This will be a thread where we can post positive bits of news since mainstream news is so "doom and gloom".
(163) Dolphin Moms Use Baby Talk to Call to Their Young, Recordings Show - YouTube
Human moms and dads often adopt a high-pitched lilt when speaking to their young children, a style called “parentese” that helps improve language learning in little ones. Now, new research has found that bottlenose dolphin mothers use a similar type of baby talk to communicate with their calves, and it may serve the same purpose.
In a study published June 26, scientists recorded the signature whistles — basically audible ID badges — of wild bottlenose dolphins near Florida’s Sarasota Bay over three decades. They found that all 19 of the mother dolphins they studied “produced signature whistles with significantly higher maximum frequencies and wider frequency ranges” when they were with their dependent calves.
This dolphin version of parentese “may function to enhance attention, bonding, and vocal learning in dolphin calves, as it does in human children,” the researchers wrote in the study. Speaking to the Associated Press, co-author Frants Jensen elaborated: “It would make sense if there are similar adaptations in bottlenose dolphins — a long lived, highly acoustic species.”
The holidays are officially here, and with them comes charming decor in city storefronts. Among the people bringing that Christmastime magic to life is Scott Wilcock — or the “Bob Ross of snow graffiti,” as some call him. The U.K.-based artist has taken the internet by snowstorm with his elaborate window scenes inspired by classic holiday movies.
Take a scroll through his social media feeds, where he’s garnered over 1 million followers, and you’ll see iconic characters from films like Home Alone and The Grinch. From afar, the artwork resembles black-and-white paintings, but a closer look reveals each piece is made entirely of canned snow spray.
“I often see parents with small children stopping and talking about them and the reactions on social media are overwhelming,” Wilcock tells Nice News. “Some people have messaged to say they spend ages watching the videos; they find them therapeutic to watch.”
He was working as a mechanic when he first tried his hand at snow graffiti, but now Wilcock travels the country making bespoke designs. And he has some advice for other aspiring artists: “Find something you enjoy doing and make small goals,” he says. “Feeling a sense of achievement with even the smallest goal can make a shift inside you that fills you with pride.”
The underwater world has long fascinated humans — and thanks to the talented photographers who document life beneath the waves, those of us who mostly stay on land have the opportunity to appreciate the ocean’s marvels. Oceanographic Magazine celebrates those intrepid artists with its Ocean Photographer of the Year competition, which not only showcases the beauty of the sea, but also highlights the importance of conserving it. Scroll to see 2023’s stunning winning images, set to go on display tomorrow at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
The annual Leonids meteor shower is well underway and will continue through the beginning of December, but it will be putting on a special show this weekend for any avid skywatchers. The meteor shower is set to peak tomorrow night through dawn on Saturday. Though this shower typically produces a modest 15 meteors per hour, its strength is in its speed: According to NASA, Leonids travel at 44 miles per second, making them some of the fastest meteors. And with the crescent moon providing little interference, it shouldn’t be too hard to see them whizzing by. Learn more about how to catch the spectacle.
Another day, another batch of stunning nature photos to share with you. The Nature Photographer of the Year competition just announced its 2023 winners, with Jacquie Matechuk taking the top spot for her photo of an Andean bear in Ecuador. Titled “He Looks to the Heavens,” the dreamy image is reminiscent of a painting, with Spanish moss surrounding the majestic animal and its perch in a fig tree. “When I took the shot, I knew right away this was one of my favorite shots on that trip,” said the Canadian photographer. See her photo and the others that made the winners list.
Indeed, there are more men and women in the demographic alive today than there have been in the past two decades. Many factors are at play in that increase, but a recent study has identified some key commonalities in those who live exceptionally long lives. Look below to learn some of the physical and psychological characteristics they share.
– The Nice Newsroom
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/a-homeowner-planned-to-throw-away-a-painting-hanging-in-her-kitchen-it-turned-out-to-be-a-13th-century-masterpiece-worth-25-million/ar-AA1jKNnh?cvid=0ba979a36abd4270e706361ab5adf080&ei=13
DIEGO RAMOS/AFP via Getty ImagesA 500-year-old mummy has been brought back to life — and no, this isn’t a belated Halloween story. A team of Polish and Peruvian scientists worked together to reconstruct the face of an Incan teenager, whose frozen, mummified body was first discovered in the Andes in 1995.
The silicone bust of the girl, called Juanita or the Maiden of Ampato, was unveiled last week at the Andean Sanctuaries Museum of the Catholic University of Santa Maria in Peru. “It was a shock when I saw, for the first time, Juanita’s face,” Johan Reinhard, who led the team of archeologists that found her, said at the unveiling, per The New York Times. He added: “I never thought I would see her face when she was alive. Now 28 years later, it has become a reality.”
The scientists created digital images of Juanita based on scans of her skull, DNA results, ethnological characteristics, and other data, according to a press release. Archeologist and sculptor Oscar Nilsson then used those scans to mold the lifelike reconstruction — a process that another researcher, Dagmara Socha, said took about 400 hours.
“A well-made reconstruction allows us to show the people who were behind the story we want to tell,” Socha said.
https://www.ucsm.edu.pe/ucsm-presenta-la-reconstruccion-del-rostro-de-la-dama-del-ampato-en-3d/
The Dixie fire in August 2021, California’s largest single fire, burned through nearly 70% of Lassen Volcanic National Park, a protected area about 150 miles north of Sacramento. And though the blaze has certainly left its mark — blackened land and burnt tree stumps abound — there’s also evidence of recovery.
“For a lot of people, all they see is sort of the black and brown,” Park Ranger Russell Rhoads told The Guardian. “There’s still beauty in between.”
Visitors who take a closer look at Lassen will see wildflowers, new plant growth, and insects amid the scorched earth, all of which are signs of the ecosystem bouncing back, even if it will never look the way it once did.
“This is obviously not the most hospitable terrain, but it still popped out one way or another,” Rhoads said. “That’s just the way this ecosystem is. It gets thrown a hard pass, and then it just recovers and does something different. It doesn’t have to turn back into what it was before.”
November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and Nice News has partnered with Hilarity For Charity — a nonprofit founded by comedians Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen — to raise money for and spread awareness of the disease, which affects an estimated 6 million Americans. Founded in 2012 after Lauren’s mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, HFC helps fund new technology and prevention-focused research; educates people on brain health; and provides support and resources to caregivers who are looking after loved ones with Alzheimer’s. And it’s all done with levity top of mind. “It is such a dark disease, and I think bringing light and bringing levity is maybe a little more necessary with Alzheimer’s than it is with some other aspects of life,” Seth exclusively tells Nice News. Click here to donate and here to read brain health tips from one of the organization’s science advisors, Dr. Annie Fenn.
https://nicenews.com/health-and-wellness/lauren-miller-and-seth-rogens-alzheimers-charity-leads-with-levity/?utm_source=nicenews
Humans have found plenty of ways to mark the changing of seasons: There are meteorological parameters based on the weather, astronomical signs that take the sun’s position into account, and more. But American birders can also simply look to the sky to see that winter is on its way. Dark-eyed juncos, which the National Audubon Society calls “the original snowbirds,” are currently journeying to the U.S. in droves to spend the winter here. Once temperatures warm up in the spring, they’ll head north or to higher elevations, so be sure to keep an eye (and ear) out for them over the next several months.