Does this explain why so many dolphin trainers have such pleasant dispositions?Paris - Taking a dip with dolphins can be a tremendous therapy for people with depression, according to a study published on Saturday in the weekly British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Science
Teaching CPR with a clicker
By Bill Peña on 10/20/2005This is a fascinating story about a CPR self-training device that uses a clicker to mark when chest compressions are being done correctly, with fantastic results:
"They found that the home group learned CPR as effectively as those taking the full-fledged course," Cave said.
Big Apple Dims Lights For Birds
By Miranda Hersey Helin on 10/04/2005"The bright lights of New York City will be a little dimmer starting next week. That's because many of the city's buildings—including famous skyscrapers such as the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center—have agreed to turn down the glow in an effort to protect migratory birds. Millions of birds pass through New York City during the fall and spring migration seasons. Window reflections and bright city lights disorient the birds, causing many to crash into buildings and die. The new bird-friendly policy, crafted by the city and the Audubon Society, requests that buildings taller than 40 stories dim or turn off their lights at midnight during the September, October, April, and May migrating periods. Glass buildings along the migration corridors of the Hudson and East Rivers were also asked to dim their lights. Daniel Klem, an ornithologist at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, estimates that 100 million birds die every year from building collisions, and the Audubon Society has collected more than 400 dead birds from a small sampling of buildings in New York City since 1997. A similar program in Chicago has resulted in 80 percent fewer bird deaths." (California Wild This Week)
How women are learning to control their men: operant conditioning!
By Miranda Hersey Helin on 09/19/2005From The Independent:
"Bring Your Husband to Heel is a new [BBC] six-part series which deals with a variety of problems such as how to motivate a man to do the washing up or pay more attention to you." Read the full article at:
Girl Chimps Learn Faster Than Boys
By Miranda Hersey Helin on 09/18/2005"Girls are often considered to mature faster than boys. The same appears to be true among chimpanzees, according to new research to be published in the journal Animal Behavior. Elizabeth Lonsdorf of Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, observed young chimps in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, along with their mothers over a period of four years. She found young female chimps tended to watch intently as their mothers fished termites out of earthen nest mounds using sticks. As a result, young females mastered the technique at about a year and a half old. Males, on the other hand, paid little attention to the finer points of termite fishing. As a result, they needed about two years longer to acquire this skill. The findings are supported by Lonsdorf's preliminary research on captive chimps at the zoo. " (California Wild This Week)
