Elephants are as smart as dolphins and great apes
In a series of tests, the giant mammals learned to cooperate to solve a problem, researchers report in Monday’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Elephants are socially complex, explained lead researcher Joshua M. Plotnik.
“They help others in distress,” he said. “They seem in some ways emotionally attached to each other, so you would expect there would be some level of cooperation.”
One of the most spectacular solar sights is an erupting prominence. Two weeks ago, NASA’s Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence erupting from the surface…The scale of the prominence is huge — the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing curtain of hot gas.
Duh! Happiness Improves Health and Lengthens Life
“We reviewed eight different types of studies,” Diener said. “And the general conclusion from each type of study is that your subjective well-being — that is, feeling positive about your life, not stressed out, not depressed — contributes to both longevity and better health among healthy populations.”
Lots more funding for young scientists exploring radical new directions in cancer research.
The “war on cancer” has been going on for decades, yet victory is still nowhere in sight. Andy Rachleff, a venture capitalist turned philanthropist, is trying to speed things up by funding research by young scientists with new ideas.
West African farmers have succeeded in cutting the use of toxic pesticides, increasing yields and incomes and diversifying farming systems.
Working in small groups, called Farmer Field Schools, smallholders are developing and adopting ‘good agricultural practices’ through learning-by-doing and hands-on field experiments.
To grow healthy crops, IPPM promotes soil improvement and alternatives to chemical pesticides such as the use of beneficial insects, adapted varieties, natural pesticides and cropping practices. Marketing and food safety issues are also part of the training programme.
Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us? Critics call the film “entertaining, gorgeous, and relevant…You are engulfed by wonder.”
