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
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
- Jack London
Just came back home from a very pleasant dinner with Matt Nisbet. What luck that our trips to San Francisco coincided so well! Oh, and of course, Profesor Steve Steve was there as well...
The US Anti-Prostitution Pledge: First Amendment Challenges and Public Health Priorities by Nicole Franck Masenior and Chris Beyrer:
In order for an HIV organization to receive funding from the United States, grantees must explicitly oppose prostitution.
Male Circumcision for Prevention of HIV…
This April 09, 2006 post places another paper of ours (Reference #17) within a broader context of physiology, behavior, ecology and evolution.
The paper was a result of a "communal" experiment in the lab, i.e., it was not included in anyone's Thesis. My advisor designed it and started the…
People have been cooking in Belgrade, Serbia, for weeks now. Last time I am aware of that the temperature was this high was when I was in pre-school. Today's pictures:
Did Pterosaurs Feed by Skimming? Physical Modelling and Anatomical Evaluation of an Unusual Feeding Method by Stuart Humphries, Richard H. C. Bonser, Mark P. Witton and David M. Martill:
Just because a component of an extinct animal resembles that of a living one does not necessarily imply that…
Paleontologists Study A Remarkably Well-preserved Baby Siberian Mammoth:
University of Michigan paleontologist Daniel Fisher just returned from Siberia where he spent a week as part of a six-member international team that examined the frozen, nearly intact remains of a 4-month-old female woolly…
Tripoli Six are free, at home in Bulgaria! Revere has the whole scoop. This is, in no small way, the result of tenacious efforts by Declan Butler of Nature and the hundreds (thousands) of bloggers who kept the story alive and urged the readers to contact the relevant people. A good day indeed!
One more book is off my amazon.com wish list, thanks to one of my readers - Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. Thank you so much! It is going straight up to the top of my "to read" stack, as soon as I finish Harry Potter.
Yesterday, I extricated myself from PLoS for lunch, because I really wanted to go and meet one of my most regular readers and commenters, who goes around here as Michelle. We had a most delightful conversation over lunch at Jack Falstaff and pictures (which, of course, include Professor Steve…
This post (click on the icon) was originally written on May 07, 2005, introducing the topic of neuroendocrine control of seasonal changes in physiology and behavior.
So far, I have directed all my attention to daily - circadian - rhythms, and pretty much ignored other rhythms that correspond to…
This is the sixth post in a series about mechanism of entrainment, running all day today on this blog. In order to understand the content of this post, you need to read the previous five installments. The original of this post was first written on April 12, 2005.
A Phase Response Curve (PRC) can…
I guess I am the cheapest of all my sciblings - better get me while I am still alive, as I appear to be pretty worthless as a corpse:
$3540.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Online Dating
Well, if one stays in San Francisco for a month, it is bound to happen one day...
On Friday early morning (just before 5am) I woke up to an earthquake.
I've been through a bunch of earthquakes before - Balkans are on some kind of fault, I understand. I slept through a pretty strong one (7 Richter…
This is an appropriate time of year for this post (February 05, 2006)...
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So, why do I say that it is not surprising the exposure to bright light alleviates both seasonal depression and other kinds of depression, and that different mechanisms may…
Then, after all this walking, I finally went to Borders and got myself the seventh book of Harry Potter. But, lo and behold, when I got home, Steve Steve decided he was going to read it first, so all I could do is post pictures on the blog instead:
Sea lions are a big draw at Pier 39. I have seen them in zoos many times, but this is the first time I see them in their normal geographical setting, as 'un-natural' it may seem. Unfortunately, only a dozen or so young, non-breeders are here right now. The mature adults are at their breeding…
Some more pictures. At the time many of those were made, there was no telephone, no movies, no radio, no TV, no computer games, no Second Life. This was the most high-tech entertainment. I wish I could bring back some of those inventors and show them what evolved out of their inventions. Also,…
There is a museum at the Pier with many, many old toys and games found at arcades. All are perfectly functional. Some are more than 100 years old. Here is a sample:
I am obsessed with Alcatraz. I plan to go next week to visit the Rock and hear the CLANG sound of cell doors closing behind me in the dark. Pier 69/Fisherman's Warf is the closest point to it in the entire Bay, so if you wanted to escape and swim in this freezing cold water, this was the best…
Of course I saw the Golden Gate Bridge (I see the Bay Bridge every day from where I live). I am too scared of heights to actually walk over the bridge, though...
A horse and carriage at the Pier 39 (a very touristy spot) and, of course, the famous streetcars. I believe that my father, when he came to San Francisco back in 1966 1961 [thanks, Mom] on his choir tour (they even cut a record then), rode on the streetcar, of course.
It was a tough, long and gruelling week at work, so i decided, after sleeping late, to do what I have not done yet - play tourist and go see famous sites in San Francisco. I took a cab to Pier 39, then spent a few hours slowly walking back home. In this and next few posts, you can see what I saw…
Number Of Published Science And Engineering Articles Flattens, But US Influence Remains Strong:
A new National Science Foundation (NSF) report finds the number of U.S. science and engineering (S&E) articles in major peer-reviewed journals flattened in the 1990s, after more than two decades of…
