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 list, written on December 17, 2005, is still quite up-to-date. There are also some more specialized books which are expensive, and many of those I'd like to have one day, but I cannot afford them (though I have placed a couple of them on my wish list, just in case I see a cheap copy come up…
The review of the second chapter was written on September 06, 2005:
I have commented on Tomasello's Chapter 1 earlier. Second chapter is much longer and somewhat disjointed, but I would like to write some of my own first impressions now (also long and disjointed), before I read what other members…
The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition by Michael Tomasello was the first book (and still the only one so far) we were reading in the newly minted CogBlogGroup, a group of bloggers reading stuff about cognitive science. You can download the whole book in PDF or the first chapter only in html.…
Continuing with the five-day plan method of blogging, leaving the All Clocks All the Time behind us, we are starting the third week with a theme - Books Around The Clock.
Over the next five days, you will see both reposts (mostly in AM) and new posts (mostly in PM) about books. There will be…
I know, I know, David Brin is one of those "high-moral-ground", fervently ideological, vehemently frothing at the mouth centrists, but he sometimes writes really good stuff. And this post is pretty good:
Now try this. Imagine a person who holds all of the correct views except one.
Suppose - on…
Oh yes there are atheists in Foxholes!
In the latest Newsweek:
There are no atheists in foxholes," the old saw goes. The line, attributed to a WWII chaplain, has since been uttered countless times by grunts, chaplains and news anchors. But an increasingly vocal group of activists and soldiers--…
Every now and then, David Niewert takes a break from discussing Far-Right White-Supremacist groups and writes a beautiful post on orcas (after all, Orcinus blog has been named after these beautiful whales). Here's the latest.
Mapping The Neural Landscape Of Hunger
The compelling urge to satisfy one's hunger enlists structures throughout the brain, as might be expected in a process so necessary for survival. But until now, studies of those structures and of the feeding cycle have been only fragmentary--measuring brain…
Harry Potter Carnival #29 is up on The Pensieve (Edit: you can dig through the archives of the carnival there). I remember linking to the first two editions but then forgot about this cool carnival. Go check it out.
A kangaroo bounds round the Australian outback. Every now and then she stops and a little penguin climbs out of the kangaroo's pouch. It looks awfully sick and promptly vomits.
Thousands of miles away in Antarctica, a little kangaroo sits in the snow shivering, crying and mumbling to itself, "…
Visit the Balkans, join the Lost Highway Expedition (already in progress):
A massive movement of individuals will pass through Ljubljana, Zagreb, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Skopje, Prishtina, Tirana, Podgorica and Sarajevo. The expedition will generate projects, art works, networks, architecture and…
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is really ground-breaking:
Study Finds Brain Cell Regulator Is Volume Control, Not On/off Switch:
He and his colleagues studied an ion channel that controls neuronal activity called Kv2.1, a type of voltage-gated potassium channel that is found in every…
Have You Ever Seen An Elephant ... Run?:
Dr John Hutchinson, a research leader at the UK's Royal Veterinary College (RVC), has already shown that, contrary to previous studies and most popular opinion, elephants moving at speed appear to be running. Now with funding from the Biotechnology and…
The American poet Frederick Ogden Nash was born at Rye, New York on this day in 1902. After family finances prevented him from finishing even a year at Harvard, he struggled as a school teacher (a class of 14-year-olds caused too much stress), bond broker (he sold but one bond in 18 months, and…
Yeah, I know everyone is doing it, but when I first tried I never got quotes that were really satisfying. But when PZ set up a random 5 from his own vault, I got an embarrasment of riches. So here are the first 5 I liked from there:
Creeds made in Dark Ages are like drawings made in dark rooms
[…
I had several ideas for today's edition that I thought were really great, until I saw this. There is nothing I can write today that can get any better. I know when I am outcompeted and I bow to His Tentacled Majesty. I'll try something better next week....
Well, the first five-day plan, all-politics blogging, kinda happened all on Echidne of the Snakes where one post got 120+ comments (mostly nasty) while the same post here got 5 nice comments. So, you pretty much missed out on all the fun if you just came here.
The second five-day plan, all about…
One of the several hypotheses floating around over the past several years to explain the phenomenon of repeated wake-up events in hibernating animals although such events are very energy-draining, is the notion that the immune system needs to be rewarmed in order to fend off any potential bacterial…
Carnival of the Green #40 is up on Camden Kiwi.
Philosophy Carnival 34 is up on El Blog de Marcos.
Friday Ark #100 (congratulations!) is up on The Modulator.
I know most visitors do not read longer posts, especially not posts on arcane topics likeentrainment of circadian rhythms which filled this blog all week long.
But I wrote them for myself and everything else is profit. I wrote them because I wanted to hype myself for my own Dissertation writing…
Kevin is back in the field, catching herps with abandon...
Return to Muyu
7 August
My first day back to the great town of Muyu. No more pizza, no more burgers, no more fries, no more cold beverages, just curious friendly faces. Linsen appeared in my room around 9am almost as if he hadn't missed a…
