Sea nettle decline. Declining oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay may be linked to the decline of a second bay species, stinging jellyfish or sea nettles, say two scientists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md. A study by Denise Breitburg and Richard Fulford suggests that a reduction of oyster reefs in the Chesapeake, a habitat where young sea nettles safely spend the winter as polyps, is the cause of reduced sea nettle populations. In an added twist, adult sea nettles prey upon comb jellies, or ctenophores, a major predator of oyster larvae. With fewer sea nettles making it to adulthood, populations of comb jellies have risen, resulting in a negative impact on oyster larvae populations.

Cloaked planet. A planet in orbit around a star located some 60 light-years away from Earth has surprised scientists from the Spitzer Science Center and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics by its apparent lack of the common molecules water, methane and carbon dioxide. Known as HD 189773b and located in the constellation Vulpecula, the planet’s spectrum was recently analyzed by scientists using the Infrared Spectrograph aboard NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. "We think it may be cloaked in dark silicate clouds," says Astronomer David Charbonneau of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Theoretical calculations predicted that water vapor and methane would be the most evident molecules in a profile of the planet's spectrum.

Forest science. An $8 million grant from HSBC, one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations, will be used by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama to expand its Center for Tropical Forest Science into a new, coordinated Global Earth Observatory system. The new initiative will monitor the long-term effects of global change on forest dynamics and compare climate change and forest carbon data from 17 countries around the world. In addition, the project will create the largest-ever field experiment on the role of forests in regulating the quality and quantity of water flow in the Panama Canal, the most important watershed for world commerce.

Artist fellowships. Nine artists recently received fellowships from the Smithsonian to conduct research at the Institution as part of the new Artist Research Fellowship Program, a pilot program launched last year. A panel of art curators and administrators from the Smithsonian and other institutions reviewed the applications and selected the artists from among 27 nominees. The nine artists are Ghada Amer (New York), Sandow Birk (Long Beach, Calif.), Björn Dahlem (Berlin), Terence Gower (New York), Shih Chieh Huang (New York), Nene Humphrey (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Sergio Palleroni (Austin), Tim Rollins (New York) and Sue Williamson (Cape Town, South Africa). For information on the Artist Research Fellowship Program, artists may call (202) 633-5090.

Joe Louis. A pair of boxing gloves worn by American boxing legend Joe Louis during his historic first bout in 1936 with German boxer Max Schmeling was recently donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center. The gloves and accompanying photographs of Louis once belonged to Earle Cuzzens, a business partner of John Roxborough, Louis' lifelong manager. They were donated by Cuzzens' nephew, Ken Milburn.