dr. dolittle
Posts by this author
November 24, 2015
The Arizona Physiological Society held their 8th annual conference Nov 13-14 at Midwestern University in Glendale. This was a great meeting for comparative physiologists!
Here are some comparative physiology highlights from the meeting:
The 2015 Keynote Speaker was Dr. Andrew Biewener (Harvard…
November 18, 2015
Beagles (Hercules, left, and Tangou, right) genetically-modified to be more muscular. Image from Scientific American, Courtesy of Zou Qingjian and Lai Liangxue at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Researchers in China are exploring the use of gene-…
November 17, 2015
Testing the bite force of American cockroaches. Image from: Tom Weihmann | University of Cambridge
I'll admit I get a bit squeamish when I see a cockroach. However, after reading new research about the "ew" inspiring creatures, I have a bit more respect for them.
Not only can these bugs run…
November 11, 2015
"This diagram shows an interlinked system of animals that carry nutrients from ocean depths to deep inland — through their poop, urine, and, upon death, decomposing bodies. Here, the red arrows show the estimated amounts of phosphorus and other nutrients that were moved or diffused historically —…
November 10, 2015
This is an exciting weekend for science!
This Friday and Saturday the 8th annual Arizona Physiological Society is hosting their annual conference in Glendale, Arizona. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Andrew Biewener (Harvard University) who will present “How Do Running Animals Achieve Stability?…
October 28, 2015
With Halloween quickly approaching, I thought it would be fun to take some time to appreciate bats. Amazing animals!
October 27, 2015
A still shot from the 3D-IsoView microscope shows neural activity within a Drosophila larva detected with fluorescent indicators. Image courtesy of Keller Lab, HHMI/Janelia Research Campus
A new kind of three-dimensional technology, called IsoView, allows researchers to view biological…
October 26, 2015
Image of Cricetomys gambianus from Wikipedia.
In a newly published study from Physiological Reports, researchers were interested in learning more about the basic physiology of African giant rats (Cricetomys gambianus). According to the study, heart rate is one of several "physiological constants…
October 23, 2015
The Tennessee Physiological Society held their annual conference on October 9th at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Here are highlights from the meeting:
Have you ever heard of "dry needling"? It is a treatment used by some physical therapists that is designed to help alleviate muscle…
October 23, 2015
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Researchers from La Trobe University and Max Planck Institute for Ornithology recorded young crocodiles and found that while the animals typically sleep with both eyes closed, in the morning hours they will sometimes open one eye periodically. If they placed another…
October 20, 2015
Image of Drosophila from Wikipedia.
A new study published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology describes how Drosophila melanogaster develop similar heart complications as humans when they become obese. Rather than feeding them a high fat…
October 17, 2015
Check out this new YouTube video describing a new study aimed at discovering how elephants resist developing cancer:
October 13, 2015
This is a great month for Physiology! Several of the local chapters of the American Physiological Society (APS) are having their annual meetings.
The Nebraska Physiological Society met this past weekend at the University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine. Here are the highlights from…
September 30, 2015
Check out this neat video from National Geographic's emerging explorer, David Gruber (a marine biologist at the City University of New York) in which he discusses coming across what he claims is the first observation of biofluorescence in a sea turtle:
Video source:
YouTube
September 29, 2015
"Branta canadensis 4014" by Dori - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 us via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Branta_canadensis_4014.jpg#/med…
A study published earlier this month examined how Canada geese (Branta canadensis), long-distance migratory birds, regulate…
September 21, 2015
By Taken by fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au Canon 20D + Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Researchers at the University of Vienna are studying vocalizations from giraffes. They captured recordings of the…
September 17, 2015
A female mouse that is. You may recall a post from several years ago when we talked about how rats seem to "laugh" when tickled. Back in April 2015 researchers at Duke University presented a video that showed male mice "singing" a tune after either smelling the urine of a female mouse or being in…
September 16, 2015
Image of a corn earworm by Sarah from Statesboro GA, USA (Corn Earworm on corn ear) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that bats are important nocturnal predators of…
September 14, 2015
Dr. Mark Mamula at Yale University has been working on developing a vaccine for cancer. Here is an interview featuring Dr. Mamula discussing how dogs are helping researchers test a vaccine that so far, has shown promise in fighting cancer growth.
Video Source:
NBC www.King5.com
September 9, 2015
Arousal of a thirteen-lined ground squirrel from hibernation. By Uncredited; Walter L. Hahn [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
In a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, researchers at the University of Wisconsin, La…
September 3, 2015
A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences provides evidence that hummingbird tongues act like micropumps when drinking nectar. This finding is in contrast to the long-held belief that their tongues use capillary action to pull in fluids. A team of…
September 1, 2015
Answer: pregnancy.
Unlike most animals, it is the male seahorses that give birth to live young. A new study conducted at the University of Sydney and published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, found that the male seahorses not only carry out the pregnancy, they also supply nutrients to the…
August 19, 2015
Another new study published in Nature Communications shows follows along with the prior post and shows that ancestral dogs were ambush hunters that evolved from forest dwelling animals similar to a mongoose (or a cat).
These early ancestors to dogs were ambush predators. The image…
August 18, 2015
By Noel Feans (originally posted to Flickr as Watch your back!) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
New research suggests that cats may have played a role in the extinction of about 40 species of wild dogs by simply out-hunting them and therefore…
August 17, 2015
Image of baboon with offspring By RADION Imaginery / Kamil Wencel (RADION Imaginery / http://imaginery.radion.org/) [Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons
Malnutrition during pregnancy is a major global health issue that leads to restricted growth of developing fetuses making them more prone to…
August 16, 2015
I came across the "I Spy Physiology" blog today from the American Physiological Society. The blog focuses on physiological topics relevant to daily life. There are also a couple of comparative physiology gems in the blog that you can view using the links below:
How birds my help us understand…
August 4, 2015
I came across this highly entertaining video of the "Top 10 Extreme Forms of Life" on YouTube:
August 3, 2015
I came across this neat video from Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Michael Romero, a comparative physiologist interested in how the kidneys work. In this video he describes discoveries made in zebrafish that relate to human kidney function:
August 2, 2015
Research published in the Journal of Experimental Biology shows that noisy humans are impacting the physiology and behaviors of dolphins and whales. To compete against man-made noises, these animals are altering the amplitude, frequency or length of their vocalizations or repeat what they need to…