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Prehistoric Monkeys Had Complex Brains

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Prehistoric Monkeys Had Complex Brains

A new study conducted by researchers from Duke University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has revealed that the prehistoric Victoriapithecus had a brain of a superior complexity.

The finding should not come as a surprise as many previous studies have documented the intelligence of various monkey species. One the most recent ones have proven that they prefer cooked food to raw food when given a choice, and that they can even learn how to prepare meals themselves.

This study, published last Friday (July 3, 2015), in the journal Nature Communications, stresses that the 15 million year old Victoriapithecus skull examined for the project could explain how the primate brain and the human brain evolved over time.

The Victoriapithecus were part of the same group that today includes close human relatives such as the macaques and baboons. The 15 million year old skull is the oldest monkey skull to ever be discovered. It was found way back in 1987, in Kenya, on a Lack Vitoria island.

The researchers from Duke University and Max Planck used X-ray imaging of a high-resolution in order to put together a 3D computer generated model of the ancient animal’s brain.

What they found was remarkable. It turns out that despite their intelligence, the Victoriapithecus had a brain that was only half the size of those found in modern day monkeys. Their brain also had many wrinkles and folds, which indicate a great deal of complexity.

Lauren Gonzales, study co-author, gave a statement saying that from an evolutionary perspective, in the area of the family tree where apes and human can be found, the working theory is that brains first got to be beiger, and than they became more folded and more complex.

But the co-author went on to explain that this study has proven things happened in reverse for monkeys. The animals first developed complexity in their brains, and then started to grow them bigger.

The 3D model also showed that the Victoriapithecus had a much larger than expected olfactory bulb. It was three (3) tiomes bigger than expected, to be exact, and Gonzales informed that this means that the species most likely had a superior sense of smell that is no longer found in modern day monkeys.

He also shared that the most likely reason why contemporary primates have large brains and small olfactory bulb, the opposite of the Victoriapithecus, is because they’ve developed better vision.

Image Source: techtimes.com

June’s Sky Has Many Events. Look for the Jupiter Venus Collision

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"Venus and Jupiter appearing on the western skies"

Jupiter and Venus are expected to collide at the end of June.

Astronomers’ recent reports inform that June’s sky has many events. Look for the Jupiter Venus collision as the two celestial bodies will get closer to one another than they have ever been before.

Astronomers have long revealed passionate people that the month of June will feature many important events on the sky maps. Based on their previous declarations, June 30 is the perfect day to get a clear view of the two colossal planets while they collide, even without a telescope.

Venus and Jupiter have crossed the skies the entire month of June until they got as close as possible to each other. Calculations suggest that the space between the two planets is less than a third degree, that is, smaller than the moon’s total width.

Venus is a lot smaller than Jupiter and yet, it will be more visible than its neighbor. Venus’ brightness is due to the fact that the planet is very close to the Earth and, at the same time very close to the Sun. Moreover, the planet has a special atmosphere that reflects light, thus making its surface appear shinier when analyzed through the lenses of a telescope.

Jupiter, which is ten times the size of the Earth and of Venus does not appear bright because it is mostly made out of gas and not out of rocks like Venus. The planet is approximately 483 million miles away from the Earth, which explains why its light is harder to notice.

Even so, Jupiter can be easily recognized through the four moons that will be present in the close vicinity of the planet during the June 30 collision. The close planets can be easily spotted even if you don’t have a telescope.

Scientists have tried to help people who are passionate about astronomy by indicating them the position of the two space elements on the sky. According to them, Jupiter and Venus will appear as two incredibly bright and close stars towards the West.

On June 30, the moon will join them, thus forming an unusually close trio of planets. The event is all the more interesting as Jupiter’s orbiting moons will also stay within the planets’ vicinity.

On June 28, scientists will also pay attention to the southern skies. Here, they expect to spot Saturn and its moon right after the sun sets. The rings of the planet may also be noticed with the help of a telescope.

Image source: mirror.co.uk

Pride LGBT App Helps Researchers Conduct the Largest Health Study Ever

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"Pride LGBT App Helps Researchers Conduct the Largest Health Study Ever"

The iPhone app will enable scientists to identify the main health problems of the gay community.

Medical experts will soon be able to address many of the health problems that are specific for the gay community, as a new Pride LGBT app helps researchers conduct the largest health study ever. Apple’s smartphones technology was favored to other companies due to CEO Tim Cook’s support for the gay community.

The health study has been designed by Mitchell Lunn and colleagues to identify potential problems of the LGBT community and their causes. The director of the University of California at San Francisco told the press that the survey focuses on aspects related to HIV/AIDS, smoke, obesity, cancer and mental wellness.

The initiative was adopted in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision to acknowledge same-sex marriages. The recent talks have raised many questions that have remained long unanswered, such as whether their sexual preferences are somehow linked to their physical or mental health.

LGBT advocates have welcomed the recent initiative. They told the press that they will promote the health study among the members of the community because the research is expected to have a positive outcome for them.

Moreover, the smart app eliminates many of the problems that homosexuals have had in the past. They no longer have to sign up within a medical facility to take part in the study program and, thus, their identity is protected. This last aspect is of great importance particularly for those individuals, who have not yet confessed their sexual preferences.

This is not the only study that has been conducted with the help of iPhone apps. A past research carried out with the help of iPhone’s ResearchKit app has had very good results due to the large number of participants that have agreed to take part in the experiment.

Approximately 11,000 iPhone users have signed up for the heart research program in just one day using their iPhones. Scientists have stated that this was the largest group of respondents that has ever been gathered by scientists.

The Institute of Medicine has underlined the need of a similar study many times before. In 2011, the institute declared that many of the special needs that the gay community has are left unaddressed because no organization has taken the time to identify these needs.

Image source: www.pulseheadlines.com

Newly Discovered Species of Octopus Named ”Adorabilis”

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" tiny pink octopus"

Due to its lovely appearance, new species of octopus will be named “Adorabilis”

The story about this newly discovered species of octopus named ”Adorabilis” is rapidly spreading among the scientific community and this charming minuscule creature seems to have fascinated everybody.

It all started recently, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, when Postdoctoral researcher Stephanie Bush, studying this new species, thought about finding a proper name for it.

Presently, this octopus species is informally known as a flapjack octopus.

But things are about to change now, since, Stephanie Bush, the researcher responsible for the description of the spiecies, communicated that she is, in fact, reckoning the name ”Opisthotheusis Adorabilis”.

This is mainly due to the apprearance of the tiny octopus, which looks extremely cute, stated researcher Bush, for ”Science Friday”.

She is pleased to be able to select the specific name for this new species especially since it isn’t a common practice to be able to associate these two elements: ”octopus” with ”adorable”.

Enjoying life at depths of  up to 1,476 feet (449.9 metres) and measuring  only 18 cm in diameter, the ”Adorabilis” ocopus is indeed adorable, with big, prominent eyes, a pinkish jelly-like consistence and an overall appearance that resembles a cartoon character.

Moreover, the ”Adorabilis” octopus is moving like a parachute, explains Stephanie Bush.

However, there is little known about the life history of the species. They are part of the cirrate octopuses but represent only a tiny group within the overall family.

With the help of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, there is hope that new studies will gather and disclose more data and information about such deep-sea animals.

In the meanwhile, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the sister organization of  the Institute, such lovely exhibits of the species are being displayed. According to sources from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, they use a red light to display them.

Since the octopus can’t see red light, it thinks it is in the darkness of the deep sea. They, thus, manage to maintain the natural environment of the species. The peculiarity of this cute cephalopod is still to be revealed but the choice of its name points a promising direction.

There is no wonder that this newly species of octopus is gaining such popularity among more and more people and they all agree on one aspect: it is ”Adorabilis” (Latin word for ”adorable”).

Source: lh3.googleusercontent.com

Long Term Gains for Children with Autism

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Long Term Gains for Children With Autism

 

Long term gains for children with autism have been discovered in national studies commissioned by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. There is a program named Early Start Denver Model that is aimed at a special curriculum to be taught in the cases diagnosed with autism at a very early stage, for children up to 2 years old.

Scientists have agreed that, if diagnosed very early, autism can be ameliorated and many of its simptoms can be made more bearable. The latest studies, led by specialist Sally Rogers of UC Davis analysed a gruop of children that were monitored since they were two years old. The young participants were split into two gruops and one of them was exposed to the usual, local treatment, while the other one was subjected to the more progressive Early Start Denver Model. The program took place over a period of two years as well.

The children were once again observed at the age of six years old and the results were very striking. The parents of children trated with the Denver Model learned how to manage with their children’s special traits such as being distracted or failing to match face expressions, as well as many other dysfunctions. Many of these problems have largely been improved now due to its innovative methods, while in the other case the results were weaker.

Other studies have proven that the age of the parents is also strongly correlated with the occurrence of autism, unfortunately. Statistics say that this happens to either parents who are very young, especially teen moms, either to elderly parents. 5.7 million children were born between 1985 and 2004 and studies show that out of this total, almost 30 000 have been diagnosed with forms of autism.

Parents that are older than 50 years of age are at a 60% higher risk of having a child affected by this disorder, according to the Molecular Psychiatry journal that developed the biggest multinational study. The study refers to elder parents, namely fathers, in comparison to fathers that were among their twenties.

It seems that the age of the father is the biggest factor at stake here, even more so than the psychiatric history of the family or other factors related to the environment. Even a big age difference between parents seems to have negative effects on the future evolution of the child, as a gap of then years or so leads to bigger occurrences of this disorder. And the main reason for this still remains to be figured out.

Image Source: americanhealthreview.com

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