Even toddlers use maths while playing

Researchers at the University of Washington have found that toddlers could differentiate between two ways a game is played and would opt for the one which is more likely to be successful."In our study, we wanted to see if young children could detect the difference between two imperfect ways of winning a game, and then use the better strategy to their own advantage," said Anna Waismeyer, a researcher at the University of Washington's institute for learning and brain sciences.

For the study, researchers showed toddlers how the game was played. A couple of wooden blocks were placed on a small box and a marble-dispensing machine was activated nearby. One block activated the machine two-thirds of the time, and a differently coloured and shaped block triggered the machine only one-third of the time. When it was their turn to play the game, most of the children (22 out of the 32) picked the more successful block, demonstrating that they were able to use the difference in probability to their advantage. The findings help explain how young children learn so quickly, even in an uncertain and imperfect world.

"Remarkably, they learn about causality even if the people they are watching make mistakes and are right some but not all of the time," Waismeyer added. This intuitive grasp of statistics shows that toddlers don't need to have to go through trial and error to learn - they can just watch what other people do, researchers concluded. The study was published in Developmental Science.

Source: Latest News from Odd News

'Bhindi' can increase shelf-life of ice cream

While okra or ladyfinger has been widely used as a vegetable for soups and stews, the study by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago, shows how okra extracts can be used as a stabilizer in ice cream.
   
Ice cream quality is highly dependent on the size of ice crystals. As ice cream melts and refreezes during distribution and storage, the ice crystals grow in size causing ice cream to become courser in texture which limits shelf life.
   
Stabilizers are used to maintain a smooth consistency, hinder melting, improve the handling properties, and make ice cream last longer.
   
The study found that water extracts of okra fiber can be prepared and used to maintain ice cream quality during storage.
   
These naturally extracted stabilizers offer an alternative food ingredient for the ice cream industry as well as for other food products, researchers said.
   
The study was published in the Journal of Food Science.

Source: Latest News from Odd News

Talking robot goes hitchhiking across Canada

‘hitchBOT’ created by a team of Ontario-based communication researchers studying the relationship between people and technology, reached its final destination on Sunday in Victoria, British Columbia.

“We wanted to situate robotics and artificial technologies into unlikely scenarios and push the limits of what it’s capable of,” said David Smith, the robot’s co-creator, who teaches at Ontario’s McMaster University.

The robot looks like it was made out of components scavenged from a yard sale a bucket, pool noodles, cake saver, garden gloves and yellow Wellington boots but it has a sense of direction and can even ask and answer questions. Its conversation skills might be a bit stilted, but hitchBOT has managed to charm its way across 6,000 km since it began its journey in Nova Scotia on July 26.

It has a built-in GPS system and is programmed with mobile technology similar to a smartphone, with speech recognition software that works in conjunction with language modeling. The robot links questions with answers by looking for certain key words and is programmed to scour Wikipedia to spit out regionally relevant facts.

It didn’t take long for hitchBOT to become a social media sensation and many people who have offered it a ride already knew all about him.

Along the way, hitchBOT was invited to a feast with the Wikwemikong First Nation group, where he was dubbed Biiaabkookwe.

Currently, hitchBOT is hanging out with the British Columbia rock band The Wild, which is taking it to its next performance.

Source:Latest News from Odd News

US skateboarder claims he captured 'Bigfoot' on video

he YouTube user Couch Potato said that he didn’t notice the Bigfoot-like creature until he got home several days later and watched the videos.

The two minute recording was sent to The Paranormal Review, a YouTube channel “devoted to analyzing paranormal activities and breaking them down”.

The owner of the channel said that the dark area in the bush was something that they noticed, however they don’t know if this supposed creature was legitimate or not.

The video shows a dark silhouette standing between the trees by the left side of the road.

Source: Latest News from Odd News

DNA may shape political affiliations

Physiological responses and deep-seated psychology are at the core of political differences, the findings showed. "Politics might not be in our souls, but it probably is in our DNA," said political scientists John Hibbing and Kevin Smith of University of Nebraska-Lincoln and John Alford of Rice University in US.

Across research methods, samples and countries, conservatives have been found to be quicker to focus on the negative, to spend longer looking at the negative, and to be more distracted by the negative, the researchers noted.

Using eye-tracking equipment and skin conductance detectors, the three researchers observed that conservatives tend to have more intense reactions to negative stimuli, such as photos of people eating worms, burning houses or maggot-infested wounds.

This so-called ‘negativity bias’ may be a common factor that helps define the difference between conservatives, with their emphasis on stability and order, and liberals, with their emphasis on progress and innovation, the researchers proposed.

The study appeared in the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Read more Latest News from Odd News

Packages launched to send cremated remains of pets into space

A US-based company has now launched packages to send cremated remains of pets into space. Celestis, a private spaceflight company, which has been sending payloads on suborbital and orbital trips into space with the cremated remains of humans since mid-1990s has now expanded its service to include pets.

"Because your pet loved to explore," is the tagline of Celestis Pets, undoubtedly a unique pet memorial service provider.

"Honour your best friend with a journey to the stars on board the world's first pet memorial spaceflight service," it added.

To send a small portion of your pet's ashes into space comes at a cost, however. For Rs 60,000 you can choose the ‘Earth Rise’ package that will see your beloved pet's remains blasted on a suborbital trajectory, presumably in a sounding rocket.

Read more Latest News from Odd News

100,000 year old case of brain damage discovered

The new 3D imaging reveals that the child, who lived about 100,000 years ago, survived head trauma for several years, as a result suffered from permanent brain damage.

The researchers who have analyzed the 3D images stated that the child was unable to care for himself or herself because of the brain damage, so people had spent years looking after the little boy or girl. The research also said that people from the child's group left funerary objects in the youngster's burial pit.

Those signs of care for a disabled person suggest that the roots of human compassion go way back, said HŽl ne Coqueugniot, an anthropologist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at the University of Bordeaux in France, and lead author of the study.

"It is some of the most ancient evidence of compassion and altruism," Coqueugniot said.

The child's skeleton was first revealed decades ago in a cave site known as Qafzeh in Galilee, Israel, which also contained 27 partial skeletons and bone fragments, as well as stone tools and hearths.

The child, whose gender couldn't be determined, was found with a visible fracture in the skull and a pair of deer antlers placed across the chest.

Source: Odd News

DNA similarities help choose friends

"Humans are unique in that we create long term connections with people of our species. Not only that, we prefer the company of people we resemble," said Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist at Yale University in Connecticut.

In order to arrive at this conclusion, researchers compared gene variations between 2,000 people who were not biologically related.

After analysing almost 1.5 million markers of gene variations, they found that pairs of friends had the same level of genetic relation as people did with a fourth cousin or a great-great-great grandfather that translates into about one percent of the human genome.

"Most people do not know who their fourth cousins are, yet we are somehow, among a myriad of possibilities, managing to select as friends the people who resemble our kin," Christakis contended.

The most common gene shared by friends was the ‘olfactory’ gene involved in the sense of smell. The results suggest that choosing friends who share similar genes is a behaviour that may have contributed to human evolution.

The study appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Source: Odd News

Full moon night may reduce sleep by 20 minutes

Researchers have found that people actually sleep 20 minutes less when the moon is full. "Participants slept an average of 20 minutes less and had more trouble falling asleep during the full moon phase. However, the greatest impact on REM sleep (during which most of the dreams are believed to occur) appeared to be during the new moon," said Michael Smith from Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Based on a study of 47 healthy adults aged 18 to 30, the results support an earlier theory that a correlation between sleep and the lunar cycle exists. "The brain is more susceptible to external disturbances when the moon is full," Smith added.

A Swiss research study conducted last year showed that the full moon affects sleep. The findings demonstrated that people average 20 minutes less sleep, take five minutes longer to fall asleep and experience 30 minutes more of REM sleep.

"There may be a built-in biological clock that is affected by the moon, similar to the one that regulates the circadian rhythm," researchers said. Re-analysis of the data showed that sensitivity, measured as reactivity of the cerebral cortex in the brain, is greatest during the full moon.

Greater cortical reactivity was found in both women and men whereas only men had more trouble falling asleep and slept less when the moon was full, said the paper that appeared in the journal Current Biology. 

Read more Latest News from Lifestyle News

Four-year-old asked to leave restaurant for 'violating dress code'

 Lewis Roberts and his family went for a meal to The Tavern in Atlanta, Georgia, when the staff asked them to leave because the boy’s T-shirt did not had sleeves.

The family members argued that rules of clothing should only apply to adults but the waitress insisted them to leave.

“Had we the slightest clue about the embarrassment we were going to face, we would have chosen another restaurant,” said Lewis’ aunt.

After refusing to comment initially, the restaurant has now apologised and said that their rules don’t apply to children.

“It was a mistake on our part. The waitress is a manager in trainings and misunderstood our policy,” The Tavern spokesperson Amber Stewart.

The family has accepted the apology.

Read more Latest News from Odd News 

‘Water bear' can survive even in space!

Researchers found the new creature while on a trip to Victoria Land, some 5,600 km south of Australia. The creature is a member of the tardigrade family.

"Under the microscope, they are slow walkers but they look like bears walking. They have four pairs of legs but they can hold their back legs down and arch themselves up to reach things," Sandra McInnes of British Antarctic Survey was quoted as saying.

"They have been tested in space, under liquid nitrogen, put under pressure and had chemicals thrown over them but they are fine after being washed in water," McInnes added.

This is the only kind of creature known that can survive in the vacuum of space.

Tardigrades or water bears are water-dwelling micro-animals with eight legs. The tiny creatures are certainly strange-looking with their eight chubby legs, little claws and probing heads.

A number of them, no bigger than half a millimetre, were lurking on mosses within a crater hollowed out by ancient glaciers. They can survive the rigours of Antarctica and they have also been tested with extremes of cold, heat, pressure, dehydration, poison and radioactivity.

Some experts have compared their shape with jelly babies or moles but tardigrades should not be judged by their 'cute' appearance. They are virtually indestructible. They will not die even if they are boiled, frozen, squeezed under pressure or desiccated, Daily Mail reported.

The discovery was published in the journal Polar Biology.

Read more Latest News from Odd News

More lefties are born in winter

The reason for this may be lying in testosterone level changes in warmer months affecting a key part of the brain. A team of Austrian and German researchers have found that on a monthly average, 8.2 percent of left-handed men were born during the period of February to October. During November to January, this number rose to 10.5 percent.

"Presumably, the relative darkness during the period November to January is not directly connected to this birth seasonality of handedness. We assume that the relative brightness during the period from May to July, half a year before, is its distal cause," explained lead author Ulrich Tran from University of Vienna, Austria.

According to current findings, there is a small but robust and replicable effect of birth seasonality on handedness, affecting only men. These results are consistent with a hormonal basis of handedness, corroborating an old and controversial theory.

A theory, brought forth in 1980s by US neurologists Norman Geschwind and Albert Galaburda, said that testosterone delays the maturation of the left brain hemisphere during embryonic development. The left brain hemisphere is dominant among right-handers while the right brain hemisphere is dominant among left-handers.

Specifically, more daylight may increase testosterone levels, making a seasonality effect plausible, researchers noted. The study comprised two large and independent samples of nearly 13,000 adults from Austria and Germany.

Read more Latest News from Lifestyle News

Ladakh expedition on a rickshaw

40-year-old Satyen Das, who ferries commuters at Naktala in south Kolkata, packed his luggage under the passenger’s seat of his refurbished rickshaw and started on his one-of-a-kind journey last month.

"I make a living on my rickshaw and spend my whole day with this, so I could not leave it behind when I started to dream about my trip to Ladakh," Das said.

He has already reached Uttar Pradesh from where he will go to Srinagar and reach Ladakh after crossing Kargil next month.

"I want to spread the message of world peace with this journey and also I want to promote rickshaw as a cheap and
eco-friendly mode of transport," he said.

Expecting to complete the expedition within five months, he is also eyeing an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for his feat.

Das had earlier in 2008 gone all the way to Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh in a rickshaw with his wife and daughter. But this time the target is higher and he is travelling alone.
  
At an elevation of 17,582 feet, Khardung La pass offers stunning views of the magnificent Himalayas. The adventurer's biggest challenge would be the rough mountainous terrain where he would have to get down from the rickshaw and pull it through.
  
"He has this addiction of travelling in the Himalayas and going to far-off places. And going to Khardung La in rickshaw would be just unbelievable," said Partho Dey, the secretary of Naktala Agrani Club, who helped him with funds.

He also modified his rickety old rickshaw by adding new tyres, additional brakes and new body made of light steel at a total cost of Rs 15,000.

His luggage includes the basic requirements of clothes, medicines and tools to repair the vehicle in case of a breakdown.
  
He pedals throughout the day to cover around 40-50 km every day and he looks for a religious place like temple or gurudwara for night halt where he can stay safely for free.
  
The rickshaw puller said the unique road trip is also a great learning experience as he gets to understand the culture and diversity of India by criss-crossing different states, cities, towns and villages.
  
"My first task in the morning is to go to the local police station and take permission to move ahead. So far I have been getting it easily," Das said.
  
He is armed with maps to find his way to his next stop and a digital camera to document his special journey. The club members are taking care of his wife and daughter, whom he left back home.
  
"We estimate that the trip would cost around Rs 80,000 which we have raised it amongst ourselves after we saw his passion and determination to travel," Dey said, adding that they have given him an ATM card to withdraw cash as and when required.
  
On his return trip after crossing Khardung La pass, the rickshaw puller plans to traverse through Rohtang Pass and Manali.

Read more Latest News from Odd News

Monk who learnt Ladakhi through films

"I feel movies are the one thing from which you can learn," Rinpoche said during the inauguration ceremony of the third Ladakh International Film Festival here on Friday.

He is the spiritual regent of His Holiness Gwalyong Drukpa, the head of the Drukpa Lineage that has 267 monasteries in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

"I left Ladakh when I was two. I was sent to Darjeeling to study for 12 years and then went for further studies to Bhutan. I came to Ladakh only three years ago and I realized that I could not speak Ladakhi. Now, I am comfortable with it and I learnt the language through Ladakhi films," he said.

“We have a small film industry but we used to get DVDs, so I picked the language from films and songs. I also did not know the traditional dress, the wedding ceremony; I learnt it all from films. So, from my experience, I can say films can be a great learning experience," he added.

Rinpoche said he is happy that Ladakh has a small group of people interested in filmmaking and that events like LIFF could help the keen ones ‘learn and improve’.

"From there on, we can preserve our rich culture. I have a dream to help the youth of Ladakh and to serve the Buddha dharm. The Ladakh region has handful filmmakers, who are hoping that financial support, government aid and the availability of right infrastructure will someday change the course of their life. There are no proper avenues for film screenings as well. However, plans are underway to build a Ladakh Film and Culture City to nurture talent,” said Rinpoche.

Read more  Latest News from Odd News

Former US Marine claims to 'have served on Mars' for 17 years

The ex-naval infantryman, who uses the pseudonym Captain Kaye, released a testimony to ExoNews TV stating that he was trained to fly three different types of space fighters and three bombers, the Mirror reported.

The retired officer further added that training took place on a secret moon base called Lunar Operations Command, Saturn’s moon Titan, and in deep space.

Captain Kaye has also claimed that he had nearly spent three years serving in a secret ‘space fleet’ that is run by a multinational organization called the Earth Defense Force, which recruits military personnel from countries including US, Russia and China.

Moreover, he also described his retirement ceremony on the moon after 20 years of service, which he asserts was presided over by VIPs including ex-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Source: Odd News

Former US Marine claims to 'have served on Mars' for 17 years

The ex-naval infantryman, who uses the pseudonym Captain Kaye, released a testimony to ExoNews TV stating that he was trained to fly three different types of space fighters and three bombers, the Mirror reported.

The retired officer further added that training took place on a secret moon base called Lunar Operations Command, Saturn’s moon Titan, and in deep space.

Captain Kaye has also claimed that he had nearly spent three years serving in a secret ‘space fleet’ that is run by a multinational organization called the Earth Defense Force, which recruits military personnel from countries including US, Russia and China.

Moreover, he also described his retirement ceremony on the moon after 20 years of service, which he asserts was presided over by VIPs including ex-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Read more  Latest News from Odd News

This man wrestles with alligators for fun!

Gillette also wrestles with huge alligators for fun and calls them ‘placid’ critters reports a news daily.

The savior said that there are around 7,000 nuisance alligators reported each year in Florida and people can kill that animal legally here but their organization just want to save the animal and it is a complete non-profit organization.

To raise cash for the centre at Homestead, staff put on shows to feed and wrestle the alligators.

Source: Odd News

Flight rescheduled after dog poops in aisle

US Airways spokesman Andrew Christie said the flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia had to make an unscheduled stop in Kansas City. Christie called the episode a rare and unfortunate situation.

The flight continued after the mess was cleaned up on the ground. The passenger and service dog were rebooked on another flight.

Jim Kutsch, president at The Seeing Eye guide dog school in Morristown, New Jersey, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that such incidents are rare but dogs occasionally get sick on planes.

Read more Latest News from Odd News

Believe it! Spiders prey on fish too

Contrary to popular assumptions, spiders are not exclusively looking for insects to eat. Certain larger sized species supplement their diet by occasionally catching small fish, new findings showed.

"The finding of such a large diversity of spiders engaging in fish predation is novel. Our evidence suggests that fish might be an occasional prey item of substantial nutritional importance," said Martin Nyffeler from the University of Basel in Switzerland.

These spiders have powerful neurotoxins and enzymes that enable them to kill and digest fish that often exceed them in size and weight.

In order to catch its prey, the spider will typically anchor its hind legs to a stone or a plant, with its front legs resting on the surface of the water, ready to ambush.

The fish will then be dragged to a dry place before the feeding process can begin which usually lasts several hours.

The researchers have gathered and documented numerous incidents of spiders predating fish from all around the world.

The study appeared in the journal PLOS ONE.

Source: Latest News

West Indies seek revenge against New Zealand in Gayle’s 100th Test

While much of the local focus on the fixture has centered on local hero Chris Gayle becoming just the ninth Caribbean cricketer to play 100 Tests, the bludgeoning opening batsman's impending landmark has taken a backseat in the minds of the visitors, with coach Mike Hesson raising questions as to the match referee's ability to effectively police the action of Shane Shillingford.

   

Suspended from the international game for the second time in his career following two Tests in India last November, the tall off-spinner is set for a return on a pitch that may lack the venom of old but should still have enough bounce to allow both the Dominican and the even more gangling left-armer Sulieman Benn of Barbados to pose significant threats.

   

"It's quite hard to see how they actually police that," Hesson said on Friday in reference to the ability of officials to detect whether or not Shillingford bowls the "doosra," a delivery that has been a key weapon in earning him 65 wickets in 14 Tests but which he is not now allowed to use following the latest remedial work on his action.

   

West Indies, who were comprehensively beaten 2-0 in New Zealand six months earlier, are likely to opt for a balanced attack that could see late call-up Jason Holder sharing the new ball with either Kemar Roach or Jerome Taylor, both of whom are returning from injury.

   

New Zealand's build-up to only their sixth Test series in the Caribbean has involved two warm-up matches, a rarity in recent times given the congested international calendar.

   

Both fixtures against local teams in the western Jamaican venue of Trelawny were low-scoring affairs, although there was enough evidence to suggest that it may be worthwhile investing in uncapped off-spinner Mark Craig even if the seam attack, led by Trent Boult and Tim Southee, will again be key to their pursuit of just a second Test match victory in the West Indies since their first tour here in 1972.

New home captain Denesh Ramdin is expecting a tough first series at the helm but at least does not have to contend with the considerable distraction of a match-fixing controversy in which his New Zealand counterpart, Brendon McCullum, is embroiled

   

That follows his testimony to the International Cricket Council anti-corruption unit in which he claimed to have been approached by a former player twice in 2008.

   

Teams:

West Indies: Denesh Ramdin (captain), Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jerome Taylor, Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn, Shane Shillingford, Shannon Gabriel.
   
New Zealand: Brendan McCullum (captain), Peter Fulton, Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, BJ Watling, Luke Ronchi, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Mark Craig, Ish Sodhi.

Read more Latest News from Cricket News