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
The first in a series of posts on circadian clocks in microorganisms (from February 23, 2006)...
Many papers in chronobiology state that circadian clocks are ubiqutous. That has been a mantra since at least 1960. This suggests that most or all organisms on Earth possess biological clocks.
In the…
Wow! It's been less than three months since my move to Seed ScienceBlogs and my Sitemeter already hit 100,000.
The round-number visitor came from Oslo, Norway, a Firefox user, from Stumbleupon to see Did A Virus Make You Smart?, made three pageviews and remained 4 minutes and 13 seconds total on…
Study Finds How Organs Monitor Themselves During Early Development:
Scientists at NYU School of Medicine have unraveled the signals in a feedback loop governing ovarian development. This work has been several years in the making and is being published on August 27 in the advance online issue of the…
This week (Monday to Friday), at least in terms of reposting stuff from my old blogs (but hopefully also a couple of new posts), the theme will be Microorganisms.
In preparation for this, you may want to check my recent posts on biological clocks in Protista, sex life of Paramecium, a virus that…
What?....
There is a slang phrase in Serbo-Croatian that means "doing nothing; being idle; wasting time", and it is "hladiti jaja", which means "cooling (one's) balls". So, if you see a guy just sitting there, clutching a beer bottle and gazing into the distance, you may ask him "Hey, man, whatcha…
I rarely write about biological rhythms outside of circadian range (e.g., circannual, circalunar, circatidal rhythms etc.), but if you liked this post on lunar rhythms in antlions, you will probably also like this little review of lunar rhythms in today's Nature:
Pull of the Moon…
There has been a lot of commentary online about the Inside Higher Ed article about an UCLA primate researcher who quit his research due to being terrorised by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), and the follow up article about the steps UCLA and other Universities are taking to ensure the safety of…
And even better - they were discovered to be working illegally.
Steve says: "Extraterrestrials gotta eat, too"
Lex noticed that (if you hover your cursor over the "illegal aliens" in the text), you can find Roswell aliens on eBay!
Zygote Games has started a regular Friday feature - the Friday Parasite. Waaaaaaay cool! Which reminds me that, after a week's break, I owe you some Friday Weird Sex Blogging...coming tonight....
In light of the recent cases of researchers quitting animal research under the duress of threats and attacks by Animal Rights groups, e.g., Dr. Ringach at UCLA, this may be a good time to repost this old rant from May 23, 2005 (originally here, then reposted here on January 16, 2006):
The story…
Interesting economics take on the discovery that tobacco companies have been upping nicotine in cigarettes: as a parasitic lock-in business model:
A product is designed with a feature which intentionally locks customers into that product, through making it difficult to switch (for cost reasons, by…
You know that I am excited about my kids' great start of school this year. Today when I picked them up from school, Coturnix Jr. informed me that he needed a piece of posterboard and some glue for his debate class. Ah, he is going to be so good at that, the family he is growing in... It makes…
Michael Pollan, author of "Omnivore's Dilemma" and other good, thought-provoking books, will be on a speaking tour this Fall. Click on the link for details of your place. He will be in my neck of the woods in October:
October 11, 2006, 7 pm: Chapel Hill, NC; Morehead Planetarium at the University…
Chimpanzees Can Transmit Cultural Behavior To Multiple 'Generations':
Transferring knowledge through a chain of generations is a behavior not exclusive to humans, according to new findings by researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University and the University of St.…
Now, this is the gene that was meant to be named "hairy" instead of this one:
Hirsute-s You, Sir! Could Super Furry Animals Provide Clues For Baldness?:
The team found that cells given the genetic command to become hair follicles will send out signals to neighbouring cells to prevent them from…
What's with manatees in the news lately? First intelligence, and now this:
Manatee Bones Lead To New Insight On Evolution:
"Most research professors spend their days writing grants, teaching and managing graduate students, so when Stanford's David Kingsley, PhD, ventured from his office to his lab…
Nicotine Up Sharply In Many Cigarettes:
The amount of nicotine in most cigarettes rose an average of almost 10 percent from 1998 to 2004, with brands most popular with young people and minorities registering the biggest increases and highest nicotine content, according to a new study. Nicotine is…
Since Chris Mooney's book has just come out in paperback and the critics often invoke false equivalence between abuses of science on the Right and the Left, I thought this would be a good time to repost this August 05, 2005 post (reposted here on January 16, 2006):
According to Michael Shermer…
It does not really apply to everyone, but mostly to A-list political/news bloggers:
No Day at the Beach
I am an obsesssive/compulsive blogger. But on those rare occasions that I get to go out of town for a few days, I decide to enjoy myself in a computer-free zone. Let the traffic drop. It's…
