The U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has been a leader in weed science research covering topics ranging from the development and use of integrated weed management (IWM) tactics to basic mechanistic studies, including biotic resistance of desirable plant communities and herbicide resistance. ARS weed scientists have worked in agricultural and natural ecosystems, including agronomic and horticultural crops, pastures, forests, wild lands, aquatic habitats, wetlands, and riparian areas. Through strong partnerships with academia, state agencies, private industry, and numerous federal programs, ARS weed scientists have made contributions to discoveries in the newest fields of robotics and genetics, as well as the traditional and fundamental subjects of weed–crop competition and physiology and integration of weed control tactics and practices. Weed science at ARS is often overshadowed by other research topics; thus, few are aware of the long history of ARS weed science and its important contributions. This review is the result of a symposium held at the Weed Science Society of America’s 62nd Annual Meeting in 2022 that included 10 separate presentations in a virtual Weed Science Webinar Series. The overarching themes of management tactics (IWM, biological control, and automation), basic mechanisms (competition, invasive plant genetics, and herbicide resistance), and ecosystem impacts (invasive plant spread, climate change, conservation, and restoration) represent core ARS weed science research that is dynamic and efficacious and has been a significant component of the agency’s national and international efforts. This review highlights current studies and future directions that exemplify the science and collaborative relationships both within and outside ARS. Given the constraints of weeds and invasive plants on all aspects of food, feed, and fiber systems, there is an acknowledged need to face new challenges, including agriculture and natural resources sustainability, economic resilience and reliability, and societal health and well-being.

The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) is a new ground-based survey for transiting exoplanets. Our primary goal is to find the first statistically-significant sample of Neptunes and super-Earths that are bright enough for radial velocity confirmation. By measuring precise masses and radii we will constrain the bulk composition and internal structure of planets that span the transition between the gas giants and terrestrial planets. Our brightest exoplanets will also be suitable for atmospheric characterisation with large facilities such as the VLT, JWST and the E-ELT. NGTS construction began in June 2013, and the survey is due to commence in 2014.

Some previous attempts to produce tetraploids experimentally have resulted in a proportion of treated embryos becoming 2n/4n mosaics at a frequency which may be as high as 20%, when using cytochalasin B as a fusigenic stimulus and cytogenetic techniques to identify putative tetraploid embryos. To investigate the possible occurrence of 4n/2n mosaicism, tetraploid embryos were produced by electrofusion, a process which allows adjacent blastomeres at the 2-cell stage to fuse following exposure to electric field pulses. Embryos used for electrofusion were hemizygous for a transgene consisting of approximately 1000 copies of the mouse β-globin gene. After in situ hybridization, one hybridization signal is expected per diploid genome. Tetraploid cells in 7·5-, 8·5-, 9·5- and 10·5-day-old conceptuses were distinguished from diploid cells by performing in situ hybridization on histological sections. The frequency of nuclei with two hybridization signals in the ‘hemizygous’ tetraploid embryos was compared to diploid embryos which were either hemizygous or homozygous for the β-globin transgene. Comparison of the frequency of nuclei with two hybridization signals between tissues of ‘hemizygous’ tetraploid conceptuses and homozygous diploid conceptuses showed no significant difference, which implies that the tissues in the tetraploid conceptuses were uniformly tetraploid. No evidence was found to suggest that electrofusion results in 2n/4n mosaicism.

Acute stress elevates blood lipids, with the largest increases among men and postmenopausal women. The mechanisms for the effect are unknown, but may be due to altered lipid metabolism. This study investigated if acute stress induces transient reductions in triglyceride clearance in middle-aged men and women, and determined if gender and menopause affect triglyceride metabolism. Of the 35 women, half were premenopausal, and half were naturally postmenopausal; men (n = 35) were age matched. Clearance of an intravenously administered fat emulsion was assessed twice: once during a nonstress session, and again during a stress-testing session. During the stress session, a battery of behavioral stressors (serial subtraction, speech, mirror tracing, and Stroop) were performed for 40 min. The clearance rate of exogenous fat was significantly diminished during the stress, relative to the nonstress session. Women had more efficient clearance, relative to men, but there were no effects of menopausal status. The diminished ability to clear an intravenous fat emulsion during stress suggests one mechanism for stress-induced elevations in lipids.

We provide detailed contextual information on 25 14C dates for unusually well-preserved archaeological and paleontological remains from Daisy Cave. Paleontological materials, including faunal and floral remains, have been recovered from deposits spanning roughly the past 16,000 yr, while archaeological materials date back to ca. 10,500 BP. Multidisciplinary investigations at the site provide a detailed record of environmental and cultural changes on San Miguel Island during this time period. This record includes evidence for the local or regional extinction of a number of animal species, as well as some of the earliest evidence for the human use of boats and other maritime activities in the Americas. Data from Daisy Cave contribute to a growing body of evidence that Paleoindians had adapted to a wide variety of New World environments prior to 10,000 PB. Analysis of shell-charcoal pairs, along with isotopic analysis of associated marine shells, supports the general validity of marine shell dating, but also provides evidence for temporal fluctuations in the reservoir effect within the Santa Barbara Channel region.

Past individual-level studies of economic voting (1) have incorrectly operationalized the model they employ by using past-oriented rather than future-oriented questions and (2) have failed to examine the level of economic voting in United States Senate elections. Using the 1978 National Election Study, we show that economic voting exists in Senate but not House elections, presumably due to the differences in electoral context. Even when economic voting occurs, however, there is no guarantee that the public will influence the direction of macroeconomic policy.