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George Beadle crossed an Argentine popcorn varietal with teosinte (left) and selected the smallest progeny to create a ‘reconstructed’ ear of ancient maize(right). Beadle, a winner of the Nobel Prize in 1958 for his work uncovering the expression of genes as enzymes, had posed the “teosinte hypothesis” in his youth, and spent his retirement on an elaborate crossbreeding project to persuade skeptics that maize was domesticated from teosinte, producing evidence of selection on as few as four or five major genes. Genetic sequencing of Zea mays has confirmed his hypothesis. Credit, John Doebley.
Before there was corn (Zea mays subsp. mays), and corn ruled the world, there was Read more
WHITE HOUSE: OBAMA PROPOSES CLIMATE FUND AMONG ACTIONS TO ADDRESS DROUGHT On Feb. 14, President Read more
Mary Agnes Chase (1869 - 1963) photographed on Pico das Agulhas Negras (9,157 ft) during field work in Brazil in 1924 or 1925. Chase surmounted a limited formal education and institutional barriers to become the foremost expert on grasses of the early twentieth century, publishing over 70 papers and conducting extensive field work in the Americas. She also risked arrest, and the ire of her employers at the USDA, to demonstrate for women's suffrage and self determination. Smithsonian Institution Archives SIA RU000229, Box 20, Folder 1; Field Book Project.
In May 2013, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment published a controversial article on "The Read more
Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston.  Read more
IPBES Science and Policy for People and Nature
Would you like to be a member of a platform to improve the role of Read more
Southeast Asia’s R&D performance shoots up through the aughts, eclipsing US A Feb. 11 Capitol Read more
Legislative Tracker

Legislative Tracker

ESA tracks legislation relevant to the ecological community. This legislative tracker can be sorted by sponsor, committee, status and more.

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Federal Budget Tracker

Federal Budget Tracker

ESA’s Federal Budget Tracker monitors the federal appropriations process and provides information on budgets relevant to ecological sciences.

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Federal Register Tracker

Federal Register Tracker

ESA tracks upcoming meetings and current public comment opportunities on issues relevant to ecology through the Federal Register tracker.

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National Nature Assessement

National Nature Assessement

The first ever National Nature Assessment report will assess the state of the U.S.’s lands, waters and wildlife and the specific benefits that they provide. Check this page for updates from ESA about this report and process.

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Policy News

Policy News

The Ecological Society of America’s Policy News provides bi-monthly summaries of major environmental and science policy news.

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Society News

Society News

Select the following link for our Science Policy main page.

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