Mamels life animal

Among many mammals, lactating females may have extended periods of time in between nursing bouts. This is often the case for females who “cache” or “park” their young in nests, dens, or burrows while they depart to forage more efficiently unencumbered by the presence of the young (parents, you know what I am talking about ). The egg-laying echidna is an excellent, if totally weird, example.  After hatching from the egg inside the mother’s pouch, the young— known as a puggle —consumes milk secreted from a patch on the mother’s tummy. Once the puggle is too large for the pouch, lactating echidnas dig nursery burrows. Here the young waits to nurse 3 to 6 DAYS between mother’s visits (1). Maternal foraging trips and inter-nursing intervals have also been well-studied in other species, particularly in seals (2) and rabbits (3).  These inter-nursing intervals lead to "high-fat" milk (aka energetically dense) (4, 5).  A comparison among prosimian primates showed that indeed the spe

Seattle Central College Commencement Address by Katie Hinde June 14 th , 2014 photo by Daniel Berman Wow. Thank you President Killpatrick for that kind introduction. Always nice to get to a position where all that gets listed is the highlight reel. Of course it still remains to be seen if this commencement address will live up to the expectations and join that list or be relegated to the blooper reel. When David called me and told me I was this year’s Distinguished Alumni awardee , I was incredibly honored and humbled. It was at Seattle Central that I rediscovered my love of learning and set out on my path. And when I was told the award involved speaking here today I instantly said “ABSOLUTELY!” and then started to get nervous. This is my typical M.O.- absolute certitude followed shortly thereafter by creeping panic. Despite giving lectures to students, scientists, doctors, journalists, parents, and the general public, this is my first foray to the dreaded commencement address. I’ll h

Too often people work when they are sick because of economic necessity and cultural mores. In academia there is this attitude of YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE WORKING. And with the realities of the job market and increasing emphasis on conspicuous production, the default setting should be "productive."  But guess what, when you are sick, usually the most productive thing you can be doing is getting well- at home, with soup. And the second most productive thing you can be doing is not germing up the lab, office, and classroom. I learned this the hard way.  As a post-doc I caught a cold. Convinced that my contribution to the research was so important that it could not afford me taking a few days off to get well, I "pushed through" working half days, feeling crappy and infecting and then being re-infected by my lab-mates. This lasted for weeks until one weekend night I ended up in urgent care with a serious bacterial infection. Lame Lame Lame.  Since then when I start to feel t

HYENA Clan Defeats Orca!!! FINAL BATTLE PLAY BY PLAY !! Mammal March Madness 2014 has officially ended, join us for Mammal March Madness 2015 with Mighty Mini Mammal and Mythical Mammal Divisions!              adapted from art by  Tracy A. Heath,  Matt Martyniuk,  Sarah Werning,   via Phylopic! Links to natural history & other research to explain battle outcomes: -WILD CARD MARCH 10 th  (battle details) -First Round Social Mammals 8PM Eastern March 11th  ( battle details )  Hyena, Musk Oxen, Hamadryas, Mandrill, Ethiopian Wolf, Tibetan Macaque, Wild Dogs, & Army Ants ADVANCE! - First Round Marine Mammals 8PMish (more like 8:30) Eastern March 12th ( battle play by play ) Orca, Sea Lion, Walrus, Humpback Whale, Bowhead Whale, Oceanic White Tip, Dwarf Sperm Whale, and Polar Bear ADVANCE! - First Round The Who in the What Now? Mammals 8PMish Eastern March 13th ( battle play by play ) Dhole, Binturong, Cassowary, Caracal, Saiga, Wallaroo, Fossa, and Babirusa ADVANCE! - First Round