dr. dolittle
Posts by this author
July 16, 2016
By Sun Ladder - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10959166
A new study published in Current Biology presents data showing that persistent exposure to artificial lights causes mice to age prematurely. Not only did exposure to bright light alter circadian…
July 15, 2016
Ducklings are rather well-known for their ability to imprint on someone (usually their mother) or something shortly after hatching. Researchers at the University of Oxford were interested in understanding more about learning and memory in ducklings. Specifically, they wanted to know if a duckling…
July 12, 2016
Image of a Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta, from Wikimedia Commons
Teleost fish living in saltwater environments are constantly compensating for water loss. This happens because their surroundings have higher concentrations of salts than their plasma and the rule of thumb in Biology is: water…
July 12, 2016
Researchers at Stanford University have accomplished what was once considered impossible. They have partially restored vision in blind. Check out this Youtube video to see how they did it
July 9, 2016
Image of common hamster by katanski - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10550799
During hibernation common hamsters (Cricetus cricetus) alternate their time between bouts of torpor during which their metabolic rate drops and body temperature is low and arousal…
June 28, 2016
Image of a naked mole rat By Roman Klementschitz, Wien - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=252701
Researchers trying to find cures for cancer find naked mole rats rather interesting. Not only are these animals long-lived by rodent standards, they are also…
June 28, 2016
Skeletal muscle function and structure change as we age. Humans typically experience a loss of muscle mass or muscle weakness which can greatly reduce mobility and stability. While much is known about aging skeletal muscle in humans and rodents, less is known about horses, which are rather…
June 20, 2016
Image of hooded seal from NOAA Fisheries (File:Hooded seal.JPG) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Heart rate decreases during diving in seals and other animals. Thus the ascending aorta becomes very important during diving as it helps to maintain blood pressure during prolonged dives. A…
June 20, 2016
Image of banana shark by Watermeloncat2.0 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47324709
I LOVE Shark Week on Discovery Channel. I can't wait to see the bizarre sharks episode. The excitement begins June 26th.
June 20, 2016
Birds get such a bad rap when it comes to intelligence. Sure they have relatively small brains, but scientists have known they are similar to primates with respect to their cognitive abilities. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences presents data showing how…
June 18, 2016
The blue blood of horseshoe crabs contains a special chemical limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) that medical laboratories obtain from thousands of animals annually to detect bacterial infections in humans. The labs are only allowed to draw up to 30% of their blood once a year. Despite these…
June 14, 2016
Image of a spiny mouse. Credit: Clive Druett/Getty
Although laboratory rodents are used to study estrogen-related disorders, they are different from humans in that they do not menstruate. Therefore, they are not used to understand or develop treatments for disorders related to menstruation, like…
June 7, 2016
Mosquitoes. That's right, mosquitoes. As creepy little transmitters of diseases such as the current Zika virus epidemic (linked with causing the birth defect microencephaly), West Nile virus, malaria, chikungunya, and dengue fever, mosquitoes kill over 1 million people every year according to the…
May 27, 2016
In a prior post summarizing the annual Michigan Physiological Society Meeting, I briefly mentioned the work from Adrian Vasquez, Milad Qazazi, Andrew Failla, Sanjay Rama, Samuel Randall, and Jeffrey Ram from Wayne State University, Detroit, MI).
They were exploring the diversity of water mites, a…
May 25, 2016
Image of elephant fish by fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au Canon 20D + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 - Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=864471
Seawater contains sulfate concentrations that are nearly 40 times those measured in plasma. Therefore, it is easy to see why fish…
May 24, 2016
Chick image By Markus Koljonen (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons
New research published in the American Journal of Physiology Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology shows that bacterial infections increase the production of nitric oxide in chicks, which is similar to…
May 18, 2016
The Michigan Physiological Society, a chapter of the American Physiological Society, held their 3rd annual meeting last week. As mentioned in a prior post, the keynote address was given by Comparative Physiologist Dr. Hannah Carey (University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine). You can…
May 5, 2016
I am very excited about the upcoming 3rd annual Michigan Physiological Society Meeting on May 12-13 in Detroit. This society is a local chapter of the American Physiological Society. I am most excited by their choice of a Comparative Physiologist for the keynote address: Dr. Hannah V. Carey from…
May 4, 2016
Check out this video from Scientific American discussing how canids from different areas have different 'dialects':
April 30, 2016
Image of brittle star by Jerry Kirkhart from Los Osos, Calif. [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
A new study published in Frontiers in Zoology examined the developmental process involved in regulating limb regeneration in brittle stars (Amphiura…
April 20, 2016
I am very excited to report this year's awardees from the Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section (CEPS) of the American Physiological Society!
The New Investigator Award is given to a young investigator who has made contributed significantly to the field of comparative and evolutionary…
April 6, 2016
Today was the final day of the meeting.
Dr. Joe Thompson (Franklin and Marshall College) spoke about oblique striated muscles, which get their name from the diagonal pattern formed by the location of the Z-lines. This type of muscle is common among cephalopods, nematodes, tunicates, molluscs, etc…
April 6, 2016
This year's August Krogh Distinguished lecture, the highest award given to an accomplished Comparative Physiologist from the Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology section of the American Physiological Society was awarded to Dr. Jon Harrison, Arizona State University.
Dr. Harrison gave an…
April 6, 2016
Still going strong...here are the highlights from several sessions held on Day 4:
Drawing of Lake Whitefish by William Converse Kendall - Kendall, William Converse, b. (1909) Fishes of the Connecticut Lakes and Neighboring Waters, with Notes on the Plankton Environment, Report of the Commissioner…
April 5, 2016
I LOVE THIS MEETING!
DAY 3 included several very interesting comparative physiology sessions.
Image of birds from Wikipedia
Eldon Braun (University of Arizona) spoke about how birds have a unique way to prevent water loss and thereby dehydration. In mammals, the kidneys are responsible for…
April 3, 2016
Today was a great day for trainees in comparative physiology! Here are some of the highlights from their sessions:
Poster presentations:
Alexis MacDonald et al., (Union College - Mentor Dr. Scott Kirkton) presented research showing that grasshopper skeletal muscles may use lactate for energy!…
April 2, 2016
Today marked the official start of the Experimental Biology meeting for the American Physiological Society!
The highest award the society offers a scientist is named in honor of Dr. Walter B Cannon, the physiologist (and 6th President of the society) who came up with the term 'homeostasis' in his…
April 1, 2016
I am packing my bags and heading out to sunny San Diego for the annual Experimental Biology conference, which officially kicks off today!
March 31, 2016
Photo by: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons
With the approach of summer, a timely study was published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology on whether inflammation plays a role in heat stress-related complications in muscles…
March 31, 2016
Don't forget to vote for your favorite Phantastic Physiology Voyage video from trainees sponsored by the American Physiological Society. This year's theme is “Function Follows Form.”
Here is just a sample of the phantastic videos (from YouTube) in the contest:
To see the rest of the videos and…