Housekeeping and Some Caveats
This is not the final "look" of this site. I am working on making links to a number of useful websites, archives, "recent posts", and generally sprucing this place up. I will also form "categories" for easier searches, and have finally figured out how to put images into my posts...
In a couple of weeks, once the site looks the way I want it to, I will send an e-mail to every chronobiologist in the world, asking them to come and check it out, post comments, send me suggestions, perhaps do some guest-blogging. Hopefully, some of them will use it as an educational tool when they teach courses about biological clocks.
Which leads me to a warning to students. If you copy even a smallest snippet of content from this blog and paste it into your term paper, you are very likely to get in trouble for plagiarism. This blog shows up in every search engine I could think of checking (from Google, Yahoo and MSN, to specialized blog-searches like Technorati etc.). Almost all colleges, and many high schools, now have special software for detection of plagiarism. Even the oldest and seemingly out-of-touch instructors use the Web to keep up with news, search for images to include in their lectures, etc. If they teach about clocks, either whole specialized courses in chronobiology, or just single lectures within broader courses in Biology, Physiology or Behavior, they are highly likely to find themselves reading this site. So, beware. Use this blog as a source of information, not as a source of whole sentences. OK? OK!?
In a couple of weeks, once the site looks the way I want it to, I will send an e-mail to every chronobiologist in the world, asking them to come and check it out, post comments, send me suggestions, perhaps do some guest-blogging. Hopefully, some of them will use it as an educational tool when they teach courses about biological clocks.
Which leads me to a warning to students. If you copy even a smallest snippet of content from this blog and paste it into your term paper, you are very likely to get in trouble for plagiarism. This blog shows up in every search engine I could think of checking (from Google, Yahoo and MSN, to specialized blog-searches like Technorati etc.). Almost all colleges, and many high schools, now have special software for detection of plagiarism. Even the oldest and seemingly out-of-touch instructors use the Web to keep up with news, search for images to include in their lectures, etc. If they teach about clocks, either whole specialized courses in chronobiology, or just single lectures within broader courses in Biology, Physiology or Behavior, they are highly likely to find themselves reading this site. So, beware. Use this blog as a source of information, not as a source of whole sentences. OK? OK!?
posted by Bora Zivkovic at 1:49 AM
3 Comments:
Since you're addressing students here I'm gonna comment -- first of all, MUCH kick-ass content - Thank you!
As someone interested in the field though perhaps not at a stage to commit to exclusive study I'm curious what schools offer chronobio classes, degree concentrations, have destinguished chronobio profs, etc. Who is doing interesting research in the field? Where do they work and who for?
General questions from a student (pre-vet undergrad with a major in sociology cause a plan B is a good idea and a p-vet bio degree is pretty useless if you don't get into vet school) curious about 'the field'.
(And as a side note - any textbook recs on the subject)?
And again, I'm much enjoying reading - keep up wonderful content!
Hi,
More and more schools have hired their "resident" chronobiologists lately, thus more and more schools offer courses in the field.
There are, however, several big centers where a number of clock-researchers work together in a true multi-disciplinary fashion, using a variety of approaches and a whole menagerie of lab organisms, including humans, e.g., U. of Virginia, Northwestern, Texas A&M.
Some of the places have large groups, but are all concentrated on one approach and one model (what I call "monoculture"), e.g., Brandeis (fruitfly genetics), Darthmouth (Neurospora genetics), Stanford (sleep in humans and rodents), Harvard (sleep in humans), UC - San Diego (mostly humans and rodents), etc.
Such big places are great, in a sense that there is such a concentration of knowledge and wisdom, as well as money and equipment. You usually start with a rotation through several labs until you pick one that fits you the best. The downside is internal politics, as too many huge egos are trying to collaborate.
My preference are places with two or three really good people who are long-time friends and collaborators, and work on unusual model systems, thus there is no rush to publish a dozen papers per year in fear of being scooped. Instead, they publish perhaps a couple of papers each every year, but each paper starts a minor revolution. There are many such places, but Vanderbilt, U. of Michigan, and NC State U. first come to mind
I will, over time, post links to all the centers and groups, as well as to many individual researchers, in my "Links" on the side. The "Society for Research of Biological Rhtyhms" is already linked there so you can start looking from there for now.
Textbooks: The best textbook ever is now 25 years old: "Clocks That Time Us" by Martin Moore-Ede, Fuller and Sultzman. Recently, several books came out that are not too bad, e.g., Russell Foster's "Rhythms of Life" and "Chronobiology" by Patricia DeCoursey, Jay Dunlap and Jennifer Loros. John Palmer and Roberto Reffinetti have also recently published books in the field that you may find inetersting.
Thank you for the tips! I look forward (in particular to the u of m info, as I'm very near there) to your reviews!
Post a Comment
<< Home