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Reposted by Sensory Ecology Lab

BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 11d

It’s Yakir Gagnon talking about his work integrating Software Engineering and Sensory Ecology: Tools for
Understanding Animal Orientation at #Visionarium2025

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Reposted by Sensory Ecology Lab

Functional Ecology @funecology.bsky.social · 7d

👁️This issue features articles from the our 'Visual ecology in challenging environments' Special feature, which aims to target the central question of how visual sensory systems cope in extreme and dynamic environments

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🧪🌍

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 4d

“The opposite of déjà vu is ‘jamais vu’, when something you know to be familiar feels unreal or novel in some way. In our recent research, which has won an Ig Nobel award for literature, we investigated the mechanism behind the phenomenon.”

#scicomm

www.sciencealert.com/the-opposite...
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The Opposite of Déjà Vu Happens, And It's Even More Uncanny

Repetition has a strange relationship with the mind.

www.sciencealert.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 6d

“X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the material contained copper and wasn’t a modern paint. The team identified the residue as azurite, a rare but naturally occurring blue mineral that occurs near the earth’s surface…”

#scicomm
#art

www.science.org/content/arti...
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Paleolithic painters had the blues

Two recent studies shine light on the earliest known artistic usages of blue pigment

www.science.org

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Reposted by Sensory Ecology Lab

Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 8d

📖Published📖

Roemer et al. propose a comprehensive evaluation of the limits and possibilities of passive acoustic monitoring of bats, identifying knowledge gaps and practice barriers, and highlighting novel ideas that may revolutionise practices🦇👇

buff.ly/l8DGN7X

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Influence of weather conditions, prey size and abundance, flight height and dialects on population trends, habitat selection and the spatial distribution inferred from bat acoustic activity obtained with passive acoustic monitoring. The dashed arrows represent possible biases that should be investigated in the future.

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 10d

“… the musicians' brains responded differently to pain. Their training seems to have given them a kind of buffer against the usual negative effects, both in how much pain they felt and in how their brain's motor areas reacted.”

#scicomm
#music
#pain

www.sciencealert.com/musicians-do...
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Musicians Don't Feel Pain Like The Rest of Us, Surprising Study Reveals

It's well known that learning to play an instrument can offer benefits beyond just musical ability.

www.sciencealert.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 11d

“A global study comparing defensive coloration in insects reveals that camouflage and warning colors each excel under certain environmental conditions.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#camouflage
#aposematism
#luminosity

www.sciencenews.org/article/inse...
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Is camouflage better than warning colors? For insects, it depends

The effectiveness of camouflage or warning colors for insect defense depends on conditions such as light levels and how many predators are around.

www.sciencenews.org

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 13d

“The neural real estate there remained unchanged after amputation, follow-up brain scans showed. When the women attempted to move their missing fingers…, the same brain activity patterns showed up as before, even though the fingers weren’t there.”

#scicomm

www.sciencenews.org/article/brai...
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The brain might not significantly rewire itself after limb loss

Countering the idea of large-scale rewiring, women whose hands were removed retained durable brain activity patterns linked to their missing fingers.

www.sciencenews.org

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 14d

"’Our vision is an entire Dinosaur Choir, leading to social participatory musical experiences and ensemble musical works, learning and experiencing together music, dinosaurs, technology, and science,’ Brown explains on the project's webpage.”

#scicomm

www.sciencealert.com/award-winnin...
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Award-Winning Art Project Recreates Dinosaur Sounds With Bizarre Instruments

Imagine going to a concert that recreates the soundscape of a prehistoric swamp, where each instrument in the orchestra is modeled after a different dinosaur.

www.sciencealert.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 15d

“Despite never having heard the names “pull” or “fetch” applied to their new toys, the dogs chose the correct toy two-thirds of the time—well above chance level. Some dogs were exceptional performers, including Arya, who was correct 79% of the time”

#scicomm

www.science.org/content/arti...
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Smart dogs have a humanlike knack for naming new objects

In games with toys, “gifted” dogs can extend names to new objects with the same purpose as known ones

www.science.org

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 20d

“Peer review is supposed to be critical. But too often, Silbiger says, reviewer feedback crosses the line into an unprofessional realm.”

#scicomm

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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‘Lipstick on a pig’: how to fight back against a peer-review bully

Scientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.

www.nature.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 20d

“Oxytocin of avoidant and anxious cats was found to drop after a forced cuddle. When interactions respect the cat's comfort, the oxytocin flows – but when a cat feels cornered, the bonding hormone is elusive.”

#scicomm

www.sciencealert.com/studies-reve...
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Studies Reveal The Best Ways to Chemically Bond With Your Cat

Cats may have a reputation for independence, but emerging research suggests we share a unique connection with them – fueled by brain chemistry.

www.sciencealert.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 21d

“Humans evolved in a world marked by resource scarcity and unpredictability. Having people impulsive — and curious — enough to explore unknown or dangerous situations would have helped their group’s survival”.

#scicomm
#ADHD
#hypercuriosity

www.sciencenews.org/article/adhd...
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People with ADHD may have an underappreciated advantage: Hypercuriosity

ADHD is officially a disorder of deficits in attention, behavior and focus. But patients point out upsides, like curiosity. Research is now catching up.

www.sciencenews.org

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 25d

Using different techniques, companies breed specific strains of mice that exhibit the symptoms of the disease. Researchers only need to purchase animals from these strains.

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 26d

“In mice with Alzheimer's, the course of menthol for a six-month-long period was enough to stop the cognitive abilities and memory capabilities of the mice from deteriorating.”

#scicomm
#neuroskyence

www.sciencealert.com/unexpected-l...
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Unexpected Link Between Menthol And Alzheimer's Found in Mice

In recent years, scientists have discovered something strange: When mice with Alzheimer's disease inhale menthol, their cognitive abilities improve.

www.sciencealert.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 27d

What about colorblinds? How different their neural activity must be?

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 27d

“The results show that neural reactions to colors are somewhat standard and don’t seem to vary much from person to person. But these neuroanatomical findings can’t answer the question of how it feels to see red…”

#scicomm
#neuroskyence

www.sciencenews.org/article/red-...
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Your red is my red, at least to our brains

Despite philosophical debates, colors like red may spark similar brain activity across individuals, new research suggests.

www.sciencenews.org

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 28d

“Those who drank beer and had sex the night before the experiment were around 1.35 times more attractive to mosquitos than the more sober, abstinent volunteers.”

#scicomm

www.popsci.com/environment/...
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Mosquitos seem to like beer drinkers who recently had sex

The Mosquito Magnet Trial got personal.

www.popsci.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · 29d

“Sargassum. The smelly, brown seaweed can put a damper on a day at the beach at best and hinder baby turtles on their way to the ocean at worst.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.popsci.com/environment/...
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Sea turtle hatchlings struggle through a smelly seaweed maze

Sargassum strikes again.

www.popsci.com

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Reposted by Sensory Ecology Lab

Andrew D. Cronin @andrewdcronin.bsky.social · 29d

How do light and noise pollution impact selection on sexual signals?

We tested mate attraction and bat predation on túngara frogs in the field.

Full text: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...

#evolutionarybiology
#animalbehavior
@eseb.bsky.social
@jevbio.bsky.social

Photo: Grant Maslowski

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · Sep 7

“The next time you find yourself in a car, driving along a winding road, why not turn on an uplifting tune? It might help you recover from motion sickness.”

#scicomm
#neuroskyence

www.sciencealert.com/one-kind-of-...
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One Kind of Music Could Be an Unexpected Cure For Motion Sickness

The next time you find yourself in a car, driving along a winding road, why not turn on an uplifting tune? It might help you recover from motion sickness.

www.sciencealert.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · Sep 6

Para os carros de anos atrás existiam dois tipos de óleo, um para trocas a cada 5000 km e outro para trocas a cada 10000 km. E a troca poderia ter que ser antecipada a depender do tipo de estrada trafegada (ex. alto uso de estradas de terra).

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Reposted by Sensory Ecology Lab

Animal Behaviour Live @animalbehaviour.live · Sep 5

⏰ Just 2 days left!

The deadline to submit your abstract for #ABL2025 is almost here. Don’t miss this opportunity to present your research at our free online conference on animal behaviour
🎤 15-min oral talks
🎥 5-min video posters

📅 Deadline: September 7
📄 Submit now 👉 ablaoc25.sciencesconf.org

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · Sep 6

“There's a lot to be said for an optimistic outlook, but a new study suggests that interpreting other people's emotions as more positive than they actually are could be a sign of brain aging and mental decline.”

#scicomm
#neuroskyence

www.sciencealert.com/an-early-sig...
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An Early Signal of Dementia Could Be Hidden in How We Read Faces

There's a lot to be said for an optimistic outlook, but a new study suggests that interpreting other people's emotions as more positive than they actually are could be a sign of brain aging and mental...

www.sciencealert.com

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · Sep 4

“The pigment collection was started by Edward Forbes, the second director of the Fogg Art Museum. ‘Forbes really started this idea of understanding the materials and techniques used by artists… discipline called technical art history’”.

#scicomm
#sciart

www.harvardmagazine.com/2020/11/up-c...
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Up Close (Virtually) with the Forbes Pigment Collection | Harvard Magazine

Harvard’s world-famous collection of colors can now be enjoyed from home.

www.harvardmagazine.com

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