Monthly Archives: April 2008

A plea for help

I am in the field, and “need” some papers.. I have internet access, but the proxy server to UC Berkeley library seems to be unavailable… Could some kind soul send me PDF’s of some or all of the following papers??? Clicking on the link should take you to the page where PDF can be downloaded….

Female multiple mating and paternity in free-ranging North American red squirrels


Sex-specific differences in immunological costs of multiple mating in Gryllus vocalis field crickets


MALE GENETIC QUALITY AND THE INEQUALITY BETWEEN PATERNITY SUCCESS AND FERTILIZATION SUCCESS: CONSEQUENCES FOR STUDIES OF SPERM COMPETITION AND THE EVOLUTION OF POLYANDRY

AN EVOLUTIONARY LIMIT TO MALE MATING SUCCESS

Do male moor frogs (Rana arvalis) lek with kin?

Linkage… not disequilibrium

Why hot females get cheated on more

I don’t claim that this explanation is an original insight, since it’s the kind of thing you can figure out just by thinking it over — as I did today while bored. With that said, here’s one reason why: a hot girlfriend is better at sending the signal that her boyfriend is a good catch, so that female strangers are more likely to notice him and decide to make a move on him. Even if the boyfriends of hot girls weren’t any more special than those of sub-hot girls, and even if men didn’t decide to seek out strangers for increased variety, the hot girlfriend would still bring about her own betrayal more easily than would a sub-hot girlfriend.

Menstrual Blood: A Valuable Source Of Multipotential Stem Cells?

Researchers suggest that stromal cells derived from menstrual blood may represent a potentially unlimited, ethically unencumbered, easily collectable and inexpensive source of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine. The study found that MenSCs are easily expandable to clinical relevance and express multipotent markers at both the molecular and cellular level. The abundance and plasticity of MenSCs suggest a potential role for MenSCs in regenerative transplantation therapies for many different organs and tissues.

Variety Is The Spice Of Life: Too Many Males, Too Little Time…

Female Australian painted dragon lizards are polyandrous, that is, they mate with as many males as they can safely get access to. Research has shown that this preference could therefore contribute to the maintenance of both male types within the population. Female painted dragons possess the remarkable ability to store sperm inside their reproductive tract that remain viable for a considerable amount of time, so that the sperm of different males actually compete with each other to fertilize her eggs.

Three Out Of Four American Women Have Disordered Eating, Survey Suggests

Sixty-five percent of American women between the ages of 25 and 45 report having disordered eating behaviors, according to the results of an online survey. An additional 10 percent of women report symptoms consistent with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, meaning that a total of 75 percent of American women surveyed endorse some unhealthy thoughts, feelings or behaviors related to food or their bodies.

Mother’s Diet Influences Infant Sex: High Energy Intake Linked To Conception Of Sons

New research provides the first evidence that a child’s sex is associated with the mother’s diet. A new study shows a clear link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons. The findings may help explain the falling birth-rate of boys in industrialized countries.

mouse hunting

I’ve been all over the central Californian coast, looking for a nice place to trap mice. I’ve seen some pretty nice places, and see some cool things.. Here are some photos from:

 

Coyote at the Marino Reserve

 

Peromyscus californicus at the Marino Reserve. Check out all those ticks

This is the researcher housing at the Marino Reserve.. Pretty damn nice huh?

The view from the researcher housing at the Marino Reserve.

Turns out that the deer mice were not all that common here.. bummer cause it was so nice! BTW, the reserve system that The University of California maintains (40+ locations spread across the state) was one of the main reasons I choose the UC system for grad school.

Losing the remote control…

Is probably the most irritating thing ever.. Don’t you agree? Now imagine my situation, where the buttons on the TV don’t work, and 5 children run around all day thinking that THEY should be in control.

Needless to say, remote control loss is a constant threat that is realized at least weekly. I’m not talking about it being in the couch.. no, our remote control has been in the fridge, under kids beds, in the toy-box…. just imagine being forced to watch  “It’s so Raven” or “Zoe 101″… This has got to be worse that waterboarding!

Anyway, does anybody know of a device that would prevent this from happening. A locator?  I want to be able to press a button, and have the remote control beep loudly until it is found.. No expense will be spared. I need this now.. Seriously, if you know if such a device- please send me the link/post a comment.

Thanks….