Sexual behavior in the flatworm: The art of penis fencing May 31, 2009

“It’s known as penis fencing and the worms are the swordsmen.”

This commentary precedes live footage of penis fencing in the flatworm genus Pseudobiceros which are hermaphroditic; they possess both male and female “junk.” During the act of penis fencing, two daggerlike penises emerge from each respective flatworm, and these flatworms engage in a duel until traumatic insemination ensues; insemination and subsequent fertilization by puncturing the body [snails traumatic inseminate too]. The “winner” is the first flatworm to puncture and inseminate, while the “loser” is left to fertilize and conceive.

I Heart Damien Walters May 31, 2009

Yesterday, I went golfing for the second time ever. While attempting to mimic Happy Gilmore’s golfing style, I realized how much acute concentration and body kinesthetics are involved! The experience reminded me of watching videos of one of my favorite (and probably one of the few)street gymnasts. Damien Walters. He back tucks on and off high rises, flips off moving vehicles or flips into them, scaffolds structures with nonexistant foot or hand holdings, and more, and more. Yep, I heart Damien Walters. Below is a video that highlights his most recent stunts and the intense training involved with performing them.

A Case Study About Gold Digging May 30, 2009

In elementary school, fallacious rumors spread about my gold digging habits. Whether or not my reputation manifested from a sighting of nose picking or simply from the the alliterative pairing of “Booger” and “Brager” remains under scrutiny. However, according to a case report in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, nose picking is not an unusual behavioral phenomenon reserved for nerds and other “Nauseating P. Greens” (from Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging), but rather the average person picks his or her nose an average of FOUR times per day (yes Marc, it’s true that you may have been picking your nose in the candid photo Boy Jessie took yesterday).

If gold digging occurs more frequently, however, this may be a predisposing symptom of a body dysmorphic disorder known as RHINOTRICHTILLOMANIA; it’s time for a lesson in Latin declensions (rhino=nose + trichtillomania = obsession with plucking hairs = obsession with picking nose and/or nose hairs). In severe cases, persistent gold digging and nose hair plucking can become harbingers of nose bleeds and infections!

In other words, it is best to leave gold digging to the trophy wives.

Other “Sleep Promoting” Technologies May 28, 2009

A recent article in PC World attempts to dismantle a common complaint itterated by sleep doctor’s; today’s technologically savvy devices from laptops to cell phones to plasma televisions fragment sleep and wake (“junk” sleep), and exacerbates sleep deprivation in an already sleep-deprived America. Similar to the My Zeo alarm clock I highlighted yesterday (see blog entry: Hollah for My Zeo), there are other applications and devices available through iTunes and biotechnology companies, respectively, that actually improve sleep. Though the efficacy of the sleep-promoting music available on iTunes appears to be entirely subjective and lacks scientific merit, devices that radiate blue light to control the circadian release of  melatonin have been presented by leading scientists at scientific meetings I have attended over the past two years (SLEEP and the Society of Research on Biological Rhythms).

I love my gangsta, crunk rap, but I certainly can’t fall asleep listening to it.

Hollah for My Zeo May 27, 2009

My Zeo is here! It is the world’s premiere alarm clock that enables sleepers to feel refreshed and rejuvenated from a night’s sleep by awakening them in a preferable stage of sleep architecture (mostly REM [rapid eye movement] sleep) (of course, that is if you are achieving 8.4 hours give or take a night, and not 6 or 7 or 5.). The headband records brain wave activity associated with each stage or sleep architecture (stage 1, 2, and slow wave sleep of NREM [non-rapid eye movement sleep] and REM ), and stores this information. After setting a “time window of awakening,” My Zeo calculates an awake time based on the stored sleep architecture. My Zeo is also supplemented with sleep journals and “personal sleep coaching,” and in case you are skeptical of its efficacy, Drs. Charles A. Cziesler of Harvard Medical School and Kenneth R. Wright Jr. of University of Colorado, Boulder, two of sleep medicines most esteemed scientists, serve on the advisory board.

I am personally ecstatic about the release of My Zeo because I was one of the many guinea pigs who volunteered or rather was solicited by my friend Julie to spend many nights in their lab during the early development of the product. Each time I slept there, the design of the headband was modified, and become more comfortable with each visit. For spending 8 years in the pipeline, the brainstormers and engineers of My Zeo have exhausted every possible complaint or complication that may arise. I am confident there are none at this point. Awesome job, Jason and Julie!

The Pygmy Jerboa: Mouse, Duck, or Both? May 26, 2009

Last night, Boy Jessie sent me a video featuring the Pygmy jerboa.

.

After discovering that jerboas are desert-dwelling rodents, much like our Syrian hamsters we utilize for experimentation, I would like to comment: there is no way I will be performing a microdialysis stereotaxic surgery or manual collection on these. I can only imagine the awkwardness of placing them into the ear bars, and given their bipedalism, I anticipate many attempted escapes during a manual collection.

Sleep in the Tanakh May 25, 2009

Last summer, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, an esteemed researcher in the field of sleep medicine and circadian rhythms, published an intriguing review in Psychosomatic Medicine. In the review, Ancoli-Israel dissects the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, and highlights passages that allude to physiological and pathological sleep-related phenomena. Though I would have mentioned the publication of this fascinating review in earlier blog entries, it certainly parallels last week’s entry that summarized the quest to localize a spirituality center within the brain.

Aside from any religious symbolism and indoctrination within these passages, it is interesting to note that even ancient societies were flummoxed and fascinated by an event humans spend 1/3 of the day undertaking, and were equivocally concerned about the “supernatural” disruptions of this event.

God=Brain; Brain=God? May 20, 2009

Researchers are determined to localize a spiritual center within the brain. Across the anthropological history of the Navajo, the ingestion of psychosomatic drugs augments spirituality. While most of these drugs are hallucinogens, it is important to remember that the hallucinogenic effects of these drugs manifest from perturbed neurochemistry within the brain (mainly serotonin and dopamine). A more extensive review of this research is documented on NPR’s website today (thanks, Christina!).

I ask; does this mean that the difference between an athiest, a moderate, and a fundamental believer is a mere and marginal reflection of varying neuromodulation?!

More Fanny Packs! May 19, 2009

In case the previous blog did not inspire you to sport a fanny pack, perhaps a comprehensive summary of the fanny pack’s etymology, and a history of its rise and demise, the conveniences, and even practical, public health interventions may. Also, if you are already enamored by the return of the fanny, then join our facebook group “2009: Official Fanny Pack Summer (Kent State Edition),” and advocate for fanny pack use during the summer.

I Declare Today “Unofficial Fanny Pack” Day! May 18, 2009

Yesterday, my lab mates and myself went to the 2nd Annual National Rib Fesitval in Streetsboro, Ohio. In the process of sampling Texan, Australian, and Midwestern barbequed ribs, we sighted a fanny pack! To honor this brave soul, the Glass lab hereby proclaims the 18th of May as Unofficial Fanny Pack Day. Re-“acculturizing” myself to this hip (i.e. adjective synonmous to chic, popular, and sexy) fashion accessory has proved very useful in the lab; I not only remember to bring my security card with me upon traveling to and from the research Annex and the main building, but I can conveniently store by dialysate tubes, my timer, and my iPod while performing my 6 hour manual microdialysis collection to characterize the pharmacokinetics of ethanol in the SCN following an i.p. injection. Score! In the mean time, I suggest wearing your fanny packs proudly and brightly!