encourage biophilia

Humpback whales have a type of brain cell seen only in humans, the great apes, and other cetaceans such as dolphins, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. This might mean such whales are more intelligent than they have been given credit for, and suggests the basis for complex brains either evolved more than once, or has gone unused by most species of animals, the researchers said.

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Scientists at a U.S. weapons laboratory say they have trained bees to sniff out explosives in a project they say could have far-reaching applications for U.S. homeland security and the Iraq war.

who is the fairest elephant of all?

Elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror—an important test of awareness that puts them in an exclusive club with humans, chimpanzees and dolphins, scientists reported on Tuesday.

long but informative article from the Wall Street Journal.

Ethologists, the scientists who study animal behavior, have amassed thousands of studies showing that animals can count, understand cause and effect, form abstractions, solve problems, use tools and even deceive. But lately scientists have gone a step further: Researchers around the world are providing tantalizing evidence that animals not only learn and remember but that they may also have consciousness—in other words, they may be capable of thinking about their thoughts and knowing that they know.

Monkeys “imitate with a purpose”, matching their behaviour to others’ as a form of social learning, researchers have found.

full story

another one i can’t take credit for…i need to start reading my science feeds more.

^{Although cephalopods are an ancient order, shell-less cephalopods are relatively recent arrivals—about 200 million years old, like mammals and teleost, or bony, fishes. Before that, ammonites and other shelled cephalopods ruled the seas, but competition from the nimble, fast-swimming teleosts wiped out all but the relic nautilus. The cephalopods that survived were the zoological counterrevolutionaries that turned the vertebrates’ weapons against them. They shed their shells and became speedy, like squid, or they became clever and elusive, like octopuses and cuttlefish. Octopuses, naked and vulnerable, took to dens, as early humans took to caves. Like humans, they became versatile foragers, using a wide repertoire of stalking and killing techniques. To avoid exposure, they developed spatial sense and learned to cover their hunting grounds methodically and efficiently. Mather and O’Dor found that the Bermudan O. vulgaris spends just 7 percent of its time hunting; Australian giant cuttlefish spend 3 percent.}

^{In short, octopuses came to resemble us. Their hunting done, they huddle safely in their dens, a bit like early humans around campfires. “You have to wonder what they think about while they’re tucked away,” says O’Dor. Do they muse on the cruel turns of evolution, which have left them all dressed up with big brains but with no place to go and little time to use them?}

complete article

brought a book called The Secret Life of Trees to my attention….looks very biophilic. I think I’ll have to read it.

Sumit had an entry that reminded me about some news I saw earlier last week:

^{Mice who watch their peers in pain are more sensitive to it themselves, Canadian researchers report this week in Science—the first evidence of empathy between adult, non-primate mammals.}

^{There is an “increasingly popular” view that this kind of basic, pre-cognitive response to social cues may be present in all mammals, said Frans de Waal at Emory University and the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, who did not participate in the study. “This “highly significant [paper]...confirms that empathy is an ancient capacity,” he told The Scientist in an Email.}

Slate has this section called Human Nature, which sadly has been put on hiatus for two months. In one of the last updates though, there was a good write-up on the issue of meat-eating: how natural or unnatural it is, and the future of meat production.

^{The case for eating meat is like the case for other traditions: It’s natural, it’s necessary, and there’s nothing wrong with it. But sometimes, we’re mistaken. We used to think we were the only creatures that could manipulate grammar, make sophisticated plans, or recognize names out of context. In the past month, we’ve discovered the same skills in birds and dolphins. In recent years, we’ve learned that crows fashion leaves and metal into tools. Pigeons deceive each other. Rats run mazes in their dreams. Dolphins teach their young to use sponges as protection. Chimps can pick locks. Parrots can work with numbers. Dogs can learn words from context. We thought animals weren’t smart enough to deserve protection. It turns out we weren’t smart enough to realize they do.}

beautiful documentary film about bird migration with some really spectacular shots of birds in flight. also has a few poignant shots of what becomes of those that fall behind.

there’s one shot in there involving a caged parrot making his escape that i think sehnsucht would enjoy. :)

the animal mind

pbs/nature interactive series exploring animal intelligence.