Category Archives: Animals

February 14

You Can’t Spell ‘Love’ Without ‘Vole’

Happy Valentine’s Week! This article will delve into the neuroscience underlying pair bond formation in prairie voles, including the new study which has challenged the previously accepted theory.

December 08

The bright side of the Moon: and its effects on life on Earth

Lunar influence Picture a night like last night. You gaze up to see the brilliant full moon overhead and look around at your surroundings, illuminated, almost as if it’s daytime. The Moon, Earth’s celestial sister, has profound effects on our planet, such as driving the oceanic tides. Without the Moon, life as we know it […]

September 29

How model organisms are chosen

Intro Mice, fruit flies, worms, and monkeys. These are just some of the many animal species that are commonly used by scientists to learn about the nervous system, often with the goal of uncovering something about the human nervous system. If that’s the case, then the species being used is said to be a model […]

July 28

Sharks-Sensing the Body Electric

One of the greatest fears people have about going into the ocean is the fear of being attacked by a shark. Although this fear is not truly warranted, as cows kill more people annually than sharks do [4]. But what is it about sharks that makes us so afraid of them? One major factor is […]

June 03

Axolotls: First Ones to the Fountain of Youth

Introduction If you look at today’s $50 Mexican peso (left), you won’t see the image of a past president or monument. Instead, you’ll see a lone salamander with outstretched arms and gills in the middle of a lake. For centuries, this small creature, known as the axolotl (ax-oh-lot-al), was well known to the people that […]

January 27

Genetics of Sasquatch: making cryptozoology scientific?

Growing up in Oregon meant I spent lots of time hearing about Sasquatch. Now working in a lab studying monkeys, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how different primates are related. While it is undeniable that little evidence has been found to prove Bigfoot roams the wild forests of the Pacific Northwest, perhaps […]

May 20

Magnetoreception – a Quantum Sixth Sense

Imagine you are dropped off hundreds of miles away from your home, deep in some unknown  forest. Would you be able to find your way home using only your five basic senses – sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch? If you’re anything like me, you may struggle to navigate around your own city without help […]

March 25

Singing in the Brain: Bird Neuroscience

Many of us have adopted new hobbies or interests in this strange quarantine world. For me, I’ve started to really appreciate birds. Birds and birdsong are almost omnipresent and for those of us living in more developed areas, they are oftentimes one of our only real reminders of and connections to the natural world. So, […]

March 18

Join Dennis Eckmeier on an expedition from neuroscience to science communication

Today I invite you to join me on an expedition with Dr. Dennis Eckmeier through the academic jungle to the realms of science communication. You will learn about the courtship calls of Chinese fire-bellied toads, a blowfly flight simulator, the vision of zebra finches (yes, finches, not fish!), and how the memory of smell might […]

January 14

Do pets understand our language?

Humans are unique in our use of sophisticated spoken language to communicate. While other animals use communicative calls and sounds, human language features complex grammar and structure that allows us to convey a nearly infinite number of ideas. Homo sapiens, the species name for modern humans, appears to have been far superior to other hominid […]