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
On This Day In History:
The very first article in then brand-new journal PLoS ONE was published on December 20th, 2006. And the Earth trembled (literally - there was an earthquake in San Francisco on that day). And the world of scientific publishing was never the same since.
You can imagine the…
I buried this among a bunch of other cool links yesterday, but there was a study the other day, in the Journal of Cell Biology, that seriously calls in question the methodology used by Thompson Scientific to calculate the sacred Impact Factor, the magic number that makes and breaks lives and…
There are 30 days until the Science Blogging Conference. We have 200 registered participants and a few people on the waiting list. The Sigma Xi space accommodates 200 and we have ordered food for 200 and swag bags for 200. Apart from the public list, we also have a list with a couple of…
Well, just too busy for something original, so it's time for a little linkfest of notable stuff I saw in the blogosphere over the past couple of days:
Carl, Brian, Anne-Marie and PZ report on the Indohyus, a close relative of the whales that lived 48 million years ago in Kashmir.
Barbara Sahakian…
Attila had the idea for a contest for a best designed, prettiest and most functional laboratory website. I picked up on it and posted about it on my blog.
The idea took off and the contest was hosted by The Scientist. And again, I blogged about it. Anton saw my post, and told Karl about it. Karl…
Attila and Anna got their XO laptop in the mail yesterday and recorded the first day: unwrapping and getting it started:
Ours should be getting here soon....
Tangled Bank #95 is up on Ouroboros.
Four Stone Hearth 30: at the end of the year, is up on The Greenbelt.
The 150th edition of The Carnival of Education is up on The Education Wonks.
Carnival of the Liberals #54 will soon be up on Framed.
To keep the conversation about the Science Debate 2008 going, I decided to post, one per day, my ideas for potential questions to be asked at such a debate. The questions are far too long, though, consisting more of my musings than real questions that can be asked on TV (or radio or online,…
I need to pick, buy and send a book on U.S. history to an old friend in Belgrade. It should be an objective, academic book, 600+ pages, not more than $50 used at Amazon. Is there such a thing and if so, what shall I get?
There are 31 days until the Science Blogging Conference. We have 200 registered participants and a few people on the waiting list. The Sigma Xi space accommodates 200 and we have ordered food for 200 and swag bags for 200. Apart from the public list, we also have a list with a couple of…
The League of Conservation Voters has issued a comparison of all the Presidential candidates of both parties on the topic of conservation and global warming. Look at the Chart and watch the Video. Then decide.
There are 28 new articles published today in PLoS ONE. You know what to do: read, rate, comment, annotate and send trackbacks! My picks for this week:
Light Variability Illuminates Niche-Partitioning among Marine Picocyanobacteria:
Phytoplankton are an important part of food webs in the ocean,…
Global Climate Change: The Impact Of El Niño On Galápagos Marine Iguanas:
A before-and-after study led by Yale biologists, of the effects of 1997 El Niño on the genetic diversity of marine iguanas on the Galápagos Islands, emphasizes the importance of studying populations over time and the need…
You know that I have a soft spot for Project Exploration (just see this for starters), so when Gabrielle Lyon asks me to spread the word about their activities, I am more than happy to oblige. Here is the announcement of their latest action - and you may be interested or know someone to forward…
Dmitriy Kruglyak posted a summary of last week's Cephalon webcast. The topic was Sleep Apnea, something I guess a number of my readers would be interested in. So, go ahead and listen to the podcast and read Dmitry's summary and you can ask him additional questions in the comments.
To keep the conversation about the Science Debate 2008 going, I decided to post, one per day, my ideas for potential questions to be asked at such a debate. The questions are far too long, though, consisting more of my musings than real questions that can be asked on TV (or radio or online,…
There are 32 days until the Science Blogging Conference. We have 200 registered participants and a few people on the waiting list. The Sigma Xi space accommodates 200 and we have ordered food for 200 and swag bags for 200. Apart from the public list, we also have a list with a couple of…
Basic Math in Monkeys and College Students:
Adult humans possess mathematical abilities that are unmatched by any other member of the animal kingdom. Yet, there is increasing evidence that the ability to enumerate sets of objects nonverbally is a capacity that humans share with other animal species…
New Hope For Sleep Disorders: Genetic Switch For Circadian Rhythms Discovered:
University of California, Irvine researchers have identified the chemical switch that triggers the genetic mechanism regulating our internal body clock. The finding, which uncovers the most specific information about the…
I've never before seen a picture that better fits the description used in the title of this post:
You may have to read the story here to see how well the title fits.
Hat-tip: Mark
George Folkerts was one of those naturalists of the 'old school', interested in everything and excited about learning and sharing the knowledge throughout his life. He died on Friday, suddenly and unexpectedly, at the end of a typically busy day at Auburn University.
Anne-Marie was his student,…
To keep the conversation about the Science Debate 2008 going, I decided to post, one per day, my ideas for potential questions to be asked at such a debate. The questions are far too long, though, consisting more of my musings than real questions that can be asked on TV (or radio or online,…
There are 33 days until the Science Blogging Conference. We have 199 registered participants. The Sigma Xi space accommodates 200 and we have ordered food for 200 and swag bags for 200. Apart from the public list, we also have a list with a couple of anonymous bloggers as well as about a dozen…
