December 14–18 The American Geophysical Union meets in San Francisco. See www.agu.org/meetings January 10–14 Researchers convene in Washington, D.C. to discuss threats posed by invasive species. Go to www.nisaw.org for agenda February 16 Deadline to submit videos about the personal impacts of neurological illnesses to the 2010 Neuro Film Festival. See www.neurofilmfestival.com (p. 4)

INSECTS WINNING RESISTANCE BATTLE — Insects appear to be winning the costly battle — $500,000 is spent each year on control — to keep them in check. Resistance to insecticides is now virtually nation-wide according to results of an extensive study.… Resistance can take many forms, research has shown. Some of these are: slow rate of absorption which prevents the insect’s getting a lethal dose of insecticide ... or, avoidance of the insecticide such as is seen by some insects changing their normal habitat. The chemical industry, which produced some 575,000,000 pounds of pesticid... (p. 4)

Jovian scars Page 8 of the August 29, 2009, Science News shows a dark impact scar on Jupiter’s surface. Similar dark areas appeared when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit. Why are they dark? Clearly, we are not seeing any “subsurface dirt.” Also, the color cannot be due to some dark underlying gas. Could it be an enormous depression in the cloud cover, the bottom of which the light does not reach? Raul Pettai, Montville, N.J. Glenn Orton of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., responds: Hard as it is to believe when you live on a planet where the dark stuff is... (p. 30)

November 23–24 Global health experts and researchers meet in Toronto to discuss swine flu. Visit new-fields.com/isfc_canada December 5–9 The American Society for Cell Biology hosts its annual meeting in San Diego. See www.ascb.org/meetings December 7–18 World leaders and U.N. representatives meet in Copenhagen to hash out a global climate agreement. Visit en.cop15.dk (p. 4)

More psychiatrists today but still only 1 to 16,400 —  Although the total number of psychiatrists in the United States has increased 21% in the last three years, there are still very few in proportion to the population, especially in remote regions away from the big cities.… The U.S. now has on an average one psychiatrist for every 16,400 persons. But in North Dakota there is only one for every 72,000 persons. South Carolina and Alabama also have ratios of more than 65,000 persons to each psychiatrist. The psychiatrists in the U.S., few in number though they are, do not devote al... (p. 4)

Slumber science Your October 24 issue featuring sleep research was very interesting and helpful. However, it did not cover any research being done — there may be none — relating to the human brain and modern changes to the nighttime environment. For most of human history, not much activity could take place at night. The diurnal cycle of light and darkness and the yearly seasons north and south of the equator must have had great influences on our development, response, brain activity and sleep. Man and the other biota with brains all developed when these cycles of inactivity domi... (p. 29)

November 18 Last day entries for the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search will be accepted. Download forms at www.societyforscience.org November 24 Biologist E.O. Wilson and others lecture at Harvard on the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s Origin of Species. Sign up for viewings at darwinlecture4.eventbrite.com November 30 Meeting for scientists and policy makers on Antarctic research begins in Washington, D.C. See www.atsummit50.aq (p. 4)

Russians release photos of moon’s far side — Russian scientists have released a photograph of the far side of the moon as taken from U.S.S.R. satellite Lunik III. The photograph on the cover of this week’s Science News Letter shows the far side of the moon. Soviet astronomers identify the long solid lines as the moon’s equator. The heavy broken line at the left separates the part of the moon visible from the earth from the portion that cannot be seen....The apparent lack of craters and seas across much of the far side of the moon seems to corroborate a theory that predicted thi... (p. 4)

Sore words I don’t usually write to magazines, and I’ve never written to yours before, though I’ve enjoyed and learned much from it for many years thanks to it being produced in Braille. But I couldn’t let your article on swearing relieving pain [“%&#$!” makes you feel better,” (SN: 8/1/09, p. 9)] go by. Without wishing to offend anyone or sound like a self-righteous prig, I still must say it’s sad when science and research gives folks an excuse for doing what so many people do too much of already. Why didn’t those studying this subject check out a couple oth... (p. 31)

November 4–8 Clinicians and researchers meet in San Diego to discuss advances in psychiatric genetics. Visit www.ispg2009.org Through November 21 Watch Gearing Up, a documentary about the FIRST robotics competition. For local listings, see www.gearingupproject.org December 15 Nominations deadline for the Kavli Prizes in nanoscience, neuroscience and astrophysics. Get form at www.kavliprize.no (p. 4)

Sons with ulcers have dominant mothers — Men who get duodenal ulcers early in life tend to have dominant mothers and submissive fathers. In a Medical Research Council report, a research team recorded that two-thirds of a group of men who got ulcers before they were 25 had mothers who were “dominant and controlling personalities and made the major decisions in their families.” These mothers were often “very conscientious women with a high sense of duty who were exceedingly houseproud and devoted to efficient routine.” … Among the various factors considered were the fathers of... (p. 4)

Biofuel feedback “The biofuel future” (SN: 8/1/09, p. 24) proved very enjoyable reading. However, the future and direction of biofuels will be determined by politicians, not scientists. Scientists seem to use crazy things like facts, research and logic to determine the most efficient way to convert plants to fuel. I find it incredible that we are now converting food-grade corn into fuel, when so many children in the world are starving. Seems like it would be better to swap corn for crude oil and feed people. Richard Garon, Gonzales, La. I very much enjoyed this article. I... (p. 34)

October 18–22 The International Diabetes Federation hosts its 20th World Congress for researchers and clinicians in Montreal. Visit http://www.worlddiabetescongress.org November 11–14 National Association of Biology Teachers hosts a professional development conference in Denver. See http://www.nabt2009.org November 14 Scientists and humanities Scholars discuss the union of math and beauty at a roundtable forum in New York City. See http://philoctetes.org/Calendar (p. 4)

Reserpine Tranquilizes Chickens and Turkeys Calmer birds in the hen house are predicted with the development of a tranquilizer for chickens. A new product containing reserpine, a drug used to control high blood pressure and other human ills, has been developed.... Added to the chickens’ feed in very low concentrations it is said to help the chicken withstand stress. Treated chickens had a higher survival rate and produced more and higher quality eggs than did hens on a standard diet. They also are not bothered as much by crowding, social maladjustment, temperature extremes and disease. CI... (p. 4)

October 5–7 Nobel Committee announces medicine, physics and chemistry awards. Visit nobelprize.org November 1 Petitions for a chemistry-themed postage stamp are due to the American Chemical Society. See cenblog.org/2009/07/07 November 1–3 “Darwin in the 21st Century: Nature, Humanity and God” at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Visit nd.edu/~reilly/darwinconference.html (p. 4)