Alanna Collen

Alanna Collen is a science writer with a master's degree in biology from Imperial College London and a PhD in evolutionary biology from University College London and the Zoological Society of London. She is a well-travelled zoologist, an expert in bat echolocation, and an accidental collector of tropical diseases. During her scientific career, Collen has written for the Sunday Times Magazine, as well as about wildlife for ARKive.org. She has appeared on both radio and television, including BBC Radio 4's The Tribes of Science and Saturday Live, and BBC One's adventure-wildlife show Lost Land of the Volcano. She lives in Bedfordshire, England, with her husband.

Books

Audiobooks

Quotes

Мариhas quoted2 years ago
If this bacterium could boost the thickness of the mucus layer, Cani thought, perhaps it could reduce LPS levels and prevent weight gain too. He tried supplementing the diets of a group of mice with Akkermansia, and sure enough, their LPS levels dropped, their fat tissue began creating healthy new cells again, and, most importantly, they lost weight. The mice given Akkermansia had also become more sensitive to leptin, meaning their appetites decreased.
Мариhas quoted2 years ago
Take the case of a Belgian girl, Miss A, who had, up to the age of eighteen, been happy and healthy, and working towards her college exams. Over the course of a few days, she became aggressive, refused to communicate and lost her sexual inhibitions. She was sent to a psychiatric hospital, where she was prescribed anti-psychotic medication and discharged. Three months later, Miss A returned to the hospital with worsening behaviour and uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhoea. Her doctors decided to take a biopsy of her brain, which revealed the source of her psychiatric condition – a microbe. She had Whipple’s disease – a rare infection caused by a bacterium which occasionally announces its presence through the behaviour of its host.
Мариhas quoted2 years ago
Humans, too, are influenced by sex pheromones. In a now legendary experiment, female students at the University of Bern were given T-shirts worn by male students in bed, and asked to rate them in order of attractiveness. The women preferred the T-shirts of men who had the most different type of immune system from their own. The theory goes that by choosing their genetic opposite, the girls would be providing their offspring with an immune system that can handle twice as many challenges. Through their sense of smell, the girls were scanning the boys’ genomes, looking for the best match to be a father to their children.

Impressions

Мариshared an impression2 years ago
💡Learnt A Lot
🎯Worthwhile
💞Loved Up
😄LOLZ
👍Worth reading

Lots of useful knowledge! Highly recommend!

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