Excited about the biggest publication of my career yet, "The impact of environmental and social factors on learning abilities: a meta-analysis" at Biological Reviews https://t.co/aEWei0xzf4
... the same as real C4. We think this could be a very beneficial training aid for explosive detection. Look for our future work in this area!
https://t.co/VQZq9PpqkJ
Have a new paper out- part of a set that will all hopefully be published with a year- that should hopefully benefit the detection dog world. We developed a chemical mixture that mimics C4 well enough that operational detection dogs respond to it...
Been learning about Falcons in Central & Southern America and it is remarkable. They essentially filled the niches usually taken by other taxa- the Caracaras are very crow/raven-like and vulture-like, and the forest falcons are remarkably similar to the accipiters.
@Rainmaker1973 I think you have misled people; I think both sexes showed discrimination between competent and incompetent people, female dogs just preferentially chose competence.
We tested dogs on three different odor threshold procedures, and report our results in this paper. This provided the foundation for the our next papers (hopefully out soon!) See the paper here: https://t.co/p8duMuDFCe
New paper titled "Comparing and validating different methods for olfactory threshold measurement in dogs" just came out! What types of odors are dogs most sensitive to? To answer this question, we first need to figure out the best way to test this!
Does this mean odor does not follow typical latent inhibition effects? Cool paper: Familiarity enhances the effectiveness of odors as cues in paired-associate memory | Memory & Cognition
@CUBoulder Frankly, and based on my time in many academic environments, I'm not convinced that this behavior 'does note reflect' the values of some of your student body.
Don't usually post non-science things here but given this weekend's events... it always amazes me how prominent this bigotry is at schools that pride themselves on being 'welcoming and safe'. Directed to most other groups this might draw lots of media attention.
Ok, I looked into this because sometimes claims that "China invents Y" can be somewhat exaggerated. But this is real, and completely insane.
This technology called "Bone 02" (inspired by the well-known "502 glue" in China) has been developed for the past 9 years by a team of orthopedic surgeons in Zhejiang province. The team leads are Professor Fan Shunwu (范顺武, Director of the Orthopedics Department at Zhejiang University) and Lin Xianfeng (https://t.co/IERBHn5xPa).
It's inspired by oysters because the researchers noticed their extraordinary ability to firmly attach themselves in harsh underwater environment by secreting a special adhesive known as bio-cement, which creates a strong chemical interaction with surfaces and hardens quickly.
The properties of the glue are almost miraculous (sources: https://t.co/Lw5PYmPKeN and https://t.co/16Dxe8TXFZ):
- Nearly instant adhesion in blood-soaked wet physiological environments (it just takes 2-3 minutes)
- Extremely strong adhesive properties (bonding tensile force of over 400 pounds - over 181 kg)
- Complete biodegradability that naturally absorbs after about 6 months as the bone heals (no need for secondary surgery previously required in conventional treatments)
- Vast reduction of infection risks related to the traditional metal plates and screws normally needed for bone surgery
- Minimally invasive and rapid surgery since you just need a small opening large enough to apply the glue (as opposed to a complex surgery attaching metal fixations)
This glue could be especially useful for fractures with small bone fragments which are very difficult to fix with metal plates and screws.
The glue has already undergone a proper "prospective, multicenter, blinded, randomized, parallel-controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial" with over 150 patients (https://t.co/4dy4hsPxD0). They've announced positive results - the glue "achieved seamless bonding of all fracture fragments" - and will soon publish the peer-reviewed paper in an orthopedics journal detailing full trial data.
They've launched a company for the product called 源囊生物 (Yuannang Bio) which just raised 2 weeks ago RMB100 million in Series A financing (https://t.co/XrBZAa2Gx0).
Huge PRISMA meta-analysis (89 studies, 5million students) finds student course evaluations are worthless to harmful.
- do not predict learning in the course
- predict lower learning in subsequent courses
- charismatic delivery improves student evaluations, leads students to believe they've learned more, but has no effect on actual learning
- use of student evals to evaluate faculty is corrosive to actual education, leading to grade inflation and reduced rigor
https://t.co/BpXepCIL9e
In many educational regards and by many independent standards, Mississippi's schools are now better than California's. This is insane and even *more* people should be talking about it.
Illiteracy is actually a policy choice.
https://t.co/sEB9NfvEX4
Just as UV vision in birds seems to have all kinds of social (and other) implications, UV vision in nocturnal mammals may reveal all kinds of cool eco-evo discoveries. Link here: https://t.co/b6IzM75656
Really cool multi-approach study demonstrating UV vision in sugar gliders, adding to the list of nocturnal mammals with UV vision. Makes me wonder if flying squirrels- whose bellies reflect UV light- also have UV vision.
My favorite is when people in academic circles simply proceed to talk to you as if it's completely obvious that you share all of their opinions, including the most petty partisan ones.
Because it's inconceivable that someone who runs in the same circles, shares much of their background, is similarly credentialed, and doesn't look like all those other stupid and hateful people that we don't like - has opinions different from their own.
Using AI, researchers can tell apart snow leopards through their forehead patterns, allowing them to identify almost 500 individuals, which makes up 68% of India’s snow leopard population, while also providing India’s 1st national snow leopard photo library.