Da-dum, da-dum…that’s right! Shark week is back!! It starts tonight on Discovery channel. Grab some popcorn, it’s going to be a wild ride! To kick off the week in our own way, I found this interesting study that examined wound healing in whale sharks, the world’s largest fish. These animals often exhibit scars resulting from collisions with boats and new research shows they have impressive wound healing capabilities. In the […]
We recently interviewed Meredith Johnson (graduate student), Jordan Glass (graduate student), and Dr. Jon Harrison from the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University about the research they presented at the 2021 annual Experimental Biology conference. Q: You mentioned in one of your presentations that insects have an ‘unusual’ respiratory system. Can you explain how it differs from mammals? Dr. Harrison: Insects exchange gases through blind-ended air-filled tubes called tracheae. There […]
Research presented by Dr. Tobias Fromme (Technical University of Munich) and colleagues at the 2021 Experimental Biology conference shows that Etruscan shrews (pictured above) have a rather large amount of fat located between their kidneys, which is close to their major blood vessels. This fat depot is a mixture of both brown and beige adipose tissue and is thought to help generate metabolic heat to keep these tiny mammals warm […]
Can you imagine what would happen to your body if you dove up to 1700 meters deep in the ocean for an hour and a half, or experienced months of food deprivation? In the case of deep diving, the high pressure causes the collapse of the lungs of terrestrial mammals (including humans!) and depletion of body oxygen stores, whereas long fasting periods compromise health and induce muscle wasting. Northern elephant […]
We are delighted to share this interview with Evolutionary Biology PhD Candidate, Anthony Basile, MS, NDTR, who is working with Dr. Karen Sweazea at Arizona State University. We asked Anthony about his research that he presented at the 2021 Experimental Biology conference. What made you interested in studying the effects of urbanization on doves? I’m sure everyone reading this has seen a bird walking around with bread or French fries […]
We are delighted to speak with Anna Pearson (MS student) and her mentor Dr. Michael Tift, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington. Anna presented her research “First report of red blood cell lifespan in a marine mammal: An insight into endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) production” at the 2021 Experimental Biology conference last month. What made you interested in studying red blood cells in dolphins?Dr. Tift became interested […]
We are delighted to speak with Molly Simonis who is currently a PhD Candidate working with Dr. Lynn Hartzler at Wright State University. Molly is a member of the Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology section of the American Physiological Society and she presented her research “Captive Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) Display Hypothermia and Hypometabolism” at the 2021 Experimental Biology conference last month. Q: What made you interested in studying big brown […]
American alligators can grow rather large. In fact, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Spanish explorers called these animals “big lizard”, or “el legarto” in Spanish, which explains how they got their name. Hatchlings are typically 8-9 inches long and their growth rate can vary depending on habitat, age, and sex. Female adult alligators can reach about 9 feet in length and 200 pounds in weight whereas […]
Margaret Newport, graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Holly Bates at Trent University presented results from her research on the effects of daylength (i.e. photoperiod) on body fat and circadian rhythm in white-footed mice at the 2021 Experimental Biology conference. Both photoperiod (length of daylight) as well as temperature naturally vary with changing seasons and can impact an organism’s physiology. To differentiate between the effects of temperature and photoperiod, the research team […]
The August Krogh Distinguished Lectureship is the highest award given by the Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology section of the American Physiological Society. As the name implies, it is awarded to a distinguished physiologist who has made major and meritorious contributions to the field. This year’s August Krogh Distinguished Lecture was awarded to Dr. Ken Olson, Emeritus Professor, Indiana University School of Medicine – South Bend. His talk at the Experimental […]
