grrlscientist | September 18, 2007I am back in the library today, but I am well-armed this time: I brought a big bar of Cadbury's Royal Dark Chocolate with me, so I am writing stories for you all once again. Yummy! Because of course, as we learned in the Harry Potter books, it's chocolate that keeps the Dementors away, right?
Well, okay, I am taking my meds once again, too.
I am having problems accessing my blog to publish stories for you, so I am writing this entry in a window that I opened yesterday evening before leaving the library, just for this purpose. Hrm, I wonder if this entry will publish? I am starting to think…
grrlscientist | September 18, 2007tags: blog carnivals, Grand Rounds
This week's edition, issue 3.52, of the blog carnival Grand Rounds is now available. This blog carnival focuses on stories with medical significance, and is one of the longest running blog carnivals out there!
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: oekologie, blog carnival
I am late noting this, but the 9th edition of the Oekologie blog carnival has been available for you to read since Saturday. So go there and be sure to read their linked stories -- there's lots there for you to read and appreciate.
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, salmon, trout, spawning, molecular biology, cloning, conservation, endangered species
A trout germ cell is transplanted into the body cavity of a newly hatched salmon embryo. This is part of the process that allowed adult salmon to successfully spawn trout offspring.
Image: Science magazine
Have you ever heard of a trout with salmon for parents? Since when has one species given birth to another species? Well, ever since scientists began experimenting with salmon in the hope that they could genetically alter these fish by injecting sex cells from trout so the…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: medicine 2.0, blog carnival
The latest edition of the medical blog carnival, Medicine 2.0 is now available for you to read. Be sure to go there and explore the different essays they have linked, some of which include a critical look at the evolution of medicine itself.
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: earthquakes, tsunamis, geology
I carefully follow the news of Indonesia and other places in the South Pacific Ocean because that's where my research birds come from. So I was listening to radio reports of the recent spate of Sumatran earthquakes with great concern, worried that yet another tsunami would result. But as I listened to these reports, I noticed something else that was unusual; the reporters referred to multiple earthquakes occurring in the region, rather than one quake that was preceeded by foreshocks and followed by aftershocks. So of course, I had to ask the resident…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: Garden Fest, blog carnival
The September issue of the Garden Fest blog carnival is now available for you to enjoy. This is a new blog carnival for me, so be sure to go there and support them by reading their linked articles.
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, bipolar disorder, manic-depressive illness, unipolar depressive disorder, clinical depression, seasonal affective disorder, SAD, circadian clock, light therapy
"Starry Night" (1889) is an oil painting by Dutch post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. It was added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City in 1941. [wallpaper size].
According to a "NewsFocus" article that appeared in last Friday's Science, there is a move afoot to use light therapy and sleep deprivation to help the body's circadian clock reset and maintain…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007As you no doubt have noticed, Birds in the News has not made its usual appearance today at noon. The reason is that I was unable to find any wifi hotspots from Friday afternoon onwards, until today when I returned to the library. As a result, I didn't have a chance to write this week's issue of Birds in the News. I was only able to access the internet -- twice -- this past weekend for approximately five minutes each time, but that is all. Birds in the News requires four hours to finish each issue. So please accept my apologies.
grrlscientist | September 14, 2007I was working on some stories for you, but I have not been feeling very well once again. I thought I was getting better, but as of yesterday, I have not been feeling well. Except this time, my malaise is mood-based. I hate taking meds for a variety of reasons, and so I tend not to do so after I've been feeling alright for a week or so, and I end up paying the price.
Sorry about that. I am hoping to finish these essays over the weekend for you (plus, I have to write Birds in the News, too).
grrlscientist | September 14, 2007tags: birds, Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, Image of the Day
Male Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, in Central Park during moult.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
More about this image below the fold.
The photographer writes: I'm not sure how to file this particular photo. Does it go in the "almost-too-cute-for-words" file or the "evil eye" file?
The adult male striking this provocative pose is one I call "Papa Meadow" because the center of his territory is the Maintenance Meadow in Central Park. Here he seems to be giving me an…
grrlscientist | September 14, 2007tags: chocolate, online quiz
You are Dark Chocolate
You live your life with intensity, always going full force.
You push yourself (and others) to the limit... you want more than you can handle.
An extreme person, you challenge and inspire the world!
What Kind of Chocolate Are You?
Hey, that's my favorite kind of chocolate, how did they guess? (By the way, if you are interested to read a little more about chocolate and alcoholism, I recently wrote a story that you might enjoy).
grrlscientist | September 14, 2007The 157th edition of the popular blog carnival, The Friday Ark is now available. This blog carnival specializes in publishing links to pictures of animals so you can enjoy looking at them. Some of these pictures are accompanied by essays, too.
grrlscientist | September 13, 2007tags: blog carnivals, encephalon, cognition, learning
I am hosting the next issue of the blog carnival, Encephalon on Monday, 24 September. Of course, I want my efforts to be recognized as the best ever on behalf of this carnival so I am going to ask you all again to send me your submissions! Encephalon is THE carnival that focuses on blog writing about all aspects of neuroscience, from the molecular to the cognitive. So if you want your brainy words to be read by a larger and more diverse audience than you usually enjoy, be sure to get your articles, essays and poems to me by the 23rd of…
grrlscientist | September 13, 2007tags: Seed Media Group, Hubert Burda Media, science literacy
My European readers have been incredibly loyal and kind to me, and it has given me great pleasure and pride to know that, even though you live overseas, you take the time to read my blog. So my European readers especially will be excited about some news that promises to give ScienceBlogs a more prominent position in Europe. This news is hot off the wires, and I will be writing more about what this means for all of you and for us here at SB as things develop.
Seed Media Group just announced that they recently formed a partnership…
grrlscientist | September 13, 2007tags: Alex, African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus, cognition, learning, speech disabilities, Irene Pepperberg
Alex, the African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus,
who worked with Irene Pepperberg for more than 30 years.
Image: Illustration by Andrew Kuo, Photograph by John Woo.
An article about Alex, the African grey parrot who worked with Irene Pepperberg, has been reprinted on the Seed magazine site. This piece was originally published in 2004 and reappears now as a memorial to Alex. It includes lovely images, such as the one above.
Alex is an African Grey parrot, but in all…
grrlscientist | September 12, 2007tags: Alex, African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus, cognition, learning, speech disabilities, Irene Pepperberg
Alex, the African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus,
who worked with Irene Pepperberg for more than 30 years.
Image: Brandeis University.
Alex, the African grey parrot who worked with Irene Pepperberg, has managed something that most of us never will: his obituary is in today's LATimes (even more remarkable, it was in yesterday's NYTimes);
Some scientists have questioned whether Alex was as smart as he seemed. African grey parrots are very social birds, and some scientists…
grrlscientist | September 12, 2007tags: chocolate, addiction, alcoholism, craving
Orphaned image.
Weirdly, I just learned that recovering alcoholics, especially those who are early in the recovery process, are recommended to eat chocolate to curb their craving for alcohol. According to my sources, this recommendation is included in the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, which is also known as "The Big Book" to those who are in recovery. Why is this?
Some people hypothesize that chocolate is helpful because it contains a variety of alkaloids that are linked to alcoholism, so by eating chocolate, the alcoholic can get these same…
grrlscientist | September 12, 2007tags: birds, "white" American Robin, Turdus migratorius, Image of the Day
"White" American Robin, Turdus migratorius, on a sidewalk in Casper, Wyoming.
Image: Norma Brown. [wallpaper size].
I am going to speculate here, but I think that, because this bird is pale colored everywhere it would normally be brown, grey or black, this bird's melanin-producing gene(s) have been deactivated. However, because the bird's breast is red, as is typical for this species, carotenoids (red pigments obtained from the bird's diet) are still being added to the bird's feathers when they are growing, as normal…
grrlscientist | September 12, 2007I am sorry to tell you this, but the SB database is experiencing some problems at this moment that prevents essays and comments from publishing at odd moments. So even though I have essays in the queue, they are not appearing as they ought. Be patient; I think that the SB god, Tim, is working on this issue as I write. (If not, we all promise to riot, now wouldn't that be fun to watch?).
Hopefully, this comment will publish ... ? Well, I guess this is a test.