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
Today's crop of new articles published in PLoS ONE is an emebarassment of riches. It's hard to make just a couple of picks out of 39 papers, but I'll try to restrain myself and you go and look around for the rest of them....
Chimpanzee Autarky:
Economists believe that barter is the ultimate cause…
Synthesis Of Natural Molecule Could Lead To Better Anti-cancer Drugs:
In early 2007, Northwestern University chemist Karl Scheidt's interest was piqued when marine chemist Amy Wright reported in the Journal of Natural Products that a new natural compound derived from an uncommon deep-sea sponge was…
If you liked Sigma Xi last weekend, and if you are in the Triangle on February 8th, and if you are interested in the origin and early evolution of life on Earth (and potentially elsewhere), you will love attending the NESCent symposium on the topic:
The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center…
There is lots of cool new stuff in PLoS Biology this week. Take a look:
Conspicuous Chameleons is a synopsis/summary of this article:
Selection for Social Signalling Drives the Evolution of Chameleon Colour Change:
The ability to change colour has evolved in numerous vertebrate and invertebrate…
James Hrynyshyn is one of my SciBlings and part of the Scienceblogs.com large North Carolina contingent. He lives in a small town of Saluda in the Western part of the state and blogs mainly about climate science and related policy on Island of Doubt. He is also one of those "repeat offenders" - he…
Many of you have been moved by my Mom's five-part guest-blogging on Holocaust Children (part I, part II, part III, part IV and part V), so I asked her to let me reproduce here her wartime story, as it appeared in the first volume in the series We Survived published by the Jewish Historical Museum…
From SCONC:
On Thursday, February 7, SCONCs will migrate to the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill. MPSC will open its exhibits to SCONC members for a special viewing at 6:00 p.m. in the NASA Digital Theater, followed by Morehead's Current Science Forum at 7:00 p.m. in the…
From SCONC:
Following the smashing success of their previous programs on "The Science of Beer" and "the Science of Chocolate," the Duke Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, will present "The Science of Baking" On Thursday, January 31, at 4:30 p.m. The featured guests are Emily…
Karen James, better known online as 'nunatak', is part of the team that is trying to build a replica of H.M.S. Beagle in time for next year's bicenntenial celebration of Charles Darwin's life and work. Karen is the director of science at The Beagle Project and one of the two Beagle Bloggers. She…
Many of you have been moved by my Mom's five-part guest-blogging on Holocaust Children (part I, part II, part III, part IV and part V), so I asked her to let me reproduce here her wartime story, as it appeared in the first volume in the series We Survived published by the Jewish Historical Museum…
The second annual North Carolina Science Blogging Conference, held January 18 and 19, 2008, was an unqualified success. Find a comprehensive listing of links to the many blog entries and video clips posted before, during and after the conference to learn about the conversations and networking at…
Keystone sleep/circadian meeting. Jay Dunlap, Emmanuel Mignot and Amita Seghal are organizing a Keystone meeting on Genetics and Biochemistry of Sleep in Lake Tahoe, March 7-12 (click here to see large):
Shelley and Steve were getting a little lonely (just intellectually, of course, don't get any weird ideas!), so, not much to tell, one thing led to another and....they will be fusing their two excellent and successful blogs into a new Superblog, right here on scienceblogs.com!
But, they have a…
Alun Salt (of the Archaeoastronomy blog, sometimes known as "Clioaudio") recently wrote a post about the Portable Antiquities Scheme:
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a voluntary scheme to record archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. Every year many thousands…
Space Cadet
Saving Species
To catch a panda
The Wisdom of Whores
Animal Inventory
Practical Ethics Blog
Jacks of Science
Science of the Invisible
AJCs Virtual Frogroom
Apparently, it was more important to some voters that the candidate looks like them than that the candidate is actually good for them.
Ah well, the identity politics... Clinton won the white women, Edwards white men, and Obama won big with African Americans.
Go figure....
Watch the results here…
Olivia Judson wrote a blog post on her NYTimes blog that has many people rattled. Why? Because she used the term "Hopeful Monster" and this term makes many biologists go berserk, foaming at the mouth. And they will not, with their eye-sight fogged by rage, notice her disclaimer:
Note, however,…
EDGE Amphibians: World's Weirdest Creatures Just Got Weirder:
A gigantic, ancient relative of the newt, a drawing-pin sized frog, a limbless, tentacled amphibian and a blind see-through salamander have all made it onto a list of the world's weirdest and most endangered creatures.
Scientists Look At…
Here is a video of SPARC-ACRL Forum '08 on 12 January, 2008 at the Pennyslvania Convention Center in Philadelphia:
The SPARC-ACRL Forum at ALA '08 entitled "Working with the Facebook generation: Engaging students views on access to scholarship." Panelists discuss the merits of student activism,…
Go say Hello to DrugMonkey and PhysioProf, the newest acquisitions by The Borg, at DrugMonkey blog. Both are regular readers and commenters on this blog, always providing thoughtful and intelligent (and provocative) additions to the conversation. A great addition to the scienceblogs.com universe!
Friday - time to take a look at the new articles in PLoS Computational Biology, Genetics and Pathogens - check them all out, but here are a couple of picks:
Exploration of Small RNAs:
There is substantial interest in noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), which play an essential role in complex biological…
