Play it forward: The lasting effects of pretend play in early childhood
September 19, 2024
From developing social skills to fostering creativity, pretend play in young children is likened to being a “metaphoric multivitamin” in an editorial published in the journal, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews by Florida Atlantic University’s David F. Bjorklund, Ph.D, reports EurekAlert.
As the school year kicks into full gear, Bjorklund, associate chair and professor in the Department of Psychology within FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, highlights the plethora of robust benefits of pretend play on cognitive, social and emotional development in children and cautions how “learning through play” has changed with the demands of contemporary society.
Given natural selection’s shaping of childhood for the acquisition and refinement of species-adapted social-cognitive skills—much through pretend play—Bjorklund says it is unfortunate that modern culture is ignoring the evolved wisdom of how best to educate young children.
“Throughout our species’ history and prehistory, and in hunter-gatherer and traditional cultures today, young children acquired important cultural knowledge and skills through play and observation, with much adult behaviors being imitated during play,” says Bjorklund. “Pretend play is associated with a host of enhanced cognitive abilities such as executive function, language, and perspective-taking, which are important to education—making the minimization of pretend play unwise.”
He explains that direct teaching of children by adults is rare in traditional cultures, and likely was for our hunter-gatherer ancestors. However, with the advent of increasingly complex technologies such as reading and mathematics and the need for universal education, formal schooling became necessary, and this has recently extended to early childhood.
“The prevalence of preschool education has increased over the decades in many developed countries and—unlike earlier days when ‘learning through play’ described the basic curriculum—contemporary preschool education instead often emphasizes direct instruction, characteristic of pedagogy designed for older children,” says Bjorklund.
“This reflects an evolutionary mismatch between young children’s evolved learning abilities and the demands of contemporary society.”
Pretend play occurs voluntarily and spontaneously—especially when the individual is relaxed and not under stress—and typically lacks any immediate practical purpose.
He explains that pretend play functions as an experience-expectant process, enhancing the brain’s readiness for focused learning.
“It’s not clear whether the extended period of childhood and juvenile development created more opportunities for play or if this playfulness emerged as a result of that extended period,” said Bjorklund. “However, this evolution of childhood, along with the prolonged neural plasticity it brings, may have been a crucial adaptation for the development of the modern human mind.”
Research comparing play-based preschool curricula to those focused on direct instruction has consistently shown that while direct instruction may yield immediate benefits, play-based approaches offer more significant long-term advantages in both academic performance and students’ attitudes toward school.
“One of the most comprehensive studies on the long-term effects of direct instruction for preschoolers from low-income backgrounds found that, although there were initial academic gains, these benefits diminished over time,” explains Bjorklund. “By third grade, children in the control group outperformed those in the direct-instruction program, and this gap widened by sixth grade.”
Bjorklund says recess and opportunities for free play for older school-aged children also have been declining in developed countries,—som
“These practices may not only make learning more arduous, but negatively impact children’s sense of autonomy with respect to learning,” said Bjorklund. “Pretend play evolved to enhance children’s acquisition and refinement of important cultural knowledge and skills during an extended juvenile period. The abilities needed by modern children have changed and may require new means of learning, but we should not lose sight of the substantial benefits that pretend play can still afford our species’ youngest members.”
Research contact: @EurekAlert
Above, a new test called 'Is my blue your blue' reveals how different—or similar—your color perceptions are compared to everyone else. (Image source: ismy.blue)
Is this blue or green to you? Viral test created by a neuroscientist reveals your color perception
September 17, 2024
First there was “the dress,” then there was “the sneakers”—and now there’s a debate over the color blue, reports the New York Post.
In fact, if you’ve ever argued with a friend over whether something is blue or green, you’re not alone. But now there’s a way to get closure: A new test called “Is my blue your blue?” reveals just how different—or how similar—your color perceptions are compared to everyone else’s.
The experiment was created by neuroscientist and AI researcher Dr. Patrick Mineault—and it all started with a debate over a blanket.
“I’m a visual neuroscientist, and my wife, Dr. Marissé Masis-Solano, is an ophthalmologist,” Mineault recently told The Guardian. “We have this argument about a blanket in our house. I think it’s unambiguously green and she thinks it’s unambiguously blue.”
The researcher and programmer was working with new AI-assisted coding tools and designed a color-perception test.
The website ismy.blue will populate a full screen of one color, and it will ask the user if it is green or blue. Colors on the screen will gradually become more similar until the site concludes where on the spectrum you lie.
“Colors are often represented in HSL (hue, saturation, lightness) color space,” Mineault also explained to the Daily Mail. “Hue 120 is green, and hue 240 is blue. The test focuses on blue-green hues between 150 and 210.”
A user’s ending threshold distribution is based on other people who also took the test, so they can compare to the general population.
“I added this feature, which shows you the distribution, and that really clicked with people,” Mineault explained. “‘Do we see the same colors?’ is a question philosophers and scientists—everyone really— have asked themselves for thousands of years. People’s perceptions are ineffable, and it’s interesting to think that we have different views.”
The website launched in August and has already seen more than 1.5 million visits in about a month.
“I’m not super surprised that it struck a chord because people want to understand how others see the world,” Mineault said.
The neuroscientist explained that perception of color is generally “tricky to measure.”
“Vision scientists use specialized calibrated equipment to color perception. Graphic designers use physical color cards, such as those made by Pantone, so that they can communicate colors unambiguously,” he said.
Don’t worry if your results are very different from the rest of the population. There’s nothing wrong with your vision.
There are many outside factors that can affect your perception, such as the model of your phone or computer, how old the device is, display settings, night node, ambient light sources, time of day, and that color is presented first.
As for the color of the blanket, the ruling is still out. “We’ve taken the test a bunch of times,” Mineault shared. “As soon as there’s a little green in there, I call it green”—but his wife still sees blue.
Research contact: @nypost
Above, 90% of parents believe that their child would like to make new friends. (Image source: C.S. Mott Children's Hospital)
Three in four parents have taken steps to help their child make new friends, national poll finds
Seeptember 16, 2024
Developing friendships is often seen as a natural part of childhood but it may be easier for some kids than others. And many parents worry about their children’s friendships, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health—with one in five saying that their child between the ages of six and 12 has no friends or not enough friends.
“Friendships can play a significant role in children’s overall health and development, emotional well-being, self-esteem, and social skills,” says Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H., noting. “But some parents say their children face barriers in making friends, such as personality, social anxiety, medical conditions, or just not having as many opportunities.”
Over 50% of parents report at least one factor that makes it difficult for their child to make new friends, with about one in five saying that shyness or being socially awkward got in the way of their child’s efforts to make new friends.
Parents of older children were more likely than parents of younger children to say that difficulties making new friends are related to other kids already having friend groups or having too few places to get together.
The nationally representative report is based on responses from 1,031 parents of children 6-12 years old surveyed in August 2024.
Helping children navigate friendships
Three in four parents have taken steps to help their child make new friends.
The most common strategies include arranging play dates or outings, enrolling their child in activities to meet kids with similar interests, or giving their child advice on how to make friends. About 25% of parents try to befriend other parents who have kids the same age.
“Supporting children in making friends is a balance of guidance, encouragement, and giving them space to navigate social situations independently,” Clark said.
“Parents’ involvement may vary based on a child’s age, personality, and social needs.”
Children who struggle making new friends because of shyness, medical conditions, or social anxiety, for example, may need to be gently eased into friend-making. Parents can help by choosing a small-group activity the child enjoys, Clark suggests, and allowing space for the child to become comfortable interacting with peers.
“For some children, making new friends can be stressful,” Clark said. “Remember that children are still developing and practicing their social skills while making and maintaining friendships.
“Parents should expect and allow children to make mistakes—intervening only in matters of safety. Later, in a private moment with the child, parents should be ready to listen and offer advice.”
Parents of older children are also more likely to allow children to use social media connect with friends—including 25% of parents of middle school-aged children—and buy items to help them “fit in.”
Clark cautions parents to be mindful of how their kids are using social media, which has been shown to increase the risk of developing mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression because of opportunities for negative peer influences.
“Parents who choose to allow social media should help their child learn to use it responsibly,” she said.
Parents want friends’ families to be like them
Over half of parents feel it’s very important that they know the parents of their child’s friends, while more than 25% are very concerned about their child’s friends encouraging their child to do things parents don’t approve of.
More than 33% of parents also indicated a preference for their child’s friends to come from families with a certain political or religious affiliation. Fewer said it was important that friends’ families had similar levels of education or income.
Clark cautions that keeping children’s friendships exclusive to certain circles may prevent them from developing broader perspectives, open mindedness and better social skills.
“School is often viewed as a place where children will encounter and form connections with peers with different backgrounds, ideas, customs, and ways of thinking,” Clark says. “Limiting a child’s friends to only those from similar backgrounds may hamper their ability and comfort in navigating diverse networks in the future.”
Research contact: @EurekAlert
Above, the campaign promises, ' ... no matter where we march, we always stand up for your right to live the way you want.' (Photo source: Swedish Armed Forces)
Swedish Armed Forces campaign champions LGBTQ+ inclusivity and pride
September 13, 2024
In Sweden, every person between the ages of 16 and 70 is required to serve in the country’s military forces. While many are conscripted into the military, the Swedish Armed Forces are committed to ensuring that no one feels intimidated by the prospect, reports My Modern Met.
When Sweden hosted EuroPride, the armed forces wanted to send a message that would resonate across Europe. Their “We Don’t Always March Straight” campaign by Volt showcased their dedication to diversity and inclusion, with a special focus on supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Instead of promoting nationalism, an additional campaign image featured a group of army cadets holding the Pride flag, accompanied by the slogan, “A flag worth defending.”
The campaign poster reads, “We defend human rights, everyone’s equal value, and our right to live as we choose.” Another image reads, “But no matter where or when we march, we always stand up for your right to live the way you want with whoever you want.”
While the ad was praised for its bold stance on inclusivity, it also sparked debate among those who questioned whether the Swedish Army embraced Pride symbolism just for appearances, rather than to address deeper issues. Critics wondered if the military was truly committed to tackling more significant problems, like discrimination, within its ranks or the lack of diversity in leadership. Some were also uncomfortable with linking LGBTQ+ Pride with the military due to various problematic aspects of military practices in different countries.
However, one reader of Reddit—on which a story about the campaign was posted— pointed out that the Swedish Armed Forces take a more peaceful approach compared to many other militaries around the world. “The Swedish armed forces are called ‘Försvarsmakten,’ literally ‘The Defence Force.’ It’s all about defending, not going to war,” the reader said. “All postings outside Sweden are peacekeeping missions mostly under the UN, or sometimes the EU or NATO flag.”
The Redditor, known as Perzec, also explains Sweden’s stance on Pride and LGBTQ+ rights. “They always have campaigns like this during the period of Stockholm Pride and a few other [P]ride festivals in Sweden. It’s a branding thing, of course, but discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is totally illegal and our armed forces also want to make sure everyone knows they take that very seriously.
“Their objective is to defend our way of life and that includes our openness and the full acceptance of LGBTQ+ people.”
Research contact: @mymodernmet
Above, did you know that found that 20% to 30% of prescriptions never are filled? (Photo source: Englewood Health)
Why don’t patients follow their doctors’ advice?
Sepember 12, 2024
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in back in September 2016 that one in four Medicare participants age 65 or older—that’s 5 million people—do not take their blood pressure medicine as directed. In fact, 20% to 30% of prescriptions for chronic health conditions are never filled, and about half are not taken as prescribed, reports the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Patients’ failure to follow their medical treatment regimens is a common and costly problem with potentially dire consequences. A 2012 study by the American College of Preventive Medicine found that nonadherence accounted for an estimated 125,000 deaths annually and at least 10% of hospitalizations. The repercussions also cost the U.S. health system as much as $300 billion a year, according to a 2014 study by Johns Hopkins University researchers.
Depending on the patient, provider, and situation, contributing factors may include the patient’s social and economic status or education level, the complexity of the treatment and instructions, health system variables, poor provider communication, patient depression or stress, or physical or financial obstacles to drug access.
medicine we have a blind spot,” said Victor Montori, M.D., an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. “Being a patient—especially being a patient with a chronic condition—is a lot of work.” And there’s no curriculum about the work of being a patient, he noted.
Adherence rates haven’t changed significantly in the past three decades, despite efforts by the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine to address the problem, according to the American College of Preventive Medicine.
In addition to poorer patient outcomes, hospitals now also suffer the costs of readmission penalties for Medicare patients who return to the hospital because they haven’t followed a doctor’s instructions.
There’s no one-size-fits-all remedy for this problem: physicians and health systems can support adherence in a combination of ways.
At Mayo’s Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit, Montori focuses on “minimally disruptive medicine” that is designed not to overburden patients. He said clinicians often are unaware of the cumulative effects of what they ask patients to do. Montori noted, for example, that patients may have to go through several bureaucratic steps and pharmacy trips to refill each maintenance prescription.
Montori suggests that healthcare systems focus treatment on the goals patients and clinicians agree to achieve, “and then make sure in the process that we don’t overwhelm [the patients].” In some cases, it’s virtually impossible for patients to do all that their providers ask, Montori says. “Are the treatments, tests, appointments, that we’re asking people to go through, are they really necessary?” he asked. “If we medicalize every moment of their lives, patients will struggle.”
In addition to being more judicious about how many appointments are necessary, the healthcare team can make it easier for patients by trying to bundle appointments or procedures on the same day, he suggests. Or clinicians can help mobilize social resources for patients who need help with housing, food, or addictions—factors that can affect their ability to maintain a treatment regimen, Montori said.
Prescribing more affordable generic drugs, simplifying dosages, synchronizing refills, and finding ways to reduce pharmacy trips may reduce the burden on patients as well, Montori adds. Or, if the patient has stopped taking a medication because of unpleasant side effects, the physician can work with the pharmacist to find an alternative.
At NYU School of Medicine, Adina Kalet, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and surgery and codirector of the Program on Medical Education Innovation and Research, is exploring the use of a Patient Empowerment Program to help patients become more active partners in their care. In a current study, she and colleagues are training patients with diabetes to better communicate with physicians during two two-hour sessions.
So far, said Kalet, “it does what we are hoping it [would do]…. It changes the dynamic in the doctor’s office. We’ve had nothing but positive responses from physicians about how much more satisfying it is to be able to engage as partners with patients.”
For Steven Feldman, MD, PhD, professor of Dermatology, Pathology, and Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, close follow-up and establishing trust with patients are the keys to patient adherence. Prescribing a drug and then following up in 8 weeks to 12 weeks is not enough to ensure compliance, he says.
“Doctors are the only people on the planet who have the idea that you can tell people, ‘Here, work on this every day and I’ll see you in two or three months.’”
Feldman has found that being a caring provider leads to better patient accountability. When prescribing a new treatment, for example, he writes his mobile phone number on a business card and tells his patient to call in three days to report on progress. “That adds to their trust in me, which adds to their trust in the medicine,” Feldman says.
Wake Forest has spun off a company based on Feldman’s adherence-improvement methods, asking patients to report their treatment status through online surveys. Using that approach, acne patients doubled their adherence to treatments.
Providers may do well to remember that the intangible can be invaluable. “It is the relationship between the doctor and patient that drives the compliance,” says Helen Shields, MD, associate chief of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Division of Medical Communications.
“I believe strongly that patients are more compliant if they trust you, believe you, and if they can understand what you’re saying.”
Research contact: @AAMCtoday
Above, Princess Kate (with Prince William) has finished her chemo treatment and is 'cancer free.' (Photo source: The Prince and Princess of Wales/X)
Kate Middleton announces she is ‘cancer-free’
September 9, 2024
Kate Middleton announced on Monday, September 9, that she is now “cancer-free,” reports the New York Post.
“Doing what I can to stay cancer-free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.”
The 42-year-old royal has been in hiding for most of the year after revealing in March that she was being treated for an undisclosed type of cancer.
The mother-of-three said she was now “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”
Kate went on to thank those who have supported her in her months-long battle with the disease: “The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown,” she said.
“The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before and, with that, a new perspective on everything.”
Prince William’s wife, who has previously acknowledged that she’s had good days and bad days while undergoing treatment, last appeared in public for the men’s final at Wimbledon back in July.
Research contact: @nypost
Above, the body mass index has long been criticized as a flawed indicator of health.The body roundness index has been gaining support. (Photo source: Kurhan/stock.adobe.com)
Time to say goodbye to the B.M.I.?
September 6, 2024
Move over, body mass index (BMI). Make room for roundness—to be precise, the body roundness index (BRI), reports The New York Times.
The body mass index is a ratio of height to weight that has long been used as a medical screening tool. It is one of the most widely used health metrics—but also one of the most reviled, because it is used to label people overweight, obese or extremely obese.
The classifications have been questioned by athletes like the American Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher, whose BMI of 30 technically puts her on the cusp of obesity. “But alas,” she said on Instagram, addressing online trolls who tried to shame her about her weight, “I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not.”
Advocates for overweight individuals and people of color note that the formula was developed nearly 200 years ago and based exclusively on data from men—most of them white—and that it was never intended for medical screening.
Even physicians have weighed in on the shortcomings of BMI. The American Medical Association warned last year that BMI is an imperfect metric that doesn’t account for racial, ethnic, age, sex and gender diversity. It can’t differentiate between individuals who carry a lot of muscle and those with fat in all the wrong places.
“Based on BMI, Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was a bodybuilder would have been categorized as obese and needing to lose weight,” said Dr. Wajahat Mehal, director of the Metabolic Health and Weight Loss Program at Yale University.
“But as soon as you measured his waist, you’d see, ‘Oh, it’s 32 inches.’”
So welcome a new metric: the body roundness index. BRI is just what it sounds like—a measure of how round or circlelike you are; using a formula that takes into account height and waist, but not weight.
A paper published in JAMA Network Open in June was the latest in a string of studies to report that BRI is a promising predictor of mortality. B.R.I. scores generally run from 1 to 15; most people rank between 1 and 10. Among a nationally representative sample of 33,000 Americans, BRI. scores rose between 1999 and 2018, the new study found.
Their overall mortality risk was almost 50% greater than those with BRIs of 4.5 to 5.5, which were in the midrange of the sample; while those with B.R.I. scores of 5.46 to 6.9 faced a risk that was 25% higher than those in the midrange.
But those who were least round were also at elevated risk of death: People with BRI scores under 3.41 also faced a mortality risk that was 25% higher than those in the midrange, the study found.
The paper’s authors suggested the lower scores—seen mostly in those 65 and older—might have reflected malnutrition, muscle atrophy, or inactivity.
“BMI cannot distinguish body fat from muscle mass,” Wenquan Niu, who works at the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics in Beijing and was a senior author of the paper, wrote in an email. “For any given BMI, fat distribution, and body composition can vary dramatically.”
Indeed, Dr. Niu wrote, “When BMI is used to frame risk, it often overestimates risk for muscular athletes, whereas it underestimates risk for older persons with muscle mass that’s been replaced by fat.”
Research contact: @nytimes
Above, according to Parnia, studies suggest that our brains remain 'salvageable for not only hours, but possibly days.' (Photo source: Futurism)
NYU professor of medicine says death appears to be reversible
September 4, 2024
A near-death experience expert insists that one’s heart stopping doesn’t have to be the end, with current medical interventions that can help patients cheat death, reports Futurism.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Associate Professor of Medicine Sam Parnia at New York University’s Langone Medical Center insisted that by and large, the medical industry is still very behind on the concepts of death and dying.
According to Parnia, studies from the last five years— including some undertaken by his own eponymous lab at NYU—have suggested that our brains remain “salvageable for not only hours, but possibly days” after death.
In one such Parnia Lab study from last year, for instance, researchers found that some cardiac arrest patients had memories of their death experiences up to an hour after their hearts had stopped, and brain activity from those same patients suggests a similar phenomenon. For 40% of those subjects, brain activity also returned to normal or near-normal an hour into cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Combined with other studies—including a particularly gruesome one out of Yale that involved decapitated pig brains being revived up to 14 hours after their beheadings—the seemingly death-defying doctor said that the idea that death is a definitive state is “simply a social convention that does not conform with scientific realities.”
“If we remove that social label that makes us think everything stops, and look at it objectively, [death is] basically an injury process,” Parnia told The Telegraph.
By his reasoning, that process can be reversed not only by using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines, which act as a body’s heart and lungs when those functions have failed, but also specific cocktails of drugs that have been demonstrated to aid in the process of resurrection in animal studies.
Parnia told the British newspaper that he believes his team is the only one in the world giving patients these so-called “CPR cocktails“—which can include epinephrine, the diabetes drug metformin, vitamin C, the antidiuretic drug vasopressin, and the fatigue supplement Sulbutiamine—to cardiac arrest patients in efforts to revive them.
The 52-year-old doctor is so confident in his approach that he’s taken to telling people that, given his age and gender, he’s likely “going to have a cardiac arrest soon,” and that he shouldn’t have to die then when interventions like ECMO and CPR cocktails are at his disposal.
Obviously, Parnia’s idea of post-death revival is extremely dependent upon timing—but if he has his way, we might start seeing beyond death less as a final frontier, and more as something reversible in its immediate aftermath or even beyond.
Research contact: @futurism
Above, Piper Taich’s stylized trays are all about ‘having fun.’ (Photo source: @pipertacih/TikTok
The airport tray trend stirring outrage and delight
September 3, 2024
They might be grey, plastic, and reportedly, very dirty, but airport security trays are in demand. Online, a new trend called the “airport tray aesthetic” sees people carefully curating the contents of a tray—showcasing their shoes, scents, accessories, headphones, hats, and reading material against a backdrop of polypropylene—and then photographing them to share with their followers, reports The Guardian.
Sometimes called referencing the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, some of the compositions are understated and minimalist, featuring neatly placed flasks and hair clips. Others are more chaotic.
They have been met with a variety of reactions. Some people seem to read them as a waste of time; others, as a means to humblebrag about fancy perfumes and highbrow books. But for others, they are simply an expression of personal style and creativity.
“Part of my job is directing photoshoots, so putting together an eye-catching, cohesive composition like in the trend is something I really enjoy.” For work, she does it with food; for fun, she does it with accessories.
Brands, including those in the sustainable fashion and skincare business, are hopping onboard. The publisher Faber posted half a dozen trays themed around its books on Instagram; while the bag, brand August Noa, used it to showcase their designs surrounded by Chanel mules, claw clips, and sunglasses.
According to J’Nae Phillips, a senior trend analyst, fashion columnist and creator of the Fashion Tingz newsletter, it is “the latest form of digital flexing”.
While the cliche on Instagram is photographs of food, this could be read as a 2024 update. “This phenomenon is an evolution of #foodstagram and aesthetically pleasing foodie pics posted online, where curated food displays signaled a certain lifestyle and sense of taste,” said Phillips. “Security tray photos go one step further than this, blending the thrill of travel with conspicuous consumption, allowing people to construct and broadcast their aspirational identities in a way that feels current and fresh.”
It isn’t the first time people on social media have come up with seemingly unlikely backdrops against which to photograph what they are wearing or reading. Plates, shelves, and bedside tables have all been visual vessels through which to offer such snapshots. In fact, as part of another current trend, people share pictures of what they are carrying—Prada handbags, flowers and nice bottles of—in their bike baskets, often offering some handy marketing for bike-share schemes such as Lime in the process.
Not everyone is onboard with the airport tray aesthetic, however. Long queues are one of several annoying facts of air travel, and much of this content has a few disgruntled comments complaining about the perceived hold-up caused. But content creators have hit back, saying they go to great lengths to avoid inconveniencing others.
The digital creator and secondhand clothes lover Chelsea Henriquez, who goes by the name Chelsea As of Late on TikTok, has a tutorial outlining how she goes through security and then takes the tray to the side to, as she puts it in the video, “set up your little tray to your heart’s desire.”
Taich understands people’s “initial outrage when they think these photos are being taken in line”. But, she said: “I’m not sure it would even be possible in the speed and chaos of the TSA line, so like me, other creators are mimicking the trend at home, or doing it once exiting the line.” In any case, she said, she immediately recognized the trend as “concept photography”. “Who is flying with just loose jewelery, lip gloss, and heels?”
Henriquez has this sage advice to offer: “If you’re mad about people taking a tray from the TSA line, going to a separate section and setting up a cute little aesthetic photo where they are not bothering anybody … then, I dunno, grab a Snickers. You might be hungry.”
Research contact: @guardian
Above, the study revealed that family members within a marmoset group use similar vocal labels to address different individuals. (Photo source: Neurosciene News)
Marmoset monkeys give each other ‘nicknames,’ just like humans
Sepember 2, 2024
Marmoset monkeys have a surprising method of naming each other—and scientists say they’ve found the first evidence of such behavior, reports The Sun.
Marmosets are native to South America, with a range that extends outside Brazil. The species includes some of the smallest primates in the world.
They are known for having complex speech patterns that help them to communicate in tight-knit family groups. What’s more, a study published in the journal, Science, reveals that marmosets use specific sounds, dubbed “phee-calls,” to name each other.
Scientists say this behavior was previously known only to exist in humans, dolphins, and elephants. The naming of others is a “highly advanced cognitive ability” only observed in social animals.
But our closest evolutionary relatives— nonhuman primates like the chimpanzee and bonobo —weren’t thought to be able to do so.
A team of researchers from the David Omer Lab at Hebrew University made the groundbreaking discovery after closely observing marmoset behavior. The team recorded conversations between monkey pairs, as well as interactions between the tiny creatures and a computer system. The marmosets were revealed to use their “phee-calls” to address specific individuals.
“This discovery highlights the complexity of social communication among marmosets,” Omer said. “These calls are not just used for self-localization, as previously though. Marmosets use these specific calls to label and address specific individuals.”
By studying parent-offspring pairs, the researchers found that relatives use similar vocal labels to address different individuals and even use similar noises to represent names.
“Marmosets live in small monogamous family groups and take care of their young together, much like humans do,” Omer explained. “These similarities suggest that they faced comparable evolutionary social challenges to our early pre-linguistic ancestors, which might have led them to develop similar communicating methods.”
Further research may elucidate how the human ability to communicate evolved.
Research contact: @TheSun
