clock | July 17, 2008The third issue of the Open Access journal 'Evolution: Education and Outreach' has been published, and it is again full of good, thought-provoking articles. You can see them (for free, of course) if you click here.
clock | July 17, 2008What's new in PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Genetics, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases this week? Among else, these papers that caught my eye:
Emergent Synchronous Bursting of Oxytocin Neuronal Network:
When young suckle, they are rewarded intermittently with a let-down of milk that results from reflex secretion of the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide made by specialised neurons in the hypothalamus, and is secreted from nerve endings in the pituitary gland. During suckling, every 5 min or so, each of these neurons discharges a brief, intense burst of action…
clock | July 17, 2008Skeptics' Circle #91 is up on Sorting Out Science
Carnival of the Liberals LXIX is up on Stump Lane
The Carnival of Education #180 is up on Steve Spangler's Blog
clock | July 17, 2008New Approach Sheds Light On Ways Circadian Disruption Affects Human Health:
Growing evidence indicates that exposure to irregular patterns of light and darkness can cause the human circadian system to fall out of synchrony with the 24-hour solar day, negatively affecting human health -- but scientists have been unable to effectively study the relationship between circadian disruptions and human maladies.
Frogs With Disease-resistance Genes May Escape Extinction:
As frog populations die off around the world, researchers have identified certain genes that can help the amphibians develop…
clock | July 17, 2008TOPAZ software, the one that hosts five out of seven PLoS journals (ONE, Pathogens, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Genetics and Computational Biology) has just been upgraded. There is not much new in the terms of functionality visible to readers, but the upgrade should greatly increase the stability of the sites and the speed of loading of papers, comments and other pages.
Give it a test-drive: search and browse papers, download PDFs, post comments/notes/ratings, send trackbacks, and if you notice any glitches, let us know exactly where you were, what you were trying to do, and what happened (…
clock | July 16, 2008The daily arguments over putting away the toys or practicing the piano defeat us so easily. We see them coming yet they frustrate us time and time again. In many cases, we are mothers and fathers who have managed budgets and unruly bosses and done difficult jobs well through sheer tenacity and dogged preparation. So why are we unable to persuade someone three feet tall to step into six inches of water at bathtime?
- Cathy Rindner Tempelsman
clock | July 16, 2008Birds Have A Good Sense Of Smell:
Sight and hearing are the most important senses for birds - this is at least the received wisdom. By studying bird DNA, however, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, along with a colleague at the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand, have now provided genetic evidence that many bird species have a well-developed sense of smell (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 16.07.2008).
Europe's Ancestors: Cro-Magnon 28,000 Years Old Had DNA Like Modern Humans:
Some 40,000 years ago, Cro-Magnons -- the first people who had a skeleton that looked…
clock | July 16, 2008Olivia Judson is absolutely right - let's get rid of the terms "Darwinist" and "Darwinism". She writes, among else:
I'd like to abolish the insidious terms Darwinism, Darwinist and Darwinian. They suggest a false narrowness to the field of modern evolutionary biology, as though it was the brainchild of a single person 150 years ago, rather than a vast, complex and evolving subject to which many other great figures have contributed. (The science would be in a sorry state if one man 150 years ago had, in fact, discovered everything there was to say.) Obsessively focusing on Darwin, perpetually…
clock | July 15, 2008Welcome to the Firstest, Biggestest, Inaugural Edition of The Giant's Shoulders, the carnival of History Of Science! The carnival grew out of the Classic Papers Challenge by gg of Skulls in the Stars. That was so much fun, several of us thought this is something that should be done regularly, perhaps every month. So, gg and I got together and got this thing started.
I know some of the future hosts will do this very creatively (and yes, you can volunteer to host, though you will have to wait six months for your turn!), and I envisioned doing this in a form of, perhaps, a vigorous debate at…
clock | July 15, 2008There are 74 new articles in PLoS ONE today. Browse for your own choices - these are mine:
A 28,000 Years Old Cro-Magnon mtDNA Sequence Differs from All Potentially Contaminating Modern Sequences:
DNA sequences from ancient speciments may in fact result from undetected contamination of the ancient specimens by modern DNA, and the problem is particularly challenging in studies of human fossils. Doubts on the authenticity of the available sequences have so far hampered genetic comparisons between anatomically archaic (Neandertal) and early modern (Cro-Magnoid) Europeans. We typed the…
clock | July 15, 2008Oekologie #17 is up on Reconciliation Ecology
Carnival of the Green #136 is up on AIDG blog
Grand Rounds 4.43 are up on Unprotected Text
The 133rd Carnival of Homeschooling is up on Red Sea School
clock | July 15, 2008Two Extinct Flying Reptiles Compared: One Was A Glider, The Other A Parachutist:
Archaeopteryx is famous as the world's oldest bird, but reptiles were flying about some 50 million years earlier than that (225 million years ago), even before large dinosaurs roamed the Earth. A new study of extinct reptiles called kuehneosaurs, by scientists from the University of Bristol, England, shows that these early flyers used extraordinary extensions of their ribs to form large gliding surfaces on the side of the body.
Marsupials And Humans Share Same Genetic Imprinting That Evolved 150 Million Years Ago…
clock | July 14, 2008Yes, I am one of many SciBlings and other bloggers who got offered to pre-screen Randy Olson's new movie "Sizzle" (check the Front Page of scienceblogs.com for links to all the others). I was reluctant at first, but in the end I gave in and agreed to preview a copy. Why was I reluctant? As a scientist, I need to start my piece with a bunch of neatly organized caveats, so here are the reasons why I thought I would not be a good person to review the movie:
- I am just not a good movie critic. Of the thousands of movies I have seen in my life, I disliked perhaps three. I am terribly…
clock | July 14, 2008Avoid Quiet and Placid persons unless you are in Need of Sleep.
- National Lampoon
clock | July 14, 2008There is now a Sleep and Circadian group on Graduate Junction so if you are a student or postdoc in the field, and enough of you join up, we can see if can get some discussions going....
clock | July 14, 2008Understanding Hearing, Molecule By Molecule:
Berkeley Lab scientists have for the first time pieced together the three-dimensional structure of one of nature's most exquisite pieces of machinery, a gossamer-like filament of proteins in the inner ear that enables the sense of hearing and balance.
Marine Worm's Jaws Say 'Cutting-edge New Aerospace Materials':
Researchers in California and New Hampshire report the first detailed characterization of the protein composition of the hard, fang-like jaws of a common marine worm. Their work could lead to the design of a new class of super-strong,…
clock | July 14, 2008How free access internet resources benefit biodiversity and conservation research: Trinidad and Tobago's endemic plants and their conservation status:
Botanists have been urged to help assess the conservation status of all known plant species. For resource-poor and biodiversity-rich countries such assessments are scarce because of a lack of, and access to, information. However, the wide range of biodiversity and geographical resources that are now freely available on the internet, together with local herbarium data, can provide sufficient information to assess the conservation status of…
clock | July 14, 2008Interactions with the Mass Media (pdf):
Our analysis shows that interactions between scientists and journalists are more frequent and smooth than previously thought. This five-country survey also suggests that the scientists most involved in these interactions tend to be scientifically productive, have leadership roles, and--although they consider concerns as well as perceived benefits--that they perceive the interactions to have more positive than negative outcomes. Despite minor variations in the assessment of media contacts across the five countries, the basic patterns are surprisingly…
clock | July 14, 2008Monday - the day when PLoS Medicine and PLoS Biology publish new articles, among others, these:
Persistent Leatherback Turtle Migrations Present Opportunities for Conservation :
Highly migratory marine animals routinely cross international borders during extensive migrations over thousands of kilometers, thus requiring conservation strategies with information about habitat use and movement patterns. Critically endangered leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the eastern Pacific have suffered a severe population decline in recent years. In this study, we present the largest multi-year…