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I am the Online Community Manager at PLoS-ONE (Public Library of Science). My job is to try to motivate you to comment on the papers there. My scientific specialty is chronobiology (circadian rhythms and photoperiodism), with additional interests in comparative physiology, animal behavior and evolution. You can contact me at: Coturnix@gmail.com
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My Old Stuff
Invertebrates:
Believe it or not, this appears to have something to do with their circadian rhythms! Back in the 1960s and early 1970s, there was quite a lot of research published on the circadian rhythms in earthworms, mostly by Miriam Bennett....
Posted on June 25, 2008 9:38 PM • 7 Comments •
Since everyone is posting about spiders this week, I though I'd republish a sweet old post of mine, which ran on April 19, 2006 under the title "Happy Bicycle Day!" I hope you like this little post as much...
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Posted on April 13, 2008 4:57 PM • 0 Comments •
I had no time to read this in detail and write a really decent overview here, perhaps I will do it later, but for now, here are the links and key excerpts from a pair of exciting new papers in...
Posted on January 7, 2008 8:14 PM • 1 Comments •
One cool thing about being a blogging biologist is that one can write every day about sex with a straight face and then blame readers for "having a dirty mind". But sex is so interesting - life would cease to...
Posted on August 29, 2007 1:09 PM • 2 Comments •
You really don't want to be an enemy of the aphids - two papers today! The first is quite straightforward: Aphids Make 'Chemical Weapons' To Fight Off Killer Ladybirds: Cabbage aphids have developed an internal chemical defence system which enables...
Posted on July 12, 2007 12:59 AM • 0 Comments •
Such fascinating creatures! If you have missed it so far, don't miss it now - the two-part series by Mark H on DailyKos: Marine Life Series: Horseshoe Crab Basics Marine Life Series: Horseshoe Crab Anatomy One day when I find...
Posted on July 10, 2007 12:12 PM • 2 Comments •
Literally. If you want to know how to figure out what your slug has eaten today, just ask Aydin....
Posted on June 13, 2007 4:07 AM • 0 Comments •
When I was a kid I swallowed science-fiction by the crates. And I was too young to be very discerning of quality - I liked everything. Good taste developed later, with age. But even at that tender age, there was...
Posted on June 7, 2007 10:18 PM • 7 Comments •
If (like me) you have a special fondness for crayfish, then this post by Burning Silo is a Must Read of the day!...
Posted on March 14, 2007 3:53 PM • 1 Comments •
I love seafood, but I eat it quite rarely. About a third of my old Department did fisheries and aquaculture science so I've seen many seminars and Thesis defenses on the topic and am quite aware of the problems with...
Posted on January 29, 2007 1:24 PM • 2 Comments •
Circus of the Spineless #16 is up on The force that through......
Posted on December 31, 2006 12:57 AM • 0 Comments •
PZ probably already knows about this, but I found this discovery of super-reflective skin cells in squid, cuttlefish and octopus quite amazing! Hanlon's team discovered that the bottom layer of octopus skin, made up of cells called leucophores, is composed...
Posted on December 9, 2006 8:20 PM • 0 Comments •
Circus of the Spineless #14 is up on Neurophilosopher's blog...
Posted on November 2, 2006 12:38 PM • 0 Comments •
For easy-to-understand quick look at the evolution of vision I have to refer you to these two posts by PZ Myers, this post of mine, and these two posts by Carl Zimmer. Now, armed with all that knowledge, you will...
Posted on October 4, 2006 9:55 AM • 0 Comments •
From January 20, 2006, on the need to check the model-derived findings in non-model organisms....
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Posted on October 2, 2006 11:06 AM • 0 Comments •
You are going to love the latest Circus of the Spineless, now up on Deep Sea News!...
Posted on September 25, 2006 4:27 PM • 0 Comments •
One of the coolest parasites ever (from February 04, 2006):...
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Posted on September 13, 2006 10:52 AM • 0 Comments •
Baby bugs team up for sex scam The moment they're born, beetles of one species join forces for a curious drill. The larvae hatch out of their eggs and together, as a group, climb to the tip of the plant....
Posted on September 12, 2006 10:09 PM • 2 Comments •
Circus of the Spineless #12 is up on Sunbeam from Cucumbers. I can't believe it's already been a year since this fine carnival started!...
Posted on August 31, 2006 1:02 PM • 0 Comments •
Bumble Bees Can Estimate Time Intervals: In a finding that broadens our understanding of time perception in the animal kingdom, researchers have discovered that an insect pollinator, the bumble bee, can estimate the duration of time intervals. Although many insects...
Posted on August 26, 2006 2:41 PM • 2 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
Snuck into the very end of this, otherwise very interesting article on neurobiology of cephalopods and moths, is this little passage: As for flies, Tublitz outlined a tantalizing question, as yet unanswered, that has continued to take flight out of...
Posted on August 17, 2006 1:59 PM • 2 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
As always, animal porn is under the fold:...
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Posted on July 28, 2006 3:09 PM • 4 Comments •
Do Cnidaria have real circadian rhythms? Survey of daily rhythms in corals, sea anemones and jellyfish.
Read on »
Posted on June 27, 2006 11:59 AM • 0 Comments • 1 TrackBacks