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PHYSIOLOGY NEWS winter 2008 | number 73 The HoD delusion A Christmas party trick with an intriguing physiology A new organisation for the biosciences Ion channel techniques in Shanghai PHYSIOLOGY NEWS Editorial 3 Meetings The Society’s dog. ‘Rudolf Vascular and smooth muscle physiology Themed Meeting Magnus gave me to Charles at King’s College London Richard Siow, Margaret Brown 4 Sherrington, who gave me to Latest advances in ion channel techniques Brian Robertson 5 Henry Dale, who gave me to The Make waves for Woods Hole Colin Nichols 20 Physiological Society in October Soapbox 1942’ The HoD delusion 7 Noticeboard 9 Published quarterly by The Physiological Society Features Contributions and queries Motor neuron activation is conditional during muscle fatigue Senior Publications Executive Zachary Riley, Roger Enoka 10 Linda Rimmer Levitating arms: unravelling the mystery Martin McDonagh, The Physiological Society Publications Office Amy Parkinson 12 P O Box 502, Cambridge CB1 0AL, UK A little bit of ammonium may be good for your brain Tel: +44 (0)1223 400180 Païkan Marcaggi, Jonathan Coles 15 Fax: +44 (0)1223 246858 How many sensors in the bladder? Vladimir Zagorodnyuk, Email: [email protected] Ian Gibbins, Marcello Costa, Simon Brookes, Sarah Gregory 18 Website: http://www.physoc.org Does muscle pain increase muscle stiffness? Ingvars Birznieks, Magazine Editorial Board Alexander Burton, Vaughan Macefield 21 Editor Movement automaticity shows less activation, but more Austin Elliott connectivity: a model for brain efficiency Tao Wu, Piu Chan, 23 University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Mark Hallett Members So what does cause the breakpoint of breath-holding? Angus Brown Michael Parkes 25 University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK Olfactory marker protein: a gift to molecular biologists, an Patricia de Winter enigma to physiologists Johannes Reisert, Frank Margolis 27 University College London, London, UK Animal Research Sarah Hall Openness and animal research: are you doing enough? Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK Corina Hadjiodysseos 30 Munir Hussain AnimalResearch.info 30 University of Bradford, Bradford, UK Unbelievable! Mark Cain 31 John Lee Reports Rotherham General Hospital, Rotherham, UK Hands on science in schools Liz Bell 32 Thelma Lovick Should it be illegal to sell genetic tests except through a University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK doctor? Liz Bell 32 Fiona Randall Engaging young people with science Liz Bell 33 Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK CMP Making progress training day Fiona Randall 34 Bill Winlow Campaign for Science and Engineering Hilary Leevers 35 Chameleon Communications International, London/ Letters to the Editor 36 University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK Affiliate News Foreign Correspondents Make the most of opportunities to travel – conference John Hanrahan attendance as a PhD student Fiona Randall 37 McGill University, Montreal, Canada Education John Morley Young Physiologists’ Symposia Chrissy Stokes 38 University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia Experiment meets theory Lesley Caldwell 38 © 2008 The Physiological Society Undergraduate Prize for Physiology 2008 Irrum Magre 40 ISSN 1476-7996 From the archives Austin Elliott 41 The Physiological Society is registered in England as The Society’s journals a company limited by guarantee: No 323575. Experimental Physiology 42 Registered office: PO Box 11319, London WC1X 8WQ The Journal of Physiology 43 Registered Charity: No 211585. Traces of the past Printed by The Lavenham Press Ltd The history of physiology Dafydd Walters 44 Memorable technicians Ann Silver 44 International News The Society worldwide David Bennett 45 Biosciences Federation Learned societies and publishing Sue Thorn 47 Creation of a new organisation for the biosciences Richard Dyer 47 Obituaries J Murdoch Ritchie Jim Howe, David Colquhoun, Richard Keynes 49 Front cover image by Brian Robertson (from Latest advances in ion channel Book reviews 52 techniques, p. 5) PHYSIOLOGY NEWS Action points Guidelines for contributors In this issue Grants Welcome to the Winter 2008 These guidelines are intended to For full information on Members ’ Physiology News. assist authors in writing their and Affiliates’ Travel Grants, Non- contributions and to reduce the Society Symposia Grants, As I have written before, the keys to subsequent editing process. The making a magazine worth reading Vacation Studentship Scheme, Editorial Board of Physiology News tries Departmental Seminar Scheme, seem to me to be 'interesting and to ensure that all articles are written relevant', 'variety', and 'good Centres of Excellence, Foreign in a journalistic style so that they will writing'. Looking at the first two, it is Guest Scheme and Junior have an immediate interest value for a to our good fortune that physiology Fellowships visit: wide readership and will be readable is an intrinsically 'broad church' http://www.physoc.org/grants and comprehensible to non-experts. subject, taking in everything from Scientific articles should give a good genomics to behaviour. Just to take Membership applications overview of a field rather than focus three adjacent Science News and Views Applications for Physiological entirely on the authors’ own research. articles from this issue for an Society membership are accepted example, we have a levitating-arm Format of articles party trick that illustrates interesting throughout the year; applications The main message or question posed are reviewed by the Membership principles of human motor feedback should be introduced in the first control (p. 12); ammonium in the bee Committee on a monthly basis paragraph. The background for the retina and its possible relevance to and a decision is normally made topic should then be established, mammalian brain (p. 15); and the within 15 working days of each leading up to the final conclusion. sensing of the fullness of the bladder deadline. For full details please Length of articles (p. 18). I would call that visit: This will be determined by the subject simultaneously relevant and varied. http://www.physoc.org/membership matter and agreed with the Senior Publications Executive. Variety is also why we aim to produce a wide range of feature articles. This Is your membership information Submission of articles time we have a handy guide to how correct? Authors should submit articles as a to be a Head of Department (p. 7), as Please check and update your Word document attached to an email. details at www.physoc.org, under Illustrations should be sent as separate well as features covering meetings, education, news both national and ‘My Physoc Profile’. attachments (see below) and not embedded in the text. international, policy, history and humour. Illustrations and authors’ photographs Physiology News Authors are encouraged to submit Surveys of readers of professional Deadlines diagrams, drawings, photographs or magazines often show that obituaries other artwork with their articles and a are among the most read bits. An Letters and articles and all other photograph of the author(s) should obituary can simply give you details contributions for inclusion in the accompany submissions. Illustrations of a person’s professional history and Spring 2009 issue, No. 74, should and photographs may be colour or black achievements, but better ones give reach the Publications Office and white, prints, transparencies or you that information in the context of ([email protected]) by 23 tiff/jpeg files with a minimum their life and character. The very best January 2009. Short news items resolution of 300 dpi. Electronic obituaries not only do this, but give colour figures should be saved in and letters are encouraged, and CMYK you a real sense of the person. The mode. can usually be included as late wonderful appreciations of J Murdoch copy if space permits. References Ritchie on p . 49–51 fall into this Authors are requested to keep the latter category. Suggestions for articles number of references to a minimum – Suggestions for future articles are preferably no more than two or three. Finally, this issue marks a couple of welcome. Please contact either Please cite all references in the style of anniversaries for me personally. It is the Senior Publications Executive The Journal of Physiology (see Instructions 10 years exactly since I first got or a member of the Editorial to Authors at http://jp.physoc.org). involved with Physiology News, and almost exactly 5 years since I took Board of Physiology News (see The Physiological Society permits the single over as Editor; my first editorial contents page for details). copying of individual articles for private study or research. For permission to copy or meeting 'in the chair' was December reproduce for any other purpose contact 2003. I hope we have kept you [email protected]. informed and entertained this last Physiology News online Opinions expressed in articles and letters decade, and that we can continue to Physiology News online: submitted by, or commissioned from, do so in the future. http://www.physoc.org Members, Affiliates or outside bodies are not necessarily those of The Physiological Austin Elliott Society. Editor EDITORIAL PN 3 It’s not all doom and gloom – the recession and research funding Pessimists will thrive on recent headlines screaming out about the economic downturn; I have heard comments that research funding will be slashed, but how much of this is fact and how much is scare-mongering? Firstly, a definition of ‘recession’ would not go amiss. The standard press definition is at

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