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
This post has been written in advance and scheduled for automatic posting. At the time this post shows up, I'll be sleeping my first night in San Francisco. A few hours later, I'll be at PLoS offices and will hopefully have online access soon after so I can post my first impressions.
As most of…
When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. Sooooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!
- Brian O'Rourke
...Frisco.
The flights were smooth and uneventful.
I went straight to PLoS, met some people I knew from before and others I knew only over e-mail, did the requisite paperwork, got familiarized with my computer and the beginning of getting familiarized with the 'behind the scenes' of the software…
Understanding Smooth Eye Pursuit: The Incredible Targeting System Of Human Vision:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shed new light on how the brain and eye team up to spot an object in motion and follow it, a classic question of human motor control. The study shows that two…
You really think I am going to put this above the fold? No way - you have to click (First posted on July 7, 2006):
Today's lesson is on the reproductive anatomy of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica), which probably applies to the wild species in the pig family as well. Although we may…
I am about to go offline now, early to bed, early to rise...travelling to San Fran tomorrow at dawn. Hopefully I'll be able to get back online by tomorrow afternoon.
I have scheduled a lot of reruns of the old posts (twice a day) and new quotes (once per night), but I will post new stuff as well…
Stressed-out African Naked Mole-rats May Provide Clues About Human Infertility:
A tiny, blind, hairless subterranean rodent that lives in social colonies in the harsh, semi-arid conditions of Africa could shed light on stress-related infertility in humans, the 23rd annual meeting of the European…
This post was a response to a decent (though not too exciting) study and the horrible media reporting on it. As the blogosphere focused on the press releases, I decided to look at the paper itself and see what it really says. It was first posted on August 09, 2005. Under the fold (reposted on…
Quixote (who some of you may know from Acid Test) has joined the growing stable of brilliant bloggers at Shakesville - check out the introductiory post.
Interview with Timo Hannay, Head of Web Publishing, Nature Publishing Group
Scientific Communications in Web 2.0 Context
Publishing Versus Posting: Nature Magazine Turns to a Conversational Content Model
A bunch of papers just went live on PLoS-ONE and, after a quick scan, these three papers caught my eye:
The Durability of Public Goods Changes the Dynamics and Nature of Social Dilemmas:
An implicit assumption underpins basic models of the evolution of cooperation, mutualism and altruism: The…
Surprise, surprise - a paper in Science is up there with a free online access (not the PDF, but the Full Text and that is something!):
A Molecular Basis for Natural Selection at the timeless Locus in Drosophila melanogaster:
Diapause is a protective response to unfavorable environments that results…
There is a new paper on PLoS-Biology describing a tit-for-tat-like reciprocal behavior in rats: Generalized Reciprocity in Rats:
The evolution of cooperation is based on four general mechanisms: mutualism, where an action benefits all partners directly; kin selection, where related individuals are…
Wood Ant Queen Has No Egg-laying Monopoly:
The reproductive monopoly of the ant queen is not as strong as is often thought. Dr. Heikki Helanterä and Prof. Lotta Sundström, biologists working at the University of Helsinki, Finland, investigated worker ovary development and egg laying in nine…
All architecture is great architecture after sunset; perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks.
- Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Yes, Shakesville is online again, but the new dedicated server (that will repel the future Denials of Service) costs money. You can help it survive with a couple of bucks every now and then.
The Seed Overlords have put up a survey for our blog readers. You can go here or just click on the green box on the right side-bar and tell them all how you use the site, what you like and dislike, etc., so the improvements can be made in the future.
Do we really need more sly sex on our blogs?
In all animals, vertebrate and invertebrate alike, one of the defining features of sleep is the "rebound", i.e., the making up for sleep debt after an acute sleep deprivation event. However, the problem of modern society is a chronic sleep loss in humans - when you loos a couple of hours of needed…
Encephalon #26 is up on Neurophilosophy.
Wait! What's that URL?
Yes, MC is our new SciBling!
He is officially moving (i.e., will be featured on the front page) tomorrow, but he is already all set up with some beautiful banners. So, go say Hello and if by some cosmic mistake you have not been…
Books: "Rainbows End" by Vernor Vinge.
It's 2025 - What happened to science, politics and journalism? Well, you know I'd be intrigued. After all, a person whose taste in science fiction I trust (my brother) told me to read this and particularly to read it just before my interview with PLoS. So,…
