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I am the Online Community Manager at PLoS ONE. 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. This is a personal blog and opinions within in no way reflect the policies of PLoS ONE. You can contact me at: Coturnix@gmail.com


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Sex:

What is wrong with the picture?

Serbian Ministry of Health, as part of their fight against AIDS, inserted a condom inside a women's magazine this month. The condom is German-made, named "Bumper-Bumper" and in a fun-looking package: [Image from] The timing is unfortunate (I'm sure it...

The hook-up culture

Amanda is in the middle of reading Michael Kimmel's Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men and has posted the first, preliminary review, with some very interesting explorations by the commenters as well (I guess the MRAs did not...

Stephanie Coontz On Marriage

You probably know that I am quite interested in the history, current state, evolution and future of the institution of marriage, mainly because it is an important indicator of societal attitudes towards sex and towards gender-relations, which is the...

Book Review: George Lakoff "Moral Politics" and E.J.Graff "What Is Marriage For?"

Repost - so, what changed in the intervening 4 years?

I hope you don't faint while reading this post....

...but if you do, I hope it was enjoyable! And edifying, of course. Kind of science that is amenable to experimentation at home....

I just blushed, groaned and hyperventilated....

...as I was reading this! But it's science! Thus, not NSFW by definition.......

An eye-catching yet flawed bar graph

Discussed at these sites, among others: Chart junk-ies When bar charts go bad World's Most Expensive Places to Have Sex. Catch the flaw(s). Click here to see large. Go under the fold to see small:...

Sex, Gender, Reproduction

I have not done a Friday Weird Sex Blogging post in ages, and I won't do today either, but others did some cool blogging on various related topics: from gender disparities, to gynecological procedures, to weird animal/plant sex, so here...

Virginity Pledges Among the Willing, and Defining "Willing"

I briefly noted this study yesterday, but now W. D. Craft analyzes it in great detail: I am pessimistic that the authors' more careful conclusions and recommendations will be noticed. Instead I fear we're in for more naive calls for...

Friday Weird Sex Blogging - Corkscrewing

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

"Sex in Space" not so exciting after all...

Or so says Talia in her book review. I recently ordered a bunch of stuff from Amazon.com for me and others, and all orders arrived nicely except this book which never appeared (lost in space?). Perhaps I should not worry,...

The Spitzer files...

Lindsay Beyerstein: Spitzer linked to prostitution ring Spitzer's Nixonian hubris Sex and taxes: How Spitzer allegedly got caught Spitzer and Suspicious Activity Reports and sex stings Enough is enough: Feds probe Spitzer's records back to 1999 Amanda Marcotte: Cut out...

Patricia Brennan on bird genitalia

News from SCONC: On Thursday, March 27 at 4 p.m., the Zoology Department at NCSU will host a seminar from Patricia Brennan of Yale University entitled "The Biology of Avian Genitalia: Form and Function." Brennan's work on the genital anatomy...

In Space, Holes are a problem

We have already covered, in quite some detail the problems of passing gas in space. Not so much a problem inside a spaceship, but potentially a problem on a space walk, especially if the said activity, if particularly powerful, produces...

The Dangers of Blogging, or, the Quest for Male Contraception

"Why isn't there a birth control pill for men?" is the latest "Ask A ScienceBlogger" question. I am sure my SciBlings will rise to the occasion and explain both the biological and social barriers to the development, production and marketing...

Waistland...

..that is adolescence. And the research on what adolescents find attractive. For a few years. Until they gain the gift of speech and hearing, look up, and find beauty in the mind. Unfortunately, some never do....

Facebook, after weeks of pressure, still bans breastfeeding photos!

I thought the LiveJournal debacle taught them a lesson. I guess not. Melissa posted about this a couple of weeks ago, and Tara did it today again because the issue has not been resolved yet. So did PZ Myers (Janet...

Evolution of Adoption

If we are not there at the moment of birth, how come we can bond with the baby and be good fathers or good adoptive parents? Kate explains. Obligatory Reading of the Day. Update: Related is this new article by...

Blogging Sex and Reproduction

Everyone seems to be blogging about sex (and reproduction) these days. Is it something in the air? Water? Anyway, here are some good recent examples: Bush Administration Censored Talk On Birth Control And Sex Ed: This administration got away with...

The Adult Film Industry: Time to Regulate?

For medical reasons, if nothing else....

Sexual Activity Reported In Dreams Of Men And Women

I wonder if this new study was designed better than this one: In a detailed study that served to investigate the actual nature and content of sexual dreams across a large sample of dream reports from men and women,...

Blogging For Sex Education linkfest

Renegade Evolution has collected the links for yesterday's Blogging For Sex Education day....

Tomorrow

Remember to Blog For Sex Education. Put this logo on top of your post if you like. Then paste your permalink in the comments of this post and Renegade Evolution will put together a linkfest....

Blog for Sex Education on June 4th

It's simple. Just write a post on June 4th that has something to do with sex education. Add this logo on top of your post and leave your permalink in the comments of the logo post. Spread the word.......

Give the spherical cow an orgasm!

Good luck...

More on duck phalluses and uteri

Of course, I was not the only one commenting on the recent duck phallus paper. You should check out the other blogospheric responses, e.g., by Carl, PZ, RPM, Grrrl, Laelaps, Neil, Belle, Zuzu, Guru and many others. Unfortunately, most people...

Monday Weird Sex Blogging....

...because weird sex does not only happen on Fridays.... Remember this? Many have asked themselves (I did) where does it go, i.e., what kind of female genital tract can accomodate such a large penis. But one person actually did not...

My Serbian readers will die laughing when they read this....

A guy 'jebo jeza', ahem, literally fucked a hedgehog in Serbia and ended up in the ER. Do kids there these days don't even know their slang? 'Jebo jeza' means something along the lines of 'being in big trouble' or...

I can feel it in my bones....

Sperm Cells Created From Human Bone Marrow: Human bone marrow has been used to create early-stage sperm cells for the first time, a scientific step forward that will help researchers understand more about how sperm cells are created. Gives a...

Feminism101

You know how on comment threads on blogposts about evolution you, sooner or later, get a commenter saying something that reveals complete lack of understanding of even the basics of evolutionary biology? It is usually accompanied by some creationist canard...

Wimp Factor

You know that I think that Wimp Factor is one of the most important yet least appreciated books about ideology and politics in recent years. So, I was really glad to see an excellent review of it by Amanda: Regardless...

Wow! How does one use 'visual analogue scale' over the phone?

But, apparently, that is the least of the problems of this study of sexuality in West European menopausal women. BTW, a "visual analogue scale" looks like this: You jot a mark where you feel is the best spot that reflects...

Sex On The (Dreaming) Brain

A study that would have been much better if the authors could have had free access to the literature...

Oh, how thoughtful of the Intelligent Designer!

A-ha! Finally! Now I understand the connection between Creationism and the overall anti-sex sentiment of the Fundamentalists! New reseaarch shows that E.coli swim upstream due to the Design of their flagellum! And where do they swim from and swim to?...

Friday Weird Sex Blogging - a cop-out again, and 15 minutes late...

I was in the middle of writing a serious review of a paper meant for Friday Weird Sex Blogging, when reading this paralized me (hopefully only transiently and I will finish it by next week). So, when in trouble, I...

Teen Sex, 'Hooking Up', Gay Marriage, Femiphobia and Bush Victory Are All Interconnected

Continuing with the last week's topic (originally posted on March 11, 2005 - click on the spider-clock icon to see the comments, including by Mark O'Connell - who I subsequently met and blogged about, on the original post)...

Teen Parenthood for the X-box generation

Parenting is hard. Are you ready (re-posted from October 20, 2005)...

Hooked on Hooking Up, Or What's Wrong With Conservative View Of Marriage

This is two years old (February 16, 2005) but still as provocative....(also my belated contirbution to the Blog For Choice Day) and I'll repost the second part of it next Friday....

Sleep Number Bed?

Adjust your sleep number for the best performance! Or, what does your sleep number say about your performance?...

Friday Weird Sex Blogging - Sensory Neuroscience

In a time-crunch like this, one can always count on Buzz Skyline to save the day........

FemiBlogging of the Week, Month, Year and Forever

The 29th Carnival of Feminists is up on The imponderabilia of actual life containing posts by several of my favourite bloggers, including Zuska who has her own pick of favourites there. Speaking of Zuska, she also has a cool article...

Friction

If Buzz Skyline was my physics teacher back in high school, and taught lessons like this one (reading aloud NSFW, silent reading is OK), I'd be a physicist today, not biologist....

Why do we have sex?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3...

Physics of Oscillations and the Choice of the Just-Right Bed Mattress

This does not have much to do with circadian oscillations, or even the daily rhythms of human mating, but a much faster rhythm of human mating - you know what I'm talking about... The fascinating new blog, The Physics of...

Names of Reproductive Organs Used as Insults!

Neil's attitude towards vaginas is very positive. Lindsay asserts that swearing is a fascinating philosophical topic. Amanda debunks the old tired counter-arguments. And many, many comments on all three threads will keep you busy for a while. Mind you, considering...

Biophilia? Not what E.O.Wilson had in mind!

Love for animals, even the dead ones, can sometimes go too far, dontcha think?...

Israel to recongize gay marriage

If I understood this correctly. Can someone explain what the procedure may be in Israel?...

Does getting scared lead to (better) sex?

Dr.Petra looks at studies that suggest this, and links to her old Halloween post on the related subject......

But HOW do they do it?

Bird Moms Manipulate Birth Order To Protect Sons: ----------------snip------------------- Since 2002, Badyaev, Oh and their colleagues have been intensively documenting the lives of a population of house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) on the UA campus. Throughout the year, the researchers capture...

A new meaning of 'having a buzz'

This strange November 09, 2005 post should really be posted on Friday as part of the Friday Weird Sex Blogging.......

The Homunculus

Amanda makes a correct connection between preformationism of old and the anti-abortion ideology of today. The only thing missing is the connection of both to Dawkinsian genocentrism which is just preformationism with modern rhetoric of DNA and genes and "blueprints...

"Boy, this is going to be hard..."

...and it will stay hard for another 4 hours. [That is Friday Weird Sex Blogging for this week....]...

Friday Weird Sex Blogging - Cooling The Balls

It takes balls to write about balls.

They think that sex is yucky so they don't want us to enjoy it

Another good book....

While we are on the topic of marriage...

Read this great post by Amanda (who's really been on the roll lately): Weddings and fear...

Stephanie Coontz On Marriage

While I never really reviewed the book, here is a post with some thoughts and several good links to other people's reviews as well as her own articles.

Books: "The Good Father: On Men, Masculinity, and Life in the Family" by Mark O'Connel

It is great when you write a blog post about somebody, then that somebody shows up in the comments and clarifies his position thus starting an interesting conversation (both in the comments and via e-mail), then you realize that his book-signing tour is bringing that somebody to your town, so you go there and meet that somebody in person and have a great conversation, which inspires you to write yet another blog post - the one under the fold....

Books: "The Sex Lives Of Teenagers" by Lynn Ponton

After hearing Lynn Ponton on the radio and subsequently writing this, I read her book and wrote a brief comment about it (originally on June 14, 2005): I recently finished reading The Sex Lives of Teenagers by Lynn Ponton. This...

Books: "The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity" by Stephen J. Ducat

This is not a real book review - I never got to writing it - but it is about a book I mention quite often in my blog posts and think is one of the most insightful about the conservative mindset.

Raising AIDS awareness, using different kinds of talent...

It's a big AIDS week here and I hope you are checking the AIDS at 25 special blog here on scienceblogs.com. There is a lot of good information and opinion there. And then, sometimes there is some fun. Like this...

Another case of Evo-Psych abuse...

Have you heard about the stupid German study that uses evo-psych Just-So-Stories about, supposedly, women losing interest in sex shortly after marriage? I wanted to dissect it when it first came out but Real Life and time-constraints prevented me. In...

Plan B Prevents Abortion!

First, go to Well-timed Period and Pharyngula to get all the neccessary information about Plan B, what it is, what it isn't, and how it works. Then go to Bitch PhD and buy a T-shirt (for which you need to...

Obligatory Readings of the Day - more on Conservatives...

In Jeebus can't see through the walls of the Ramada, Amanda adds some excellent commentary on my guest-post over on Echidne. I know I have already linked to Cracks In The Wall, Part I: Defining the Authoritarian Personality yesterday, but...

Friday Weird Sex Blogging - The Giant Stinkin' Phallus!

Well, this Friday Weird Sex Blogging is not going to be so unique. After all, Janet and Zuzu have already blogged about it, but who can resist a phallic-looking, rotten-meat smelling, fly-attracting flower! And it is not a B-grade movie...

Coturnix on Sex, part II - The Hooters Conundrum

My second guest-blogging post on Echidne Of The Snakes, about the potential to have Hooters fund some breast cancer research. Purposefully written to provoke. Cross-posted under the fold......

Coturnix on Sex, part I - Blogging in the nude

My first post guest-blogging on Echidne Of The Snakes, cross-posted under the fold....

What a minefield of correlations not being causations!

Sexual Lyrics Prompt Teens to Have Sex: Teens whose iPods are full of music with raunchy, sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs, a study found. Whether it's hip-hop, rap, pop or rock, much of...

Try Wagner...or My Sharona...

...and you'll never think about them the same way again. This is the ultimate science-fiction-come-true gadget (pun intended). How about a "Guess the Song" game with the iPod swicthed to 'mute'?...

Obligatory Reading of the Day

A three-fer from Echidne: Divorce -- Preparing For Travels in Wingnuttia Christian Lady Blogging -- Part One Of Travels in Wingnuttia Divorce: Part Two of Travels in Wingnuttia...

Opening the can of worms - blogging politics again

This is a test balloon to see how my new, expanded readership will respond to my political rants.

Plan B

Connect The Dots. Will they ever do anything if not for political reasons? Health? They don't care... Approval of a Bush appointee? Sure, let's sign what needs to be signed.......

What happens in bed, stays in bed

Men's sleep apnea found alongside erectile problems: Men who are sound sleepers have better sex lives. A study published in a recent edition of Urology says men who suffer from sleep apnea syndrome also suffer a high rate of erectile...

Friday Weird Sex Blogging - Losing Your Head For Love

As always, animal porn is under the fold:...

Why does Media have to screw up everything it touches?

Including screwing with the people who touch themselves for a charitable cause: "Overall I think a well-intentioned event has been hijacked by a corporation who don't really care if we have good sex and enjoy masturbation, but just want more...

Perhaps I should tell my brother to wait...

Apparently, it's not over until it's over. The removal of the cohabitation law I wrote about yesterday may apply only to a few people in NC, not the whole state: Cohabitation law ruling doesn't apply statewide: Legal experts said Friday...

Friday Weird Sex Blogging - Deepest Lovin'

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...

So I can invite my brother to stay with me for a couple of weeks now....

Judge rules against cohabitation law: "Those of you shacking up, have no fear: A judge has thrown out a 201-year-old North Carolina law making it illegal for unmarried couples to live together." --------------snip--------------- "I am absolutely thrilled with the court's...