A sensory organ has been found in whales’ chins. It has been suggested that this sensor provides the whale with information about the position of its tremendous jaw when hunting for food.
Archive for May, 2012
Mysterious sensory organ found in whale’s chin
J. B. Johnston Club for Evolutionary Neuroscientists
J. B. Johnston Club for Evolutionary Neuroscientists
Upcoming Meeting Oct 11 & 12 New Orleans, LA
Abstract deadline changed to June 4th (was May 25th)
Online Electronic Textbook
This is a fantastic free online textbook covering a vast amount of neuroscience topics; there are some pretty cool videos embedded in the text as visual aids to the concepts covered.
The project is headed up by Dr. John Byrne at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and is intended as an online study aid.
SFN 2012
*Abstract submissions have now closed, but click for more information on this year’s SFN meeting.
J. B. Johnston Club for Evolutionary Neuroscientists
J. B. Johnston Club for Evolutionary Neuroscientists
Upcoming Meeting Oct 11 & 12 New Orleans, LA
Abstract Deadline May 25
Fun Fact (Well, theory at least)
Neurons evolved from amoeba-like cells. Amoeba are protists that are known to produce pseudopodia, which are protrusions from the cell body that allow the cell a degree of motility. The theory goes that these protrusions, which involve the internal restructuring of microtubules, at some point became permanent, resembling dendrites and axons that are today characteristic of neurons. For more information, see Antonio Damasio’s Self Comes to Mind (Vintage, 2010).
See the pseudopodia of the amoeba on the left, and the pyramidal neurons on the right.