dr. dolittle
Posts by this author
January 27, 2014
New research published in Science Reports by Strauch et al., shows that fruit flies can tell the difference between cancerous and healthy cells. The researchers recorded calcium patterns indicative of neuronal activity that was stimulated in response to various odors emitted by healthy and…
January 23, 2014
I am very excited to report that the Puerto Rico Physiological Society will be hosting their 4th annual meeting, "Exercise Physiology: From Molecules to Systems" on February 8th.
PRPS 2014 Save the Date
Last year's meeting was focused on mitochondria and was a big success. This year's meeting is…
January 17, 2014
Amazon Prime Air might want to pay attention to this research. Scientists have studied the flight patterns of albatrosses to understand how the animals are able to sustain flight with minimal energy expenditure.
January 17, 2014
New research provides more evidence of how birds conserve energy by flying in a "V" formation:
January 10, 2014
Image from www.clker.com. Woodridge, IL, USA --- Great White Shark Opening Mouth --- Image by © Denis Scott/Corbis
Scientists have discovered that great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) actually live longer than previously thought (up to 23 years or so). Using radiocarbon age estimates, Dr…
January 8, 2014
Frog with an extra foot. Image from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Image of a frog with a missing leg from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Since 1995 deformed frogs have been turning up. Call them the canaries in the coal mine for environmental health. Frogs are showing signs…
January 3, 2014
Image from: The Poo Prejudice | The Arid Land Homesteaders League www.plantfreak.wordpress.com
Okay, here is something rather interesting that I came across today. Scientists have discovered that dogs will align their bodies with the Earth's magnetic field before excretion. What is even more…
January 3, 2014
Image from www.pufferfish.net
It should be noted that the theory of dolphins getting "high" off puffer fish is highly controversial as others have mentioned that tetrodotoxin, the neurotoxin released from puffer fish, is famous for causing paralysis making it more of a poison as opposed to a…
January 2, 2014
A new documentary from BBC called "Spy in the Pod" has captured what they claim to be footage of dolphins using puffer fish to reportedly "get high". According to a quote from the Daily Mail, "Zoologist and series producer Rob Pilley said that it was the first time dolphins had been filmed behaving…
December 29, 2013
I just read this blog describing the very strange animal moments. Check it out!
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2013/12/24/top-ten-s…
Just look at the cute little Tinkerbella fly, a mere 250 micrometers long, that was discovered in Costa Rica:
Imageof Tinkerbella from Scientific…
December 29, 2013
Image from: Idaho Nature Notes, http://idahonaturenotes.blogspot.com/2012/01/backyard-deer.html
This was a very good question brought up by a reader of the prior post. As it turns out, deer and elk move between summer and winter ranges. The winter range is at a lower elevation where there are…
December 23, 2013
This was too cute not to share. Here is a video of animals in Blank Park Zoo in Iowa performing their version of a Christmas carol.
December 21, 2013
Unlike Santa's reindeer living in the lap of luxury at the North Pole, wild reindeer that live in the barren tundra have to find their own food. Being too chilly for trees, the tundra is hospitable to only shrubs, grasses and lichen, which are abundant during the warmer seasons. However, during…
December 19, 2013
Could giant freshwater octopuses really be to blame for the many unexplained drownings in Oklahoma's lakes?
December 16, 2013
Image of a grizzly bear at Yellowstone National Park from http://free-naturewallpaper.com/nature-images/animals/bears/Grizzly-at-…
I was so excited to see a story featuring grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. The article was about how Dr. Kevin Corbit at…
December 12, 2013
Image from www.Nematode.net.Credit: http://www.latech.edu/ans/faculty-staff/liberatos-james-d/parasite-pict…
Believe it or not, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in collaboration with Coronado Biosciences are intentionally infecting people who have autism with whipworms from pigs…
December 5, 2013
Rescuers have been successful in coaxing some of the stranded pilot whales to deeper waters in the Everglades National Park (Florida). However this success is still marred by tragedy as eleven animals are now confirmed dead.
It is currently unclear why the whales beached themselves. Researchers…
December 4, 2013
I came across this neat "name that animal" quiz. How well do you know your animals? Find out now!!
Click here to take the quiz!
December 3, 2013
Image of a great white shark from Wikimedia Commons.
Dr. Michael Stanhope from Cornell University has discovered that great white sharks actually share more proteins involved in metabolism and biochemistry in common with humans than zebrafish, a common fish model used in biomedical research.…
November 26, 2013
In honor of our most beloved Thanksgiving dinner guest:
Despite their rather large stature, ranging from 2.5-10.8 kg, wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) can fly as seen in this video:
For more information about turkeys:Cornell Lab of Ornithology
November 22, 2013
Researchers are studying tumors in the mammary glands of dogs to help understand breast cancer in humans with the goal of developing new treatments.
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November 22, 2013
Researchers in Romania have created a blood substitute with oxygen-carrying capacity using a protein called hemerythrin isolated from sea worms. This blood substitute has shown promise in studies of mice.
November 17, 2013
A new study from Science Translational Medicine (DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.3006534) presents data showing that tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a compound isolated from the bile of bears, may actually slow the development of type 1 diabetes (in mice at least). It is thought to work by reducing…
November 14, 2013
Surgeons at Morriston Hospital in Swansea are using 3D printing technology to create titanium implants for a patient whose face was crushed in an accident. This was reported to be the first use of 3D printing to recreate a face after an injury.
Using CT scans, they created a mirror image of the…
November 11, 2013
In honor of Veteran's Day, we must not forget to thank the dolphins (and more recently sea lions) that have been active members of the US Military. The US military used dolphins trained to find and disarm underwater mines in the Iraq War. Eight dolphins served as the first marine mammals in active…
November 8, 2013
I came across this interesting technology to communicate with dogs that I just had to share. A research team at Georgia Tech has come up with the idea of creating a high-tech vest for assistance dogs to better communicate with their owners. The project is called FIDO (Facilitating Interactions for…
November 7, 2013
I am already starting to get excited about the 2014 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego next April. The program for comparative physiology is expected to be very good!
If you are a graduate student or postdoc submitting an abstract on comparative physiology for the meeting, don't forget…
November 7, 2013
The panda bear cub recently born at the Smithsonian Zoo is approaching her 100th day of life. Following Chinese tradition, the zoo will be announcing her name on December 1st.
In the meantime, the zoo is asking for your help in choosing her name by casting your vote using the online poll that can…