dr. dolittle
Posts by this author
November 3, 2011
Photo Credit: A chestnut-backed chickadee from San Francisco, 2008 Greg Cope
Scientists at San Francisco State University, in collaboration with researchers from PRBO Conservation Science, have discovered that birds in central California are bulking up. Not only are they gaining weight, but their…
November 2, 2011
The last known Javan rhinoceros from the subspecies Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus was found dead in Vietnam with its horn cut off, most likely a victim of poachers. Another subspecies, The Indian Javan rhino (R. sondaicus inermis), is believed to have gone extinct in the early 20th century.…
November 1, 2011
I just love watching Animal Planet! Here is a must-see video of just what Lucky does all day when her owners are away.
October 30, 2011
What could be more spooky than the idea of something sucking your blood while you are sleeping? Movies, TV shows and books about vampires abound these days. So what do some bats have in common with Dracula? The need to survive on blood alone.
Vampire bats feed mainly off of livestock but have…
October 28, 2011
This kayaker was having fun tracking humpback whales off the coast of California when the whales breached the water right next to him. What an amazing photo and experience!
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October 27, 2011
The Tennessee Physiological Society held their annual meeting October 13-14 at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in Johnson City, Tennessee. The meeting opened with a seminar by Dr. David L. Williams from the Department of Surgery at Quillen College of Medicine, ETSU. He spoke about how the…
October 26, 2011
If you look up snail surfing on YouTube, you come up with some fun videos of snails riding leaves:
Or floating in pairs:
But there are no videos showing snails surfing by making rafts out of bubbles...at least that I could find. The violet snail (Janthina exigua), creates these rafts not only for…
October 24, 2011
Image Credit: The Scientist; R. Hartley, Univ of Manchester; T. Larson, Black Hills Inst.; G. Stewart; SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
I just read the neatest article in Science Magazine on how a team led by researchers from the University of Manchester has re-created the pigmentation of…
October 20, 2011
I am packing my bags for the joint meeting of the Iowa and Nebraska Physiological Societies. The meeting will take place October 21-22 at Des Moines University at the Olsen Medical Education Center. Can't wait!
October 19, 2011
I was just reading the National Geographic's Daily News and came across this article about the unearthing of a 2.5-million-year-old skull from a new species (Panthera zdanskyi) of tiger. What was interesting is that the skull of modern tigers is really not that different showing that the anatomy…
October 19, 2011
Photograph by Zach Holmes, Alamy
At least, that is the tactic that seems to work best for male golden orb-weaver spiders (Nephila pilipes). Researchers have now shown that these spiders will actually rub their partner's back to help calm her down and avoid being eaten after mating. Who doesn't like…
October 18, 2011
How would you like to have a Halloween costume that changed depending on your surroundings? Oh, to be a cephalopod. In our continuing talks about just how cool cephalopods are (including the cuttlefish, octopus, and squid), Remo sent us a link to this amazing video from Science Friday on the…
October 12, 2011
The next stop on our trail this Fall is the James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University where the Tennessee Physiological Society will be holding their annual meeting tomorrow and Friday. You can check out the meeting agenda here. Can't wait!
October 11, 2011
What could be more interesting about ancient Egypt than the animal mummies? (personal opinion, of course)
Edward Bleiberg (Brooklyn Museum curator), Lisa Bruno (conservationist), and Anthony Fischetti (veterinary radiologist) have teamed up to scan 32 animal mummies that were housed at the museum…
October 10, 2011
First stop on the trail of physiology this Fall is the University of Cincinnati where the Ohio Physiological Society held their annual meeting last week.
Here are highlights from the meeting:
The meeting opened with a seminar from Dr. Ernest M. Wright from the UCLA-David Geffen School of Medicine…
October 5, 2011
It seems that octopuses are even smarter, and more fearless, than previously thought. It has been known for some time that they can be trained to open jars to obtain treats as shown in the promotional video for "Aliens of the Deep Sea" shown below:
There are even stories of them purposefully…
October 4, 2011
We received this interesting question from a reader regarding a previous post about the role of evaporative water loss in bats afflicted with white nose syndrome (WNS):
"Are bats during hibernation in ketosis? I suspect that normally they are not, that fatty acids are used to generate enough heat…
September 30, 2011
It is that time of year again when various chapters from The American Physiological Society hold their local meetings. I am looking forward to reporting the exciting news in physiology from these events!
The Ohio Physiological Society is having their 26th annual meeting October 6-7 at the…
September 29, 2011
This video, captured by University of California Santa Cruz professor Giacomo Bernardi, shows an orange-dotted tuskfish (Choerodon anchorago) cracking open a clam by throwing it against a rock. Other fish from the wrasse family have also been observed using similar techniques to crack open clams.…
September 27, 2011
Image source: Virgin Media
Sandtiger shark (Carcharias taurus) pups emerge from the womb as experienced killers. Since they develop teeth and the ability to swim while still in the womb, the strongest embryo will actually kill and eat its siblings (embryophagy) and their yolk sacs. This ensures…
September 22, 2011
I am always amazed by stories of people who hoard animals and find myself mesmerized by the TV series dedicated to this important animal welfare issue. The animals found in these situations are often very ill due to squalid living conditions and lack of adequate food or water.
What I want to focus…
September 20, 2011
...or rather their squeak in some cases.
Male hummingbirds, like the Anna's hummingbird shown above, perform impressive dive bombs to attract females. During the dive, the birds spread their tail feathers to produce a loud squeaking or trilling noise. In this neat video from Dr. Christopher Clark…
September 15, 2011
A reader sent in this question regarding our continuing conversation about how birds burn proteins to conserve water during long distance migrations:
"It's not immediately clear to me how burning intracellular proteins is going to automatically "free up" much water. I do know that burning fat…
September 13, 2011
Image Source: Science/AAAS
You may recall a previous blog entry on how birds may be burning proteins to conserve water during long distance migration. I was delighted to hear more about this exciting research on NPR's Weekend Edition this past Saturday. You can listen to the story here.
To read…
September 9, 2011
Image Source: Smithsonian Institution
As mentioned in previous posts, white nose syndrome is responsible for the decimation of hibernating North American bats. The cause of death is starvation attributed to increased arousal when the bats should be hibernating.
Dr. Craig K.R. Willis and colleagues…
September 6, 2011
I would never have guessed that the weapon of choice for a humpback whale is bubbles. Lots of bubbles. Researchers have found that these whales create what are called "bubble nets" around schools of fish. The fish see the tiny bubbles as a barrier that they cannot cross. The whales then swim…
September 2, 2011
Image Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Cities and towns tend to be hotter than surrounding rural areas creating what are called urban heat islands. In a recent study, leaf-cutter ants (Atta sexdens rubropilosa) living in cities were found to have a higher heat…
August 31, 2011
A dolphin has been given a prosthetic tail after she severely injured hers in a crab trap. You can watch the video of her story here. The story of the dolphin called "Winter" is so inspiring that a movie is being made of her incredible story called "Dolphin Tale". You can see the preview here. It…
August 25, 2011
Image Source: www.animalsandearthquakes.com
The recent earthquake on the East Coast has me thinking about animals. Specifically, animals that can reportedly predict earthquakes...a feat humans have yet to reliably accomplish.
According to the US Geological Survey, animals may be able to sense the…
August 22, 2011
Image Source: NSF.gov
As the heat of summer drags on...and on...I can't help but envy heat tolerant animals. The BBC Worldwide actually has a website dedicated to these thermophiles, or heat loving animals.
I would never have guessed that a worm would be the most heat tolerant animal known.…