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NPS Collections Available To Researchers

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The National Park Service's natural history collections soon will be available to outside researchers for the first time, under a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution.

Under the agreement signed this week, the NPS will maintain ownership of its thousands of specimens, but the Smithsonian will permanently take over custodial care of the collection. The Smithsonian's Under Secretary for Science Eva Pell says the museum and research complex can enhance care and access by working with the park service.

Among other things, the collection includes 138 specimens discovered in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina that are being documented to establish new species. It also holds 3,000 specimens from Potomac River Gorge, and along Virginia's George Washington Memorial Parkway.

NPR

Book News: Alice Munro, Author Of Pensive Short Stories, May Retire

Also: The Apple ebook trial wraps up; the unique horror of Kafka's stories; James Salter's woman troubles.
NPR

And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is ... The Man From Monsanto

The prize is sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture." And this year's winners include Monsanto executive Robert Fraley, a pioneer in genetically engineered crops. If there's a single person who personifies the company's controversial role in American agriculture, it's probably Fraley.
WAMU 88.5

Associate Of D.C. Businessman To Plead Guilty To Making Straw Political Donations

Lee Calhoun, a former associate of the D.C. businessman at the center of a wide-ranging investigation into D.C. corruption, is said to have made campaign contributions in the names of other people.

NPR

In More Cities, A Camera On Every Corner, Park And Sidewalk

A growing number of cities are using surveillance cameras in the hope of fighting crime, but all that video is almost useless without powerful search tools to sort the material. The municipal camera trend is proving to be big business for companies that design video analytics software.

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