Zoologger: Cultured killer whales learn by copying

Zoologger is our weekly column highlighting extraordinary animals ? and occasionally other organisms ? from around the world

Species: Orcinus orca
Habitat: throughout the world's oceans ? humans are the only mammal to range further

Big and strong predators are dangerous enough, but clever ones are the worst. There's nothing more annoying than realising you've been outwitted in the seconds before you're disembowelled.

Killer whales are some of the smartest predators on Earth. They can climb onto beaches to catch sea lions, stun fish by slapping them with their tails, and create waves to knock seals off ice floes.

That might be because they learn from each other. They are one of the few animals that can imitate behaviours that they haven't seen before, and they are ferociously quick students.

See more in our gallery: "Marine lessons in becoming a killer"

Whaling on seals

Despite their name, killer whales are actually dolphins ? albeit rather large ones. Populations in different areas are quite dissimilar, and genetic evidence suggests that there are actually several species.

A key difference between populations is that they target different prey, using different techniques. In the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean, whales strand themselves on beaches to hunt southern elephant seals. In Patagonia, they hunt sea lions in the same way.

Beaching oneself on purpose is unusual, and it takes young killer whales years to get the hang of it. Even at five or six years old, they often need their mothers' help to get back off the beach.

Around the Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell seals are the prey of choice. These often rest on ice floes, so the whales form teams up to seven strong and swim towards the ice floe, beating their flukes. This creates a large wave, which can tip up the ice floe and topple the seal into the water.

Killer whales off Norway have a totally different approach. They herd herring into densely-packed balls. Ordinarily this protects the fish as it makes it hard to pick out individuals to target, but the whales get around this defence mechanism by slapping the ball with their tails, stunning some of the fish.

Do what I do

These different styles of hunting could well be cultural: learned behaviours that are shared by members of a single killer whale population. Jos? Abramson of the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain and colleagues have found that captive killer whales are excellent at imitating each other.

They studied three killer whales living in an aquarium in France. In each test, they instructed one of the whales to imitate an action that another was performing. Each whale learned the "do that" command within 20 attempts.

Once the whales knew what "do that" meant, Abramson instructed them to imitate 15 behaviours that they already knew, such as slapping the water with their pectoral fins. They were also asked to imitate four that they had never seen or attempted before, such as barrel rolls. The whales took no more than eight attempts to imitate a familiar behaviour, and even the new behaviours never took more than 16 tries.

That's impressive, but Abramson's whales might not be representative. Their trainers have taught them lots of tricks, so they may be unusually good learners. Such "genius" animal behaviour can be misleading.

Nevertheless, the whales' imitative skills could help explain why different groups use such varied strategies. As soon as one whale develops a new hunting technique, the others will quickly pick it up. If that's what's going on, killer whales join bottlenose dolphins in a small group of marine mammals that have cultural traditions.

Journal reference: Animal Cognition, DOI: 10.1007/s10071-012-0546-2

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DC United acquire?Pajoy from Union for Cruz

Associated Press Sports

updated 2:03 p.m. ET Aug. 16, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) - D.C. United have acquired Colombian forward Lionard Pajoy and an international roster spot from the Philadelphia Union for midfielder Danny Cruz.

United said Thursday that Pajoy will be available for selection at United's match Sunday against Philadelphia at RFK Stadium.

Pajoy has five goals and two assists this season in 20 games with the Union, his first MLS team after a long career with several clubs in his Colombia.

Cruz was acquired by United from the Houston Dynamo for a partial allocation in January. He has a goal and three assists in 16 MLS matches this season.

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

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US women are a hot ticket now

??PST: Tickets for the first stop on the USWNT?s Victory Tour are coveted items. The team?s friendly Sept. 1 against Costa Rica in Rochester, N.Y. is a guaranteed sellout.

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US beats Mexico in Mexico for first time

The United States defied expectations - and a rowdy crowd elated by Mexico's Olympic gold - to break a 75-year winless streak at the intimidating Azteca Stadium with an 80th minute goal and a series of saves that delivered a 1-0 victory.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48693142/ns/sports-soccer/

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The Best Recommendation To Adhere To When Expecting a baby ?

Becoming pregnant is undoubtedly an remarkable practical experience. There are tons of methods of preserving your health and joy during a maternity. Keeping yourself wholesome in pregnancy is amongst the finest things that can be done for your establishing newborn. Maintain the following assistance under consideration while pregnant to stay healthier to guarantee your infant is healthy, way too.

Being relaxed and relaxed needs to be a target in maternity due to the fact anxiety can cause problems. Pressure may cause a number of health issues, and it is not beneficial to the unborn infant. In extraordinary instances, anxiety can bring labour early on and jeopardize the child and mommy.

Numerous natural home remedies will help your feeling sick and heartburn symptoms. Numerous over-the-counter treatments aren?t for expectant women since they may cause a number of adverse reactions. Request your physician for many ideas on home made remedies that can make you feel better without harming you child.

In case you are doubtful whether or not your water has damaged, you should not wait to make contact with a family doctor. Most women are doubtful about this occasion. Talking to your personal doctor will assist these people to determine if the baby has to be delivered in order to avoid contamination.

Keep track of your consumption of metal when you are expecting a baby to make sure you are the correct quantity. In case you are failing to get enough iron, you can receive fatigue along with your newborn could have a low weight. Ensure you are getting a prenatal vitamin that contains steel, and include extra metal rich food products.

Get tested for all STDs if you?re expectant. It these serious problems usually are not treated, the outcome will probably be harmful to your developing child. It is actually easy to analyze for STDs in a number of techniques, which includes pap smears, pee checks, and blood checks. Some might require that you simply take into account delivery by Caesarian segment

Inform your medical professional should you begin to expertise a higher level of genital discharge. The release could suggest a standard vaginal contamination that you may possibly practical experience while expectant. Nevertheless, if not dealt with, the infection could cause problems for you or your child.

It is advisable to steer clear of the usage of salicylic acid solution for acne breakouts while pregnant. The hazards in your kid considerably over-shadow the exfoliating and purifying outcomes of this prescription medication. Salicylic acidity may cause birth flaws, which means you must avoid it. Maintain your face clear with a milder face rinse every single day to deal with acne breakouts and quit new good taste ups.

Don?t journey inside the afterwards steps of being pregnant, without talking about it together with your medical professional, very first. Make sure you bring your prenatal health-related information coupled, in the event of a difficulty or automobile accident.

The evolution of your own carrying a child is that of active progress and what greater method to catch these alterations than to snap a number of pictures of your respective tummy in this magical method? The amazing time period of pregnancy might be forgotten when taking good care of a newborn. The pictures will serve as a note of this special time.

When you?re expectant, it?s important that you continue to get physical exercise. This can decrease your odds of a miscarriage, how much time you?re in labor, along with assisting you shed the body weight easier soon after delivery.

There are numerous issues a pregnant woman ought to do and should not do. Do what you need to to ensure that your system can look after your expanding newborn. Make use of the suggestions out of this report to actually have a pleased and healthy carrying a child.

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Source: http://all-articles-directory.com/the-best-recommendation-to-adhere-to-when-expecting-a-baby-3/

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Bobbi Kristina Doubts Father Can "Rise Above" Alcoholism

Bobby Brown has checked into rehab to deal with a reliance on alcohol. Good, encouraging news, right?

Not so much, says Bobbi Kristina Brown.

Brown's 18-year old daughter, who skipped out on her dad's recent wedding and is considering a name change, was asked about her father's attempts to get clean and whether she's proud of him for "rising above" his substance abuse issues.

"Rise above' is not the word you should use," Bobbi told TMZ in response to the question. "Not at all."

Ouch. Brown checked into a facility this week, following a March arrest for DUI and years worth of constant drinking. Bobbi doesn't think it will make a difference.

Let's hope he proves her wrong.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/08/bobbi-kristina-doubts-father-can-rise-above-alcoholism/

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Debate joined on Medicare; Romney, Obama go at it

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama in person and in TV advertising Tuesday of cutting Medicare "to pay for Obamacare," launching a strong counterattack to Democratic charges that he and running mate Paul Ryan would radically remake the popular health care program that serves tens of millions of seniors.

The charge drew a blistering response from Obama's campaign, which labeled the ad dishonest and hypocritical.

Obama "has taken $716 billion out of the Medicare trust fund. He's raided that trust fund," Romney said at a campaign stop in Beallsville, Ohio, as he neared the end of a multi-state bus trip punctuated by his weekend selection of a ticket mate.

"And you know what he did with it? He's used it to pay for Obamacare, a risky, unproven, federal takeover of health care. And If I'm president of the United States, we're putting the $716 billion back," he said.

Aides said a commercial containing the same allegation would begin airing immediately in several battleground states, although they declined to provide details.

In a campaign without summer doldrums, the rival sets of ticket mates campaigned in a half-dozen of the most hotly contested states, in settings as diverse as a coal mine in Ohio (Romney); a wind farm in Iowa (Obama) and a casino in Nevada (Ryan.)

Vice President Joe Biden stirred controversy in Virginia when he said the Republicans would favor the big banks over the interests of consumers. He said Romney has said he is "going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. Unchain Wall Street."

Hundreds of black voters were in the audience that Biden told, "They're going to put y'all back in chains."

Romney's campaign reacted strongly to that, saying the comments were "not acceptable in our political discourse and demonstrate yet again that the Obama campaign will say and do anything to win this election." Biden later conceded using the wrong word but dismissed the Republican criticism and did not apologize.

At a speech closing his bus tour, Romney delivered a sweeping indictment of Obama's campaign. "Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago," he said in Chillicothe, Ohio, insisting that Obama had abandoned his 2008 campaign's messages of hope and change. The Obama campaign said Romney's comments seemed "unhinged."

The tempest over Biden's remark was modest compared to the building struggle over Medicare.

Romney's criticism on that subject appeared an attempt to gain some measure of control over an issue likely to play a significant role in the outcome of the election. Florida, Pennsylvania and Iowa are among the top five states in the country in the percentage of people 65 and over, and all three are battleground states.

In a rebuttal issued shortly after the Romney TV ad was released, Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith said the president's health care law did not "cut a single guaranteed Medicare benefit, and Mitt Romney embraced the very same savings when he promised he'd sign Paul Ryan's budget. ...The truth is that the Romney-Ryan budget would end Medicare as we know it."

In the days leading to Ryan's selection, opinion polls generally showed a close race with Obama holding a modest advantage despite a sluggish economy and unemployment of 8.3 percent. Romney's pick for a running mate drew enthusiastic support from conservatives pleased that he had tapped a lawmaker known as an intellectual leader of the effort to rein in big government benefit programs and reduce future deficits.

But Democrats, too, said they were happy with the selection. They have quickly set out to draw attention to Ryan's plans, which contain deep cuts in projected spending in social programs as well as changes to Medicare for future retirees, and to try and saddle Romney with their political ownership.

Polling generally shows that the public places more trust in Democrats' ability to handle Medicare than they do Republicans, and that people also generally oppose plans to replace the current program with one in which future seniors receive a fixed amount of money from the government to be used to purchase health coverage.

At the same time, polling shows the public strongly believes the financial security of Medicare as well as Social Security must be guaranteed for the long term, and government reports for years have warned of a looming shortfall if something isn't done to change course.

Ryan and Romney have both cited a desire to right the program's finances as a motive for their plans.

Moreover, Romney's attack during the day suggests he hopes to overcome a generic Republican disadvantage on the issue by telling voters that Obama has cut spending for a program that is overwhelmingly popular, and put the money toward one that is controversial.

"So now the money you paid for your guaranteed health care is going for a massive new government program that's not for you," says the announcer in the ad, referring to the health care law that Obama signed into law in 2010. "The Romney-Ryan plan protects Medicare benefits for today's seniors and strengthens the plan for the next generation," the ad concludes.

Ryan, interviewed on Fox News Channel, said he and Romney believe Medicare can be a winning issue for Republicans in the fall. "Absolutely, because we're the ones who are offering a plan to save Medicare, to protect Medicare, to strengthen Medicare," he said.

Ryan didn't say so, but the budgets he has written in the House both called for leaving in place the cuts to Medicare that he is now criticizing. Romney has consistently favored restoring the funds, and his running mate said, "I joined the Romney ticket."

Romney decided to go on the attack on one issue as the president's re-election campaign sharply criticized him on another.

"Romney's plans would cut college aid for nearly 10 million students ... and eliminate the tax deduction for college tuition," says a new television commercial that Obama's re-election campaign said would run in several battleground states. The commercial cites estimates from the budgets that Ryan has prepared as chairman of the House Budget Committee, and Romney's own proposals.

Obama and Romney clashed over yet a third issue during the day, laying out different views on energy policy.

The president taunted his challenger for opposing an extension of a tax break for wind production, quoting him as once having said, "You can't drive a car with a windmill on it. ..."

"I don't know if he's actually tried that. I know he's had other things on his car," Obama joked, referring to the often-repeated tale of a Romney family road trip with their dog, Seamus, in a carrier strapped to the roof of the car.

Government estimates say that more than 6,000 jobs statewide and 20 percent of Iowa's electricity needs come from wind power, and the state's senior GOP leaders all support renewing an extension of a wind tax credit that Romney opposes.

The wind tax provision is one of dozens of credits that would be renewed in legislation making its way to the Senate floor, including several that deal with energy such as of biodiesel, geothermal, biomass and hydropower.

Romney's campaign did not respond to repeated quests for his position on the other portions of the bill, which includes items such as a tax break for developers of NASCAR facilities and purchasers of electric motorcycles.

The former Massachusetts governor sounded eager to challenge Obama's energy policy as he campaigned in coal country in southeastern Ohio. Accusing the president of waging a war on coal, he said Obama favors production of energy that comes only "from above the ground," a reference to wind power and other alternative sources.

"I'm for all of the above whether it comes from above the ground or below the ground," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt in Ohio, Ken Thomas in Iowa, Matthew Daly in Virginia, Steve Peoples in Nevada and Philip Elliott and Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/debate-joined-medicare-romney-obama-223516815.html

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Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil may protect bone

ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2012) ? A study to be published in the Endocrine Society?s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) shows consumption of a Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil for two years is associated with increased serum osteocalcin concentrations, suggesting a protective effect on bone.

Age-related bone mass loss and decreased bone strength affects women and men alike are an important determinant of osteoporosis and fracture risk. Studies have shown that the incidence of osteoporosis in Europe is lower in the Mediterranean basin. The traditional Mediterranean diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, with a high intake of olives and olive oil could be one of the environmental factors underlying this difference.

?The intake of olive oil has been related to the prevention of osteoporosis in experimental and in vitro models,? said Jos? Manuel Fern?ndez-Real, MD, PhD, of Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta in Girona, Spain and lead author of the study. ?This is the first randomized study which demonstrates that olive oil preserves bone, at least as inferred by circulating bone markers, in humans.?

The participants in this study were 127 community-dwelling men aged 55 to 80 years randomly selected from one of the Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea (PREDIMED) study centers who had at least two years of follow-up. The PREDIMED study is a large, parallel group, randomized, controlled trial aimed to assess the effect of the Mediterranean diet on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

For this study, subjects were elderly without prior cardiovascular disease but having a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes or harboring at least three cardiovascular risk factors, namely hypertension, dyslipidemia, or a family history of premature cardiovascular disease. Participants were randomly assigned to three intervention groups: Mediterranean diet with mixed nuts, Mediterranean diet with virgin olive oil, and a low-fat diet.

Biochemical measurements of osteocalcin, glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were performed at baseline and after two year follow-up on fasting blood samples. Researchers found that only consumption of the Mediterranean diet with olive oil was associated with a significant increase in the concentrations of total osteocalcin and other bone formation markers. There were also no significant changes in serum calcium in subjects taking olive oil whereas serum calcium decreased significantly in the other two groups.

?It?s important to note that circulating osteocalcin was associated with preserved insulin secretion in subjects taking olive oil,? added Fern?ndez-Real. ?Osteocalcin has also been described to increase insulin secretion in experimental models.?

Other researchers who helped with the study included M?nica Bull?, Jos? Maria Moreno-Navarrete, Wifredo Ricart, Emilio Ros, Ramon Estruch, and Jordi Salas-Salvad? of Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid, Spain.

The article, ?A Mediterranean Diet Enriched with Olive Oil is Associated with Higher Serum Total Osteocalcin Levels in Elderly Men at High Cardiovascular Risk,? will appear in the October 2012 issue of JCEM.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Endocrine Society, via Newswise.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jos? Manuel Fern?ndez-Real, M?nica Bull?, Jos? Maria Moreno-Navarrete, Wifredo Ricart, Emilio Ros, Ramon Estruch and Jordi Salas-Salvad?. A Mediterranean Diet Enriched with Olive Oil Is Associated with Higher Serum Total Osteocalcin Levels in Elderly Men at High Cardiovascular Risk. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2012 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2012-2221

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/lFRQoEbTpro/120815082608.htm

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