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AAAS dog, pony and dolphin show kicks off

dolphin noaa 010.jpgThe huge annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science has kicked off in sunny San Diego.

Nature’s Rex Dalton is there, and reporting for you on our In the Field blog. As he notes, dolphins seem to be the flavour of the moment at the conference.

Here’s a selection of the news making its way onto the internet from the meeting so far…

Dolphins have been seen using sponges, perhaps to protect their mouths from coral. And some bottlenose dolphins create rings of mud with their tails to trap fish. … Emory University neuroscientist Lori Marino will speak on the anatomical basis of dolphin intelligence at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference (AAAS) in San Diego, on Sunday.”

– Emory University (press release 1, press release 2).

“A panel of governmental, academic and non-profit scientists speaking today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) unveiled research suggesting that diseases found in dolphins are similar to human diseases and can provide clues into how human health might be affected by exposure to contaminated coastal water or seafood.”

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

“A study in dolphins has revealed genetic clues that could help medical researchers to treat type 2 diabetes. … The researchers presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego.”

BBC

Dolphins could be the ideal model animal for studying human cervical cancer. Hendrik Nollens , a marine mammal specialist at the University of Florida, told the AAAS meeting his research showed dolphins could get multiple infections of papilloma viruses, linked with cervical cancer in women.”

Financial Times

Even the Great Beyond got in on the dolphin action, with this piece at the start of the year: “Our scientific understanding of dolphin intelligence may make their capture increasingly morally indefensible, suggest talks to be given to the huge AAAS conference next month.”

Image: NOAA NMFS

Comments

  1. Uncle Al said:

    If inter-dolphin sound communication paints sonar images rather than being linear spoken language, who is the clever not-a-fish and who needs to do a data domain inversion?

  2. Mutuelle said:

    I do know that dolphin has the communication skill, I will comment that the dolphin intelligence can be called Instinct or natural abilities. It is a natural program in them.

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  3. dolphin olympics said:

    no way dolphins are really fun to watch!

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