The world´s largest choir in words and images. South America boasts the highest avian diversity and endemism in the world. Until recently, there had been no single field guide which would cover all the passerines of the "bird continent". In 2009, a field guide by R. S. Ridgely (authoritative text) and G. Tudor (meticulously detailed plates) finally filled the long-standing gap. Here, we present a review of this excellent field guide and put it into the context of previously published literature on South American birds.
The highest award for chromosome ends. The article maps briefly the history of research of telomeres from its beginning in fourties of the last century up to the presence. The story of research winning the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2009 is presented in its wider context, trying to emphazize important factors that had contributed to the breakthrough discoveries awarded.