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
You should check out all of my SiBlings' Friday Blogging practices, then come back here for a new edition of Friday Weird Sex Blogging. Last week you saw an example of a corkscrew penis. But that is not the only one of a kind. See more under the fold (first posted on July 14, 2006)...
Some birds…
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…
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…
According to the referrers pages of my Sitemeter, a lot of you are excited by strange penises, strange penises, strange penises and strange penises (or something like it). So, today we have to move to a different topic, traffic-be-damned, for those without phallic fixations. So, read on (first…
There are 21 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…
I love getting alumni letters from NCSU - I get reminded over and over again how cool research gets done there all the time. In this issue, for instance:
NC State Study Finds Genes Important to Sleep:
For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates and guarding against…
Well, this was a busy week for sure (and not just yesterday's telecom outage that affected PLoS all day!). There was cleaning, and shopping, and cooking, and gathering/borrowing extra tables, chairs, plates and silverware, for that One Big Night of the year at our house - the Passover dinner.
Last…
This one is interesting - a blog with rotating hosts! The new blog, Photo Synthesis will rotate authors every month, each author using the blog to showcase some of their best science/nature photography.
The first one to go is Alex Wild, who you may also know from his Myrmecos Blog. So go say Hello…
In two senses of the word. He's moved from Durham, NC and Duke University all the way West to British Columbia. And he's also moved his blog from his old Blogspot Primate Diaries to a brand new place on Nature Network where he opened up with quite an awesome starting post - Introducing a Primate
The Four Stone Hearth Anthropology Blog Carnival #64 is up on Quiche Moraine
The Skeptics' Circle #109 is up on The Lay Scientist
Carnival of the Liberals #88 is up on Liberal England
Friday Ark #238 is up on Modulator
DNA From Old Insects: No Need To Destroy The Specimen:
Ancient DNA can now be retrieved from various insect remains without destruction of the specimens.
Rhythmic Genomics: The Yeast Metronome And The Walk Of Life:
New genome sequence information from the humble baker's yeast has revealed…
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.
- Martha Graham
Last night was Seder night and today we had the outage, so I know this is coming late. Still, there are 26 new articles published last night and 5 new articles tonight in PLoS ONE. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers…
The Bay Area experienced telecoms trauma overnight. Rumors of main switch outages, fiber optic cables being cut and telephone coverage being suspended, abound. We hear that the fiber optic cable is the most likely culprit. We're trying to figure out how long it might take for these big picture…
The Secret To Chimp Strength:
February's brutal chimpanzee attack, during which a pet chimp inflicted devastating injuries on a Connecticut woman, was a stark reminder that chimps are much stronger than humans--as much as four-times stronger, some researchers believe. But what is it that makes our…
The Associated Press is, I hear, not stupid. So, the only explanation for this is that they are suicidal (but that is not new, of course). And, since it is them who are clogging the system, ruining the newspapers and threatening the Web, perhaps they should be persuaded to just shut down for good.…
Brine-Loving Microbes Reveal Secrets To Success In Chemically Extreme Environments:
Scientists have completed the first study of microbes that live within the plumbing of deep-sea mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Mexico, where conditions may resemble those in extraterrestrial environments and early…
He didn't come out of my belly, but my God, I've made his bones, because I've attended to every meal, and how he sleeps, and the fact that he swims like a fish because I took him to the ocean. I'm so proud of all those things. But he is my biggest pride.
- John Lennon
There are 26 awesome 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.
If you are reluctant to post ratings, notes and comments, perhaps you should read this first.
You can now also easily place…
Carnival of the Blue #23 is up on Deep Sea News
Scientia Pro Publica #1, The Science, Nature and Medicine Blog Carnival, is up on Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
Carnival of the Green #174 is up on GreenDeals Blog
Grand Rounds Vol. 5 No. 29 are up on Getting Closer to Myself
In TIME, a couple of days ago - How Obama Is Using the Science of Change:
Two weeks before Election Day, Barack Obama's campaign was mobilizing millions of supporters; it was a bit late to start rewriting get-out-the-vote (GOTV) scripts. "BUT, BUT, BUT," deputy field director Mike Moffo wrote to…
Lifeless Cells Ensure Sharp Vision:
Seemingly dead cells perform a surprising task in the lens of a fish eye. Every morning and evening they change the lens's capacity to refract light in order to enhance color perception during the day and night vision when it's dark. This is shown in new…
Humor is, I think, the subtlest and chanciest of literary forms. It is surely not accidental that there are a thousand novelists, essayists, poets or journalists for each humorist. It is a long, long time between James Thurbers.
- Leo C. Rosten
This is very interesting, referring to Canadian system:
Cost of the NSERC Science Grant Peer Review System Exceeds the Cost of Giving Every Qualified Researcher a Baseline Grant:
Using Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Canada (NSERC) statistics, we show that the $40,000 (Canadian)…
It's Monday night, so let's see what just got published in PLoS Biology, PLoS Medicine, PLoS ONE and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases:
Cryptochrome Mediates Light-Dependent Magnetosensitivity of Drosophila's Circadian Clock:
Magnetic fields influence endogenous clocks controlling the sleep-wake…
