Happy Valentine’s Day! While humans often exchange cards, candy, flowers and other goodies this day, I thought it would be fun to check out some of the ways animals and zoos celebrated the day. Animals at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo enjoyed special treats in celebration of Valentine’s Day: Animals at the Farm Sanctuary shared kisses: The Oregon Zoo wanted to wish a Happy Valentine’s Day to all the ‘significant otters’ […]
I do…so of course I found myself on Youtube watching all sorts of videos about it. Here is one that caught my eye, lol.
Today I interviewed Mr. Anthony J. Basile from Arizona State University who is working in the laboratory of Dr. Karen Sweazea. Anthony is a nutritionist and a third-year evolutionary biology PhD student whose research focuses on nutrition-related disease. He was scheduled to present his study at the 2020 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego last month. As with many plans these days, the conference was cancelled due to Covid-19. Can […]
As you have probably heard, tests confirm that a wild animal market selling exotic meats in Wuhan China is at the epicenter of the current coronavirus outbreak. This leaves many people wondering just how viruses jump between species. Here is a timely video from YouTube answering that question:
Scientists at the California Academy of Sciences described 71 new species of plants or animals in 2019. According to the Academy, these included 17 fish, 15 geckos, 8 flowering plants, 6 sea slugs, 5 arachnids, 4 eels, 3 ants, 3 skinks, 2 skates, 2 wasps, 2 mosses, 2 corals, 2 lizards, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, just kidding about that last one. Dr. Shannon Bennett, Chief of […]
In a new review article published in Physiology, Dr. Jonathon Stillman from San Francisco State University explores how populations of animals and humans may respond to increasing frequency of heat waves. According to Dr. Stillman, the past decade has produced some of the hottest years on record, resulting in the loss of human and animal life. Both the length and intensity of these heat waves are expected to increase, which […]
Ever wonder how humans and other animals evolved the ability to detect foods that can potentially harm us? A recent article published in Physiological Reviews, explains the physiology behind why certain foods taste bad. The act of tasting is very complex and includes receptors in our mouths that can detect specific chemicals in our food and prepare our digestive system to receive the food and, as anyone with a cold knows, […]
I came across a really interesting interview of Dr. Barry Pinshow, a comparative physiologist and member of the American Physiological Society. In this Living History of Physiology video, Dr. Pinshow talks about growing up in South Africa and his decision to move to Israel as a teen. He also discusses how he became interested in science, his research in desert biology and the influential people in his career. Very inspiring!
Many children (and adults) find humor in flatulence. If you count yourself among these individuals, then a new book written by zoologist Dani Rabaiotti and ecologist Nick Caruso, coming out in April 2018, is a must-read. The book examines which animals truly pass gas and is aptly titled, “Does it Fart?” No longer will you be limited to only blaming it on the dog or cat. Although you will not […]
What better way to wrap up 2017 than to take a look back at the top 10 newly discovered species this past year. I don’t know about you, but I am rather partial to the sorting hat spider and the katydid.
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 