Thursday, March 25, 2010

Pig power and choosy chimps

PIG POWER: Domestication may have reduced the brain sizes of guinea pigs but not their problem-solving ability. They outperformed their wild cousins (cavies) om some tests when pitted against each other in water mazes. Domesticated ones had the advantage in orientation but cavies were stronger swimmers, German researchers found. It suggests domestic ones have adapted better to the man-made environment.

CHOOSY CHIMPS: Apes, like humans, know they may be wrong when they make a choice. They were observed as they chose between two hollow tubes - one containing food - after being given clues as to the right one. When the apes were less sure which was correct, or when the reward was more desirable, they made more visual checks before choosing. The German study is published in journal Animal Cognition.

http://e-edition.metroherald.ie/2010/03/25/ - p23.

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