Prenatal auditory learning in avian vocal learners and non-learners

Understanding when learning begins is critical for identifying the factors that shape both the developmental course and the function of information acquisition. Until recently, sufficient development of the neural substrates for any sort of vocal learning to begin in songbirds was thought to be reached well after hatching. New research shows that embryonic gene activation and the outcome of vocal learning can be modulated by sound exposure in ovo. We tested whether avian embryos across lineages differ in their auditory response strength and sound learning in ovo, which we studied in vocal learning (Maluridae, Geospizidae) and vocal non-learning (Phasianidae, Spheniscidae) taxa. While measuring heart rate in ovo, we exposed embryos to (i) conspecific or heterospecific vocalizations, to determine their response strength, and (ii) conspecific vocalizations repeatedly, to quantify cardiac habituation, a form of non-associative learning. Response strength towards conspecific vocalizations was greater in two species with vocal production learning compared to two species without. Response patterns consistent with non-associative auditory learning occurred in all species. Our results demonstrate a capacity to perceive and learn to recognize sounds in ovo, as evidenced by habituation, even in species that were previously assumed to have little, if any, vocal production learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'

Sequestration of Martian CO2 by mineral carbonation

Carbonation is the water-mediated replacement of silicate minerals, such as olivine, by carbonate, and is commonplace in the Earth’s crust. This reaction can remove significant quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and store it over geological timescales. Here we present the first direct evidence for CO2 sequestration and storage on Mars by mineral carbonation. Electron beam imaging and analysis show that olivine and a plagioclase feldspar-rich mesostasis in the Lafayette meteorite have been replaced by carbonate. The susceptibility of olivine to replacement was enhanced by the presence of smectite veins along which CO2-rich fluids gained access to grain interiors. Lafayette was partially carbonated during the Amazonian, when liquid water was available intermittently and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were close to their present-day values. Earlier in Mars’ history, when the planet had a much thicker atmosphere and an active hydrosphere, carbonation is likely to have been an effective mechanism for sequestration of CO2

Increased risk of venous thrombosis by AB alleles of the ABO blood group and Factor V Leiden in a Brazilian population

Most cases of a predisposition to venous thrombosis are caused by resistance to activated protein C, associated in 95% of cases with the Factor V Leiden allele (FVL or R506Q). Several recent studies report a further increased risk of thrombosis by an association between the AB alleles of the ABO blood group and Factor V Leiden. The present study investigated this association with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in individuals treated at the Hemocentro de Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil. A case-control comparison showed a significant risk of thrombosis in the presence of Factor V Leiden (OR = 10.1), which was approximately doubled when the AB alleles of the ABO blood group were present as well (OR = 22.3). These results confirm that the increased risk of deep vein thrombosis in the combined presence of AB alleles and Factor V Leiden is also applicable to the Brazilian population suggesting that ABO blood group typing should be routinely added to FVL in studies involving thrombosis

Data from: Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Data corresponding to the article: "Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird" Lucia Mentesana1*†, Maria Moiron1,2†, Ernesto Guedes3, Enzo Cavalli3, Bettina Tassino3, Nicolas M. Adreani1,4

Hornero : Ciencia ciudadana

Objetivos del proyecto: 1- Entender qué variables explican la asimetría del nido del hornero. 2- Fomentar un acercamiento entre la ciencia y la sociedad. 3- Generar conocimiento sobre un ave emblema de forma colectiva.Facultad de Informátic

Data from: Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Data corresponding to the article: "Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird" Lucia Mentesana1*†, Maria Moiron1,2†, Ernesto Guedes3, Enzo Cavalli3, Bettina Tassino3, Nicolas M. Adreani1,4

Hornero : Ciencia ciudadana

Objetivos del proyecto: 1- Entender qué variables explican la asimetría del nido del hornero. 2- Fomentar un acercamiento entre la ciencia y la sociedad. 3- Generar conocimiento sobre un ave emblema de forma colectiva.Facultad de Informátic

Data from :"Not one hormone or another: Aggression differentially affects progesterone and testosterone in a South American ovenbird"

Data for the manuscript: "Not one hormone or another: Aggression differentially affects progesterone and testosterone in a South American ovenbird" *.csv file containing all the data used for this articl