Sunday, May 07, 2006

Studying Tiny Fruit Flies, and Reaping Big Rewards -- NY Times

Thought the quotes (excerpted below)  about his family were funny.

Studying Tiny Fruit Flies, and Reaping Big Rewards
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: April 29, 2006
ALBANY, April 28 — A California neuroscientist and biologist whose research of fruit flies found genetic links to human behavior was awarded the $500,000 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the country's largest award in the field.....

H
e said he became intrigued with the topic when his second daughter was born and he noticed remarkable differences from his first daughter. "I wondered, 'Are my wife and I doing things that differently?' " Dr. Benzer said. When asked about the specific differences in the two girls, Dr. Benzer demurred. "I'd rather avoid that question — I fear the repercussions," he said with a smile. "They are not bad differences, just different."...
Similarly, Dr. Benzer said, he is coded to sleep at different times than his wife, who wakes up at 6 a.m. and typically falls asleep by 10 p.m. Dr. Benzer, on the other hand, stays awake until 4 a.m. and sleeps until noon. He routinely works in his research laboratory into the early-morning hours, he said.
"We make it a point to have dinner together," he said.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/29/nyregion/29science.html
http://benzerserver.caltech.edu/
ooo[clip]ooo ooo[sci]ooo ooo[fun]ooo