Experienced, professional assistance for your science writing and publication

Bill Light, Ph.D.

Scientific Writer, Editor, Technical Consultant
Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences

Bill@BillLight.com
770-374-6886

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Publications

Research and Review Papers

1969a. Polydora narica, new species, and Pseudopolydora kempi californica, new subspecies, two new spionids (Annelida: Polychaeta) from central California. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 36:531–550.

1969b. Extension of range of Manayunkia aestuarina (Polychaeta: Sabellidae) to British Columbia. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada 26:3088–3091.

1970a. Polydora alloporis, new species, a commensal spionid (Annelida, Polychaeta) from a hydrocoral off Central California. Proc. Calif. Acad, Sci. 37:459–472.

1970b. A new spionid (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the Gulf of California. Bull. So. Calif. Acad. Sci. 69–74.

1974a. Occurrence of the Atlantic maldanid Asychis elongata (Annelida, Polychaeta) in San Francisco Bay, with comments on its synonymy. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 87:175–184.

1974b. A new species of Pseudopolydora (Polychaeta, Spionidae) from the Solomon Islands. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 87:389–394.

1976. The San Francisco Bay Project identification manual series: a new approach to invertebrate keys. Syst. Zool. 25:236–242.

1977. Spionidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from San Francisco Bay, California: a revised list with nomenclatural changes, new records, and comments on related species from the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 90:66–88.

1978a. Reexamination of the species referred to the genus Flabelliderma Hartman (Polychaeta: Flabelligeridae and Acrocirridae). Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 91:681–690.

1980. Revision of the Subfamily Maldanidae (Polychaeta), With a Review of the Species Referred to the Genus Asychis Kinberg. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. of Arizona. 202 pp., illustr., maps.

1991. Systematic revision of the genera of the polychaete subfamily Maldaninae Arwidsson. In: Petersen, M.E. and Kirkegaard, J.B. (eds), Systematics, Biology and Morphology of World Polychaeta, Copenhagen, Ophelia Suppl. 5:133–146.

2003. Ghostwriter for: Advances in adjunctive pharmacotherapy for patients undergoing PCI. U.S. Pharmacist, March 2003, 14 printed pages, 2 figs., 2 tables. Accredited for 2.0 units of continuing education credit.

Books Published

1978b. Invertebrates of the San Francisco Bay Estuary System. Spionidae. Polychaeta, Annelida. The Boxwood Press: Pacific Grove, xiv + 215 pp., illustr., maps. ISBN: 0-910286-58-2.

1985. Alcoholism: Its Natural History, Chemistry, and General Metabolism. Charles C Thomas: Springfield, xviv + 155 pp., illustr. ISBN: 0-398-05147-X.

1986a. Neurobiology of Alcohol Abuse. Charles C Thomas: Springfield, xx + 196 pp., illustr. ISBN: 0-398-05197-6.

1986b. Psychodynamics of Alcoholism: A Current Synthesis. Charles C Thomas: Springfield, xxii + 196 pp., 6 figs. ISBN: 0-398-05244-1.

1988. Alcoholism and Women, Genetics, and Fetal Development. Charles C Thomas: Springfield, xx + 170 pp., illustr. ISBN: 0-398-05399-5.

1991. The Biology of Venoms. Manuscript written under contract to the California Academy of Sciences, 712 pp., illustr., tables, maps.

Popular Articles

1990a. The deserts of North America. Pacific Discovery 43(1):12–13 [sidebar]. Brief descriptions of the Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of North America.

1990b. What is a desert? Pacific Discovery 43(1):17 [sidebar]. Various definitions of a desert, including floral associations, precipitation patterns and levels, and temperature.

1990c. Some animal survival strategies. Pacific Discovery 43(1):35 [sidebar]. Animal adaptations for survival in extreme desert heat and desiccation.

1995. Ghostwriter for: Mountain islands, desert seas. Pacific Discovery 48(3):28–31. This feature article discusses the endemic biotas, ecology and geology of the Madrean Archipelago mountain "islands" in southeastern Arizona.

1998a. Eye of newt, skin of toad, bile of pufferfish. California Wild 51(3):8–14 + 9. A detailed review of tetrodotoxin, one of the most potent toxins known. This bizarre molecule is elaborated by certain bacteria that live symbiotically with a variety of phylogenetically unrelated organisms. This toxin serves as either a biotoxin or actual venom in such diverse animals as: fishes (Tetraodontidae, Diodontidae and Molidae, newts, octopuses of the genus Hapalochlaena, chaetognaths, nemerteans, sea stars, atelopodid toads, and others.

1998b. El Niño’s back. San Jose Magazine, January issue, pp. 40–1. A discussion of the atmospheric and oceanographic phenomena underlying the 1987–1988 Southern Oscillation-El Niño (ENSO) event.

2001. Permian paradise: a naturalist in the enchanted land. Fauna. 2(2):20–31, 21 photos, 1 map. A feature article discussing the natural history, biota and geological history of extreme southeastern New Mexico and the adjacent Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.

2005. Tetrodotoxin, fugu and zombies. ARC Newsletter, January 2005, vol 1(4):5–16, figs 1–4.

Medical & Scientific Backgrounders, Educational Slide Kits,
and 3-D Animations Created for Pharmaceutical Agencies

Beta lactams, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and bacterial resistance mechanisms—an educational slide kit for physicians.

Acute otitis media (AOM)—slide kit to educate physicians about pediatric clinical trials with amoxicillin-clavulanate (Augmentin®, GSK) for the treatment of AOM using double-tap tympanocentesis: eradication- vs. clinical-based outcomes.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—slide kit to educate physicians about COPD treatment and bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents.

PK/PD for Dummies—a detailed discussion of the parameters for determining the resistance of bacterial strains to various antibiotics and the differences between PK/PD and NCCLS breakpoints; an illustrated manuscript used by GlaxoSmithKline to create an educational slide kit.

A Statistical Primer—an in-house introduction to parametric and non-parametric statistics for medical writers; discusses Student’s t-test, correlation, regression, ANOVA, and common non-parametric protocols.

Divalproex sodium (Depakote®, Abbott Laboratories)—an anticonvulsant and mood stabilizing agent for the management of seizures and migraine and the treatment of manic episodes in bipolar II disorder.

Teriparatide (Forteo®, Eli Lilly)—a synthetic parathyroid hormone for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Duloxetine SUI (Cymbalta®, Eli Lilly)—an SNRI for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence.

Apomorphine (Uprima®, Tap Pharmaceuticals)a centrally acting dopamine agonist for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Alosetron hydrochloride (Lotronex®, GlaxoSmithKline)a selective antagonist of the enteric 5-HT3 receptor for treating IBS-D in women.

(Ruboxistaurin mesylate®, Eli Lilly)—a protein kinase Cβ inhibitor for the reduction of the microvascular complications of diabetes; a detailed, animated slide kit showing the multiple abnormal biochemical pathways by which hyperglycemia produces hypoxic stress, activation of the polyol pathway, advanced glycation end products, and the activation of protein kinase Cβ, and how these processes lead to the microvascular complications of diabetes. Ruboxistaurin mesylate, a staurosporine derivative, binds to the ATP-binding site in the active cleft of PKCβ with very high affinity, thereby inactivating this enzyme. I created a slide kit and a 3-D animation sequence (Flash) to illustrate these complex pathways.

Abciximab (ReoPro®, Eli Lilly)—a Fab fragment of the chimeric human-murine monoclonal antibody 7E3 antibody; a platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor to prevent post-PCI restenosis and thrombosis; I ghost-authored a published CE review article based on this work.

Drotrecogin alfa (Xigris®, Eli Lilly)a recombinant form of human activated Protein C for the treatment of severe sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Levothyroxine sodium (Synthroid®, Levoxyl®, Levothroid®, Unithroid®)a synthetic version of the principle thyroid hormone, thyroxine (tetra-iodothyronine, or T4), for the treatment of hypothyroidism. Generic and different brands of levothryoxine differ in the amount of T4 they contain and in their pharmacokinetics, necessitating careful titration, monitoring, and dose adjustments when such changes are made.

Morphine sulfate (Avinza ER®, Ligand Pharmaceuticals)a novel, controlled-release, oral formulation of SODAS-based (spheroidal oral dosing administration system) morphine sulfate for a QD dosing schedule for the management of chronic pain.

Biological Nomenclature for Dummies: What’s in a Name?—An in-house discussion of the technical ins and outs of taxonomic nomenclature and the rules governing the scientific names of living organisms. Discusses the rules of scientific nomenclature of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, International Code of Nomecnlacture of Bacteriology, International Journal of Sstematic Bacteriology, International Journal on Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, and the committes that formulate these rules: the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology, International Committe on Systematics of Prokaryotes, and the International Committee on Zoological Nomenclature. The complex rules of taxonomy and scientific nomenclature and the esoteric interpretations of the punctuation involved are explained in a clear, comprehensible discussion by a highly experienced systematic biologist.