Ellie Runiewicz, an undergraduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Jason Breves at Skidmore College presented research on osmoregulation in teleost fish at the American Physiology Summit last month. Ellie’s research examined how Atlantic salmon are able to remove salts from the water they drink. When these fish live in marine environments, they are constantly drinking saltwater. Processing the water to remove the salts is therefore really important to their […]
Christopher Ringer, an undergraduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Kate Feller at Union College also shared his research at the American Physiology Summit last month. His research examined the impact of reproductive weight gain on a female locust’s ability to jump. Gravid female locusts (Schistocerca americana) carrying eggs gain as much as 40% additional body mass. Despite this weight gain, they can still jump high and far when necessary. […]
Graduate student Christian Valtierra presented research conducted in Dr. Megumi Fuse’s lab (San Francisco State University) at the 2023 American Physiology Summit last month. The research was focused on examining the defensive strike response in Manduca sexta hornworms. Animals respond to potentially damaging stimuli with the help of sensory neurons, called nociceptors, that specialize in detecting these stimuli. In humans, activation of these receptors is what causes us to perceive […]
Congratulations to this year’s Dr. Dolittle Travel Award winner, Emily Lam from the University of California, Berkeley! Emily presented her research at the inaugural American Physiology Summit conference this past weekend in Long Beach, California (Lam E, Mouly M, Congdon C, Henderson K, Vazquez-Medina J. Physiological and behavioral responses of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) to global change among three northern California rookeries). Here is a guest blog describing her […]
I am very excited to be a part of the 2023 Inaugural American Physiology Summit sponsored by the American Physiological Society! The meeting kicked off Thursday with a Keynote address presented by Dr. David Julius, 2021 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Julius is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Morris Herzstein Chair in Molecular Biology and Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. […]
We recently interviewed Dr. Dane Crossley, Professor of Physiology in the College of Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas about the research his laboratory presented at the recent APS Intersociety meeting, Comparative Physiology: From Organisms to Omics in an Uncertain World. The title of his presentation was, “A large heart: How does developmental hypoxia affect individual cardiomyocyte performance in the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis.” Thank you for taking time […]
The Arizona Physiological Society, a chapter of the American Physiological Society, hosted their 15th annual scientific meeting this past weekend! Here are some highlights… The Keynote Address was presented by Dr. Harold D Schultz, Professor in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Nebraska. His talk focused on the physiology of heart failure and how the nervous system regulates blood pressure. This year’s Arizona Distinguished Physiologist […]
Fall is an exciting time as many of the chapters of the American Physiological Society host regional conferences. The Midlands Society of Physiological Sciences hosted their annual meeting earlier this month. Here are some highlights from their meeting. Symposia highlights: The meeting was kicked off by a Keynote Lecture presented by Dr. David A Kass from Johns Hopkins University who presented his research on obesity and heart failure. Here is […]
There we were minding our own business at a family picnic when fruit flies descended on our lunch like an invading army. Alas, our swatting resulted in very few casualties. I am sure they snuck off with bites of this and that, although we may have found a few victims in the lemonade. So, why is it so difficult to swat fruit flies? I had a sudden desire to know […]
Existing species of coelacanths (pictured above) are descendants of a group of fish that existed about 410 million years ago, during the early Devonian period. They can be found in the Western Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia. These fish are really interesting because they have very low metabolic rates. In fact, their metabolism is among the lowest of any other existing vertebrate. Even sloths are jealous of their […]
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 