Baboon Recognizes Words, is Able to Pre-Read

Dan the baboon sits in front of a computer screen. The letters BRRU pop up. With a quick and almost dismissive tap, the monkey signals it's not a word. Correct. Next comes, ITCS. Again, not a word. Finally KITE comes up. 

This undated handout photo provided by of Joel Fagot, and the journal Science shows Dora during a readng experiment. French researchers are showing that baboons can do what is essentially the first step in reading. They can identify recurring patterns in English. This study is important in two fields: it shows that the early steps in reading are far more instinctual than scientists first thought and it also demonstrates that non-human primates may be smarter than we give them credit for. Baboons and other monkeys are good pattern finders and it's more than memorization. What they are doing may be what we first do in recognizing words. But it's still a far cry from real reading. The study is in the journal Science. Image: AP Photo/Joel Fagot

He pauses and hits a green oval to show it's a word. In the space of just a few seconds, Dan has demonstrated a mastery of what some experts say is a form of pre-reading and walks away rewarded with a treat of dried wheat.         

Dan is part of new research that shows baboons are able to pick up the first step in reading - identifying recurring patterns and determining which four-letter combinations are words and which are just gobbledygook. 

The study shows that reading's early steps are far more instinctive than scientists first thought and it also indicates that non-human primates may be smarter than we give them credit for. 

"They've got the hang of this thing," says Jonathan Grainger, a French scientist and lead author of the research. 

Baboons and other monkeys are good pattern finders and what they are doing may be what we first do in recognizing words. 

It's still a far cry from real reading. They don't understand what these words mean, and are just breaking them down into parts, says Grainger, a cognitive psychologist at the Aix-Marseille Univ. in France. 

In 300,000 tests, the six baboons distinguished between real and fake words about three-out-of-four times, according to the study published in Thursday's journal Science. 

The 4-year-old Dan, the star of the bunch and about the equivalent age of a human teenager, got 80 percent of the words right and learned 308 four-letter words. 

Illusion - Anuj.

Kindness May Be Genetic

It turns out that the milk of human kindness is evoked by something besides mom's good example.

Research by psychologists at the Univ. at Buffalo and the Univ. of California, Irvine, has found that at least part of the reason some people are kind and generous is because their genes nudge them toward it.

Michel Poulin, assistant professor of psychology at UB, is the principal author of the study "The Neurogenics of Niceness," published in this month in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The study, co-authored by Anneke Buffone of UB and E. Alison Holman of the Univ. of California, Irvine, looked at the behavior of study subjects who have versions of receptor genes for two hormones that, in laboratory and close relationship research, are associated with niceness. Previous laboratory studies have linked the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin to the way we treat one another, Poulin says.

Some Interesting Facts About The Brain

Dimensions and Sizes

• Average dimensions of the adult brain: Width = 140 mm/5.5 in, Length = 167 mm/6.5 in, Height = 93 mm/3.6 in.
• How much does human brain weigh? At birth our brains weigh and average of 350-400g (about 4/5 lbs), as adults the brain averages 1300-1400g (about 3 lbs).
• If Stretched out the cerebral cortex would be 0.23 sq. m(2.5sq.ft), the area of a night table.
• Total surface area of the cerebral cortex is 2,500 cm2 or 2.69 sq.ft.

Composition

• The composition of the brain = 77-78% water, 10-12% lipids, 8% protein, 1% carbs, 2% soluble organics, 1% inorganic salt.

General keyboard shortcuts

• CTRL+C (Copy)
• CTRL+X (Cut)
• CTRL+V (Paste)
• CTRL+Z (Undo)
• DELETE (Delete)
• SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
• CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
• CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
• F2 key (Rename the selected item)
• CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
• CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)

THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF VIRGIN GROUP

                                                                              

Virgin Group is one of the giant global players and comprises of several holding companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Records, Virgin Express, Virgin Blue, and many more. As a creator of Virgin, Richard Branson has blanketed the Virgin Empire in a thick layer of secrecy to get a competitive edge against its rivals. Branson’s own values and management style has differentiated Virgin group from other formal structured organizations. Richard Branson has no respect for formal authority and hierarchy. Different organisational structures can be seen in Virgin Group. Nonetheless, he is considered as a revolutionary as embodied the spirit of New Britain. Mr. Branson is a charismatic leader and his followers link him with the English heroes. His leadership qualities demonstrate more of transformational rather than transactional. He motivates his employees to do their best and also offers a number of opportunities for their personal growth and development. Virgin’s success story reflects the effective communication either within the organisation or to deal with external forces. Nonetheless, Virgin group excels in offering friendly customer service. Due to close personal ties among employees, every individual involves to generate innovative ideas and how to improve the overall performance of the organisation.

Four Amazing Magic tricks to try out on your PC

MAGIC #1

Nobody can create a FOLDER anywhere on the Computer which can be named as “CON”. This is something funny and inexplicable? At Microsoft the whole Team, couldn’t answer why this happened!

TRY IT NOW, IT WILL NOT CREATE A “CON” FOLDER

Solution: Create a folder on desktop, press F2 and press delete to continue by press alt+0160 to create CON folder in your desktop.

MAGIC #2

Did you know that a flight number from one of the planes that hit one of the two WTC towers on 9/11 was Q33N. In Notepad / WordPad or MS Word, type that flight number i.e. Q33N. Increase the font size to 72. Change the font to Wingdings. … u will be amazed by the findings!………

MAGIC #3

For those of you using Windows, do the following:
1.) Open an empty notepad file
2.) Type “Bush hid the facts” (without the quotes)
3.) Save it as whatever you want.
4.) Close it, and re-open it?

Noticed the weird bug? No one can explain!

MAGIC #4

Again this is something funny and can’t be explained? At Microsoft the whole Team, including Bill Gates, couldn’t answer why this happened!

It was discovered by a Brazilian. Try it out yourself?

Open Microsoft Word and type

=rand (200, 99)

And then press ENTER And see the magic..!

Some interesting Facts about Fart

1. If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.

2. Excess gas in the intestinal is medically termed "flatulence."

3. The word "fart" comes from the Old English "feortan" (meaning "to break wind").

4. Farts are flammable. 

5. Termites are the largest producers of farts.

6. Although they won’t admit it, women fart as much as men.

7. A person produces about half a liter of farts a day.

8. Farts have been clocked at a speed of 10 feet per second.

9. The temperature of a fart at time of creation is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

10. On the average a fart is composed of about 59% nitrogen, 21% hydrogen, 9% carbon dioxide, 7% methane, and 4% oxygen. Less than 1% is what makes them stink.

11. Farts are created mostly by E. coli.

Egypt - Little Known Facts for Travelers

 

Egypt, with its pyramids and other mysteries, is one of the most intriguing places on Earth. The first scientist recorded in history was an Egyptian known as Imhotep, who lived 5,000 years ago. Of the 7 wonders of the ancient world only the pyramids, in Egypt, has survived. Pharaoh Pepi II of Egypt reigned longer than any other known monarch - 74 years.

Egyptian kings had slaves to do all types of chores and perform distasteful deeds. For example, to keep from having flies land on him the king would have several slaves stand nearby, naked and covered with honey. This would lure the flies away from the king and to the slaves.

Cherry juice for arthritis pain

According to an interview with Eve Campanelli, PhD in Prevention magazine, 85 percent of Campanelli'spatientshad experienced at least partial relief of pain symptoms by drinking two glasses of black cherry juice (four ounces of juice diluted with four ounces of water) twice a day. In addition, Campanelli states that patients can discontinue consumption of the juice once their pain subsides. Campanelli recommends usingcherrieswhich have been kept cool and moist, and which have a deep maroon, mahogany, red, or blackcolor. She suggests avoiding fruitof the following kind: those that are shriveled, with dried stems, soft flesh, brown discolorations, or a dull appearance.

"People with rheumatoid arthritis should include in their daily diets juices high in the anti-inflammatorynutrients," said Cherie Calbom, M.S. Calbom is a certified nutritionist in Kirkland, Washington, and co-author of "Juicing for Life." Calbom adds that parsley, broccoli, and spinach can assist in the treatment of arthritis, since these contain beta-carotene, along with carrots, apples, and ginger, all of which contain copper. She also promotes the drinking of pineapple juice, since it is the only source of the strong anti-inflammatory enzyme bromelain.

A broken heart 'can kill you'

LONDON: A broken heart can kill you, says a new study which has found that grief makes people vulnerable to infections from bacteria. 

Researchers claim that the emotional stress of losing a loved one can lead to parts of the body's immune system being suppressed, thus in turn weakening one's ability to fight off infections, 'The Sunday Telegraph' reported.

In fact, the researchers from Birmingham University have found that increased stress levels and depression brought on by grief can interfere with the function of a type of white blood cell known as neutrophils, which are responsible for fighting bacterial infections like pneumonia.

The impact becomes more profound in older adults as, with age, they lose the ability to produce a hormone that can counteract this dampening affect, meaning even previously healthy elderly people can fall victim to disease following a bereavement, says the study.

The Hunza Health Secret of Longevity

By Jeremy Carew-Reid

Hunza Valley

“Health secrets of people who live to 145 years of age” "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food" Hippocrates(460-377 B.C.)

Never have truer words been uttered. Food is an amazing healer and preventer of disease. In fact most disease is a result of faulty use of food. It has been seen time and time again in history that when traditional cultures of people have eaten natural, whole, organic foods they had excellent health, endless energy and near total freedom from disease. But when exposed to modern diet in the “developed” world which included processed, chemically treated, devitalised junk foods they started to develop endless degenerative diseases including chronic fatigue syndrome.

A land where disease is unknown

Would you believe me if I told you there is a land of people on earth where there are no traces of cancer? Where men and women aged 80 years and older having endless energy and freedom from disease. A land where everyone has perfect vision, no heart disease, no obesity, no mental illness, no ulcers and no degenerative disease. Well I am here to tell you that such a land exists. The Hunzakut people enjoy this utopian lifestyle. They are an amazing people unknown to the public at large that live in the mountain peaks of the Himalayas in northwest Pakistan.

In Hunza men father children at ninety. Centenarians are a common occurrence and it is not unusual for elderly people to reach the age of 130 years of age in perfect mental and physical health! In fact a significant number have been reported to live to age 145!

But their greatest achievement is the fact that sickness is rare, that cancer, heart disease, heart attacks, high or low blood pressure and childhood diseases are virtually unknown. There is no juvenile delinquency in Hunza and divorce is a rarity. There are no jails, police or army and there is no need for them, as there hasn't been a crime reported for the last one hundred and thirty years.

Magic Graviola – The Best Cancer Cure

The Sour Sop or the fruit from the graviola tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo. Why are we not aware of this? It’s because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale.

So, since you know it now, you can help a friend in need by letting him know or just drink some sour sop juice yourself as prevention from time to time. The taste is not bad after all. It’s completely natural and definitely has no side effects. If you have the space, plant one in your garden. The other parts of the tree are also useful.

The next time you have a fruit juice, ask for a sour sop. How many people died in vain while this billion-dollar drug maker concealed the secret of the miraculous Graviola tree? This tree is low and is called graviola in Brazil, guanabana in Spanish and has the uninspiring name “soursop” in English.

AC/DC - Live at Donington, Impressive !!

Filmed coverage of legendary Australian band AC/DC's third headlining show at the "Monsters of Rock" festival in Castle Donington, UK.

Director: 

David Mallet

Stars:

 Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson

Rig Veda

Rig Veda, the oldest and perhaps most mystical text ever composed in India, says: "With deep respect, I bow to the sun, who travels 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha." A yojana is about nine American miles; a nimesha is 16/75 of a second. 2,202 yojanas x 9 miles x 75/8 nimeshas = 185,794 m. 

So it says that sunlight travels at 186,000 miles per second! In 1387 A. D. They know the correct figure for the speed of light. Yogis were using the mala to keep track of the number of mantras. It has 109 beads, 108+1 Guru Bead. Why so? A] The mala represents the ecliptic. It is divided into 27 equal sections called Nakshatras, and each of these into four equal sectors called paadas, or "steps," marking the 108 steps that the sun and moon take through heaven. 2] They stop at the 109th "guru bead," flip the mala and continue reciting backwards. The guru bead represents the summer and winter solstices. 

Interesting Facts about Tom and Jerry

Interesting Facts about Tom and Jerry





Tom and Jerry is an American series of animated cartoons created by William Hanna andJoseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, centering on a never-ending rivalry between Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse. Hanna and Barbera wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry shorts between 1940 and 1957, before the animation department was closed.


The original Tom and Jerry series, now known as one of the most famous and longest-lived rivalries in American TV history, is notable for having won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film seven times, tying with Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies. A longtime television favorite with kids, teenagers, and adults alike, in 2000 it was named one of the greatest television shows of all time by Time magazine.



The popular series features on-going comedic fights, usually centering around Tom’s numerous attempts to capture Jerry and the chaos and destruction that would invariably result. Though it’s sometimes unclear why Tom incessantly chases Jerry, Jerry’s eating of Tom’s master’s food (which Tom has been entrusted to safeguard), Jerry’s rescuring of Tom’s other potential dinners (ducks, canaries, and goldfish), and Jerry’s ruining of Tom’s attempts to seduce various feline females seems to be reasons enough.


Central to the Tom and Jerry comic template it that Tom rarely succeeds in catching Jerry, mainly because Jerry is remarkably clever, cunning, and quite lucky. Often seeming to intentionally perpetuate their love-hate relationship, while often extremely annoyed at each another, in many episodes there seems to be genuine friendship (as in “Springtime for Thomas“) and concern for each other’s well-being (as in "Jerry and the Lion,” where Jerry tricks Tom into thinking he has shot him, and Tom comes running with the first aid kit).

Interesting facts about Chocolate

If you're like most women, you're totally smitten with chocolate. People have been obsessing over this comfort food for thousands of years (the Mayans considered cocao a cure-all and the Aztecs used it as money). And all that obsessing has yielded some pretty surprising studies--and findings. Here, five things you need to know about your favorite indulgence. 

1. It Can Boost Your Workout 

Skip the expensive sports drinks and protein shakes. Research shows chocolate milk is just as effective a recovery aid. 

A study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolismcompared the effects of a recovery drink and chocolate milk on endurance athletes' ability to recover after a series of bike sprints followed by an endurance ride the next day. They found that chocolate milk was just as effective at relieving muscle soreness after the sprints, and preparing the athletes to perform in the endurance test the next day. Better yet, everyone preferred the taste of chocolate milk. 

Amazon road spells disaster for Indigenous Red Indians

Peru’s largest protected area is on the verge of being invaded by a road, which threatens to destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people.

The proposed project would cut through two indigenous reserves and a national park, exposing thousands of Indians to the risks of drug trafficking, illegal logging and unwanted contact.

It would also place some of the world’s last uncontacted tribes, who live in the government-protected area, in direct and immediate danger.

Politicians are now debating the issue, which supporters say will open up for economic ‘development’ parts of the Amazon that are currently isolated.

Fr. Miguel Piovesan, a Catholic priest from the small town of Puerto Esperanza is at the forefront of the project.

He wants his town, which borders west Brazil, to have better transport links to the town of Iñapari, which lies further south.

December 21, 2012 ?

2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?

Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice.
Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012.


Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
Answer (A): Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.


Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.

Buddhism

Siddhattha Gotama 490-410 BCE

During what has been called the second urbanization of north-eastern India, emerging small kingdoms caused upheaval in all areas: economic, social and religious. Brahmin priests no longer retained the level of prestige and power they had as Vedic rituals and religious traditions lost their value, and more people turned their focus inwardly. They sought to know the true nature of reality that was at the bases of religious practice and the very foundation of life.

Men and women of all castes gave up everything to live a life of meditation, yoga, contemplation, starvation, self-mortification and deprivation of all kinds, in order to find this freedom, self-knowledge and fulfilment. Known as Samanas, there were so many of them that they were regarded as a fifth caste. These ascetics and sages lived alone in caves or forests, or with their families in communities. They were supported by those who felt unable to do the same but who, by helping them, believed that they gained Karmic benefits.

Gotama Buddha, 1st century CE,
Kingdom of Gandhara (northern
Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan)

Interesting Animal Facts

The wonderful world of animals catches the attention of nearly every human being, no matter what age. While some would venture into the wild to sight the animals in actions, others would rather watch wildlife at its best on television, or then skim through the hordes of literature on them. Animals never cease to amaze the human psyche.What follows here are some amazing animal facts…

A horse weighing approximately 1,200-pounds, eats approximately seven times it's own weight, in a year. That amounts to almost 8,400-pounds of food. Wow! What an appetite!

Apart from human’s even chimpanzees can learn to recognize their own image in a mirror.

A cow can give far more milk than a human can consume their lifetime. Any guesses? Almost 200,000 glasses full of milk!

While there are so many cows grazing in the world, no two cows will ever be found with identical pattern of spots.

A probable identity crisis we have here! Though named polecat, this creature is not a cat but a nocturnal weasel-species in Europe.

Black-Sabbath

Current Incarnation
The last line up change was in November 2011.
Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Bill Ward – Drums
Adam Wakeman – Keyboards
The History

There have been many people in Black Sabbath over the 40+ years of the band’s history. Some folks think the band died in 1979 when Ozzy was fired. That’s too bad, because there’s a lot of music that’s extremely good in the intervening years of the band before Ozzy returned in the late 90′s. This section of the site details the various people who have been in the band. I have the people broken down into two main groupings, as listed below.

Collective Soul

Hailing from the city of Atlanta, Georgia, Collective Soul shot to international fame with their 1993 release Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid, and their mega #1 hit “Shine.” The album was a collection of Ed Roland’s demos that spread quickly through the college underground circuit and caught fire, going on to achieve Double-Platinum status. After having been invited to the 25th Anniversary Woodstock concert, Collective Soul went into the studio to record their sophomore follow up. The self-titled Collective Soul, released in March of 1995, would be the album that would help define their sound of catchy melodies and guitar driven songs. Containing four outstanding singles (three of which reached #1), “December,” “The World I Know,” “Where The River Flows,” and “Gel,” it became Collective Soul’s highest selling album to date. The album went Triple-Platinum and spent 76 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 charts.

MAIDEN ENGLAND NORTH AMERICAN TOUR - 2012

Maiden Announce North American Tour This Year

From a press release on the official site:

Following the massively successful Final Frontier World Tour 2010-11, IRON MAIDEN are back on the road this summer with a series of Arena, Amphitheatre and Festival shows in the U.S.A. and Canada, opening in Charlotte, NC, U.S.A. on June 21, and finishing in Houston, TX, on Aug 18 (dates listed below), to be followed by further dates around the World in 2013. The MAIDEN ENGLAND WORLD TOUR will closely mirror, in terms of production and content, the original 1988 concert video of the same name, shot on the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour. This opening section of the World Tour is the most extensive visit to North America for many years and includes a number of cities the band have not played in a very long time, such as Charlotte, Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis and Salt Lake City.

In most venues, tickets will go on sale on March 2 and 3 but watch this site or check local venue information for fuller details. Fan Club members should check out ironmaiden.com for exclusive first day ticket presales and contest to be First To The Barrier.

Click the link to read the rest and see the tour dates. http://www.ironmaiden.com/maiden-on-the-charge.html