Every year, the Parent-Teacher Organization of Hiller Elementary School gives every teacher a fifty dollar bill to help offset classroom expenses. This year the author, a second grade teacher, knew exactly how he would spend the money. He bought thirty-eight perfect, clear, two-quart plastic, lidded containers for each of his students and three…

When a dog (in this case, Tim Pennings' dog Elvis) is in the water and a ball is thrown downshore, it must choose to swim directly to the ball or first swim to shore. The mathematical analysis of this problem leads to the computation of bifurcation points at which the optimal strategy changes.

The role of the primary motor cortex in the acquisition of new motor skills was evaluated during classical conditioning of vibrissal protraction responses in behaving mice, using a trace paradigm. Conditioned stimulus (CS) presentation elicited a characteristic field potential in the vibrissal motor cortex, which was dependent on the synchronized…

Using manual responses, human participants are remarkably fast and accurate at deciding if a natural scene contains an animal, but recent data show that they are even faster to indicate with saccadic eye movements which of 2 scenes contains an animal. How could it be that 2 images can apparently be processed faster than a single image? To better…

Recently, marine ecologists and economists have made the world aware of some alarming news about the ocean's bounty. According to researchers, populations of edible sea life are falling worldwide, and if the pattern were to continue, we would have no ocean fish left to harvest by midcentury. However, critics believe that this projection relies on…

The present study investigated whether Pavlovian conditioning contributes, in the form of the response operandum serving as a conditioned stimulus, to the increase in the rate of response for 1% liquid-sucrose reinforcement when food-pellet reinforcement is upcoming. Rats were exposed to conditions in which sign tracking for 1% sucrose was…

The concept of plasticity describes the mechanisms that rearrange cerebral organization following a brain injury. During the last century, plasticity has been mainly investigated in humans with acute strokes. It was then shown: (i) that the brain is organized into highly specialized functional areas, often designated "eloquent" areas and (ii) that…

This article reviews the literature and presents data on sensory deprivation stress and supplemental stimulation of the rat pup and the preterm neonate. (PCB)

The small, uneaten, slate-gray, pointed-nose animal that is distasteful to the cat because of foul-tasting scent glands is the shrew. Describes the short-tailed shrew's physical characteristics, lifespan, habitat, eating habits, and senses. (ERB)

Following a letter of transmittal, this document presents General Agent of Education in Alaska, Sheldon Jackson's ninth annual report on the introduction of reindeer into Alaska. Jackson notes that 1899 saw an unusually large number of employees connected to the herds. The discovery and opening of the Cape Nome gold mines created reindeer…

Five short notes describe the contributions to human welfare of animal research in reproductive physiology; ruminant nutrition; meat science research; genetics and animal breeding; and recycling food by-products. (AL)

Nature projects that can be carried out in winter are described. (DB)

The author suggests eight ideal classroom pets: hamsters; turtles; snakes; spiders; frogs and toads; fish; and birds. For each he gives suggestions on selecting the pet and housing and feeding it in the classroom. Desert terrariums and home pet care training are also discussed. (SJL)

Examines the influence of hormonal factors during pregnancy on maternal responsiveness in infrahuman animals and human beings. Argues that it is likely that maternal behavior in humans has a physiological basis. (PCB)

Foraging-and feeding-related behaviors across eumetazoans share similar molecular mechanisms, suggesting the early evolution of an optimal foraging behavior called area-restricted search (ARS), involving mechanisms of dopamine and glutamate in the modulation of behavioral focus. Similar mechanisms in the vertebrate basal ganglia control motor…