retrospectacle | February 10, 2007Huffing, or inhalant abuse, is a significant problem among young people and the homeless due to the habit being cheap and easily accessible legally. It involves the concentration and inhalation of chemicals that are found in many household cleaners, solvents, glue, paint, etc, which result in the person feeling inebriated or "high." At higher concentrations these chemicals can induce nausea, psychosis, memory loss, emotional disturbances, or violent behavior. One of the most common ingredients in abused inhalants is toluene (think the smell of paint thinner), an aromatic hydrocarbon which…
retrospectacle | February 9, 2007 Dr. Irene Pepperberg has recently published an interesting paper in Language Sciences, regarding the ability of grey parrots to learn new words for unfamiliar objects using phonemes they already know. But, intuitively, the ability to create new words out of known phonemes would require that a parrot grasp that object labels are composed of individual parts which can be interchanged and applied to new objects. Do parrots really have that ability?
The answer may hinge on whether parrots engage in mimicry (mindlessly "parroting" back noise) or imitation (intentional copying of a novel act to…
retrospectacle | February 8, 2007The Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) is about to commence its annual Mid-Winter Meeting, which is the largest scientific meeting in my field. Otolaryngology is an unwieldy word, but simply stands for "oto" --ear-- "laryng"--throat--"ology"---study of. Most of the research deals with the ear (specifically, the inner ear) rather than the throat these days, although vestibular system research is also presented. I'll be presenting my most recent research in poster form this coming up Tuesday. This year ARO is in Denver, CO and its my first time to that city or state. Any…
retrospectacle | February 8, 2007 Researchers have recently discovered that male chimps routinely physically abuse female chimps, sometimes even using branches as weapons. But, why would they do that?
Chimps don't form monogamous pairs; rather, mating is dictated by the females' estrus cycles. During estrus, the competition for access to these few fertile females is intense. The leading theory, albeit a shaky one, is that the physical abuse is punishment for female chimps' promiscuity. By bullying them, they are discouraged from seeking other males, making it more likely that resulting offspring is his. Another explanation…
retrospectacle | February 7, 2007This week I've been talking a bit about deafness and human hearing. A human cochlea is tiny, and is located in a bony stucture near in the skull called the bulla of the temporal bone. The temporal bone is oft said to be the hardest bone in the body. Predictably, almost all other mammals share this structure (the bulla), as a protective shield around the inner ear. Humans' bulla are quite small, about the size of a large marble, but that of a whale's (and especially, a blue whale) is enornous, reaching sizes of a Nerf football. (See picture below the fold of bulla taken from a 20 ft humpback…
retrospectacle | February 7, 2007A research project commissioned by Bausch and Lomb, and headed by Nathan Efron, Professor of Clinical Optometry at the University of Manchester, tried to reduce the "beer goggles effect" down to an equation. No college student is unfamiliar with beer-goggling: that regrettable effect that alcohol and dark rooms have on our ability to judge attractiveness. In fact, a poll (also by B&L) showed that 68% of people had regretted giving their phone number to someone to whom they later realized was not attractive. Is there really a simple equation that explains it all?
(continued below the fold…
retrospectacle | February 6, 2007All of cellular biology in a nutshell. Some interesting aspects of mammalian cell biology in slick animated form. Beautiful and informative.
retrospectacle | February 6, 2007 Yeah, I know what you must be thinking: What a weird and ridiculous title. However, trust me, it actually does make sense. In yesterday's basic concepts post on Hearing, I explained that sound is transduced in the inner ear by hair cells in the cochlea. Specifically, that the deflection of hair cells' "hairs" (the stereocillia) cause ions to enter the cell and subsequently stimulate nerves which project to auditory processing centers. All this depends on the stereocillia being properly formed and rigid----but what happens if the stereocillia are too floppy?
A recent discovery by a team at…
retrospectacle | February 5, 2007Many of my SciBlings have been doing posts on "basic concepts" in their fields of expertise. As I am studying hair cell regeneration as a therapy for hearing impairment, I thought I might do a 'basic concepts post' on what hearing is, how humans hear, and why we lose it sometimes.
The most reductionist answer is the ability to perceive sound in an environment. However, to humans, hearing is much more complex than that, as we use sound to communicate to others or to appreciate music. Humans, among many other species, perceive sound waves through holes in our heads (ears). However what we…
retrospectacle | February 4, 2007So this blog, along with a large cohort of others, has signed up for the first ever Week of Science Challenge (TM). What is said challenge? Simple: We have to post about science, and naught else. So, this week I'll try to stay on-topic and explore a bit into my areas of study (neuroscience, hearing impairment) and leave the fun/weird/parrot-related stuff out.
Any suggestions of stuff people want to see?
Go Colts!
retrospectacle | February 2, 2007A British woman is facing eviction from her apartment over the "persistent and serious noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour" of her African Grey parrot, Sparky. Apparently the bird is fond of saying "show me your knickers" and other raunchy phrases. (Continued under the fold...)
Hey baby, I'm a psychic parrot. And in the future I see your clothes on my floor.
She told The Press paper: "I feel like I'm being hounded out and that this is some sort of vendetta."
"I don't think Sparky is being a nuisance, but the officer told me they had received complaints about the noise."
She added: "I…
retrospectacle | February 2, 2007In the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, U-M researcher Liangyou Rui, Ph.D. and his team report their findings on a protein called SH2B1, a protein in brain cells may act as a linchpin in the body's weight-regulating system. It seems to play a key role in signaling in regards to fat storage, sugar use, energy balance and weight.
The experiments were performed in two types of mice that the team altered genetically so that they only expressed a unique form of the SH2B1 protein in their brain cells. They zeroed in on SH2B1's activity in the hypothalamus: the area of the…
retrospectacle | February 1, 2007
Talk about a cool party trick. Notice how he lovingly refers to the roach as "she."
retrospectacle | February 1, 2007Last night I became embroiled in an interesting discussion: is the survival of a species (or, insert word here) inherently valuable, in and of itself? Does the fact that it currently exists *right now* somehow entitle it to preservation, or at least restraint when it comes to its demise?
The context I was thinking of was in regards to conservation. We've all heard the startling statistic that dozens of species go extinct every year, however this is mostly insects, plants, etc. These events do not make the news, or even cause a blip in the radar of conservation groups like the WWF, PETA,…
retrospectacle | February 1, 2007I've covered the water intoxication death of Jennifer Strange, first describing it here, with an update here. Her death was the result of a water-drinking contest organized by a radio station in Sacramento, with the prize being a Nintendo Wii. to date, the DJ's in charge of the stunt have been fired and the station was conducting an internal investigation.
A new development in the debacle is a wrongful death suit which is being brought by Strange's family, against the radio station that green-lighted the fatal stunt ("Hold your Wee for a Wii").
(Continued below.....)
....it seems that the…
retrospectacle | January 31, 2007
In the comments of the Gene Jeans post, Robster from Wonkabout made me this cool picture, which I think deserved a post. Thanks Robster!
retrospectacle | January 31, 2007Scientific American has a "Ask the Expert" series, and someone asked why it was impossible to tickle yourself.
The answer lies at the back of the brain in an area called the cerebellum, which is involved in monitoring movements. Our studies at University College London have shown that the cerebellum can predict sensations when your own movement causes them but not when someone else does. When you try to tickle yourself, the cerebellum predicts the sensation and this prediction is used to cancel the response of other brain areas to the tickle.
Two brain regions are involved in processing how…
retrospectacle | January 30, 2007How nerdelicious-cool are these "genes?" I want some! These are the "Recessive" variety.
Sadly, they're quite expensive. Small price to pay for a double-helix on your butt, I say.
Read about the brand here.
retrospectacle | January 30, 2007Long nights, sitting at the microscope, slide after slide.......don't you just wish you had a beer? Slurp slurp. Ahhhh, thats better. Wait, I wonder what *beer* would look like under the microscope! Let's try it!
I think thats what someone at Florida State thought when they decided to start this project, Molecular Expressions: The Beershots Photo Gallery, which has digital images of bunches of famous beers from around the world.
Chinese beer Tsingtao:
Pilsner Urquel:
Guinness:
Heineken:
You can buy prints, posters, and even a book. No money? There's a free screen saver. And if beer ain't…