clock | June 20, 2006 This is an early post of mine, written on February 11, 2005, a rare one in which I discuss my own lack of religion:
I had major computer problems last week so didn't think I would have the time to write a blog entry of my own for the third installment of the Carnival Of The Godless (found here), so was going to post a link to an old post, but the title of one of the new Carnival entries, I, Bloginette, made me think that my blog also has a bird as symbol (a quail, not a magpie), and I also remembered how much I loved the old TV series "I, Claudius", and how wonderful it would sound if I…
clock | June 19, 2006Pedro Beltrao, who blogs on Public Rambling is starting Bio::Blogs, a carnival of bioinformatics and computational biology.
clock | June 19, 2006There is another science blogger joining us in the DonorsChoose fundraiser. Check out the challenge set up by Deep-Sea News blog.
Pharyngula has closed the challenge, so you can help other bloggers complete their challenges now.
clock | June 19, 2006Want this badge?
The 32nd edition of the Carnival of the Green is now up on Savvy Vegetarian.
clock | June 19, 2006The July issue of Discover Magazine has an excellent article on The Future of Terrorism. You should readthe whole thing, online or in hardcopy. Here are some choice quotes by people interviewed for the article:
"The war on terrorism is really a proxy for saying what is really a war on militant Islam. If we can't confront the ideology, if you're not willing to take on the ideology and try to develop a reformist, moderate Islam that makes militant Islam a fringe element, we haven't much hope to stamp it out."
Andrew C. McCarthy, former federal prosecutor who led the case against Sheik Omar…
clock | June 19, 2006 This is the first in a series of posts from Circadiana designed as ClockTutorials, covering the basics of the field of Chronobiology. It was first written on January 12, 2005:
There are traditionally three approaches to research and teaching of physiology: biochemical, energetic, and homeostatic. The three are by no means exclusive and all good physiologists will include all three in their work and teaching, but each with a different emphasis.
Biochemical approach is typical of human/medical physiology. Physiological mechanisms are described at lower and lower levels, until the molecules…
clock | June 19, 2006
Melatonin is secreted in human mother's milk with a daily rhythm - high at night, undetectable during the day (see the figure under the fold):
It has been known for a long time that mother's melatonin entrains the circadian rhythms in the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) of the embryos - thus they are born with a correct phase (time of day). However, a study in rats suggests that melatonin in mother's milk is unlikely to be able to entrain the pups circadian rhythms after they are born.
So, the appearance of melatonin in the milk of breastfeeding humans may either be:
a) just a by-product…
clock | June 19, 2006Sandra Porter was out of town, but now she's back and she is joining the DonorsChoose drive - the 20th scienceblogger to do so. Furthermore, she is adding some cool new prizes to the prize pool - check 'em out. Go to Sandy's challenge here.
Also, one of the non-scienceblog science blogs - the Northstate Science is joining the drive. Check out their projects.
Seven of my 25 programs have been funded so far, including the donations from five of my readers with a total of $582.52. Thank you!
Update: Janet has the full update on the SB drive.
clock | June 19, 2006Friday, May 26th
Afternoon
So, about noon or so, we finally got to the American Museum of Natural History. I was pretty smart, actually... A few months ago, when we first started thinking about making this trip, I decided not to renew my subscription to Natural History Magazine, but to subscribe my wife instead. So, when we arrived at the museum, we skipped the long ticket lines and went straight to the "Members" desk, where my wife got a little discount, I got a student discount (yes, I still have a valid student ID - officially they did not kick me out yet), and the kids ar, quite…
clock | June 19, 2006From today's Quotes of the Day:
Blaise Pascal was born at Clermont-Ferrand, in the Auvergne region of France, on this day in 1623. Educated at home by his father, he was a child prodigy and made significant contributions to the construction of mechanical calculators and the study of fluids. In mathematics he published a treatise on projection geometry (whatever that is!) at age sixteen and his work in probability theory is still important in economics today. In 1654 he had a vision upon awaking from a coma following a carriage accident, and devoted the rest of his life to philosophy and…
clock | June 18, 2006Ready for some history blogging? New edition of Early Modern Carnivalesque is up on The Virtual Stoa.
clock | June 18, 2006If you look up, just below the banner, there is a new button "Banner Art".. My recent post about the banner is soon going to go off the page, so this is the way to make the information available at all times with just one click....
clock | June 18, 2006The Tar Heel Tavern (carnival of North Carolina blogging) #69 is up on Poetic Acceptance, and, as the number implies, the theme is Reciprocity.
In other news, Rivka of 'Respectful of Otters' is back from a long hiatus and is blogging again.
clock | June 17, 2006On June 18th (year undisclosed, under the pain of torture, not to mention prolonged abstinence), a baby girl was born. She was born in Richmond, VA, quite by accident - although from an old Raliegh family, her father was doing his residency in Richmond at the time. She grew up in Raleigh, and, many years later, said "I do". I said "I do" at the same time and in the same room (no church ceremonies for us hard-core atheists!). Happy birthday!
On June 18th, 1991, I woke up very early in the morning, picked up my backpack and hailed a taxi. My parents and I went down to the Belgrade train…
clock | June 17, 2006On June 17th, 1858 (I know, I missed by less than an hour), Charles Darwin received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. The letter contained the explanation of the principle of natural selection. Thus, Darwin was forced to act, and act fast. After reading both Wallace's and his own acccount of natural selection to the Royal Society, he got down to work. Instead of a multi-tome monograph he was planning on writing (which, if nothing else due its sheer size, would not have had quite as wide readership), he quickly jotted down a slim volume which, for the Victorian era, was a surprisingly…
clock | June 17, 2006The very first edition of Mendel's Garden, the carnival of genetics, is up on The Force That Through....
Pediatric Grand Rounds, Volume 1 Edition 5, is up on Unintelligent Design.
clock | June 17, 2006Back To The Woom is a blog that needs to get much more exposure. It is written by a very smart couple here in Raleigh, NC. The posts are always very thoughtfull and well-researched and the topics range from Ann Raynd to immigration, from capital punishment to harsh capitalism. Always worth your time to read (even if you disagree on a detail or two).
This time, I'd like to point your attention to the latest post - The moral majority is watching your inner child molester:
The implication is that, without the threat of eventual punishment at the hands of an omniscient cosmic dictator, many…
clock | June 17, 2006My readers have, so far, raised $557.52 and fully funded two of the 25 challenges [update: five of 25]! Way to go! Thank you. There is still plenty of time until July 1st to fund some more science teachers and their underprivileged students. Janet has an update on the entire ScienceBlogs challenge.
Apparently, readers of Pharyngula have already met and exceededthe goal after just two days!
Greta and Dave are matching your donations to their causes.
David and Benjamin will publish your haiku!
Ten copies of SAMS Teach Yourself Blogging in a Snap have been added to the prizes pool, so…
clock | June 16, 2006Last week we looked at the organ systems involved in regulation and control of body functions: the nervous, sensory, endocrine and circadian systems. This week, we will cover the organ systems that are regulated and controlled. Again, we will use the zebra-and-lion example to emphasize the way all organ systems work in concert to maintain the optimal internal conditions of the body:
So, if you are a zebra and you hear and see a lion approaching (sensory systems), the brain (nervous system) triggers a stress-response (endocrine system). This is likely to happen during the day, as the…
clock | June 16, 2006I am sorry to hear that First Year Teacher is leaving my state, but after reading the Resignation Letter, I understand why.