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Recent Articles

Ancient Babylonian Clay Tablet Holds the First Trigonometric Table

Ancient Babylonian Clay Tablet Holds the First Trigonometric Table

August 26, 2017 By Clayton Meason

The CDC Draws Attention To The Spike In Cyclosporiasis Cases

The CDC Draws Attention To The Spike In Cyclosporiasis Cases

August 11, 2017 By Troy G. Bennett

Travis Kalanick Resigns from His Position as Uber’s CEO

Travis Kalanick Resigns from His Position as Uber’s CEO

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Amazon Refunds Parents Whose Children Made Purchases Without Permission

Amazon Refunds Parents Whose Children Made Purchases Without Permission

June 2, 2017 By Clayton Meason

McDonald’s Has Been Quietly Altering Its Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

McDonald’s Has Been Quietly Altering Its Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

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Washington Post Will Be Expanding Its Newsroom

Washington Post Will Be Expanding Its Newsroom

December 28, 2016 By Troy G. Bennett

Prairie Voles Can Console their Buds in Distress

January 24, 2016 By Angelina Stapp

"Prairie Voles Can Console their Buds in Distress"

Scientists have confirmed that prairie voles, along with chimps, dogs and crows are capable of exhibiting human-like compassion towards someone in pain.

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Empathy can no longer be construed purely as a human trait. It would seem that many animals are capable of displaying different degrees of empathy towards their kin in need. A team of scientists has recently discovered that prairie voles can console their buds in distress, much like humans do when someone is stressed.

Recent research in animal psychology has uncovered many interesting aspects about the animal’s social behavior. Up until now, scientists have only discovered traces of this behavior in larger primates and in dogs. But it seems that there are more creatures out there who are capable of sharing their sympathy towards someone in need.

It may not hold such complexity as in humans, but the mechanism is still there, and the scientists seem to have discovered a part of a behavioral trigger that could help them better understand why humans suffering from mental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder are incapable of feeling empathy.

The team of researchers which made this astounding discovery hails from the Yerkes University. Doctor Larry Young, the study’s co-author and one of the scientists working for the Yerkes University Center for Primate research, declared that this is the first time they were able to identify the finer details of such a mechanism outside primates or canines.

Experimenting with prairie voles, a species of rodents, the doctor and his team of researchers has identified the outline of a behavioral mechanism which allows one rodent to feel sympathetic towards another rodent which is in distress or in peril. According to the team’s observation, this kind of behavior doesn’t only encompass the members of a family.

Lab observations have determined that a prairie vole can exhibit the same consoling manner for a total stranger if they are locked in the same cage.

Prairie voles can console their buds in distress just like humans do. Moreover, it would seem that this is the first time that scientists were able to demonstrate such behavior outside larger primates, dogs, and crows.

The experiment itself holds a crucial importance in the area of behavioral sciences. After they’ve managed to induce this state of mind in a lab rodent, the team took a closer look at the vole’s brain. Using an MRI scanner, Young, and his team have discovered that when a rodent exhibits signs of empathy, the anterior cingulate cortex begins to light up.

According to their observation, this mechanism is similar to what happens inside of the human brain when he see someone in pain. Moreover, oxytocin, a peptide-like hormone found inside the brain of mammals seems to play a key role in the vole’s ability to show empathy. By blocking the actions of this hormone, the prairie vole no longer feels the need to console another in distress.

This discovery holds great importance because it seems that not all voles share this knack for empathy. For instance, the researchers have determined that the prairie vole’s closest relative, the meadow vole, is not capable of consoling someone in need.

The fact that prairie voles can console someone in distress may seem like a rather mundane fact, but researchers could use the notes on the little rodents in order to devise more targeted therapies against certain neurological disorders such as autism or even schizophrenia.

Larry Young also said that it might be possible to reverse such a state in someone suffering from autism, by using a combination of oxytocin enhancers and behavioral therapy.

Photo credits:www.wikipedia.org

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Behavioral sciences, empathy, experiment, friends, intelligence, need, pain, prairie vole, rodents, strangers, sympathy

Exploding Kittens Tops Cards against Humanity

January 23, 2016 By Jennifer Licata

"Exploding Kittens Tops Cards against Humanity "

Ruin your friendships and bash your friends around with Exploding Kittens.

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – A whole new card game has taken the Internet by assault, and it would seem that it has managed to exceed all expectations. In terms of card games, Exploding Kittens tops Cards against Humanity, making it the most successful and twisted game on the web.

Initially, Exploding Kittens came out in the form of a table card game. Basically, you have a heap load of cards, filled with pictures of cute and fuzzy kittens. Like in Cards against Humanity, players exchanged cards, which have special properties.

Seeing that the game is sprouting wings, the developers decided that it’s high time the game received a digital version. And so, with a bit of magic and a Kickstarter campaign, the developers managed to release the first mobile version of the game.

Presently, the game can only be run on Apple’s iOS, but the developers promised us that an Android and even a PC version is on the way. In terms of crowd funding, it would seem that the game managed to top off some of the other games created using funds from gamers.

According to an online report, soon after the developers started the Kickstarter campaign, they’ve managed to raise, in just a few months, no less than 8.7 million dollars, making Exploding Kittens the fourth most successful online game entirely funded by gamers.

Exploding Kittens tops Cards against Humanity in terms of gameplay, and humor. And it seems that the developers of the game even included a little “thank you” inside the application.

As of now, it seems that Exploding Kittens has managed to make it to the top, meaning that the game is now considered the number one game in the paid apps section.

The game can be bought from Apple’s online store for a modest fee of 2 bucks. Moreover, those who bought the game are entitled to receive all the game’s future add-ons for free (talking about gratitude!).

Exploding Kittens has a 2.9-star rating online, and the score is sure to rise if the developers manage to solve certain gaming issues. According to the feedbacks, it would seem that you can’t play the game over the web.

In order to play the game with your friends, they must have a copy of the game installed on their devices. Moreover, a session can only be establish using a local ad-hoc wi-fi network or over Bluetooth. The developers are still working to fix the issue, but they’ve declared that Exploding Kittens is the kind of game you would want to play with your friends, not with a random stranger.

Take a look at this clip to see the game in action.

Photo credits:www.wikipedia.org

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: Apple, card game, cards against humanity, connection, Exploding Kittens, iOS, Kickstarter, strangers, wi-fi

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