# behav: compassionate ants

<< Open wounds are a major health risk in animals, with species prone to injuries likely developing means to reduce these risks. >>

AA << analysed the behavioural response towards open wounds on the social and individual level in the termite group-hunting ant Megaponera analis.  During termite raids, some ants get injured by termite soldiers (biting off extremities), after the fight injured ants get carried back to the nest by nest-mates. [AA] observed treatment of the injury by nest-mates inside the nest through intense allogrooming at the wound. Lack of treatment increased mortality from 10% to 80% within 24 h, most likely due to infections. >>

Erik T. Frank, Marten Wehrhahn, K. Eduard Linsenmair. Wound treatment and selective help in a termite- hunting ant. Proc Royal Soc B - Biol Sci. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2457. Feb 14,  2018.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1872/20172457

Mike Jeffries. These ants have evolved a complex system of battlefield triage and rescue. The Conversation. Apr 17, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-04-ants-evolved-complex-battlefield-triage.html

# ai-bot: actually, things could start to get out of control

<< It’s clear that companies have identified the value of bots and integrated them into their sales, customer service, and human resource processes. But now individuals are also starting to use them to navigate through the bot-heavy world of the internet, which leads to bot-bot interactions where humans are not involved anymore. >>

<<  If bots are now more efficient than people, they can get things done in a way humans can’t  - and we all know this. But when there’s also a bot on the other side, things start to get out of control. >>

Andreas Berger. Bot vs. Bot: Will the Internet Soon Be a Place Without Humans? Jul 07, 2018.

https://singularityhub.com/2018/07/07/bot-vs-bot-will-the-internet-soon-be-a-place-without-humans/

# lang: talking drums (manguare' drums) among Amazonian Bora people to compress and trasmit messages around 20km

<< The Boras use manguare' drums in two ways. One is the "musical mode," which is used to perform memorised drum sequences with little or no variation as part of rituals and festivals. The other is the "talking mode," which is used to transmit relatively informal messages and public announcements >>

Amazonian Bora people mimic the rhythm of their language for communication over large distances using drums. Max Planck Society. Apr 24, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-04-amazonian-bora-people-mimic-rhythm.html

Frank Seifart, Julien Meyer, et al. Reducing language to rhythm: Amazonian Bora drummed language exploits speech rhythm for long-distance communication. Royal Soc Open Sci. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170354. Apr 25, 2018.

http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/4/170354

# behav: prawns (P. elegans) have personalities; cautious crustaceans do better in the battle for food

<< Animal 'personality', the phenomenon of consistent individual differences in behaviour within populations, has been documented widely >>

AA << tested this idea, using rockpool prawns, Palaemon elegans, to test for a correlation between 'high-risk exploration' and the ability to monopolize a limited resource. >>

AA << found significant negative correlations between feeding duration and two 'risky' behaviours, such that individuals that took fewer risks fed more >>

<< alternative strategies for acquiring limited resources might thereby contribute to the maintenance of personality variation observed in wild populations. >>

Daniel K.Maskrey, Stephen J.White, et al. Who dares does not always win: risk-averse rockpool prawns are better at controlling a limited food resource. Animal Behaviour.  2018; 140: 187-197. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.023. May 28, 2018.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347218301416

Cautious prawns win battle for food. University of Exeter. June 1, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-cautious-prawns-food.html

# ecol: the revegetation of Heroshah (Pakistan)

<< In 2015 and 2016 some 16,000 labourers planted more than 900,000 fast-growing eucalyptus trees at regular, geometric intervals in Heroshah- and the titanic task is just a fraction of the effort across the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. >>

<< Heroshah and Swat plantations are part of the "Billion Tree Tsunami", a provincial government programme that has seen a total of 300 million trees of 42 different species planted across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. >>

<< A further 150 million plants were given to landowners, while strict forest regeneration measures have allowed the regrowth of 730 million trees-roughly 1.2 billion new trees in total, the programme's management says. >>

Joris Fioriti. Green gold: Pakistan plants hundreds of millions of trees. June 26, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-green-gold-pakistan-hundreds-millions.html    

# pharma: an ethno-drug revisited ... Ayahuasca, prelude of a "magic string" in neuropharmacology

To [AA] << knowledge, this is the first controlled trial to test a psychedelic substance in treatment-resistant depression. Overall, this study brings new evidence supporting the safety and therapeutic value of ayahuasca, dosed within an appropriate setting, to help treat depression. >>

Palhano-Fontes F, Barreto D, et al.  Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Psychol Med. 2018 Jun 15:1-9. doi: 10.1017/S0033291718001356.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29903051

<< Ayahuasca is a mixture of herbs, traditionally used for spiritual and therapeutic purposes. The main active ingredients are N,N-DMT, a potent psychedelic, and several molecules that inhibit the enzyme MAO. The MAO inhibitors serve to prevent the N,N-DMT from being broken down by the digestive system, allowing it to enter the bloodstream and cause hallucinations and other alterations of consciousness. >>

Ayahuasca, the Psychedelic Antidepressant? Neuroskeptic. June 17, 2018.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2018/06/17/psychedelic-antidepressant-ayahuasca/

John Horgan. Yes, Make Psychedelics Legally Available, but Don't Forget the Risks. SciAm. July 6, 2018.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/yes-make-psychedelics-legally-available-but-dont-forget-the-risks/

Also:

"magic string"

# pharma: waiting for new 'magic strings': psilocybin to treat depression. Oct 17, 2017.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2017/10/pharma-waiting-for-new-strings.html

# s-brain: 70-years after; Dr. Albert revisited. Aug 22, 2016.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2016/08/s-brain-70-years-after-dr-albert.html

# s-pharma-n-ethnomed: psilocybin. Dec 14, 2015.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2015/12/s-pharma-n-ethnomed-psilocybin.html

# behav: reconciliation following conflicts in wolves compared to dogs

<< Highly cooperative social species are expected to engage in frequent reconciliation following conflicts in order to maintain pack cohesiveness and preserve future cooperation. >>

AA << provide evidence for reconciliation in captive wolves, which are highly dependent on cooperation between pack members, while domestic dogs, which rely on conspecific cooperation less than wolves, avoided interacting with their partners after conflicts. >>

Simona Cafazzo, Sarah Marshall-Pescini, et al. The effect of domestication on post-conflict management: wolves reconcile while dogs avoid each other. Royal Society Open Science. doi: 10.1098/rsos.171553.  July 4, 2018

http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/7/171553 

Bob Yirka. Study suggests dogs have lost ability to reconcile after violent conflicts. July 4, 2018

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-07-dogs-lost-ability-violent-conflicts.html