A Blog Around The Clock

ClockQuotes

Category: Clock Quotes

If we think we regulate printing, thereby to rectify manners, we must regulate all regulations and pastimes, all that is delightful to man.

- John Milton

Posted by Coturnix at 3:52 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Open Access in Italy

Category: EuroTrip '08

Recordings from the Open Access panel in Trieste are now available online. The order was a little different - I went last.

Posted by Coturnix at 10:11 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

My friend on Ground Zero

Category: Personal

For 9/11 Wall, a Little Support and a Permanent Place:

Steven M. Davis of Davis Brody Bond Aedas, the museum architects, advocated saving a large part of the wall, as did the engineers, Milan Vatovec, of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, and Guy Nordenson, of Guy Nordenson & Associates. Others involved with the reconstruction of ground zero were not entirely persuaded that it was worth the effort, cost and potential risk.

Why did I post this? Because Milan Vatovec is a childhood friend of mine (and hockey fans may find his name familiar as he was on the Yugoslav national team for quite a while).

Posted by Coturnix at 9:16 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Conclusions First!

Category: Politics

Legislature wants polar bear study:

The state Legislature is looking to hire a few good polar bear scientists. The conclusions have already been agreed upon -- researchers just have to fill in the science part.

That's how little Johnny Alaska lawmakers think science works, I guess...

Posted by Coturnix at 9:12 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

The Impact Factor Folly

Category: Open Science

The latest issue of Epidemiology features a (only somewhat tongue-in-cheek) article by Miguel A. Hernan: Epidemiologists (of All People) Should Question Journal Impact Factors. Well worth reading and thinking about:

Developing a good impact factor is a nontrivial methodologic undertaking that depends on the intended goal of the rankings. Hence, a scientific discussion about any impact factor requires that its goal is made explicit and its methodology is described in enough detail to make the calculations reproducible. Paradoxically, the methodology of the impact factor that is used to evaluate peer-review journals cannot be fully evaluated in a peer-reviewed journal. As illustrated above, a manuscript describing the Thomson Scientific impact factor would be a hard sell for most journals, and hardly acceptable for the American Journal of Epidemiology, the International Journal of Epidemiology, or Epidemiology.

The same issue also features several interesting responses:

Impact Factor: Good Reasons for Concern
How Come Scientists Uncritically Adopt and Embody Thomson's Bibliographic Impact Factor?
Rise and Fall of the Thomson Impact Factor
The Impact Factor Follies

Posted by Coturnix at 9:03 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Yes, he is touring again....

Category: Fun

Yup, watch the press conference announcing Tom Waits' tour.

Posted by Coturnix at 9:00 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

How atrazine affects development?

Category: Science News

PLoS ONE paper The Herbicide Atrazine Activates Endocrine Gene Networks via Non-Steroidal NR5A Nuclear Receptors in Fish and Mammalian Cells will be one of the topics covered by Science Friday on NPR tomorrow - tune in if you can, or wait until the podcast is posted on the site later tomorrow night:

Researchers report that the common weedkiller atrazine may be able to disrupt hormonal signaling in humans. The herbicide is the second-most-applied weedkiller in the United States, with uses from suburban lawns to agricultural production of corn and sorghum.

In recent years, atrazine has been suspected of playing a role in sexual abnormalities in fish, frogs, and other aquatic organisms. The chemical has been banned in Europe, but is still widely used in the U.S. Now, writing in the journal PLOS One, researchers report that the chemical appears to affect two different genes in human placental cells. We'll talk with one of the authors of the study about the work and what it means.

Posted by Coturnix at 6:27 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Thank you!

Category: Fun

Thanks to a dear reader, I will have hours of fun!

Posted by Coturnix at 9:11 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Congratulations!!!!!

Category: Academia

Anna Kushnir is now to be referred to as Doctor Anna Kushnir!

Posted by Coturnix at 8:36 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Today's carnivals

Category: Carnivals

May Scientiae Carnival is up on A Cat Nap

170th Carnival of Education is up on Bellringers

Carnival of the Recipes: Spring-Fever Edition is up on Everything And Nothing

Posted by Coturnix at 8:30 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

My Picks From ScienceDaily

Category: Science News

Why Face Symmetry Is Sexy Across Cultures And Species:

In humans, faces are an important source of social information. One property of faces that is rapidly noticed is attractiveness. Research has highlighted symmetry and sexual dimorphism (how masculine or feminine a face is) as important variables that determine a face's attractiveness.

Platypus Genome Explains Animal's Peculiar Features; Holds Clues To Evolution Of Mammals:

The duck-billed platypus: part bird, part reptile, part mammal -- and the genome to prove it.

Biodiversity: It's In The Water:

What if hydrology is more important for predicting biodiversity than biology? New research challenges current thinking about biodiversity and opens up new avenues for predicting how climate change or human activity may affect biodiversity patterns.

When Bears Steal Human Food, Mom's Not To Blame:

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) found that the black bears that become habituated to human food and garbage may not be learning these behaviors exclusively from their mothers, as widely assumed. Bears that steal human food sources are just as likely to form these habits on their own or pick them up from unrelated, "bad influence" bears.

Mathematics Simplifies Sleep Monitoring:

A UQ researcher has created a new way to measure breathing patterns in sleeping infants which may also work for adults.

It Might Be True That 'Men Marry Their Mothers':

Whether a young man's mother earned a college degree and whether she worked outside the home while he was growing up seems to have an effect years later when he considers his ideal wife, according to a study by University of Iowa sociologist Christine Whelan.

Does The Brain Control Muscles Or Movements?:

One of the major scientific questions about the brain is how it can translate the simple intent to perform an action--say, reach for a glass--into the dynamic, coordinated symphony of muscle movements required for that action. The neural instructions for such actions originate in the brain's primary motor cortex, and the puzzle has been whether the neurons in this region encode the details of individual muscle activities or the high-level commands that govern kinetics--the direction and velocity of desired movements.

Killer Competition: Neurons Duke It Out For Survival:

The developing nervous system makes far more nerve cells than are needed to ensure target organs and tissues are properly connected to the nervous system. As nerves connect to target organs, they somehow compete with each other resulting in some living and some dying. Now, using a combination of computer modeling and molecular biology, neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered how the target tissue helps newly connected peripheral nerve cells strengthen their connections and kill neighboring nerves. The study was published in the April 18th issue of Science.

Posted by Coturnix at 8:21 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

ClockQuotes

Category: Carnivals

If you're there before it's over, you're on time.

- James J. Walker

Posted by Coturnix at 3:55 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Yay for Platypus!

Category: Genetics

The genome of the Platypus has been sequenced:

The first analysis of the genome sequence of the duck-billed platypus was published today by an international team of scientists, revealing clues about how genomes were organized during the early evolution of mammals. The research was supported in part by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Fans of TV nature shows will remember that the duck-billed platypus, native to Australia, is one of the few mammals that lay eggs. However, platypus peculiarity does not end there. For example, these odd animals boast what looks like a duck's bill, which houses an electrosensory system used when foraging for food underwater, and a thick fur coat to adapt to the icy waters in which it resides. Males also possess hind leg spurs that can deliver venom powerful enough to wound territorial competitors during mating season, or cause excruciating pain in other mammals, including humans.

"At first glance, the platypus appears as if it was the result of an evolutionary accident. But as weird as this animal looks, its genome sequence is priceless for understanding how fundamental mammalian biological processes have evolved," said Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director of NHGRI. "Comparisons of the platypus genome to those of other mammals will provide new insights into the history, structure and function of our own genome."

In a paper published in today's issue of the journal Nature, researchers analyzed a high-quality draft genome sequence of Glennie, a female platypus from Australia. The consortium included scientists from the United States, Australia, England, Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and Spain. Sequencing of the platypus genome was led by the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, a part of NHGRI's Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network.

Once the sequence was produced, researchers began comparing the genome of the platypus, whose ancestors split from the rest of mammalian lineage some 166 million years ago, with the well-characterized genomes of the human, mouse, dog, opossum and chicken, as well as the draft genome sequence of the green anole lizard. The chicken genome was chosen because it is descended from the ancestral group of egg-laying animals, including extinct reptiles, who passed on much of their DNA to animals like the platypus. Scientists were particularly interested in finding features within the platypus genome that could explain the odd mix of characteristics seen in the platypus: those that were more like reptiles, birds and mammals.

The team found that the platypus genome contains about the same number of protein-coding genes as other mammals -- approximately 18,500. The platypus also shares more than 80 percent of its genes with other mammals whose genomes have been sequenced. Next, researchers combed the platypus genome looking for genetic evidence of sequences unique to platypuses that have been lost from mammalian genomes. Scientists were also eager to find out what characteristics of the platypus were linked at the DNA level to reptiles or mammals.

"The mix of reptilian, mammalian and unique characteristics of the platypus genome provides many clues to the function and evolution of all mammalian genomes," said Richard K. Wilson, Ph.D., director of Washington University School of Medicine's Genome Sequencing Center and the paper's senior author. "Now, we'll be able to pinpoint genes that have been conserved throughout evolution, as well as those that have been lost or gained."

Read the rest here and the Nature article here...

Posted by Coturnix at 3:50 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Blog about a classic science paper

Category: Blogging

The challenge from skullsinthestars is up - pick up a very old, classic science paper and write a blog post about it. Put it in a proper historical, theoretical, methodological and philosophical context. You can always go back to blogging about the latest research or latest creationist idiocy tomorrow.

Posted by Coturnix at 11:36 AM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Thanks, Jim Neal!

Category: Politics

I wanted to write this, but Abel did it much more eloquently.

Posted by Coturnix at 10:41 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Snowglobes

Category: Personal

My daughter collects snowglobes. Or, to be precise, we collect snowglobes for her when we travel. She has a few from New York City, one from San Francisco, one from Murtle Beach, one from Milwaukee. I badly messed up when I went to Boston last year and did not get one. Last year, the TSA made a rule that snowglobes cannot be in the carry-on luggage (and I prefer to travel light and not check in any bags), but the lax security at Milwaukee airport let me smuggle one in.

Now, traveling around Europe provided me with the opportunity to greatly add to her collection: snowglobes from London, Cambridge, Cromer, Trieste, Belgrade and Berlin. Carrying them on European airlines was easy, but I checked in the suitcase on the last flight back to the USA:

Posted by Coturnix at 10:08 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Microbial genomics in PLoS

Category: Microorganisms

Considering this I am kinda baffled by this. There is tons of microbial metagenomics and genomics in PLoS journals.

Posted by Coturnix at 9:49 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Open Access Directory (OAD)

Category: Open Science

Open Access Directory (OAD) is a wiki that contains all the information one may need and want in regard to Open Access Publishing, from jobs to research questions. You should bookmark it and check it out regularly.

Posted by Coturnix at 9:36 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Open Humanities Press

Category: Open Science

Peter Suber relays the announcement (and add some more) of the Open Humanities Press, a collection of seven Open Access journals (a humanities PLoS of sorts) in critical and cultural theory.

Humanities bloggers have been way ahead of science bloggers in regards to posting their own work (including ideas, hypotheses and rough drafts) online, yet official humanities publishing has lagged behind natural sciences and medicine when it comes to adopting Open Access, so this is a very positive move on their part.

Posted by Coturnix at 9:32 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

New and Exciting in PLoS ONE

Category: Science News

There are 56 new articles published in PLoS ONE this week and it was hard to make the picks as this seems to be a very, very good week with lots of cool papers. Here are some of the highlights - please post ratings, notes and comments on the papers, write blog posts and send trackbacks:

Seed Dispersal and Establishment of Endangered Plants on Oceanic Islands: The Janzen-Connell Model, and the Use of Ecological Analogues:

The Janzen-Connell model states that plant-specific natural enemies may have a disproportionately large negative effect on progeny close to maternal trees. The majority of experimental and theoretical studies addressing the Janzen-Connell model have explored how it can explain existing patterns of species diversity in tropical mainland areas. Very few studies have investigated how the model's predictions apply to isolated oceanic islands, or to the conservation management of endangered plants. Here, we provide the first experimental investigation of the predictions of the Janzen-Connell model on an oceanic island, in a conservation context. In addition, we experimentally evaluate the use of ecological analogue animals to resurrect the functional component of extinct frugivores that could have dispersed seeds away from maternal trees. In Mauritius, we investigated seed germination and seedling survival patterns of the critically endangered endemic plant Syzygium mamillatum (Myrtaceae) in relation to proximity to maternal trees. We found strong negative effects of proximity to maternal trees on growth and survival of seedlings. We successfully used giant Aldabran tortoises as ecological analogues for extinct Mauritian frugivores. Effects of gut-passage were negative at the seed germination stage, but seedlings from gut-passed seeds grew taller, had more leaves, and suffered less damage from natural enemies than any of the other seedlings. We provide the first experimental evidence of a distance-dependent Janzen-Connell effect on an oceanic island. Our results potentially have serious implications for the conservation management of rare plant species on oceanic islands, which harbour a disproportionately large fraction of the world's endemic and endangered plants. Furthermore, in contrast to recent controversy about the use of non-indigenous extant megafauna for re-wilding projects in North America and elsewhere, we argue that Mauritius and other oceanic islands are ideal study systems in which to empirically explore the use of ecological analogue species in restoration ecology.

The Druze: A Population Genetic Refugium of the Near East:

Phylogenetic mitochondrial DNA haplogroups are highly partitioned across global geographic regions. A unique exception is the X haplogroup, which has a widespread global distribution without major regions of distinct localization. We have examined mitochondrial DNA sequence variation together with Y-chromosome-based haplogroup structure among the Druze, a religious minority with a unique socio-demographic history residing in the Near East. We observed a striking overall pattern of heterogeneous parental origins, consistent with Druze oral tradition, together with both a high frequency and a high diversity of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) X haplogroup within a confined regional subpopulation. Furthermore demographic modeling indicated low migration rates with nearby populations. These findings were enabled through the use of a paternal kindred based sampling approach, and suggest that the Galilee Druze represent a population isolate, and that the combination of a high frequency and diversity of the mtDNA X haplogroup signifies a phylogenetic refugium, providing a sample snapshot of the genetic landscape of the Near East prior to the modern age.

Bt Crop Effects on Functional Guilds of Non-Target Arthropods: A Meta-Analysis:

Uncertainty persists over the environmental effects of genetically-engineered crops that produce the insecticidal Cry proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). We performed meta-analyses on a modified public database to synthesize current knowledge about the effects of Bt cotton, maize and potato on the abundance and interactions of arthropod non-target functional guilds. We compared the abundance of predators, parasitoids, omnivores, detritivores and herbivores under scenarios in which neither, only the non-Bt crops, or both Bt and non-Bt crops received insecticide treatments. Predators were less abundant in Bt cotton compared to unsprayed non-Bt controls. As expected, fewer specialist parasitoids of the target pest occurred in Bt maize fields compared to unsprayed non-Bt controls, but no significant reduction was detected for other parasitoids. Numbers of predators and herbivores were higher in Bt crops compared to sprayed non-Bt controls, and type of insecticide influenced the magnitude of the difference. Omnivores and detritivores were more abundant in insecticide-treated controls and for the latter guild this was associated with reductions of their predators in sprayed non-Bt maize. No differences in abundance were found when both Bt and non-Bt crops were sprayed. Predator-to-prey ratios were unchanged by either Bt crops or the use of insecticides; ratios were higher in Bt maize relative to the sprayed non-Bt control. Overall, we find no uniform effects of Bt cotton, maize and potato on the functional guilds of non-target arthropods. Use of and type of insecticides influenced the magnitude and direction of effects; insecticde effects were much larger than those of Bt crops. These meta-analyses underscore the importance of using controls not only to isolate the effects of a Bt crop per se but also to reflect the replacement of existing agricultural practices. Results will provide researchers with information to design more robust experiments and will inform the decisions of diverse stakeholders regarding the safety of transgenic insecticidal crops.

The Aerodynamic Signature of Running Spiders:

Many predators display two foraging modes, an ambush strategy and a cruising mode. These foraging strategies have been classically studied in energetic, biomechanical and ecological terms, without considering the role of signals produced by predators and perceived by prey. Wolf spiders are a typical example; they hunt in leaf litter either using an ambush strategy or by moving at high speed, taking over unwary prey. Air flow upstream of running spiders is a source of information for escaping prey, such as crickets and cockroaches. However, air displacement by running arthropods has not been previously examined. Here we show, using digital particle image velocimetry, that running spiders are highly conspicuous aerodynamically, due to substantial air displacement detectable up to several centimetres in front of them. This study explains the bimodal distribution of spider's foraging modes in terms of sensory ecology and is consistent with the escape distances and speeds of cricket prey. These findings may be relevant to the large and diverse array of arthropod prey-predator interactions in leaf litter.

Is Exercise Protective Against Influenza-Associated Mortality?:

Little is known about the effect of physical exercise on influenza-associated mortality. We collected information about exercise habits and other lifestyles, and socioeconomic and demographic status, the underlying cause of death of 24,656 adults (21% aged 30-64, 79% aged 65 or above) who died in 1998 in Hong Kong, and the weekly proportion of specimens positive for influenza A (H3N1 and H1N1) and B isolations during the same period. We assessed the excess risks (ER) of influenza-associated mortality due to all-natural causes, cardiovascular diseases, or respiratory disease among different levels of exercise: never/seldom (less than once per month), low/moderate (once per month to three times per week), and frequent (four times or more per week) by Poisson regression. We also assessed the differences in ER between exercise groups by case-only logistic regression. For all the mortality outcomes under study in relation to each 10% increase in weekly proportion of specimens positive for influenza A+B, never/seldom exercise (as reference) was associated with 5.8% to 8.5% excess risks (ER) of mortality (P<0.0001), while low/moderate exercise was associated with ER which were 4.2% to 6.4% lower than those of the reference (P<0.001 for all-natural causes; P = 0.001 for cardiovascular; and P = 0.07 for respiratory mortality). Frequent exercise was not different from the reference (change in ER −0.8% to 1.7%, P = 0.30 to 0.73). When compared with never or seldom exercise, exercising at low to moderate frequency is beneficial with lower influenza-associated mortality.

Symmetry Is Related to Sexual Dimorphism in Faces: Data Across Culture and Species:

Many animals both display and assess multiple signals. Two prominently studied traits are symmetry and sexual dimorphism, which, for many animals, are proposed cues to heritable fitness benefits. These traits are associated with other potential benefits, such as fertility. In humans, the face has been extensively studied in terms of attractiveness. Faces have the potential to be advertisements of mate quality and both symmetry and sexual dimorphism have been linked to the attractiveness of human face shape. Here we show that measurements of symmetry and sexual dimorphism from faces are related in humans, both in Europeans and African hunter-gatherers, and in a non-human primate. Using human judges, symmetry measurements were also related to perceived sexual dimorphism. In all samples, symmetric males had more masculine facial proportions and symmetric females had more feminine facial proportions. Our findings support the claim that sexual dimorphism and symmetry in faces are signals advertising quality by providing evidence that there must be a biological mechanism linking the two traits during development. Such data also suggests that the signalling properties of faces are universal across human populations and are potentially phylogenetically old in primates.

Multigene Phylogeny of Choanozoa and the Origin of Animals:

Animals are evolutionarily related to fungi and to the predominantly unicellular protozoan phylum Choanozoa, together known as opisthokonts. To establish the sequence of events when animals evolved from unicellular ancestors, and understand those key evolutionary transitions, we need to establish which choanozoans are most closely related to animals and also the evolutionary position of each choanozoan group within the opisthokont phylogenetic tree. Here we focus on Ministeria vibrans, a minute bacteria-eating cell with slender radiating tentacles. Single-gene trees suggested that it is either the closest unicellular relative of animals or else sister to choanoflagellates, traditionally considered likely animal ancestors. Sequencing thousands of Ministeria protein genes now reveals about 14 with domains of key significance for animal cell biology, including several previously unknown from deeply diverging Choanozoa, e.g. domains involved in hedgehog, Notch and tyrosine kinase signaling or cell adhesion (cadherin). Phylogenetic trees using 78 proteins show that Ministeria is not sister to animals or choanoflagellates (themselves sisters to animals), but to Capsaspora, another protozoan with thread-like (filose) tentacles. The Ministeria/Capsaspora clade (new class Filasterea) is sister to animals and choanoflagellates, these three groups forming a novel clade (filozoa) whose ancestor presumably evolved filose tentacles well before they aggregated as a periciliary collar in the choanoflagellate/sponge common ancestor. Our trees show ichthyosporean choanozoans as sisters to filozoa; a fusion between ubiquitin and ribosomal small subunit S30 protein genes unifies all holozoa (filozoa plus Ichthyosporea), being absent in earlier branching eukaryotes. Thus, several successive evolutionary innovations occurred among their unicellular closest relatives prior to the origin of the multicellular body-plan of animals.

Species-Specific Diversity of a Fixed Motor Pattern: The Electric Organ Discharge of Gymnotus:

Understanding fixed motor pattern diversity across related species provides a window for exploring the evolution of their underlying neural mechanisms. The electric organ discharges of weakly electric fishes offer several advantages as paradigmatic models for investigating how a neural decision is transformed into a spatiotemporal pattern of action. Here, we compared the far fields, the near fields and the electromotive force patterns generated by three species of the pulse generating New World gymnotiform genus Gymnotus. We found a common pattern in electromotive force, with the far field and near field diversity determined by variations in amplitude, duration, and the degree of synchronization of the different components of the electric organ discharges. While the rostral regions of the three species generate similar profiles of electromotive force and local fields, most of the species-specific differences are generated in the main body and tail regions of the fish. This causes that the waveform of the field is highly site dependant in all the studied species. These findings support a hypothesis of the relative separation of the electrolocation and communication carriers. The presence of early head negative waves in the rostral region, a species-dependent early positive wave at the caudal region, and the different relationship between the late negative peak and the main positive peak suggest three points of lability in the evolution of the electrogenic system: a) the variously timed neuronal inputs to different groups of electrocytes; b) the appearance of both rostrally and caudally innervated electrocytes, and c) changes in the responsiveness of the electrocyte membrane.

Hung Out to Dry: Choice of Priority Ecoregions for Conserving Threatened Neotropical Anurans Depends on Life-History Traits (Related):

In the Neotropics, nearly 35% of amphibian species are threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and habitat split; anuran species with different developmental modes respond to habitat disturbance in different ways. This entails broad-scale strategies for conserving biodiversity and advocates for the identification of high conservation-value regions that are significant in a global or continental context and that could underpin more detailed conservation assessments towards such areas. We identified key ecoregion sets for anuran conservation using an algorithm that favors complementarity (beta-diversity) among ecoregions. Using the WWF's Wildfinder database, which encompasses 700 threatened anuran species in 119 Neotropical ecoregions, we separated species into those with aquatic larvae (AL) or terrestrial development (TD), as this life-history trait affects their response to habitat disturbance. The conservation target of 100% of species representation was attained with a set of 66 ecoregions. Among these, 30 were classified as priority both for species with AL and TD, 26 were priority exclusively for species with AL, and 10 for species with TD only. Priority ecoregions for both developmental modes are concentrated in the Andes and in Mesoamerica. Ecoregions important for conserving species with AL are widely distributed across the Neotropics. When anuran life histories were ignored, species with AL were always underrepresented in priority sets. The inclusion of anuran developmental modes in prioritization analyses resulted in more comprehensive coverage of priority ecoregions-especially those essential for species that require an aquatic habitat for their reproduction-when compared to usual analyses that do not consider this life-history trait. This is the first appraisal of the most important regions for conservation of threatened Neotropical anurans. It is also a first endeavor including anuran life-history traits in priority area-selection for conservation, with a clear gain in comprehensiveness of the selection process.

Consistency of Financial Interest Disclosures in the Biomedical Literature: The Case of Coronary Stents:

Disclosure of authors' financial interests has been proposed as a strategy for protecting the integrity of the biomedical literature. We examined whether authors' financial interests were disclosed consistently in articles on coronary stents published in 2006. We searched PubMed for English-language articles published in 2006 that provided evidence or guidance regarding the use of coronary artery stents. We recorded article characteristics, including information about authors' financial disclosures. The main outcome measures were the prevalence, nature, and consistency of financial disclosures. There were 746 articles, 2985 authors, and 135 journals in the database. Eighty-three percent of the articles did not contain disclosure statements for any author (including declarations of no interests). Only 6% of authors had an article with a disclosure statement. In comparisons between articles by the same author, the types of disagreement were as follows: no disclosure statements vs declarations of no interests (64%); specific disclosures vs no disclosure statements (34%); and specific disclosures vs declarations of no interests (2%). Among the 75 authors who disclosed at least 1 relationship with an organization, there were 2 cases (3%) in which the organization was disclosed in every article the author wrote. In the rare instances when financial interests were disclosed, they were not disclosed consistently, suggesting that there are problems with transparency in an area of the literature that has important implications for patient care. Our findings suggest that the inconsistencies we observed are due to both the policies of journals and the behavior of some authors.

Posted by Coturnix at 8:31 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

ClockQuotes

Category: Clock Quotes

About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.

- Herbert Clark Hoover

Posted by Coturnix at 3:51 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

My Picks From ScienceDaily

Category: Science News

Dinosaur Bones Reveal Ancient Bug Bites:

Paleontologists have long been perplexed by dinosaur fossils with missing pieces - sets of teeth without a jaw bone, bones that are pitted and grooved, even bones that are half gone. Now a Brigham Young University study identifies a culprit: ancient insects that munched on dinosaur bones.

Saving Frogs Before It's Too Late:

With nearly one-third of amphibian species threatened with extinction worldwide, fueled in part by the widespread emergence of the deadly chytrid fungus, effective conservation efforts could not be more urgent. In a new article, Franco Andreone and his colleagues argue that one of the best places to focus these efforts is Madagascar, a global hotspot of amphibian diversity that shows no signs of amphibian declines--or traces of the chytrid fungus.

New Reason For Bee Hive Collapse: Ecologists Tease Out Private Lives Of Plants And Their Pollinators:

The quality of pollen a plant produces is closely tied to its sexual habits, ecologists have discovered. As well as helping explain the evolution of such intimate relationships between plants and pollinators, the study -- one of the first of its kind and published online in the British Ecological Society's journal Functional Ecology -- also helps explain the recent dramatic decline in certain bumblebee species found in the shrinking areas of species-rich chalk grasslands and hay meadows across Northern Europe.

Female Jumping Spiders Find Ultraviolet B Rays 'Sexy':

A report publishing online on May 1st in the journal Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press, provides the first evidence of an animal using ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to communicate with other members of its species.

Animal Interaction Behind Cambrian Explosion? 'Missing' Ancestors Of Today's Animals May Not Be Missing After All:

An event as simple as the world's first bite may have sparked an ancient "explosion" of life 500 million years ago that led to the rise of the broad groups of animals that are still alive today.

Trouble In Paradise: Global Warming A Greater Danger To Tropical Species:

Polar bears fighting for survival in the face of a rapid decline of polar ice have made the Arctic a poster child for the negative effects of climate change. But new research shows that species living in the tropics likely face the greatest peril in a warmer world.

Posted by Coturnix at 11:36 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Today's carnivals

Category: Carnivals

International Carnival of Pozitivities - edition 2.11 - is up on DropDeadHappy

Grand Rounds 4:33 are up on Suture for a Living

Carnival of Homeschooling: Week 123 is up on Melissa's Idea Garden

Posted by Coturnix at 7:02 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

NC primary

Category: Politics

I am about to go to vote. You can watch the NC results here.

Update: Pam is liveblogging the election. If you have experiences from the polling places around NC today, post them in her comments.

Posted by Coturnix at 8:47 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

ClockQuotes

Category: Clock Quotes

One of the misfortunes of our time is that in getting rid of false shame we have killed off so much real shame as well.

- Louis Kronenberger

Posted by Coturnix at 3:50 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

New and Exciting in PLoS Biology

Category: Science News

Birds Do It, Bees Do It, but Candida albicans Does It Differently:

The yeast Candida albicans lives an unnoticed and mostly harmless life as a member of our gut flora. However, mainly in an immunocompromised host, it can proliferate and cause severe, life-threatening infections. Within this normally mild-mannered, single-celled fungus beats the heart of a reproductive adventurer. For while it appears to be incapable of meiosis and therefore true sex, it engages in an unusual and offbeat alternative--after it mates, its progeny randomly cast off chromosomes to restore the diploid number, or something close to it. In a new study, Anja Forche, Richard Bennett, and colleagues show that this process generates significant genetic diversity, which is further amplified by recombination between homologous chromosomes, using a protein that is elsewhere used exclusively in meiosis.

The Challenge of Conserving Amphibian Megadiversity in Madagascar:

Frogs from Madagascar constitute one of the richest groups of amphibian fauna in the world, with currently 238 described species; caecilians and salamanders are absent [1]. Several frog radiations of the island are species-rich and parallel lemurs and tenrecs in their astonishing morphological and ecological diversity. According to the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA), Madagascar ranks as the country with the 12th highest amphibian species richness [2,3] (see also http://www.globalamphibians.org), but this is likely an underestimate, because an additional 182 candidate species have been identified since [1]. Diversity is concentrated in rainforests and can locally reach over 100 species. Impressively, 100% of the autochthonous species and 88% of the genera are strictly endemic to Madagascar and its inshore islands [1]. Most of these species belong to two radiations of astonishing ecomorphological and reproductive diversity, the mantellids and the scaphiophrynine plus cophyline microhylids.

Posted by Coturnix at 6:17 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

My Picks From ScienceDaily

Category: Science News

Roaring Bats: New Scientific Results Show Bats Emitting More Decibels Than A Rock Concert:

Researchers studying the echolocation behavior in bats have discovered that the diminutive flying mammals emit exceptionally loud sounds -- louder than any known animal in air.

Young Songbirds Babble Before They Learn To Sing:

Young songbirds babble before they can mimic an adult's song, much like their human counterparts. Now, in work that offers insights into how birds--and perhaps people--learn new behaviors, MIT scientists have found that immature and adult birdsongs are driven by two separate brain pathways, rather than one pathway that slowly matures.

Birds Can Tell If You Are Watching Them -- Because They Are Watching You:

In humans, the eyes are said to be the 'window to the soul', conveying much about a person's emotions and intentions. New research demonstrates for the first time that birds also respond to a human's gaze.

Two Discoveries Add To Giant Earthworm Science In Northwest:

Native, possibly giant, earthworm science in the Pacific Northwest is advancing with the discovery of two new specimens from opposite sides of the interior Columbia River basin.

Plants Text Message Farmers When Thirsty:

Beginning this crop season, farmers will be able to receive text messages on their cell phones from their plants saying whether they are thirsty or not.

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Today's carnivals

Category: Carnivals

Tar Heel Tavern - NC Primary Edition - is up on Terra Sigillata

Carnival of the Blue #12 is up on Island Of Doubt

Carnival of the Green # 126 is up on Bean Sprouts

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Friday Weird Sex Blogging - Corkscrewing

Category: Animal Behavior

You really think I am going to put this above the fold? No way - you have to click (First posted on July 7, 2006):

Read on »

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ClockQuotes

Category: Clock Quotes

Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

- Marcus Aurelius

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Oxytocin and Childbirth. Or not.

Category: Chronobiology

When the baby is ready to go out (and there's no stopping it at this point!), it releases a hormone that triggers the first contraction of the uterus. The contraction of the uterus pushes the baby out a little. That movement of the baby stretches the wall of the uterus. The wall of the uterus contains stretch receptors which send signals to the brain. In response to the signal, the brain (actually the posterior portion of the pituitary gland, which is an outgrowth of the brain) releases hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin gets into the bloodstream and reaches the uterus triggering the next contraction which, in turn, moves the baby which further stretches the wall of the uterus, which results in more release of oxytocin...and so on, until the baby is expelled, when everything returns to normal.

As usual, introductory textbook material lags by a few years (or decades) behind the current state of scientific understanding. And a brand new paper just added a new monkeywrench into the story. Oxytocin in the Circadian Timing of Birth by Jeffrey Roizen, Christina E. Luedke, Erik D. Herzog and Louis J. Muglia was published last Tuesday night and I have been poring over it since then. It is a very short paper, yet there is so much there to think about! Oh, and of course I was going to comment on a paper by Erik Herzog - you knew that was coming! Not just that he is my friend, but he also tends to ask all the questions I consider interesting in my field, including questions I wanted to answer myself while I was still in the lab (so I live vicariously though his papers and blog about every one of them).

Unfortunately, I have not found time yet to write a Clock Tutorial on the fascinating topic of embryonic development of the circadian system in mammals and the transfer of circadian time from mother to fetus - a link to it would have worked wonderfully here - so I'll have to make shortcuts, but I hope that the gist of the paper will be clear anyway.

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EuroTrip '08 - Berlin, part VIII, Platform 17

Category: EuroTrip '08

Grunewald station in Berlin is a small, unasuming train station that looks like thousands of such stations around the world. But it is at this spot that thousands of Jews were loaded onto trains to Auschwitz and other places, initially in precise batches of 100 people per day, later increasing to more than a thousand per day, some days skipped, some days seeing two trains off, most well documented, but some trains going off into unknown directions....

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EuroTrip '08 - Berlin, part VII, Holocaust Memorial

Category: History

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe where, by design, concrete slabs that are initially perfectly aligned, due to sinking of the soil, adopt all sorts of different angles. Looking down the "aisles", one sees people, children playing hide-and-seek, and suddenly disappearing. People vanish, while the entire structure slowly turns from perfect order to disorder:

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Today's carnivals

Category: Carnivals

The Boneyard XIX is up on Familiarity Breeds Content

Festival of the Trees #23 is up on 10000 birds

Circus of the Spineless #32 is up on Deep Sea News

Friday Ark #189 is up on Modulator

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EuroTrip '08 - Berlin, part VI, Natural History Muesum 2

Category: EuroTrip '08

More pictures from the Museum:

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EuroTrip '08 - Berlin, part V, Natural History Muesum

Category: EuroTrip '08

Catriona and I, obviously, had fun here:

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EuroTrip '08 - Berlin, part IV, sightseeing

Category: EuroTrip '08

Time to put up some of the pictures. Catriona took me around Berlin, for whatever one can see in just a day and a half - the Brandenburg gate, a slab of the Berlin wall, etc....

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Posted by Coturnix at 10:14 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Does circadian clock regulate clutch-size in birds? A question of appropriateness of the model animal.

Category: Chronobiology