Beyond primates: What do dolphins and dogs know?

WASHINGTON?? It's not just man's closer primate relatives that exhibit brain power. Dolphins, dogs and elephants are teaching us a few lessons, too.

Dolphin brains involve completely different wiring from primates, especially in the neocortex, which is central to higher functions such as reasoning and conscious thought.

Dolphins are so distantly related to humans that it's been 95 million years since we had even a remotely common ancestor. Yet when it comes to intelligence, social behavior and communications, some researchers say dolphins come as close to humans as our ape and monkey cousins.

Maybe closer.

"They understand concepts like zero, abstract concepts. They do everything that chimpanzees do and bonobos can do," said Lori Marino, a neuroscientist at Emory University who specializes in dolphin research. "The fact is that they are so different from us and so much like us at the same time."

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In recent years, animal researchers have found that thought processes in critters aren't a matter of how closely related they are to humans. You don't have to be a primate to be smart.

Dolphin brains look nothing like human brains, Marino said. Yet, she says, "the more you learn about them, the more you realize that they do have the capacity and characteristics that we think of when we think of a person."

These mammals recognize themselves in the mirror and have a sense of social identity. They not only know who they are, but they also have a sense of who, where and what their groups are. They interact and comprehend the health and feelings of other dolphins so fast it as if they are online with each other, Marino said.

Animal intelligence "is not a linear thing," said Duke University researcher Brian Hare, who studies bonobos, which are one of man's closest relatives, and dogs, which are not.

"Think of it like a toolbox," he said. "Some species have an amazing hammer. Some species have an amazing screwdriver."

For dogs, a primary tool is their obsessive observation of humans and ability to understand human communication, Hare said. For example, dogs follow human pointing so well that they understand it whether it's done with a hand or a foot; chimps don't, said Hare, whose upcoming book is called "The Genius of Dogs."

Then there are elephants.

They empathize, they help each other, they work together. In a classic cooperation game, in which animals only get food if two animals pull opposite ends of a rope at the same time, elephants learned to do that much quicker than chimps, said researcher Josh Plotnik, head of elephant research at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in Thailand.

They do even better than monkeys at empathy and rescue, said Plotnik. In the wild, he has seen elephants stop and work together to rescue another elephant that fell in a pit.

"There is something in the environment, in the evolution of this species that is unique," he says.

More about animal intelligence:

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Mariah's Challenge: Grieving Father Leo McCarthy Offers Teenagers Money For Not Drinking

In memory of his young daughter, a grieving father is offering teens thousands of dollars to not drink, CNN reports.

Five years ago, Leo McCarthy's 14-year-old daughter, Mariah, was killed when a 20-year-old drunk driver hit her as she was walking home with two friends in Butte, Mont.

In the days immediately after her death, McCarthy said he watched as his daughter's young friends struggled to deal with their grief.

?They were all fumbling and bumbling about," he told Mariners Magazine in 2009. "I told them they needed to look beyond the death and toward something more hopeful. As I was doing the eulogy, I wanted to talk to that group of kids and let them know that there is more to the world.?

So at Mariah's funeral, McCarthy issued an unusual challenge -- Mariah's Challenge -- to Butte's teenagers.

"If you stick with me for four years," he said during his daughter's eulogy. "Don't use alcohol, don't use illicit drugs but give back to your community, work with your parents and talk to your parents, I'll be there with a bunch of other people to give you money."

McCarthy has kept his promise.

Together with Jimm Kilmer and Chad Okrusch, the fathers of Mariah's two friends who survived the accident, McCarthy, 52, started a non-profit which has raised and given out more than 140 $1,000 scholarships to Butte high schoolers over the years

"I wanted to give them encouragement and to tell them that...you can be better and always be greater in the situation," McCarthy told CNN.

To be eligible for the Mariah's Challenge scholarship, teens must sign a pledge to not drink until they are 21 and not get into a car with someone who has been drinking. In their senior year of high school, they can submit a scholarship application -- as long as they haven't been convicted of underage possession of alcohol or drugs.

"Mariah is forever 14. I can't get her back," McCarthy said. "But I can help other parents keep their kids safe."

This year, more than 40 high school seniors were awarded scholarships, MTStandard.com reports. At the emotional awards banquet, Butte citizens expressed their pride towards the student winners and lauded the positive paradigm shift that has occurred within the city thanks to McCarthy's challenge.

"I think about the culture change we have in Butte now, with a program like this," said Brian Morris, Montana's Supreme Court Justice, at the event. "I'm so proud that it's coming from Butte, Montana and spreading throughout the Northwest -- and I think to myself, if we can change the culture of alcohol in a place like Butte and we have people like you growing up, we can change anything in the world."

According to CNN, Montana routinely ranks in the top five per capita for drunken-driving fatalities.

McCarthy said he hopes that by adopting Mariah's Challenge, the teenagers of Montana will slowly change this statistic.

Watch the highlights from the 2012 Mariah's Challenge scholarship banquet in this YouTube video:

Related on HuffPost:

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RolePlayGateway?

Introduction

A body laid in the midst of the forest, bloody and broken. This body appeared to belong to a 17 year-old boy, lean framed, longish blond hair, curled slightly and as bright as sunlight. The boy was presumed dead by the police but by the time the FBI was called in to investigate, the body was gone. Disappeared. No one knew who he was or where he'd come from but this mysterious occurrence was certainly enough to spark a certain fear.

Suddenly, children began to go missing. Ranging in age from 12 to 17, all races, all genders. No body had any clue what was going on, they thought all this might link to a kidnapper or serial killer, that is, until sightings of a large creature with black wings started to be reported. The creature appeared human but with large wings roughly fourteen feet in wingspan.

The people who'd been seeing him began to refer to this creature as Lucifer, the fallen angel, fearing the end was upon them.

Lucifer

They call me Lucifer. But I can tell you right now I am not the Lucifer. I am not the beast with the number 666, I am not the fallen archangel cast away from Heaven. I am a thing. Or at least, that is how I was referred to when I was created. I was not made by some sort of God, I was made in a lab. They stole a child from an orphanage and strung it's DNA up with that of several animals. I am winged, my eyes are golden brown like a hawk's and my ears are pointed and as acute as a bat's I have claws, sharp as a leopard's. I am a weapon. They tried to force me to kill, to take down enemies. They tortured me until I have in. I had to. I think about killing a lot. I struggle to control myself.

I escaped, though. I knew there were others, maybe not like me but others who were tortured, others who needed help. So I rescued them. I am not a kidnapper, they all come willingly. We train. We will fight when we are ready. We will have our revenge.

There are more in that lab, from before me. There are some with telepathic minds, some with amazing stamina or strength. They were created after me. No one experimented with more animal DNA, the occasional one-animal splice but not as many as they put into me. They called me a mistake when I brutally mauled something they called "an enemy". Was I not meant to kill? Why were they torturing me for doing well?

So I attacked them. I attacked them and grabbed the others, as many as I could... all so young... all younger than me.I hated the scientists. I couldn't stop myself from killing them all.

I took the others and left. And I found more. Abused children, beaten children. All my age or younger. They needed help. So I provided it.

And we will have our revenge.

The Army

My Army are the children and adolescents that I have saved. They are trained in combat and weaponry. Crossbows, swords, spears, bow and arrows, rapiers, staffs, even the occasional gun we can get our hands on. Anything to take down our enemies, those who have wronged us. I do not like guns, I much prefer weapons we can make ourselves, I trust them better but if the police, SWATT, the FBI or any other organization becomes involved, we will need as much firepower as we can get.

The Army is growing continuously. I have many on the look-out for new members, new children or adolescents who have lost their way, who have been abused. Those abused sexually, beaten by their parents, I've even known parents to try to "beat the gay" out of their kids if they are homosexual or bisexual, parents who will starve or neglect their children if they do not conform to 'traditional' gender roles. I've known people to kill others or not believing in the "right" god, to torture their children if they do not conform. I've known parents who've forced their kids to follow a set path, living through their kid. I've seen parents inject their kids with drugs to enhance performance, to force them to train day and night for some pointless sport the child doesn't even enjoy.

It all sickens me.

Here, all are accepted, all are equal, all are free to be who they want to be. If they do not wish to fight, I will not force them. I know they will want to join eventually. The Army is for justice. For freedom.

Rules

1 ) M/M, F/F and F/M are all aloud and encourages. I enjoy diversity.
2 ) No OOC fighting.
3 ) No God-Modding.
4 ) Please have at least 2-3 paragraphs per post.
5 ) Every character must have weaknesses. There should be an equal number of humans and lab-experiments.
6 ) Romance is fine but that is not the whole plot. Remember that. Though it can be added for drama.
7 ) Swearing is fine. Just don't go overboard.
8 ) Write "I Follow the Fallen" if you read the rules.
9 ) Please remain active. At very least one post every two to three days. Preferably more often than that.

Form

Code: Select all

[font=comic sans ms][b][color=black]Name:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Age:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Gender:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Sexuality:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Human or Lab-Experiment:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Hair Colour:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Eye Colour:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]General Appearance:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Personality (At least five sentences):[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]History (At least six sentences):[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Family:[/color][/b]
[color=black]Parents-[/color]
[color=black]Siblings-[/color]
[color=black]Other-[/color]

[b][color=black]Skills:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Weapon of Choice:[/color][/b]

[b][color=black]Other:[/color][/b]

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

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Question for BS were you the one to end the relationship or was it ...

Coping with Infidelity Relationship recovery from the destructiveness of infidelity.

Today, 08:57 AM	? #2 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: May 2012 Location: Near Chicago, USA Posts: 352	Quote: I was recently thinking about this, how many BSs out there were actually the ones who ended there relationship. Most affairs seem to follow the same path, The WS becomes infatuated with the affair partner and either leave the BS for their affair partner or eventually ends the affair (The latter being the most common in my opinion) But I don't read "many" stories where Upon D-Day or after an attempt at recovery the BS ends the relationship and I was wondering why that is. So I thought I would ask do you all do you really think most affairs can be recovered from?? also when a recovery/marriage fails because of infidelity do you think it's because the BS wants it to or because the WS does?? I am the BS. I filed for divorce after a six month false recovery, in which my cheater spouse was not remorseful and expected me to be over his emotional, physical and financial infidelity. I think a lot more marriages eventually fail. It may take five years or ten years but eventually the BS walks away. You don't hear about this on the internet because most sites are making money trying to instill hope that they can save your marriage. I think the failure rate is far higher than reported. MC can not save a marriage. It may delay a divorce and the counselors my never learn of that eventual divorce so the stat becomes that they saved the marriage. I think what happens is that it takes the deception of an affair awhile to sink into the brain of the faithful. Once it does they start to see how they were gaslighted by the cheater and the MC's into taking way too much responsibility for problems in the marriage. IMO, in reality cheaters are selfish self absorbed people. Such people never change. It is part of their core personality. It may have been instilled in childhood by over indulgent parents, or it may be something inborn. Eventually the faithful spouse realizes how selfish their cheater spouse is and when they do, rather than cheat, they seek a divorce. I do think many faithful spouses stay longer than they should, but than eventually wake up.
?

Today, 09:13 AM	? #4 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: SEPA Posts: 6,198	Quote: So I thought I would ask do you all do you really think most affairs can be recovered from?? also when a recovery/marriage fails because of infidelity do you think it's because the BS wants it to or because the WS does?? actually I don't think most affairs can be recovered from, it takes true remorse from the WS and you don't see that as often as you see either rug-sweeping, deeper underground affairs or D. Chap throws around a 30% R rate and it would be silly to assume all R's are real, I would probably think about half of them truly are. So it would put the "real" recovery rate at around 15%. as to the 2nd question- Both have to want R for it to work so that means the WS has to work for years at helping the BS heal and the BS has to value the relationship and WS enough to go through the pain and forgiveness. So I can't honestly tell you who bails more, it's a tough road for both parties. I would think a WS doesn't "bail" by starting D process as often, but their actions will often cause the BS to bail (either by cake eating, rugsweeping, non-transparency, trickle truth, etc) So while you probably don't see the WS filing as often as the BS, their actions are the driving force regardless.
?

Today, 09:32 AM	? #5 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: May 2012 Location: Near Chicago, USA Posts: 352	Quote: I would think a WS doesn't "bail" by starting D process as often, but their actions will often cause the BS to bail (either by cake eating, rugsweeping, non-transparency, trickle truth, etc) So while you probably don't see the WS filing as often as the BS, their actions are the driving force regardless. Exactly. IMO, cheaters are cowards. They want to end the marriage but since they are into the blame game. They want to force the faithful spouse to divorce them, hence they provoke them. Most cheaters desperately want to see themselves as good people. They are not. But to maintain their good person image, they continually emotionally abuse the spouse in ways that are not obvious to outsiders and when this provokes the faithful spouse to Divorce, the cheater can claim he tried to reconcile, when, in reality he did not. Also, they can retain their fantasy of being a good person. Emotional abuse that is not obvious to an outsider is called ambient abuse and it can be very destructive to the faithful spouse.
?

Today, 09:39 AM	? #7 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: MI Posts: 208	Quote: I am the BS. I filed for divorce after a six month false recovery, in which my cheater spouse was not remorseful and expected me to be over his emotional, physical and financial infidelity. I think a lot more marriages eventually fail. It may take five years or ten years but eventually the BS walks away. You don't hear about this on the internet because most sites are making money trying to instill hope that they can save your marriage. I think the failure rate is far higher than reported. MC can not save a marriage. It may delay a divorce and the counselors my never learn of that eventual divorce so the stat becomes that they saved the marriage. I think what happens is that it takes the deception of an affair awhile to sink into the brain of the faithful. Once it does they start to see how they were gaslighted by the cheater and the MC's into taking way too much responsibility for problems in the marriage. IMO, in reality cheaters are selfish self absorbed people. Such people never change. It is part of their core personality. It may have been instilled in childhood by over indulgent parents, or it may be something inborn. Eventually the faithful spouse realizes how selfish their cheater spouse is and when they do, rather than cheat, they seek a divorce. I do think many faithful spouses stay longer than they should, but than eventually wake up. 5 years R here, filing for divorce this week. Everything you said could not have been any better. Selfish. That's all they are. They don't care, its all about them. Serial cheaters are the worst.
?

Today, 10:02 AM	? #9 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: May 2012 Location: Near Chicago, USA Posts: 352	Quote: 5 years R here, filing for divorce this week. Everything you said could not have been any better. Selfish. That's all they are. They don't care, its all about them. Serial cheaters are the worst. IMO, a lot of people try too long to reconcile because they want to believe it is a possibility and that all the pablum about a marriage being better after learning of an infidelity. That's Bull hockey, IMO, a marriage is never better for the BS after cheating. It's only better for the cheater. He/she got the thrill of a new dating and/or sexual relationship, plus they get to keep their loyal faithful spouse. A spouse who all too willingly accepts blame and tries hard to make things better for the cheater. What does the loyal spouse get. Nothing but heart ache, a bad case of post infidelity PTSD, a spouse that they can never trust again, a marriage that is a sham and never the same as it was prior. A marriage is supposed to be a safe harbor from the stresses of the world, a place where you can feel safe and loved. No one said a marriage is going to be easy. It's work, but both went in knowing that and still agreeing to forsake all others. After infidelity the marriage is anything but that for the loyal spouse. Your spouse already forsook you for another, and if they were bad mouthing you to the OP, then they were all too willingly stabbed you in the back. Nothing will ever change that.
?

Today, 10:28 AM	? #12 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 434	Well, that's very comforting. I'm glad I don't feel that way about my marriage... and I'm glad my husband doesn't either. I know, this was specifically about which partner chose to end the relationship, if it ended. But reading the replies... I understand why there is hurt, anger, and even resentment... but saying, or implying, that a WS will never change is untrue. In saying that, the implication is that my marriage is going to fail (both of us had EAs), Entropy's will fail, Sigma's will, etc. I don't believe it. I believe that if both are willing to work at the marriage, it can be rebuilt. Yes, the majority of the work is on the WS, but the BS has to be willing to forgive... to truly forgive. I disagree with the idea that any who have been plagued by unfaithfulness are doomed to fail. I think it will fail if they settle back into old patterns again, but not if they truly work on fixing it. But that's JMO. Sorry if this seems to be attacking. I DO understand that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I just disagree with the thought that it ALL ends no matter what. If that wasn't the intent, then I apologize.
?

Today, 10:44 AM	? #14 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: May 2012 Location: Near Chicago, USA Posts: 352	Quote: Well, that's very comforting. I'm glad I don't feel that way about my marriage... and I'm glad my husband doesn't either. I know, this was specifically about which partner chose to end the relationship, if it ended. But reading the replies... I understand why there is hurt, anger, and even resentment... but saying, or implying, that a WS will never change is untrue. In saying that, the implication is that my marriage is going to fail (both of us had EAs), Entropy's will fail, Sigma's will, etc. I don't believe it. I believe that if both are willing to work at the marriage, it can be rebuilt. Yes, the majority of the work is on the WS, but the BS has to be willing to forgive... to truly forgive. I disagree with the idea that any who have been plagued by unfaithfulness are doomed to fail. I think it will fail if they settle back into old patterns again, but not if they truly work on fixing it. But that's JMO. Sorry if this seems to be attacking. I DO understand that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I just disagree with the thought that it ALL ends no matter what. If that wasn't the intent, then I apologize. What we are saying is that the number of marriages that survive infidelity is much lower than reported by MCs or marriage saver sites. There is no statistical follow though, and has been mentioned many those who decide to divorce five years later, never come back to sites like this or to a MC. Also, what we are saying is that the marriage will NEVER be better for the loyal spouse. It may survive, but it will not be better for the loyal spouse as some marriage saver sites or counselors (all of whom make money off of perpetuating that belief) are saying. You trusted someone, and now you can't. You thought you were special and now you know you're not. How in heck does that make things better for the loyal spouse In the case where both spouses cheated. Maybe it can work better. I don't know, at least two disloyal spouse know how it feels and have a level playing field.
?

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Sleep Apnea and Snoring can be MAJOR ... - Healthy MidLife

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 at 4:56 pm ?

Written by Dr. Scott Wagner

Snoring and sleep apnea don?t always go hand-in-hand, but one is often an indication of the other. This is all because of what sleep apnea is and how it affects the body.

If you?re not familiar with it already, sleep apnea is a serious condition that keeps patients from getting enough oxygen while they sleep. In fact, a sleep apnea patient will actually stop breathing for 10, 20, 30 or more seconds. That doesn?t sound bad, except when you add that they can do this sometimes hundreds of times per night. As a result, they might spend the entire night cycling through patterns of sleeping and waking, sometimes without even knowing it. I always say, ?We need 3 things to live.? 1) Food: However, Gandhi and others throughout our history have shown, we can go a weeks without food. 2) Water: we can actually go several days without it (if we had to). 3) Air: How long can you hold your breath? Obviously, we can literally live only a couple minutes without air.

TEST YOURSELF: Get a stopwatch out. Exhale normally, but DO NOT INHALE. Start the timer. Hold your breath for 30 seconds. See how long you can go. How do you feel after 10 seconds? 20 seconds? Can you make it to 30 seconds? Imagine repeating that cycle over and over during the night. Do you think your body would feel ?rested? in the AM? Physiologically, sleep apnea can dramatically change your body for the worse very quickly. To give you an example, smoking and alcohol increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, strokes, etc. by a factor ranging from 7 to 11 (depending on which study you read). However, moderate to severe sleep apnea can increase your risks of the same by a factor of 34! Even mild apnea can raise your blood pressure, trigger diabetes, make it difficult to lose weight, and give you a feeling of chronic fatigue! This is serious stuff!

So how can you know if you have sleep apnea?

Snoring is a common indicator, while other symptoms include daytime drowsiness, depression, irritability, fatigue, and short-term memory loss. If you?ve noticed that you suffer from any of these, consider scheduling an appointment with your physician (or a dentist trained in snoring/sleep apnea). Sleep apnea may be a serious condition, but it can often be treated conservatively with a custom-made oral appliance. Men and women with weight issues are immediately at risk for apnea. Men with a 16.5? neck size or greater are automatically defined as being at risk. However, as a dentist, some of my clients that have the worst level of apnea are very skinny. So, while being overweight is a risk factor, it is not automatically diagnostic. There is a test called the ?Epworth Sleepiness Scale? that can easily be found online. It is a simple test that can give you an idea of whether you are at risk. However, the only way to truly diagnose sleep apnea is to have a physician prescribed test. If we suspect that you have sleep apnea, we refer you immediately to your physician. If your M.D. is not comfortable referring you for a sleep study, we have several sleep centers and physicians that we work in conjunction with to help you get diagnosed quickly. Ultimately, achieving high quality sleep is paramount to your health.

Treating Sleep Apnea and Snoring with an Oral Appliance

Sleep apnea has many degrees of severity and an often time requires the use of a CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) appliance. Other times, when apnea is milder, it can be treated with an oral appliance (a type of simple mouth guard). Regardless of the degree of apnea, diagnosis is key. Sleep apnea and snoring are often caused by an obstructed airway. An oral appliance works by holding your jaw forward during sleep, ensuring that those airways remain open all night long. That means that instead of waking up constantly during the night, or keeping your partner awake with your snoring, you can both get the full night of rest you deserve. We are a sleep deprived country. The quantity of your sleep is often times over-rated. The most important factor is the QUALITY of your sleep. If you had 10 hours of poor quality sleep versus 5 hours of high quality sleep, I?ll take the latter any day or night!

If you think you might have sleep apnea but haven?t been diagnosed yet, do not wait any longer. Every night you go to bed, you could be putting your health in jeopardy. You can also visit http://www.eccellasmiles.com/to learn more about this condition and take a standardized sleep apnea test. Happy Sleeping!

W. Scott Wagner, DMD, LVIF

Smiles, Skin, Sports, and Wellness

http://www.eccellasmiles.com/

Filed under: Middle Age Health

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