Photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com Happy Halloween! As kids (and maybe a few parents) dig into their candy hauls, we’re checking out some wild creatures with even spookier taste...animals brave enough to snack on venomous prey! Scorpions beware! Pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus) are one of nature's spookiest snackers. What’s on the menu for these fearless flyers? Scorpions, yikes!

Image of a sea hare from Wikimedia Commons Sea hares (Aplysia californica) live in coastal environments where oxygen levels can fluctuate unpredictably. Knowing this, researchers set out to explore how these animals tolerate regular exposure to hypoxia (low oxygen) with the hope of discovering clues that could teach us how to protect humans from hypoxia-related conditions, such as stroke.

It seems that we are learning more every day about potential exposure to "forever chemicals", such as PFAS. From proposed laws in California that would ban PFAS in cookware and other items to maps such as the one above showing potential contamination in tap water. These chemicals are drawing so much attention because they do not break down easily and can remain in the environment for decades.

It seems that we are learning more every day about potential exposure to "forever chemicals", such as PFAS. From proposed laws in California that would ban PFAS in cookware and other items to maps such as the one above showing potential contamination in tap water. These chemicals are drawing so much attention because they do not break down easily and can remain in the environment for decades.

Image from OpenStax, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons When we lift weights or do resistance exercises, our muscles adapt by changing which genes are turned on or off. These genetic changes (called transcriptional changes) help muscles grow stronger and improve their metabolism. Both young and older people experience these changes, but aging changes how muscles respond at the genetic level, which may help explain why older adults don’t gain muscle as easily as younger individuals.

The Ocean Census project has identified 866 new marine species, many from the deep seas, less than two years since its launch. The project announced its findings on March 10, marking the first phase…

Photo by Sid Mosdell from New Zealand - Tuatara, CC BY 2.0, No, we are not talking about the luxury sports car. The tuatara is a reptile that's even cooler. Found only on 37 small offshore islands in New Zealand, this rare creature is often mistaken for a lizard. Don't let their good looks fool you though, the tuatara is the last surviving member of the ancient order…

Photo by Sid Mosdell from New Zealand - Tuatara, CC BY 2.0, No, we are not talking about the luxury sports car. The tuatara is a reptile that's even cooler. Found only on 37 small offshore islands in New Zealand, this rare creature is often mistaken for a lizard. Don't let their good looks fool you though, the tuatara is the last surviving member of the ancient order…

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 68% of households in the United States have a pet. Pets are thought to help people by decreasing stress and improving cardiovascular health. The NIH and Mar’s Corporation WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition have teamed up to support research examining such questions, but the results have been mixed.

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 68% of households in the United States have a pet. Pets are thought to help people by decreasing stress and improving cardiovascular health. The NIH and Mar’s Corporation WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition have teamed up to support research examining such questions, but the results have been mixed.

By Hg6996 - Own work, Public Domain, Once dismissed as a feature only babies possess, brown adipose tissue (BAT), is widely recognized as the body’s metabolism-boosting, heat-generating fat. This Time Machine episode takes a look back at early research and new discoveries about this metabolism-boosting fat. According to a 2007 paper published in the American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism, …

By Hg6996 - Own work, Public Domain, Once dismissed as a feature only babies possess, brown adipose tissue (BAT), is widely recognized as the body’s metabolism-boosting, heat-generating fat. This Time Machine episode takes a look back at early research and new discoveries about this metabolism-boosting fat. According to a 2007 paper published in the American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism, …

Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com From birds to people, research demonstrates that leadership roles can be really stressful. In this post, let's explore the physiology of stress and how it affects such relationships. Stress as defined by the founder of Stress Theory, Dr. Hans Selye (1907-1982), is the "nonspecific response of the body to any demand" (Tan and Yip, 2018).

Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com From birds to people, research demonstrates that leadership roles can be really stressful. In this post, let's explore the physiology of stress and how it affects such relationships. Stress as defined by the founder of Stress Theory, Dr. Hans Selye (1907-1982), is the "nonspecific response of the body to any demand" (Tan and Yip, 2018).

Photo by Kris Mikael Krister, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Happy Shark Week!! In this post, we take a look at how fasting may harm young tiger sharks. Sharks LOVE to eat fish, which are packed with protein and fats. In fact, fat is a major energy source for sharks and high levels of circulating fats are associated with better body conditions in tiger sharks.

As if sucking our blood wasn’t bad enough, I was horrified to learn that mosquitoes also pee on us while they’re drinking. Yuck! In this time machine, we revisit a 1987 paper published in Physiology that explains why. Female mosquitoes require blood meals to obtain the proteins necessary for egg production. During a single meal, they can consume up to twice their body mass in blood.

Photo by Valdemaras D. on Pexels.com Happy 4th of July! What a perfect time to also honor National Bison Month! This month, we celebrate an icon of the American landscape. Bison are incredible animals, not just for their symbolic significance but also for their remarkable adaptations to extreme environments. As highlighted by the National Park Service's Bison Bellows, their resilience in the face of brutal winters is extraordinary.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com Have you ever experienced muscle fatigue? You know the feeling where your muscles start to burn and no matter how hard you try, you simply cannot summon any more strength? It is often assumed that the burning sensation associated with muscle fatigue is due to lactic acid building up in the muscles. But is that the full story?

Image from M Grosell, AM Oehlert. Staying hydrated in seawater. Physiology. 38(4): 178-188, 2023.  It may sound strange to hear that saltwater fish need to stay hydrated. After all, they live in water. However, a review published in Physiology describes how nearly all saltwater fish are thought to have evolved from freshwater ancestors, and many maintain similar levels of salt in their blood as freshwater animals.

Happy Pigeon Appreciation Day! Okay, I know it sounds strange to celebrate pigeons - the animal best known for gathering in large numbers, causing a raucous, as well as perching and pooping on just about everything. For just a moment though, I would like to consider the unique athletic attributes of these popcorn and park loving birds vs humans engaged in endurance exercise.

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com Photo of Dr. Barbour from McGill University. In todays’ Time Machine, we are taking a look back at a paper written by Dr. Henry Gray Barbour during his time in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine. Published in Physiological Reviews in 1921, his paper examined how body heat is regulated in various species.

By Judy Gallagher - 273/365 - Common Eastern Bumble Bee - Bombus impatiens, Meadowood SRMA, Mason Neck, Virginia, September 30, 2023, CC BY 2.0, Dr. Sabrina Rondeau, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, made a surprising discovery that has created quite the buzz. While checking on queen bumblebees hibernating in the refrigerator, she noticed that condensation had formed inside some of the containers housing the queen bumblebees.

Photo by Erick Arce on Pexels.com A reference to nectar-feeding bats as "hummingbirds of the night" in a presentation at the 2025 American Physiology Summit in Baltimore last month caught my eye. What an appropriate nickname for bats that can have blood sugar levels exceeding 750 mg/dl after a meal! Sure, a hummingbird would think this was normal, but for a human these levels would warrant a trip to the emergency room.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Humans and racehorses have something in common when it comes to risk of sudden cardiac death. In fact, sudden cardiac death is the 2nd most common cause of death during exercise among these athletes. Although rare, it typically affects young, seemingly healthy individuals. Research suggests that exercise itself is not to blame, but rather an underlying predisposition for irregular heart rates that exercise uncovers.