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
Fairness Doctrine Panic hits FCC, spreads through blogosphere:
The Fairness Doctrine will come up again and again over the next few years--mostly invoked by Republicans. Barack Obama says he opposes the Fairness Doctrine. But expect everything that he asks of broadcasters and the Internet to get…
Save the planet? Buy it:
Millionaires are purchasing entire ecosystems around the world and turning them into conservation areas. Their goal? To stop environmental catastrophe.
But will they know how to do it well? Will they inject some of their own incorrect ideas into their projects? Who will…
Light Receptors In Eye Play Key Role In Setting Biological Clock, Study Shows:
Biologists at the University of Virginia have discovered a switching mechanism in the eye that plays a key role in regulating the sleep/wake cycles in mammals.
A Therapy For Baby Boomers To Sleep On: New Drug For…
I did already.
Female Science Professor (the Grand Dame of science/academic blogging) has just published a blook - a collection of her best blog posts.
You can and should buy "Academeology" on Lulu.com and later nominate it for the Blooker Prize.
And while you are shopping at Lulu.com, do I…
Some really cool stuff just got published a few minutes ago in PLoS Biology:
A cool paper: Mirror-Induced Behavior in the Magpie (Pica pica): Evidence of Self-Recognition:
A crucial step in the emergence of self-recognition is the understanding that one's own mirror reflection does not represent…
How much is four blog years in dog years? Half a century?
After about a year of posting comments elsewhere, I started my first blog and my first post on August 18th, 2004. Seems like a lifetime ago....
Glow worms glimmer on cue:
University of Queensland researcher and lecturer Dr David Merritt has discovered that Tasmanian cave glow-worms are energy conservationists: they switch their lights off at night-time.
The discovery was made during a partially funded UQ Firstlink study, which revealed…
Continuing with asking for your help in fixing my Blogroll:
Every couple of days or so, I will post here a list of blogs that start with a particular letter, and you add in the comments if you know of something that is missing from that list.
See so far:
Numbers and Symbols
A
B
C
Today brought to…
On the right (use the left-right arrows to see more detail):
I hear the guy on the left is also famous.
And how does it feel to lose by 1/100th of a second!? If he won a bronze instead, he would have been happier.
For those just coming back from their summer vacations, too busy to dig among hundreds of brief posts, here is a list of the posts that I myself consider to be my best in July and August 2008 (and perhaps SuperReaders can pick a few more of these - only 2-3 of those have been picked so far):
July:…
Downtown Revival:
The decline of downtown Gastonia, N.C., began long before Jennifer Harper was born, exacerbated by the collapse of the state's textiles manufacturing industry and the exodus of retailers to suburban shopping malls. But the young Gastonia native is lending her design skills to help…
Why Rage? Because Henry inspired me (though Mrs.Gee made him edit out the 'excessive' language). Why 2.0? Because I am all gung-ho about everything 2.0. So there!
So, like Henry, I will now proceed to rage about something....
Hotels
I've been traveling a lot lately, often staying in some very top…
Snooze Button For Body's Circadian Clock:
We may use the snooze button to fine-tune our sleep cycles, but our cells have a far more meticulous and refined system. Humans, and most other organisms, have 24-hour rhythms that are regulated by a precise molecular clock that ticks inside every cell.…
Welcome to the first experimental issue of the newest science blog carnival - Praxis. Why experimental? Because we still have to see where to set the boundaries. If it is "Life in Academia", then pretty much everything on science blogs is eligible and the effect is diluted. If we narrow it down…
From The National Humanities Center:
The National Humanities Center will host the third and final conference on "The Human & The Humanities," November 13 - 15, 2008, once again attracting scientists and humanities scholars to discuss how developments in science are challenging traditional…
The 2nd edition of the Giants' Shoulders is up on The Lay Scientist
Oekologie #18 is up on Seeds Aside
Friday Ark #204 is up on Modulator
Carnival of Space #67 is up on Next Generation
Praxis #1 coming soon, right here....
First Line of Defense:
A new facility at North Carolina State University will help provide increased protection to first responders by testing their turnout gear against potentially harmful chemical and biological threats.
The Man-in-Simulant Test (MIST) laboratory, located in NC State's College of…
