Effective radius re (defined as the ratio of the third to the second moment of a droplet size distribution) is one of the crucial variables that determine the radiative properties of liquid water clouds (Hansen and Travis 1974). The inclusion and parameterization of re in climate models has proven to be critical for assessing global climate change (Slingo 1990; Dandin et al. 1997). There has be...

Sexual selection studies normally compare signal strengths, but signal components and sensory processing may interact to create misleading or attention-capturing illusions. Visual illusions can be produced by altering object and scene geometry in ways that trick the viewer when seen from a particular direction. Male great bowerbirds actively maintain size-distance gradients of objects on their ...

Effective radius (re) (defined as the ratio of the third to the second moment of a droplet size distribution) is one of the key variables that are used for calculation of the radiative properties of liquid water clouds (Hansen and Travis 1974). The inclusion and parameterization of re in climate models has proven to be critical for assessing global climate change (Slingo 1990, Dandin et al. 199...

Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae) have among the most exaggerated sets of display traits known, including bowers, decorated display courts and bright plumage, that differ greatly in form and degree of elaboration among species. Mapping bower and plumage traits on an independently derived phylogeny constructed from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences revealed large differences in display traits be...

To what extent are the processes of human learning analogous to the more elementary learning processes studied in animal-conditioning experiments? This question, and the broader goal of integrating mathematical models of animal and human learning, was the focus of my collaborative research at Stanford with Gordon Bower in the mid-1980s as well as my doctoral dissertation, which he supervised (G...

Ruth Bower talks to Francesca Lake, Managing Editor: Ruth is currently researching head and neck cancer chemoradiotherapy regimens utilizing microfluidic technology to maintain and interrogate biopsies. Tissue response is investigated using a variety of whole tissue and cellular analytical techniques with a view toward personalized medicine. She is currently pursuing her PhD within the head and...