clock | July 4, 2006
I got several e-mails yesterday about a new study about the molecular mechanism underlying circadian rhythms in mammals ("You gotta blog about this!"), so, thanks to Abel, I got the paper (PDF), printed it out, and, after coming back from the pool, sat down on the porch to read it.
After reading the press releases, I was in a mind-frame of a movie reviewer, looking for holes and weaknesses so I could pounce on it and write a highly critical post, but, even after a whole hour of careful reading of seven pages, I did not find anything deeply disturbing about the paper. Actually, more I read…
clock | July 4, 2006Grand Rounds 4th of July version (Vol. 2 No. 41.) is up on Rangel MD.
Week 27 of the Carnival of Homeschooling is up on Tami's blog.
clock | July 4, 2006This was one of my first posts about blogging, and THE first about the impact of blogging technolgoy on science. A lot of time has passed since then. There are several science-related carnivals now, not just Tangled Bank. There are SEED scienceblogs. It is fun to look back at my first raw thoughts and see if, or how much, I was right or wrong on specifics. Under the fold....
I have done meta-blogging, i.e., written about the phenomenon of blogs, very, very little. Actually, I found only five posts in the archives that are specifically about blogging. The first three are very early and are…
clock | July 4, 2006Writing a chronobiology blog for a year and a half now has been quite a learning experience for me. I did not know how much I did not know (I am aware that most of my readers know even less, but still....). Thus, when I wrote about clocks in birds I was on my territory - this is the stuff I know first-hand and have probably read every paper in the field. The same goes for topics touching on seasonality and photoperiodism as my MS Thesis was on this topic. I feel equally at home when discussing evolution of clocks. I am also familiar with the clocks in some, but not all, arthropods. And…
clock | July 4, 2006"The last 29 days of the month [are] the hardest."
"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality." (Modern Mechanics and Inventions, July, 1934)
"The spread of civilisation may be likened to a fire; First, a feeble spark, next a flickering flame, then a mighty blaze, ever increasing in speed and power."
"I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to…
clock | July 3, 2006The first edition of Encephalon, neuroscience carnival, is up on Neurophilosopher's blog.
The new Philosophy Carnival is up on Adventures in Ethics and Science.
The first edition of the International Carnival of Pozitivities, carnival by HIV-positive bloggers, is up on 2sides2ron.
clock | July 3, 2006
This is the third in the series of posts designed to provide the basics of the field of Chronobiology. This post is interesting due to its analysis of history and sociology of the discipline, as well as a look at the changing nature of science. You can check out the rest of Clock Tutorials here.
It appears that every scientific discipline has its own defining moment, an event that is touted later as the moment of "birth" of the field. This can be a publication of a paper (think of Watson and Crick) or a book ("Origin of Species" anyone?). In the case of Chronobiology, it was the 1960…
clock | July 3, 2006Believe me, I love the word "circadian". It is a really cool word, invented by Franz Halberg in the late 1950s, out of 'circa' (Latin - "about") and diem ("a day"), to denote daily rhythms in biochemistry, physiology and behavior generated by the internal, endogenous biological clocks within living organisms.
It's been a while since the last time I found someone mistaking the word for 'cicada' which is a really cool insect. 'Circadian' has become quite common term in the media and, these days increasingly, in popular culture. Names of some bands contain the word. A few blogs' names…
clock | July 3, 2006This is a quick, rough translation of an article that ran in a Serbian newspaper a few days ago. It is written by a professor of psychology at the University of Belgrade, Prof.Dr.Zarko Trebjesanin, whose book about psychology of Tesla just got published in Belgrade. Posthumous psychoanalyzing is always suspect, but it is usually harmless and fun:
Nikola Tesla's Personality - the Lonely Visionary
If we could imagine the modern world devoid of Tesla's discoveries, we'd be surprised at how impoverished it would be. The gigantic industries would be dead, factories empty, cities would be dark,…
clock | July 2, 2006Well, our big Scienceblogs DonorsChoose action is officially over. Our readers have donated a total of $22,554.38. This was matched by SEED Media with additional $10,000. Readers of Pharyngula, Stranger Fruit, Evolgen, Questionable Authority, Cognitive Daily and Terra Sigillata funded their challenges to completion. For each one of those, DonorsChoose adds another 10%, which, in this case, adds up to $1447.30. Thus, the total raised is $34,001.68.
I would also like to particularly thank my readers who donated - there may not be many of them, but those who donated were very generous,…
clock | July 2, 2006The second edition of Mendel's Garden, the genetics carnival, is up on Genetics and Health Blog.
The first issue of Bio::Blogs, a carnival of bioinformatics is up on Public Rambling
History Carnival XXXIV is up on Chapati Mystery.
The new Pediatric Grand Rounds are to be found on Breath Spa for Kids.
The 71st Tar Heel Tavern, the North Carolina carnival, is up on Slowly She Turned (e-mail me if you want to host next week or in the future!).
clock | July 1, 2006
I did not find it surprising. If you have money, you can buy yourself time - to exercise, to eat a good meal at a nice restaurant or to fix healthy food at home, and to sleep as much as your body needs. As a result, you will be healthier overall. You can read about the study here (hat-tip:Sleepdoctor)
clock | July 1, 2006Yes, there are two neurocarnivals. They occur on alternate weeks.
So, if you have written something this past week, send your entry to the Encephalon which will be posted on Neurophilosopher's blog on 3rd July, 2006.
Posts you write afterwards, during next week (or, if you really, really, really hate Neurophilosopher and really, really, really, love me), send to me for the inclusion in the next edition of the Synapse, to be held right here on July 9th, 2006.
Both carnivals are listed on Blogcarnival.com so you can use their automated submission forms.
clock | July 1, 2006The first edition of the Festival of the Trees, the blog carnival of tree lovers, is up on Via Negativa. It is huge and beautiful!
clock | July 1, 2006Get your own slogan - just type in your name (or whatever word you want) and click ...The Advertising Slogan Generator does the rest for you. As it did for me - just check the title of this post.
Update: Ha! I knew other sciencebloggers were gonna love this. And here they are, generating their own slogans: Grrrlscientist, PZ and Afaranesis (so far)! And Chris.
Oh, and I did a few more myself:
Try Quail, You'll Like It.
Get In My Bora.
The Cream of Sleep.
The Coolest Circadian on Ice.
I am Stuck on Circadian, 'Cause Circadian's Stuck on Me.
Bet You Can't Eat Clock.
clock | July 1, 2006Go here to see what the best strategy is for maximizing the impact. We have raised $14,913.09. SEED is adding $10,000. And DonorsChoose will add 10% for each blogger's completed challenge, so click on that link to see whose challenges are the easiest to finish.
clock | June 30, 20063 weeks
159 posts: that is 53 per week - a suit of cards with a Jocker - or roughly 7.5 posts per day! You have to click on Archives - June 2006 to see them all!
268 comments
17 trackbacks
$582.52 raised for DonorsChoose (9 of the 15 projects fully funded)
Technorati Rank: 15,376 (245 links from 135 sites), which is nice drop down from around 32millionth three weeks ago.
Visits: 46,379 (daily average 722) - according to Sitemeter, about 30% more by Google Analytics
Pageviews: 57,120 (daily average 1,101)
clock | June 30, 2006Kevin went to another place and kept catching a snake he cannot identify. Read more under the fold....
Pinqian Report
(pin - tchin)
The Pinqian trip is a fairly short and concise trip. The trip guest starred Vanessa Reynolds for about half the time. Prior to this trip, her China experience had been the mega-cities (and Muyu). I was very pleased later in the trip when I had asked her about the time spent in Pinqian and she said it had been the highlight of her China experience. I am the opposite, I have not really spent any time in the mega-cities except for a few days in Beijing, and I did…