My scientific specialty is chronobiology (circadian rhythms and photoperiodism), with additional interests in comparative physiology, animal behavior and evolution. I am not an MD so I cannot diagnose and treat your sleep problems. As well as writing this blog, I am also the Online Discussion Expert for PLoS. This is a personal blog and opinions within it in no way reflect the policies of PLoS. You can contact me at: Coturnix@gmail.com
Wilt thou, then, my soul, never be good and simple and one and naked, more manifest than the body which surrounds thee? Wilt thou never enjoy an affectionate and contented disposition? Wilt thou never be full and without a want of any kind, longing for nothing more, nor desiring anything, either…
Online maps 'wiping out history':
Internet mapping is wiping the rich geography and history of Britain off the map, the president of the British Cartographic Society has said.
Mary Spence said internet maps such as Google and Multimap were good for driving but left out crucial data people need to…
There was a fantastic example of an anti-vaccination caller on this show earlier today - Parents Protest Increase In Required Vaccinations. Please listen to the podcast, especially to the last caller. Prodded over and over again, she displayed more and more loony conspiracy theories and in the end…
The cat is out of the bag! The version2.0 of ResearchBlogging.org is ready to go and you can test it out:
After a week of late nights and hard coding, our development team has released the beta version of the site to our entire userbase! You can visit the new site here:
http://72.32.57.144/index.…
The London Science Blogging Conference is about to begin. Check out the Conference Programme the who's who list of attendees and the discussion in the Science Blogging 2008: London NN forums, a FriendFeed room and a Facebook page.
We will be wathing closely, getting ideas, learning stuff, and…
While everyone else has been focused on politics this week, several science bloggers posted some amazing posts about, gasp, science! Check these out - amazing weekend reading (and potential anthology entries!):
Neurophilosophy: Wilder Penfield, Neural Cartographer:
The patient lies on the…
Palin is the one I was afraid of.
Not much to say. I have collected some good links here - check them out.
McCain needed to appease the unhappy base. And he needed to make inroads into the Zero-information "independents". And he needed more women. And he needed the last remnants of racists…
Unexpected Large Monkey Population Discovered In Cambodia: Tens Of Thousands Of Threatened Primates:
A Wildlife Conservation Society report reveals surprisingly large populations of two globally threatened primates in a protected area in Cambodia.
'Pristine' Amazonian Region Hosted Large, Urban…
There are 12 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Urochordate Histoincompatible Interactions Activate…
I have blogged about this a couple of weeks ago (and a couple of weeks before that) and you can see the ads all over scienceblogs.com about it, but let me ask you for one final push on this as there are just a couple of days left and still a few bucks to earn:
....the BigThink/DonorsChoose August…
Science in the Triangle is a community service provided by the Museum of Life + Science, in partnership with Blue Pane Studio. There, in one place, you can find news and information about science events and research in the Triangle area of North Carolina.
A nice article about Durham bloggers today (it will be on paper later, online for now). Bloggers featured or linked include, among others, my friends Anton Zuiker, Pam Spaulding, Sheril Kirshenbaum and Lenore Ramm.
Eyes Evolved For 'X-Ray Vision': Forward-facing Eyes Allow Animals To 'See Through' Clutter In The World:
The advantage of using two eyes to see the world around us has long been associated solely with our capacity to see in 3-D. Now, a new study from a scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute…
So, let's see what's new in PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases this week. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and…
There is a new letter to Nature - Postdoc glut means academic pathway needs an overhaul - which I cannot read as I have no access, but others are discussing it on FriendFeed and there have been recent posts on the topic of endless/hopeless postdoc positions on DrugMonkey and The Alternative…
Yes, you have heard right. There will be parties around the world, wherever SciBlings are, celebrating the one millionth comment on scienceblogs.com, expected to happen some time mid-September.
You can meet Sciblings and fellow-readers at parties in Michigan, Oklahoma, Iowa, Minnesota, New York,…
SPARC, Students for FreeCulture and PLoS are organizing the first ever Open Access Day on October 14, 2008. This is also the 5th birthday of PLoS Biology, the oldest of seven PLoS journals.
For this occasion, the organizers have put together a nice website/blog where you can find all the…
There are 11 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Systems Biology of the Clock in Neurospora crassa:
A…
Unusual Ultrasonic Vocalization Patterns In Mice May Be Useful For Modeling Autism:
Scientists have found novel patterns of ultrasonic vocalizations in a genetic mouse model of autism, adding a unique element to the available mouse behaviors that capture components of the human disease, and…
Tangled Bank #112 is up on Science Notes
The latest round of the Skeptic's Circle is up on Reduce to Common Sense
The 186th edition of the Carnival of Education is up on Sharp Brains
Carnival of the Liberals #72 is up on Washington Interns Gone Bad
I wake up every morning determined both to change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day a little difficult.
- Elwyn Brooks White
Interesting post (based on one of my favourite books which may warrant a re-reading after many years - Adler's "How to Read a Book" but adapted to online reading) How to Read by Brian Clark:
We know that people don't read well online. They ruthlessly scan for interesting chunks of information…
Why is the letter P the most useful for alliterative titles?
But back to the substance. One thing that bugged me for a long time is that I often see on blogs or hear in person a sentiment that "there are no comments on PLoS ONE". Yet I spend quite some time every week opening and reading all the…
