clock | February 13, 2009The smile that flickers on baby's lips when he sleeps; does anybody know where it was born? Yes, there is a rumor that a young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born.
- Rabindranath Tagore
clock | February 13, 2009This was a busy week for me (hence light posting) so I was amiss somewhat with pointing out cool new PLoS articles. So, let's see what's new in PLoS Genetics, PLoS Medicine, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Biology, PLoS Pathogens, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases and PLoS ONE this week. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
A Basal Sauropodomorph (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Triassic, Carnian) and the Early…
clock | February 13, 2009Why Sleep Is Needed To Form Memories:
If you ever argued with your mother when she told you to get some sleep after studying for an exam instead of pulling an all-nighter, you owe her an apology, because it turns out she's right. And now, scientists are beginning to understand why.
Did Burst Of Gene Duplication Set Stage For Human Evolution?:
Roughly 10 million years ago, a major genetic change occurred in a common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans. Segments of DNA in its genome began to form duplicate copies at a greater rate than in the past, creating an instability that…
clock | February 12, 2009Why does no one confess his sins? Because he is yet in them. It is for a man who has awoke from sleep to tell his dreams.
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca
clock | February 12, 2009Why Fruits Ripen And Flowers Die: Scientists Discover How Key Plant Hormone Is Triggered:
Best known for its effects on fruit ripening and flower fading, the gaseous plant hormone ethylene shortens the shelf life of many fruits and plants by putting their physiology on fast-forward. In recent years, scientists learned a lot about the different components that transmit ethylene signals inside cells. But a central regulator of ethylene responses, a protein known as EIN2, resisted all their efforts.
Y Chromosome And Surname Study Challenges Infidelity 'Myth':
Our surnames and genetic information…
clock | February 11, 2009The Officers all seemed very weary of this place I am not surprised at it: it must be to them a place of exile: Last year there had been plenty of Quail to shoot, but this year they have not appeared; this resource exhausted, the last tie which bound them to existence, seemed on the point of being dissolved.
- Charles Robert Darwin, Beagle diary
clock | February 11, 2009There are 17 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 click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Individual Recognition in Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus): Evidence from 2D-Images of Heads from Different Breeds:
In order to maintain cohesion of groups, social animals need to process social information efficiently.…
clock | February 11, 2009Linnaeus Legacy #16 is up on Seeds Aside
Carnival of the Liberals #84 is up on Submitted to a Candid World
clock | February 11, 2009You may remember some time ago, we gave out the data to a few people in the community to take a look at the commenting function on PLoS ONE. Now, Euan Adie, using crowdsourcing (a big Thank You to 818 people who helped with this project) came up with the most detailed analysis to date. Well worth your time to take a look.
clock | February 11, 2009From The Alliance for Taxpayer Access:
CALL TO ACTION: Ask your Representative to oppose the H.R. 801 - The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act
February 11, 2009
Last week, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (Rep. John Conyers, D-MI) re-introduced a bill that would reverse the NIH Public Access Policy and make it impossible for other federal agencies to put similar policies into place. The legislation is H.R. 801: the "Fair Copyright in Research Works Act" (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.801:).
All supporters of public access - researchers, libraries, campus…
clock | February 11, 2009Hummingbird 'Tag' Suggests Fragmentation May Be Part Of Pollination Crisis:
To find out the cause of what's being called a global "pollination crisis," researchers at Oregon State University have successfully attached an electronic tracking device to a hummingbird for the first time - and the darting travels of the tiny bird may be pointing the way to at least part of the problem.
Biologists Find Gene Network That Gave Rise To First Tooth:
A new paper in PLoS Biology reports that a common gene regulatory circuit controls the development of all dentitions, from the first teeth in the throats…
clock | February 10, 2009In saying that without the power of the state, evil men would rule over the good it is taken for granted that the good are precisely those who at the present time have power, and the bad the same who are now subjugated.
- Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
clock | February 10, 2009There are 16 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 click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Genetic Determinants of Financial Risk Taking:
Individuals vary in their willingness to take financial risks. Here we show that variants of two genes that regulate dopamine and serotonin neurotransmission and have…
clock | February 10, 2009Lots of excitement this week on science blogs and other fans of reality.
The biggest biggy of the biggest biggies is Blog For Darwin blog swarm - submit your entries here.
But there are some other, smaller initiatives out there. For instance, this Darwin Meme. And Darwinfest haiku contest.
And if you are blogging more seriously and sholarly about Darwin's place in history, or his publications, then certainly that would fit into the next Giant's Shoulders carnival.
On Twitter, follow and use the #Darwin hashtag. On FriendFeed, I am assuming that the Life Scientists room will be the place to…
clock | February 10, 2009This will be on the campus of UNC Wilmington and I'll do my best to be there if possible:
Darwin's Legacy: Evolution's Impact on Science and Culture
March 19-21, 2009
UNCW's Evolution Learning Community will be hosting "Darwin's Legacy: Evolution's Impact on Science and Culture," a multidisciplinary student conference on March 19-21, 2009.
The conference will be a unique opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts who are conducting research or creative endeavors related to evolution to present their research, investigate…
clock | February 10, 2009
The Conyers bill (a.k.a. Fair Copyright in Research Works Act, HR 801), is back. Despite all the debunking it got last time around, and despite the country having more important problems to deal with right now, this regressive bill, completely unchanged word-for-word, is apparently back again. It is the attempt by TA publishers, through lies and distortions, to overturn the NIH open access policy. Here are some reactions - perhaps Rep.Conyers and colleagues should get an earful from us....
Peter Suber, in Comments on the Conyers bill provides all the useful links, plus some of the…
clock | February 10, 2009Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I complained that Triangle is too narrow a term for a Hub at Nature Network, as there is really no humongous city where everything is centered but the science is distributed all around the state of North Carolina, with people collaborating with each other and traveling back and forth between various regions of the state.
Well, now, to reflect that situation, the Triangle group on Nature Network was renamed the North Carolina group. If it grows in size, it may one day become a proper Hub. So, if you are in any way interested in science and live anywhere in…