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
About a month ago, Karen of The Beagle Project published a nifty paper in PLoS ONE. Now she wrote a blog post with the background story, the 'tacit knowledge' that usually does not appear in peer-reviewed literature but is essential for the workings of science - the kind of stuff that is…
There is a good review of Amanda Marcotte's book on Powell's site:
Fortunately, she manages to integrate enough fresh material to keep the book relevant to feminists of all ages. As she observes in her introduction, "Spotting sexism sounds easy, but the sheer commonness of it, coupled with its…
There are many organisms that one can extract milky substances from, but cactus is NOT one of those. Which is a simple and useful way to figure out if the needly thing in front of you is a cactus or something else....
Or so says Talia in her book review.
I recently ordered a bunch of stuff from Amazon.com for me and others, and all orders arrived nicely except this book which never appeared (lost in space?). Perhaps I should not worry, according to the review.
All humans, at some point in their lives, go ahead and die. Ages and causes of death vary widely.
Bloggers are humans.
All bloggers, at some point in their lives, go ahead and die. Ages and causes of death vary widely.
But, if you are a journalist with a dry spell in your inspiration, and if you…
You must have noticed that there wasn't too much effort on this blog over the past couple of weeks (except for the elaborate and too successful April Fools hoax). I've just been so busy lately. So, here is a quick recap, and some pictures.
Back on March 21, I went to Duke University to participate…
Go at it! These are sooooo....bloggable ;-)
Computer Taught To Recognize Attractiveness In Women:
"Beauty," goes the old saying, "is in the eye of the beholder." But does the beholder have to be human? Not necessarily, say scientists at Tel Aviv University. Amit Kagian, an M.Sc. graduate from the…
Exactly How Much Housework Does A Husband Create?:
Having a husband creates an extra seven hours a week of housework for women, according to a University of Michigan study of a nationally representative sample of U.S. families. For men, the picture is very different: A wife saves men from about an…
This is the MySpace page of the band named Plos. They sing in German, so I do not understand a word, but somehow I doubt it has much to do with science or Open Access...
What does 'Plos' mean in German anyway?
Last week, Sheril, Abel and I went to Duke's Terry Sanford Institute on Public Policy to talk about science blogging and other aspects of Science 2.0 to a graduate class on science policy communication taught by Misha Angrist, who dubbed the three of us the Beacons of the Bloggerati! Sheril has an…
There is a change in the command center of PLoS ONE this month. The transition will be seamless. The new editor, Peter Binfield has joined us a couple of weeks ago and has assumed the Big Kahuna position on the 1st of April. The outgoing editor, Chris Surridge will remain in advisory role for…
I and the Bird #72 is up on Ecobirder
Festival of The Trees #22 is up on Arvores Vivas em Nossas Vidas
166th Carnival of Education is up on I Want to Teach Forever
The latest Change of Shift is up on Nurse Ratched's Place
Good Sexual Intercourse Lasts Minutes, Not Hours, Therapists Say:
Satisfactory sexual intercourse for couples lasts from 3 to 13 minutes, contrary to popular fantasy about the need for hours of sexual activity, according to a survey of U.S. and Canadian sex therapists.
Mouse Calls During Courtship…
There are 47 articles published in PLoS ONE this week. Here are some of the coolest titles - you go and find your own.
Ultrasonic Vocalizations Induced by Sex and Amphetamine in M2, M4, M5 Muscarinic and D2 Dopamine Receptor Knockout Mice:
Adult mice communicate by emitting ultrasonic…
Climate Change And Human Hunting Combine To Drive The Woolly Mammoth Extinct:
Does the human species have mammoth blood on its hands? Scientists have long debated the relative importance of hunting by our ancestors and change in global climate in consigning the mammoth to the history books. A new…
The trip to the UK is shaping up. Sing up here if you want to meet me during that week, or here if you want to meet me at the pub on April 9th (probably this one) or here if you want to go to the Museum and keep your eyes on those places for updates.
There have recently been several articles in the media about brain enhancers, so-called Nootropics, or "smart drugs". They have been abused by college students for many years now, but they are now seeping into other places where long periods of intense mental focus are required, including the…
Well, well, well, I went to my office this morning and, just as I got my coffee, opened up the laptop and logged in, who walks in? PZ Myers! What a surprise.
So, we chatted some. He thought that PLoS ONE should be the place to have all the Intelligent Design papers published. Since it is Open…
People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives.
- J. Michael Straczynski
