We present research that would have stumped the Father of Animal Psychology, Konrad Lorenz, who was mistaken by his pet geese to be their mother.
A weekly roundup of the world’s most pointless research
BizzaResearch
We present the kind of weird and wacky research that would have even stumped the Father of Animal Psychology, Nobel winner Konrad Lorenz, who was mistaken by his pet geese to be their mother (and consequently he discovered filial imprinting — the phenomenon of baby animals identifying their mothers through some stimulus).
Canine capers of Robodog
In the interest of behavioural science, researchers at Eoetvoes Loránd University, Budapest and the Sony Computer Science Laboratory, Paris decided to find out what real canines think of Sony's robot pooch AIBO. They introduced 30 flesh-and-blood dogs to the 30 cm long, one and a half kilogram Robodog. After considering the behaviour of these 30 dogs - how they barked, growled and sniffed the behind of AIBO - the researchers concluded, “At present there are some serious limitations in using AIBO for behavioural tests with dogs.” The researchers even covered AIBO with fake fur, but the results did not improve.
Whip away depression
Doctor of Biological Science, Sergei Speransky Institute of Hygiene in Novosibirsk is in the news again for co-authoring a paper on the ‘Shocking whipping therapy’, where he speaks about the efficacy of self-flagellation in curing depression. As reported by a famous Russian daily, Speransky also cured an alcoholic by beating him on his bum, repeatedly, with a rod. He also claims to have recovered form two heart attacks with some more physical torture. The Institute of Hygiene scientist is most famous for his 1993 paper on mice called “Study of Human-Animal Communication at a Distance Between Moscow and Novosibirsk”
http://www.lfr.org/LFR/csl/library/Fsu1.pdf
Practice makes perfect: Study
It is a well-known phenomenon in the world of medicine that medical school students are inept at wielding the stethoscope. So, how does a student improve his ability to use the stethoscope? Practise, answers the researchers conducted by scientists from Temple University Health Sciences Centre. The study, led by Michael Barrett, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Medicine found it is but practise that appears to be the key to improving the 'stethoscope' proficiency of med students by 50 percent. The research was conducted with the help of 80 medical students, who were made to hear six abnormal heart beats 500 times. Students who were spared the ordeal showed no improvements in their stethoscope skills.
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