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
How Social Insects Recognize Dead Nestmates:
When an ant dies in an ant nest or near one, its body is quickly picked up by living ants and removed from the colony, thus limiting the risk of colony infection by pathogens from the corpse. The predominant understanding among entomologists - scientists…
There are times when fear is good. It must keep its watchful place at the heart's controls. There is advantage in the wisdom won from pain.
- John Hoyer Updike
There are 12 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one…
Letting it All Hang Out: The Personal Genome Project
May 19, 2009
6:30-8:30 p.m. with discussion beginning at 7:00 followed by Q&A
Tir Na Nog 218 South Blount Street, Raleigh, 833-7795
Two years ago no one knew what personal genomics was; now it's everywhere. For a few hundred dollars, you can…
I know PZ has recently posted a picture and a video of slugs mating. But these pictures were taken here in North Carolina, by blog reader Kris Barstow, who says:
The year was 1999 plus or minus a year, the site was a few miles from Asheboro, NC. I don't recall the season, but it was warm, and there…
It is really sad when an independent book store closes. It is even sadder when that book store was not just a shop but also a center of local community, a place where people gathered to have coffee, talk, interact with boook authors, take art or yoga classes, participate in theater or children's…
The soundest argument will produce no more conviction in an empty head than the most superficial declamation; as a feather and a guinea fall with equal velocity in a vacuum.
-Charles Caleb Colton, author and clergyman (1780-1832)
Circus of the Spineless #38 is up on Birder's Lounge
May 2009 edition of Scientiae Part II is up on Endless Possibilities v2.0
Carnival of the Green #178 is up on Go Green Travel Green
Grand Rounds Vol. 5 No. 33 is up on Nursing Handover
There are 16 new articles in PLoS ONE today (as well as 13 last night and 5 on Friday night). As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea…
Discussion with David Cohn, Mathew Ingram, Amber MacArthur, Sarah Milstein and Jay Rosen.
A good conversation for those interested in Twitter and the current journalistic revolution, calm-headed and smart.
Steve Paikin, who did the interview, was sometimes a little hazy about what journalism is,…
You know I went to the #TriangleTweetup last week at @Bronto, an Email Service Provider in Durham, NC, with an inflatable brontosaurus as its mascot:
Apart from searching Twitter for TriangleTweetup, you could also follow @triangletweetup for updates. At one point during the event, the hashtag…
...are three blogs written by the same person - Ross Horsley, a librarian with interesting creative juices.
Her first blog is My First Dictionary in which she uses pictures from an old 1950s kids' Dictionary and replaces the text with something....usually ominous!
Her second blog is Musty Moments…
The more important the title, the more self-important the person, the greater the amount of time spent on the Eastern shuttle, the more suspicious the man and the less vitality in the organization.
- Jane O'Reilly
Dolphins Maintain Round-the-clock Visual Vigilance:
Dolphins have a clever trick for overcoming sleep deprivation. Sam Ridgway from the US Navy Marine Mammal Program explains that they are able to send half of their brains to sleep while the other half remains conscious. What is more, the mammals…
I am pretty much on record that I would not pay for anything online (to be precise, to pay for content - I certainly use the Web for shopping). But with some caveats. I have been known to hit a PayPal button of people who provide content and information I find valuable. And I would presumably pay,…
We all try to be alike in our youth, and individual in our middle age ... although we sometimes mistake eccentricity for individuality.
- Mrs. Alec-Tweedie
Carel Brest van Kempen just posted a new one - even more ambitious than all the previous cases:
I've given the time-lapse treatment to a new painting. Feeling more confident with the process, I tackled a major painting this time: A pair of courting Crowned Flying Lizards (Draco cornutus) in the…
The movie Fresh, about the way we produce (and should produce) food is out. Here is the trailer:
Does anyone know when it will be in wider circulation?
Via
Introducing The Clade. It has now been launched and you can read all about it and see the first contributions (and perhaps decide to join in and contribute yourself):
The Clade will bring together environmentally concerned writers, artists, photographers, videographers and podcasters who want to go…
Check them out here (unfortunately, no embed codes, so you'll have to click and watch there, or download on iTunes):
Know Your Rights: Who Really Owns Your Scholarly Works?:
In this panel discussion, experts on copyright law and scholarly publishing discuss how scholars and researchers can take…
Some Vocal-mimicking Animals, Particularly Parrots, Can Move To A Musical Beat:
Researchers at Harvard University have found that humans aren't the only ones who can groove to a beat -- some other species can dance, too. The capability was previously believed to be specific to humans. The research…
April was a busy month, so I posted only 145 times. Also, posts that would have been just simple links and one-liners are now more likely to be found on Twitter (from which I import the feeds into FriendFeed and Facebook).
Go through the April archives - lots of news and several excellent (or very…
Berry Go Round #16 is up on Quiche Moraine
May Festival Of The Trees is up on Orchards Forever
May Scientiae Carnival - A Snapshot! Part 1 is up on Endless Possibilities v2.0
Friday Ark #241 is up on Modulator
