Man Ignores Naysayers to Revive Tiny Sparrow with CPR – Watch the Moment his Patience is Rewarded

Submitted by Costakis Constantinou: In a heartwarming video, a 67-year-old actor from Cyprus became determined to use his CPR expertise to save a tiny, helpless sparrow. The avian creature was found unconsciousness following an “unfortunate pool mishap”. In the background of the video, you can hear a chorus of teasing and snickering, with voices urging him to dispose of the seemingly lifeless bird—but Costakis Constantinou remained undeterred. “Nobody thought this was possible or even worth trying,he  however, stayed focus and patiently continued,” his son Rolandos told GNN. With unwavering determination, he persistently, applied his life-saving skills until, against all odds, the sparrow gradually regained consciousness, fluttering back to life. “I can say with confidence that he was very, very happy, relieved, and satisfied when the little sparrow open its eyes and flied away.” When Rolandos rewatched the video again (see below), he got emotional and telephoned his dad to tell him how proud he was. “In the past he saved two people from heart attack by applying CPR. For some reason my father is at the right place the right time.” “I wanted to surprise him by sending over his video,” said Rolandos in an email. “I’m so proud of him.”Watch the moment his patience was rewarded…Man Ignores Naysayers to Revive Tiny Sparrow with CPR – Watch the Moment his Patience is Rewarded:
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'Love hormone' guides young songbirds in choice of 'voice coach'


Zebra finches are highly social birds and will press a lever in order to hear a recording of another Zebra finch singing. (Photo by Carlos RodrĂ­guez-Saltos)
By Carol Clark: Oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone,” plays a key role in the process of how a young zebra finch learns to sing by imitating its elders, suggests a new study by neuroscientists at Emory University. Scientific Reports published the findings, which add to the understanding of the neurochemistry of social learning. “We found that the oxytocin system is involved from an early age in male zebra finches learning song,” says Natalie Pilgeram, first author of the study and an Emory PhD candidate in psychology. “It’s basic science that may lead to insights into the process of vocal learning across the animal kingdom, including humans.” “Our results suggest that the neurochemistry of early social bonds, particularly during language learning, may be relevant in studies of autism,” adds Donna Maney, a professor of neuroscience in Emory’s Department of Psychology and senior author of the study. Young male zebra finches learn to sing by listening to an adult male tutor that they choose to pay close attention to, normally their biological father or a “foster” father who nurtures them. This social process holds some similarities for how children learn to speak, making the birds a laboratory model for the neural underpinnings of social vocal learning. In the current paper, the researchers show how oxytocin, a hormone essential to social bonding, influences young finches exposed only to the songs of unfamiliar males. In experiments, blocking the young birds’ oxytocin receptors while they listened to a male biased the birds against that male’s song. Instead they preferred to listen to and eventually learn the song of a male they heard when their oxytocin receptors were allowed to function normally. The paper builds on previous work by the Maney lab regarding the hormonal and genetic influences on social behavior. Her lab is working with researchers at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta to maximize any potential translational impact of its research findings. Finding their voice: Zebra finches are highly social birds. In the wild they nest together in large colonies. Only adult males sing, primarily to court females. From the time they hatch, the males begin listening for song, and memorizing particular songs, even before they can actually sing one. “Up until around day 50, they are making little cheeps and warbles, what we call ‘subsong,’” Pilgeram explains. “It’s similar to human infants who begin to babble at around six months without actually talking.” During this sensitive listening phase, a male zebra finch pays closest attention to the song of its father, even though it can hear other adult males nearby. In a laboratory environment, research shows that if a biological father is removed from a cage before a male hatches and then substituted with a “foster father” that they can interact with, the young male will prefer the song of the foster father over other males it can hear. The young males demonstrate this preference by pressing levers that allow them to hear playback of different songs. Learning from their environment: “The young birds have got to learn all that they can from their environment,” Pilgeram says. “Just as during human development, the birds pay the closest attention to their immediate caregivers, on whom they rely for everything.” Around day 50, the young male finches enter puberty and what is called the “plastic song phase.” During this time, they practice their song motor skills and actively try to produce song. Although they begin to shift their attention away from their fathers and show a preference for hearing songs of other males, each young male still practices dad’s tune. By day 100, most male zebra finches are fully singing their father’s song. They have reached adulthood and their tune has “crystalized” into the song that they will sing for the rest of their lives. In previous research, the Maney lab found that the stronger the preference a male zebra finch shows for its father’s song during the early listening phase, the more closely its crystalized adult song will mimic that of the father. The role of oxytocin: For the current paper, the researchers wanted to test whether the oxytocin system played a role in that preference. The research centered on male juvenile zebra finches hatched in the lab. At day four, the fathers were removed from each of the youngsters’ cages so they were raised only by their mothers. The cages were enclosed in chambers that prevented the young birds from hearing song from other birds housed nearby. Beginning at day 27 in a young bird’s life, it was exposed to a series of tutoring sessions by two different adult male tutors that it had never heard. The tutor’s cage was placed next to the cage of the young bird, or pupil. When it was exposed to one of the tutors, the pupil was given a substance that blocked its oxytocin receptors from activating. When the young bird was exposed to the other tutor it received a control substance that allowed its oxytocin receptors to function normally. After completing a series of tutoring sessions, the pupils were presented with two different levers they could press in their cages. Pressing one lever was more likely to play the song they heard when their oxytocin receptors were blocked. The other lever was more likely to play the song they heard with normally functioning oxytocin. The results showed that early in their development, the juveniles favored the song that they heard when their oxytocin was not blocked. Building on past findings: “We also found that when their oxytocin was not blocked, the birds’ developmental milestones fit the same data curve as in our previous research,” Maney says. “They showed an early preference for the song of one tutor, then switched to preferring the other song during puberty.” The preference flattened out as they began singing the song of their chosen tutor, she adds. And the stronger the preference that they showed for the chosen tutor’s song during the early listening phase, the more closely their own adult song resembled that of the chosen tutor. The researchers also noted behavioral differences in the way the pupils and tutors interacted. With normally functioning oxytocin, a pupil pecked more often at the wall of its cage facing the tutor and more often preened in a fashion known to be associated with focused listening in the birds, compared to when its oxytocin was blocked. “Our results suggest that the oxytocin system is involved in how an animal decides where to focus its attention very early in its life,” Pilgeram says. Co-authors of the study include Carlos RodrĂ­guez-Saltos, who received his doctorate from Emory and is now at Illinois State University; postdoctoral fellow Nicole Baran; research technicians Matthew Davis and Erik Iverson; and Emory undergraduates Sumin Lee, Emily Kim and Aditya Bhise. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition. eScienceCommons: 'Love hormone' guides young songbirds in choice of.
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'Love hormone' guides young songbirds in choice of 'voice coach'

Zebra finches are highly social birds and will press a lever in order to hear a recording of another Zebra finch singing. (Photo by Carlos RodrĂ­guez-Saltos)
By Carol Clark:  Oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone,” plays a key role in the process of how a young zebra finch learns to sing by imitating its elders, suggests a new study by neuroscientists at Emory University. Scientific Reports published the findings, which add to the understanding of the neurochemistry of social learning. “We found that the oxytocin system is involved from an early age in male zebra finches learning song,” says Natalie Pilgeram, first author of the study and an Emory PhD candidate in psychology. “It’s basic science that may lead to insights into the process of vocal learning across the animal kingdom, including humans.” “Our results suggest that the neurochemistry of early social bonds, particularly during language learning, may be relevant in studies of autism,” adds Donna Maney, a professor of neuroscience in Emory’s Department of Psychology and senior author of the study. Young male zebra finches learn to sing by listening to an adult male tutor that they choose to pay close attention to, normally their biological father or a “foster” father who nurtures them. This social process holds some similarities for how children learn to speak, making the birds a laboratory model for the neural underpinnings of social vocal learning. In the current paper, the researchers show how oxytocin, a hormone essential to social bonding, influences young finches exposed only to the songs of unfamiliar males. In experiments, blocking the young birds’ oxytocin receptors while they listened to a male biased the birds against that male’s song. Instead they preferred to listen to and eventually learn the song of a male they heard when their oxytocin receptors were allowed to function normally. The paper builds on previous work by the Maney lab regarding the hormonal and genetic influences on social behavior. Her lab is working with researchers at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta to maximize any potential translational impact of its research findings. Finding their voice: Zebra finches are highly social birds. In the wild they nest together in large colonies. Only adult males sing, primarily to court females. From the time they hatch, the males begin listening for song, and memorizing particular songs, even before they can actually sing one. “Up until around day 50, they are making little cheeps and warbles, what we call ‘subsong,’” Pilgeram explains. “It’s similar to human infants who begin to babble at around six months without actually talking.” During this sensitive listening phase, a male zebra finch pays closest attention to the song of its father, even though it can hear other adult males nearby. In a laboratory environment, research shows that if a biological father is removed from a cage before a male hatches and then substituted with a “foster father” that they can interact with, the young male will prefer the song of the foster father over other males it can hear. The young males demonstrate this preference by pressing levers that allow them to hear playback of different songs. Learning from their environment: “The young birds have got to learn all that they can from their environment,” Pilgeram says. “Just as during human development, the birds pay the closest attention to their immediate caregivers, on whom they rely for everything.” Around day 50, the young male finches enter puberty and what is called the “plastic song phase.” During this time, they practice their song motor skills and actively try to produce song. Although they begin to shift their attention away from their fathers and show a preference for hearing songs of other males, each young male still practices dad’s tune. By day 100, most male zebra finches are fully singing their father’s song. They have reached adulthood and their tune has “crystalized” into the song that they will sing for the rest of their lives. In previous research, the Maney lab found that the stronger the preference a male zebra finch shows for its father’s song during the early listening phase, the more closely its crystalized adult song will mimic that of the father. The role of oxytocin: For the current paper, the researchers wanted to test whether the oxytocin system played a role in that preference. The research centered on male juvenile zebra finches hatched in the lab. At day four, the fathers were removed from each of the youngsters’ cages so they were raised only by their mothers. The cages were enclosed in chambers that prevented the young birds from hearing song from other birds housed nearby. Beginning at day 27 in a young bird’s life, it was exposed to a series of tutoring sessions by two different adult male tutors that it had never heard. The tutor’s cage was placed next to the cage of the young bird, or pupil. When it was exposed to one of the tutors, the pupil was given a substance that blocked its oxytocin receptors from activating. When the young bird was exposed to the other tutor it received a control substance that allowed its oxytocin receptors to function normally. After completing a series of tutoring sessions, the pupils were presented with two different levers they could press in their cages. Pressing one lever was more likely to play the song they heard when their oxytocin receptors were blocked. The other lever was more likely to play the song they heard with normally functioning oxytocin. The results showed that early in their development, the juveniles favored the song that they heard when their oxytocin was not blocked. Building on past findings: “We also found that when their oxytocin was not blocked, the birds’ developmental milestones fit the same data curve as in our previous research,” Maney says. “They showed an early preference for the song of one tutor, then switched to preferring the other song during puberty.” The preference flattened out as they began singing the song of their chosen tutor, she adds. And the stronger the preference that they showed for the chosen tutor’s song during the early listening phase, the more closely their own adult song resembled that of the chosen tutor. The researchers also noted behavioral differences in the way the pupils and tutors interacted. With normally functioning oxytocin, a pupil pecked more often at the wall of its cage facing the tutor and more often preened in a fashion known to be associated with focused listening in the birds, compared to when its oxytocin was blocked. “Our results suggest that the oxytocin system is involved in how an animal decides where to focus its attention very early in its life,” Pilgeram says. Co-authors of the study include Carlos RodrĂ­guez-Saltos, who received his doctorate from Emory and is now at Illinois State University; postdoctoral fellow Nicole Baran; research technicians Matthew Davis and Erik Iverson; and Emory undergraduates Sumin Lee, Emily Kim and Aditya Bhise. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition. Source: eScienceCommons
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Global award for Indian conservationist who saved vultures

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Britain's largest nature conservation charity Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has bestowed the prestigious Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Nature Conservation on Ram Jakati for saving India's vultures from certain extinction.

In the 1990's India's vulture population was pushed to the brink of extinction due to the use of the veterinary drug, diclofenac, given to cattle but lethal to vultures feeding on their carcasses.

Use of the drug was so widespread that India's vulture population dropped to just one per cent of what it had been before the use of diclofenac.

Jakati, who was the Chief Wildlife Warden for the Forest Department in Haryana for many years, played a key role in not only getting the drug banned but also establishing a network of sanctuaries, breeding centres and urgent action needed to ensure that vultures did not go extinct before the ban could be implemented.

His work began before the cause of the decline had been identified and his early intervention can be considered a major factor in protecting India's vultures.

He subsequently helped to found SAVE (Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction), an international partnership that to this day plays a coordination role in the conservation of South Asia's vultures.

The Asian vulture conservation programme is today, 20 years on, a world-leading example of effective conservation delivery.

And an exemplar of what can happen when state and national governments, NGOs, academics and other stakeholders work together with common purpose.

RSPB Chief Executive Beccy Speight said: "The combined climate and nature crisis and the impact of human activity is pushing many once common species to the brink of extinction.

"But around the world people and some governments are fighting back. So I am pleased that we are able to celebrate the vital work of Dr. Jakati. His energy and resolve has prevented the extinction of vultures in India.

"He was a driving force for change and galvanised people, organisations and his government to act before it was too late. His work and the tireless efforts of everyone involved with SAVE are an inspiration that we can make the changes we need before it is too late, that with urgent and united action we can revive our world."

An elated Jakati said: "I am very delighted to receive this prestigious award and deeply humbled by your gesture. I would like to emphasise that we could make rapid progress in vulture conservation in India because we had an excellent team to start with during early 2000.

"I would, therefore, like to accept this award on behalf of that vulture team which laid a solid foundation for work on saving Indian vultures from possible extinction.

"I would especially like to mention the names of Vibhu Prakash and Nikita Prakash of the Bombay Natural History Society, Debbie Pain and Chris Bowden of the RSPB, Rhys Green of Cambridge University and Andrew Cunningham of the Zoological Society of London and Jemima Parry Jones of the International Birds of Prey Centre."

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Birds behave like human musicians

New York: The tuneful behaviour of some songbirds is similar to that of human musicians, who play around with their tunes, balancing repetition and variation just like jazz artists, a new study has found.

Researchers studied the pied butcherbird, a very musical species, which provided a wealth of intriguing data for analysis.

"Since pied butcherbird songs share so many commonalities with human music, this species could possibly revolutionise the way we think about the core values of music," said Hollis Taylor of Macquarie University in Australia.

In the past, claims that musical principles are integral to birdsong were largely met with scepticism and dismissed as wishful thinking.

However, the extensive statistical and objective analysis of the new research shows that the more complex a bird's repertoire, the better they are at singing in time, rhythmically interacting with other birds much more skillfully than those who know fewer songs.

The butcherbirds "balance their performance to keep it in a sweet spot between boredom and confusion," said Ofer Tchernichovski, professor at City University of New York (CUNY).

"Pied butcherbirds, not unlike jazz musicians, play around with their tunes, balancing repetition and variation," said Constance Scharff, who directs the animal behaviour laboratory at the Free University of Berlin.

Researchers, including those from New Jersey Institute of Technology in the US, suggest that such musical virtuosity may signify more than just the evolution of a way for birds to establish territorial dominance and facilitate mating.

It may also provide evidence that musical ability in birds was a precursor to the evolution of the many dimensions of musical ability in humans.

The study was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. — PTI Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/
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