tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth?

Learn how to identify the difference between butterflies and moths.

New Journeys & Crossings Webcast: School Gardens

Constance Carter, Head of the Science Reference Section, Library of Congress, describes the history of the school garden in America and offers reasons why school gardens are making a comeback.

New Library of Congress Tracer Bullet: Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is practice in agricultural pest control, which utilizes biological control techniques, but also uses chemical pesticides as a last resort. This guide updates TB 82-6, Biological Control of Insects, and provides a representative sample of Library of Congress titles on the control of agricultural pests.

New Science Reference Guide: 1957-2007 Sputnik and the Space Race

A guide to selected resources on the 50th anniversary of Sputnik and the Space Race.

Upcoming lecture: Observing, Fighting and Mitigating Damage from Wildfires

Satellites are making it possible to observe, investigate and understand wildfires in ways that are impossible from the ground. Compton J. Tucker will discuss "Observing, Fighting and Mitigating Damage from Wildfires" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17, in Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Upcoming lecture: Aeronautics at the Library of Congress- Forty Years of One User’s Experience

A nationally known aviation historian and biographer of the Wright brothers, Tom Crouch will discuss "Aeronautics at the Library of Congress: Forty Years of One User’s Experience." The talk will start at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison .Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.
The occasion of the lecture is to celebrate the future publication of a Library of Congress book titled "Aeronautical and Astronautical Resources of the Library of Congress: A Comprehensive Guide."

New Science Reference Guide: Human Impacts on the Biosphere

A bibliographic guide to selected books, articles and Internet resources about the effects of human activity on the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships.

New Everyday Mystery: What are stem cells?

Fun science facts from the Library of Congress.

Updated: Selected Internet Resources on the Migration of the Monarch

The southerly migration of the monarchs has begun! This guide lists Web sites about butterflies, monarch migration projects and monarch conservation initiatives.

New Science Tracer Bullet: Batteries, Supercapacitors, and Fuel Cells

This guide lists informative sources on three types of electrochemical energy storage systems: batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells.

New Webcast: Pamela Peak Discusses "Fit To Live"

Have you indulged in too many hot dogs and ice cream cones this summer? Failed to carry out the well-meant exercise program? It might be time to heed the advice of Pamela Peeke, the medical doctor who recently published "Fit to Live: The Five-Point Plan to Be Lean, Strong and Fearless for Life." Peeke discussed her new book at the Library of Congress in a program sponsored by the Science, Technology and Business Division.

Everyday Mystery: Why don’t I fall out when a roller coaster goes upside down?

Have you ever wondered how roller coasters stay on their tracks and why people can hang upside down in them? It’s all a matter of physics: energy, inertia, and gravity.

New Science Tracer Bullet: Nuclear Weapons

This bibliography provides an overview of reference and research materials on Nuclear Weapons, with an emphasis on materials available in the Library of Congress and the World Wide Web.

New Science Reference Guide- "Origins of Life in the Universe"

This guide introduces hypotheses of the origin of life by the pioneers in the field.

New Web cast: Nobel Laureates on the Origins of Life and the Universe

Two 2006 Nobel Prize winners addressed the fundamental questions pondered by many through the ages: "On the Origins of Life and the Universe: An Afternoon with 2006 Nobel Laureates Craig Mello and John Mather."

LC Tracer Bullet: Edible Wild Plants

The following guide is intended to help readers locate relevant sources of information for the identification, harvesting, and preparation of wild plants that may be used for food, e.g., berries, mushrooms, flowers, leaves, seeds, and roots. Materials cited are available in the collections of the Library of Congress or on the Internet. Emphasis is on plants found in North America.

Upcoming lecture: Health Expert Pamela Peeke To Discuss "Fit To Live" on Aug. 2

Peeke will discuss her new book "Fit to Live" at the Library of Congress at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2 in the Mumford Room, 6th floor, Madison Building.

Upcoming lecture: Origins of Life and Universe by Nobel Scientists John Mather and Craig Mello

Two 2006 Nobel Prize winners will address the fundamental questions pondered by many through the ages: the origins of life and the universe on July 26, 2007 from 2:00- 4:00 pm in room 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so arrive early.

Science Reference Guide: The Origins of Life & the Universe

This is a guide to selected titles and Internet resources about the origins of life and the universe.

Selected Internet Resources: Ice Cream

A guide to Internet sources on the chemistry and history of ice cream.

New Webcast: Who Left the Freezer Door Open? What the Poles Are Telling Us About Climate Change

NASA scientist Robert A. Bindschadler discussed the latest space-based observations on the warming of the polar regions in a lecture at the Library of Congress.

New Webcast: Honey Bees, Satellites and Climate Change

Life isn't what it used to be for honey bees in Maryland. The latest changes in their world were discussed by NASA scientist Wayne Esaias, a biological oceanographer with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

New Webcast: Jim Crawford and Samuel Fromartz Discuss Organic Farming

Farmer Jim Crawford and business journalist Samuel Fromartz explored organic farming issues.

New Everyday Mystery: Is it possible to fry an egg on the street if it's hot enough?

Fun science facts from the Library of Congress!

Bibliographies & Research Guides Listed by Subject -- Environmental Sciences

A subject guide that lists the bibliographies and guides prepared by the Science Reference Section, as well as Webcasts of speakers who presented at the Library of Congress on related topics.

Everyday Mystery: What is the smallest flower in the world?

Fun science facts from the Library of Congress!

Essay: George Washington and the First Mass Military Inoculation

Another first for George Washington. Research on the father of our country reveals he was also the first to order mass inoculations of troops.

Everyday Mystery: What are the northern lights?

Fun science facts from the Library of Congress!

Upcoming Lecture: Jim Crawford and Samuel Fromartz to Discuss Organic Farming

Organic farming and the organic food industry will be the subjects of a program sponsored by the Science, Technology & Business Division at the Library of Congress on Wed., May 23, at 11:30, Dining Rm A, 6th floor, Madison Building. Speakers will be Pennsylvania small-scale organic farmer Jim Crawford and Sam Fromartz, journalist and author of Organic, Inc. (2006), which will be available for sale and signing.

Webcast: Food Politics with Marion Nestle

With the variety and abundance of foods available in today's market, how do consumers make wise food choices? Marion Nestle, a New York University professor of nutrition, discussed "Food Politics: What to East in Today's Era of Food Anxiety."

Science Reference Guide: Rachel Carson

Conservationist and scientist, Rachel Carson was born May 27, 1907. In observance of the 100th anniversary of her birth, this bibliography lists books and articles available at the Library of Congress authored by and about Miss Carson, in addition to internet resources. A selection of material from this bibliography is on display in the Science and Business Reading Room <http://www.loc.gov/loc/maps/images/5-adams.jpg>

LC Science Tracer Bullet: Kitchen Gardens

The kitchen garden, once a standard fixture of most American households, is gaining renewed attention as one component of the movement towards local, fresh and seasonal foods. The focus of this guide is on the practicalities and history of kitchen gardening.

LC Science Tracer Bullet: Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy, which is considered a renewable energy source, is derived from heat that originates in the Earth. This guide lists relevant sources of information on the direct use of hot springs, geothermal pools, water, and rocks as well as on geoexchange systems.

Science Reference Guide: Bees, Pollination and Climate Change:

Resources about bees, challenges to bees and beekeepers, the role of bees in agriculture, and the effects of climate change upon the bee populations.

Essay: The Other Green Line and the Sweetest Tomato in the World

This essay, by Professor Raymond Dwek, highlights the success of new technologies used in the greening of the Negev desert. The author is the director of the Glycobiology Institute at Oxford University and current Chair of Technology and Society in the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress.

Selected Internet Resources: Animal Welfare, Companion Animals and Veterinary Science

This guide will help you find online information about animal welfare issues, companion animals, and veterinary science topics. It has been updated to include Web links to pet food information.

Everyday Mystery: What does it mean when they say the universe is expanding?

Fun science facts from the Library of Congress! Learn about Edwin Hubble and the Big Bang Theory.

Science Reference Guide: African American Women in the Military and at War:

This bibliography lists books on African American women in the military. The guide includes biographies and materials discussing the cultural and social aspects of African American women in the military.

Everyday Mystery: Are black-eyed peas really peas?

Fun science facts from the Library of Congress. Learn about black-eyed peas.

Updated: Solar Energy 06-5, Science Tracer Bullet

This compilation updates Library of Congress Science Tracer Bullet 92-4, emphasizing the literature on three solar topics--passive solar architecture, photovoltaics, and solar thermal engineering. However, many of the sources listed in the Abstracting and Indexing Services Section also provide references to literature on other aspects of solar energy and its applications. Not intended to be a comprehensive bibliography, this guide is designed--as the name of the series implies--to put the readers “on target.”

Updated: Astronomy - Selected Internet Resources

Astronomy - Selected Internet Resources has been updated. New features: Current Missions and Everyday Mysteries in Astronomy.

Upcoming Lecture: Honey Bees, Satellites and Climate Change

Life isn’t what it used to be for honey bees in Maryland. The latest changes in their world will be discussed by NASA scientist Wayne Esaias in an illustrated lecture at the Library of Congress:
Tuesday, April 3 at 11:30 pm
Mary Pickford Theater, James Madison Building

LC Science Tracer Bullet: Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Combustion Process

This guide lists relevant sources of information on alternative fuel vehicles and includes electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and personal transportation vehicles, as well as the technology of fuel economy and alternative fuels. It also includes advanced autoignition and lean-burn combustion processes for improving engine fuel economy.

Selected Internet Resources - Cherry Blossoms

This guide will help you find online information about cherry blossoms in Washington DC and other locations. Also included are links to information about flowering cherry trees.

Selected Internet Resources - Spring Peeper

All of these sites include images of spring peepers, and many have recordings of their song.

Women in Horticulture: Science Reference Guide

A selected reading list of general works and books about or by individual women.

Everday Mystery: Mosquitoes

Everyday Mystery: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress! Why do mosquitoes bite me and not my friend?

Biographical Sources in the Sciences -- General Works and National Sources (Updated Science Tracer Bullet)

Science Tracer Bullet on sources of biographical information related to the Sciences.

"The Library of Congress SCIENCE TRACER BULLET SERIES contains research guides that help you locate information on science and technology subjects. With brief introductions to the topics, lists of resources and strategies for finding more, they help you to stay "on target." International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) 0090-5232." List of online Science Tracer Bullets can be found at this URL: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/tbs.html

Adams public areas closed Frid 9:30-10:30 for security drill

PLEASE NOTE:
Friday, Feb. 23, from 9:30 am - 10:30 am. There will be a security drill. No one will be allowed to enter or exit the Science & Business Reading Room, the Adams Computer Catalog Center, or the Book Service Desk area during this time. All are located on the 5th floor of the Adams Building.

Everday Mystery: How does skywriting and skytyping work?

New Everyday Mystery: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress! Find out how skywriting and skytyping works.

Lecture: Library Author To Share Classic Advice on Love Feb.14

Ever wonder what romance and courtship was like in the 1880s, 1920s or the 1960s? Author Grotke will take a step back in time and show how classic advice books from the 1820s to the 1970s can help solve dilemmas in modern relationships.

Webcast: Highlighting African Americans in Health Sciences- Tried-and-True Home Remedies.

Dr. Lillian Beard, a practicing pediatrician, discusses her book "Salt in Your Sock and Other Tried-and-True Home Remedies." Beard has made a career of compiling recipes for wellness from her patients and colleagues.

Webcast: Highlighting leading African Americans in the Health Sciences- Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among African Americans. Dr. Eve J. Higginbotham discusses what we have learned from clinical trials in Glaucoma.

Selected Internet Resources: African Americans in Science and Technology

Learn more about the contributions that African Americans have made to Science and Technology.

Science Reference Guide:African American Health and Wellness

For February's African American Heritage Month the Science Reference Section created a selected reading list about African American Health and Wellness topics.

Webcast: Dr. Robert Shiller speaks on "What to Do about Worsening Economic Inequality? The Rising Tide Tax System and Other Proposals"

Event Sponsored by the Science, Technology
and Business Division. Dr. Shiller is the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics at Yale University. He is the author of several books, including The New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century and Irrational Exuberance.

Lecture: NASA Scientist to Discuss Climate Changes in Polar Regions Jan. 24

Bob Bindschadler, Chief Scientist, Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), will present on "Who Left the Freezer Door Open? What the Poles Are Telling Us about Climate Change."
Wed., Jan. 24, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. West Dining Room, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Everyday Mystery: Is a polar bear’s fur transparent?

Everyday Mystery: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress! At one time it was suggested that the polar bear hairs might have some of the properties of optical fibers...

LC Science Tracer Bullet: Global Warming and Climate Change

The following guide is intended for those who are looking for a review of the literature and vetted online resources on global warming and climate change. Materials cited are available in the collections of the Library of Congress or on the Internet.

LC Science Tracer Bullet: Green Roofs

Green roofs, widely implemented in Germany, Switzerland, and other European countries, as well as in Canada, are becoming increasingly well known in the United States...

Everyday Mystery: Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike?

Everyday Mystery: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress! Learn about snowflakes and snow crystals.

Selected Internet Resources: Astronomy

Selected Internet Resources in Astronomy has been updated. Web links to current missions has been added.

Webcast: Bob Ryan speaks on weather forecasting

New Webcast. Bob Ryan has been NBC4's chief meteorologist since 1980, making him the longest-serving weathercaster in Washington. Mr. Ryan speaks on the history of weather forecasting and climate change.

LC Science Tracer Bullet: Space Science Projects

This guide provides information resources and sources for students, parents and teachers as they plan, develop, implement and compete in science fair activities related to space science.

Everyday Mysteries: Who invented electric Christmas lights?

New Everyday Mystery: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress! Find out about the history of electric Christmas lights.

Upcoming Events in 2007: Speakers sponsored by the Science, Technology and Business Division

Wed., Jan. 24, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Bob Bindschadler, Chief Scientist, Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), will present on "Who Left the Freezer Door Open? What the Poles Are Telling Us about Climate Change." West Dining Room, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Mon., Feb. 05, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Tim Harford, columnist, of Financial Times and Slate, will speak on his book, "The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich are Rich, the Poor are Poor -- and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car." The book is part field guide to economics and part expose of how economic forces shape our lives, often without our knowing it. West Dining Room, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Wed, Feb. 14, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Abbie Grotke, Library of Congress staff member, will speak on her book, "Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage: Classic Advice for Contemporary Dilemmas." West Dining Room, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Wed, Mar. 21, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Mark Nash, realtor and author, will speak on his book, "1001 Tips for Buying & Selling a Home." Dining Room A, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Tues, April 3, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Wayne Esaias, Ocean Sciences Branch, NASA GSFC, will present on "Honey Bees, Satellites, and Climate Change." Mary Pickford Theater, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Wed, Apr. 18, 2007
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Dr. Marion Nestle, NYU professor, author and food industry critic, will speak on her books "Food Politics," "Safe Food" and "What to Eat." Mumford Room, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Wed, June 27, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Marc Imhoff, Terra Project Scientist, NASA GSFC, will present on "City Lights, Spy Satellites, and Urban Sprawl." Dining Room A, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Oct 17, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Predicting, Observing, and Mitigating Damage from Severe Storms, Volcanoes, Fires, Floods, and Earthquakes. More information about this presentation will be posted in the future.
Dining Room A, James Madison Building, Library of Congress.

Webcast: Joan Nathan speaks on "The New American Cooking"

New Webcast: Award-winning author of numerous cookery books, Joan Nathan speaks about her latest book, The New American Cooking, at the Library of Congress.

Everyday Mysteries: How did the squash get its name?

New Everyday Mystery: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress! Find out how the squash got its name?

Everyday Mysteries: Why do pigeons bob their heads when they walk?

New Everyday Mystery: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress! Find out about why pigeons bob their heads when they walk.

Welcome to the Science Reference Service news feed at the Library of Congress