This 1951 JEB classic paper, written at the dawn of the Golden Age of biology by Viking physiologists August Krogh and Torkel Weis-Fogh, was a collaboration between two men at opposite ends of their careers(Krogh and Weis-Fogh, 1951). August Krogh, the only comparative respiratory physiologist to earn a Nobel Prize, mentored Weis-Fogh during the last years of his life, and died before the publication of this paper. Among biologists, Krogh is most famous for a concept that is widely applied even today (Editorial, Nature Genetics34, 345-346, 2003); that for a large number of problems, nature has provided an animal of choice on which it can be most easily studied. This was only Torkel Weis-Fogh's third paper in a series that have all become classics in the fields of flight physiology and biomechanics. Weis-Fogh (1949) had previously shown that it was possible to induce locusts to fly...
Harnessing physiological research for smarter environmental policy
In their Perspective, Alexia Dubuc and colleagues discuss strategies to strengthen collaboration, communication and engagement between physiological researchers and environmental policy makers to ensure that conservation strategies address the threats posed by climate change.
JEB grants to support junior faculty
Learn about the grants that we launched in 2023 to support junior faculty from two of our awardees: Erin Leonard, Early-Career Researcher (ECR) Visiting Fellowship recipient, and Pauline Fleischmann, Research Partnership Kickstart Travel Grant recipient. The next deadline to apply is 28 November 2025.
Early testing could make risky falls a thing of the past for elderly people
Falls cost healthcare systems billions each year, but there may be a solution. Jiaen Wu and colleagues of Stanford University, USA, suggest that measuring the way someone walks before they get old might let doctors know who is at risk for a potentially life-threatening fall in the future.
Ecosystem engineers on tropical reefs in transition
Giant barrel sponges (GSBs) remain robust to rising seawater temperatures and have rapidly populated reefs stripped of coral cover by climate change. GBSs may be poised to become the dominant habitat-forming organisms in tropical reef ecosystems of the future. In this Review, Joseph Pawlik provides an integrative and critical assessment of research on giant barrel sponges.
Fast & Fair peer review
Our sister journal Biology Open has recently launched the next phase of their Fast & Fair peer review initiative: offering high-quality peer review within 7 working days. To learn more about BiO’s progress and future plans, read the Editorial by Daniel Gorelick, or visit the Fast & Fair peer review page.
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