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
Nobel Prizes are not the only awards given in Stockholm these day. Karolinska Institute also gives an annual Lennart Nilsson Award for photography. This year's prize has just been announced and I am happy to report that the recepient is a friend of mine (and Scifoo camper), Felice Frankel for her…
There are 94 days until the Science Blogging Conference. The wiki is looking good, the Program is shaping up nicely, and there is more and more blog and media coverage already. There are already 94 registered participants and if you do not register soon, it may be too late once you decide to do…
Some Tropical Birds Depend Completely On Army Ants To Flush Out Prey:
In the jungles of Central and South America, a group of birds has evolved a unique way of finding food -- by following hordes of army ants and letting them do all the work.
Bone Structure 'Vastly Different' Than Previously…
As last week's Journal Club on PLoS ONE has been a success (and no, that does not mean it's over - feel free to add your commentary there), we are introducing a new one this week!
Members of the Potsdam Eye-Movement Group have now posted their comments and annotations on the article Parts, Wholes,…
There are 21 new articles published tonight on PLoS ONE. As always, read, rate, comment, annotate, volunteer to do a Journal Club, and, if you blog about it, send trackbacks....Here are my picks:
A Televised, Web-Based Randomised Trial of an Herbal Remedy (Valerian) for Insomnia:
To combat the…
Kate reviews the latest paper by Ellen Ketterson et al. and since she did it so well, I decided not to do it myself, as it comes too close to my own stuff...
Mountain Top Removal? See why this is not a good idea.
Two conservatives, two views on environmentalism (and no, I will not go into details…
Fish Get Insomnia, Eyes Wide Open, Say Sleep Researchers:
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have hooked a fish that suffers from insomnia in their quest to understand the genetics behind sleep disorders.
Ugly Duckling Mole Rats Might Hold Key To Longevity:
Who would have…
If you come here from the front page of Scienceblogs, you have probably noticed some changes. Instead of ten, there are now eight channels, and the latest 4 (instead of 3) posts in each category are highlighted. If you check the channels on the left side-bar you will see that the landing pages of…
Today, Harvard has launched a new website - HarvardScience - showcasing the depth and breadth of science, medicine, and engineering at all of Harvard's schools and affiliated hospitals:
The site provides a comprehensive resource for anyone interested in science in general, and particularly what's…
Attention! How your brain manages its need to heed:
Two perennial polarities beloved by brain geeks -- networks versus modules and top-down versus bottom-up attention -- get linked in this week's essay, in which UC Berkeley's Mark D'Esposito reviews an imaging study of how monkeys use their brains…
When I went to the Lawrence Hall of Science with Janet, I wore a PLoS T-shirt, of course. The volunteer at the museum, a high school student (you can see her here attaching a harness on Janet), saw my shirt and said "PLoS! Awesome!"
I asked her how she knew about it and why she seemed to like it…
There are 95 days until the Science Blogging Conference. The wiki is looking good, the Program is shaping up nicely, and there is more and more blog and media coverage already. There are already 91 registered participants and if you do not register soon, it may be too late once you decide to do…
Perhaps you did not like the shirt. Or do not care for the mug. But if you qualify for one of the prizes by donating to a Scienceblogs challenge on DonorsChoose, you may get a much more appropriate piece - a wall clock:
Testosterone Turns Male Junco Birds Into Blustery Hunks -- And Bad Dads:
The ability to ramp up testosterone production appears to drive male dark-eyed juncos to find and win mates, but it comes with an evolutionary cost. Big fluctuations in testosterone may also cause males to lose interest in…
Monday - the day for checking in PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine for the newest published articles. And there is some good stuff:
Characterization of Sleep in Zebrafish and Insomnia in Hypocretin Receptor Mutants
Sleep disorders are common and poorly understood. Further, how and why the brain…
Oekologie #10 is up on Laelaps.
Boneyard #7 is up on Microecos
Mendel's Garden: Halloween Edition is up on Discovering Biology in a Digital World
The Accretionary Wedge #2 is up on All of My Faults Are Stress Related
Four Stone Hearth XXV - 1st Anniversary Edition - is up on Remote Central
Grand…
Just watching someone give a talk is often not enough to remember it later. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. And certainly, seeing is believing. But, this presentation is impossible to forget, even if one would rather not remember it so vividly. Oh, and it was absolutely NSFW!…
Yes, I'll try to be there in about an hour, if the system stops freezing on me, or if I do not get delayed by copulating with a furry kangaroo or something...
Bertalan is live-blogging the event!
Since today is the Blog Action Day and I am swamped at work, I decided to republish one of my old posts concerning the environment (under the fold).
-----------------------------------------------
Since this is another one of the recurring themes on my blog, I decided to republish all of my old…
There are 96 days until the Science Blogging Conference. The wiki is looking good, the Program is shaping up nicely, and there is more and more blog and media coverage already. There are already 89 registered participants and if you do not register soon, it may be too late once you decide to do…
So far this week, my blogging had a distinctly local slant on Nobel Prizes, so now I want to do something different. Quite a lot of people have noticed how many science prizes this year went to Europeans. Read the excellent treatments by Katherine Sharpe, Abel Pharmboy, Steinn Sigurosson, Chad…
A couple of years ago, a blog post of mine appeared in the List of References of a paper. Unfortunately, the form in which it was cited was this:
#16 Zivkovic B. Clock tutorial #6: To entrain or not to entrain, that is the question. (2005); Available at: http://circadiana.blogspot.com.
As you can…
The last time we met at the Tar Heel Tavern was on April 2nd. After that, the inspiration dried out and no Tarheel-brewed amber-colored liquid was flowing for months. With the grass wilting everywhere around us, it was easy to just give up and stop watering one's blogging flowers with creative…
Tomorrow, Monday, October 15th, many blogs (14,081 at this moment) will participate in the Environment-themed Blog Action Day.
On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in…
Jeffrey Feldman nails it:
Every journalist working in America should print out that passage in extra-large font and tape it next to the bathroom mirror. Better yet, they should put the passage on a chain and wear it around their necks.
Obligatory Reading of the Day!
Humans Perceive Others' Fear Faster Than Other Emotions:
You may not be fully dressed without a smile, but a look of horror will make a faster first impression. Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered that the brain becomes aware of fearful faces more quickly than those showing other…
There are 97 days until the Science Blogging Conference. The wiki is looking good, the Program is shaping up nicely, and there is more and more blog and media coverage already. There are already 89 registered participants and if you do not register soon, it may be too late once you decide to do…
