Rain

I love this series. If you don't know what this is, you should. Go here to find out more. 

When the Science Hits the Fan - Rain and Sleep

It's rainy here today. I actually like rainy days, especially when I have the time and ability to take a nice rainy day nap (which doesn't happen very often anymore...). I, like most of you, get sleepy when it rains. In fact, I'm tired right now. I was wondering this morning if there is a scientific explanation to why people feel so sluggish when it rains. So....I looked it up. And what I found may surprise you. 

There haven't been many scientific studies done on how weather affects sleep. I found one from a group of Psychiatrists at the University of Rochester. They asked 43 people (who were students at the University) to keep a detailed sleep diary for 105 days. Then they tried to correlate how well the students slept with 9 meteorologic variables - temperature, dew point, snow depth, precipitation, barometric pressure, wind speed, duration of daylight, visibility, and moon phase. Briefly, they found that high barometric pressure (associated with a sunny day), low precipitation, and lower temperatures were associated with spending more time in bed and having better quality sleep. This is opposite to what I would have expected based on how I generally feel when it's nice out versus when it's rainy out. 

I don't know what all of this means in the big scheme of things. The group from Rochester admits that their study has some limitations. In addition, all of the comments that I found on sleep discussion forums disagreed with the results of their study and tended to side with the argument that rain = sleep. I guess, more scientific experimentation needs to be done to get a definitive answer to this one. Let me be the first to volunteer if they need someone to take a nap. 

Cardinal Sin

I hit a cardinal on the way into work this morning and I feel terrible about it. There was nothing I could do. It must have been some sort of a kamikaze bird, because it flew right into my car. Poor little guy. 

Hitting the bird this morning reminded me of a story from a long time ago. I was driving in a car with my boyfriend at the time. We were on our way to the prom. I was so excited - that is, until he hit a cat. I was horrified and so was he (kind of). He yelled "Oh no! I just washed this car!" It was at that moment, I knew he wasn't the one for me...

The Next Van Gogh

Harper loves to go to baby school. I don't blame her. It's fun there. They do all kinds of interesting activities. What I like most about her school is that the teachers take pictures of the kids during activities so that their parents can see what they've been up to. I love to see Harper in action. It makes me feel a little more connected to her during the day. Here are a few pictures from last week. The theme of all of the activities last week was "What lives underground?" - so for art, they painted with "worms" and potatoes. 

Pay no attention to the paint on her lips. 

I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for that...

Home Again/ Gator

So, I'm back from my trip out West. It was great. My talk went really well. I got a lot of positive feedback which was a good and much-needed self-confidence boost. It was also so great to see the old crew from Cincinnati. Love those guys. Now, I'm home and back at work - trying to get back in the groove of Nashville life. While I recover from jet lag, take a look at the new guy that just moved into my parents' neighborhood. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), he didn't get to stay long. 

From Denver With Love

So I'm sitting in the Denver airport waiting for my (delayed) flight to San Fran. Being in this airport brings back a lot of memories. When Rob and I were dating, I spent a lot of time flying back and forth between Cincinnati and Denver. I have good memories of Denver. I got engaged here (not in the airport, in the city, at a piano bar named Charlie Brown's). It was nice to see the city and the mountains from the plane as we landed. Although, I wish my family was here. There are lots of young families with little kids running around. Seeing them makes me miss Harper. These next 4 days will be the longest I have been a part from her ever. She has definitely become my sidekick. I like it when she's around because I don't feel so ridiculous talking to myself anymore (I talk to myself A LOT). Now, I'm not actually talking to myself. I'm talking to her. It's nice. We have lots of inside jokes. Ok, wish me luck on making it to San Fran on time. For now, over and out. 

When the Science Hits the Fan - Road Trip

Welcome to the first edition of the newly named When the Science Hits the Fan post. This week, I am taking my science on the road. Literally. Early tomorrow morning I will be leaving for San Francisco to attend the annual Weinstein Cardiovascular Development conference. Scientist from all around the world will come to this meeting and share the latest research on normal and abnormal heart and vascular development. And guess what... the organizers of this meeting asked little old me to present my work. Pretty cool. So in honor of my trip, here is a fun science fact about San Francisco. 

While San Fran has many famous attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, it is almost as well known for its sourdough bread. The secret to San Francisco sourdough is not in the yeast, but in the unique bacteria found in the air around the city. In fact, the main bacteria that gives this type of sourdough its one of a kind flavor profile is actually named for the city itself, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis.

While typical bread dough is made with packaged yeast, sourdough bread is made with a mixture known as a starter. A starter is composed of water, yeast, flour, and bacteria. More water and flour are added to the mixture each day to “feed” the starter. A baker only needs to purchase a starter once. It can be fed for years, or even decades, with the right care. Some San Francisco bakeries continue the tradition of sourdough bread with starters that can be traced back for generations. The most famous of these bakeries is Boudin Bakery. Their sourdough starter can be traced back to the beginning of the company during the California Gold Rush.