August 15, 2006
This post from March 27, 2006 starts with some of my old research and poses a new hypothesis.
The question of animal models
There are some very good reasons why much of biology is performed in just a handful of model organisms. Techniques get refined and the knowledge can grow incrementally until…
August 15, 2006
One of the assumptions in the study of circadian organization is that, at the level of molecules and cells, all vertebrate (and perhaps all animal) clocks work in roughly the same way. The diversity of circadian properties is understood to be a higher-level property of interacting multicelular…
August 15, 2006
This post, from January 25, 2006, describes part of the Doctoral work of my lab-buddy Chris.
Mammals have only one circadian pacemaker - the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Apparently all the other cells in the body contain circadian clocks, too, but only the SCN drives all the overt rhythms.…
August 15, 2006
One of the important questions in the study of circadian organization is the way multiple clocks in the body communicate with each other in order to produce unified rhythmic output.
In the case of mammals, the two pacemakers are the left and the right suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The tow nuclei…
August 14, 2006
Go say Hello to the newest addition to the Seed ScienceBlogs stable, The Scientific Indian.
Grand Rounds 2.46 are up on Hospital Impact. My readers will probably appreciate the entry on sleep disorders by rdoctor.
August 14, 2006
Going into more and more detail, here is a February 11, 2005 post about the current knowledge about the circadian organization in my favourite animal - the Japanese quail.
Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), also known as the Asian Migratory Quail, are gallinaceous birds from the family…
August 14, 2006
This post was originally written on February 11, 2005. Moving from relatively simple mammalian model to more complex systems.
I have previously described the basic properties of the circadian organization in mammals. Non-mammalian vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds) have more…
August 14, 2006
This February 06, 2005 post describes the basic elements of the circadian system in mammals.
The principal mammalian circadian pacemaker is located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus. The general area was first discovered in 1948 by Curt Richter who systematically lesioned a…
August 14, 2006
I wrote this post back on February 02, 2005 in order to drive home the point that the circadian clock is not a single organ, but an organ system comprised of all cells in the body linked in a hierarchical manner:
In the earliest days of chronobiology, the notion of circadian organization was…
August 14, 2006
As I announced last week, this week will be All Clocks All The Time. Why?
First, I need to move some of the old posts from Circadiana over here, at a faster rate than I've been doing so far. Second, I'll be quite busy this week. Third, I need to hype myself up for the final effort at my…
August 13, 2006
Should Scientific Research be conducted on prisoners?
August 13, 2006
Pediatric Grand Rounds Vol.1, No.9, is now up on Unintelligent Design. You have to do a quiz. Multiple choice only.
August 13, 2006
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 know what you are talking about because you WILL be asked).
August 13, 2006
You have until August 29th to write a post about trees, or a particular tree, or a picture of a really cool tree, or a poem about a tree...and send it to Burning Silo for the next edition of the Festival of the Trees
August 13, 2006
Shakes has the quickest, clearest summary (with good additional links) about what happened at Heathrow last week, how media lied to you yet again, and who picked the timing and why. I hear that my cousin was at Heathrow at the time and ended up flying four hours too late, but I have not heard from…
August 13, 2006
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 here it is again if you missed it, especially now that…
August 13, 2006
Tar Heel Tavern #77 is up on Another Blue Puzzle Piece. The theme is "the future is now" and it creatively done.
August 12, 2006
Sara Robinson on Orcinus: Cracks In The Wall, Part I: Defining the Authoritarian Personality
Amanda: Sometimes a cigar is just an arbitrary social custom and You might not be trailer trash if you think Jeff Foxworthy is funny
Lance Mannion: A joy forever
Publius: POLITICIZE TERRORISM
Mr. WD:…
August 12, 2006
Woman Finds 'God's Water' Gurgling in Tree and 33% of AOL readers agree that it is God's water, with another 28% not sure!
August 11, 2006
Next Tar Heel Tavern will be hosted tonight (Saturday) by etbnc (one of my most frequent commenters) on My Blue Puzzle Piece. The theme is "the future":
That can include predictions, prescriptions, hopes, dreams, near future, far future, middlin' future, back to...etc.
Send your entries to: tht70…
August 11, 2006
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 on the sci-fi channel. This is real! The Titan Arum (…
August 11, 2006
I guess the people at Belk only read personal diaries and Wingnut blogs. They should come visit Scienceblogs sometimes.
(hat-tip:Ed)
August 11, 2006
Carel discovered a fascinating website about iris pigmentation. As Carel notes:
Morgan Worthy, a retired psychologist, has put together an iris pigmentation site that includes lists of iris color for over 5,600 vertebrate species, along with observations based on his database that range from the…
August 11, 2006
Not just in the USA. Visceral queeziness coupled with religious sentiment coupled with scientific ignorance appears in other parts of the world as well, as in the UK
The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, a professional group based in Edinburgh, has published a report on the ethical implications…
August 11, 2006
The second ConvergeSouth conference on blogging and journalism will be held on the NC A&T University in Greensboro, NC on Saturday, October 14, 2006. Check out the homepage and blog and register soon. It is going to be even more of an Unconference than last year.
Although it is expected…
August 11, 2006
Seed ScienceBlogs are liveblogging the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto from August 13th-18th.
Two special correspondents on the ground, and our own Tara Smith of Aetiology will post daily commentary on a blog specially dsigned for this occasion - AIDS at 25.
Quite fittingly, the…
August 11, 2006
Teens Who Do Use Condoms Often Don't Use Them Properly:
A worrying number of young people who do use condoms don't use them correctly, so risking unwanted pregnancy or infections, reveals research published ahead of print in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. But a good relationship with…
August 11, 2006
There are several excellent book reviews in the latest American Scientist. Check them out for reviews of Dennett and Collins books, if nothing else, but the one that caught my eye was the review of Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University by William Clark, which I will, just…
August 11, 2006
An interesting article in the new issue of the American Scientist, challenges the view, made popular by Jared Diamond in Collapse, among others, of the collapse of Easter Island civilization due to overpopulation and cutting down of trees:
"Easter Island has become a case study of human-induced…
August 11, 2006
The most recent addition to the stable of Seed ScienceBloggers is Molecule Of The Day - better living through chemistry! Go say Hello!
