What a beautiful display of creativity:

Physical Fitness ‘Godfather’ Jack LaLanne Turns to Brain Fitness, Becoming Ambassador for Dakim’s [m] Power System

- Dakim, Inc., announced today that 93-year-young Jack LaLanne, the world’s most iconic figure in health and fitness, has signed on as a “brain fitness motivational coach” on behalf of the company’s [m]Power Cognitive Fitness System, joining the company’s efforts to help seniors fight against dementia.

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A dolphin made a lot of blog-buzz this Monday, being the 14th pink bottlenose dolphin described in history. Bottlenoses are quite special; did you know that they are one of a few species in addition to humans that is observed to use tools? Their relative brain size isn’t that different from humans either.

The Bottlenose dolphins are actually the most common and well known of all dolphins. Not too long ago, scientists used to believe that “tool use” was one of the characteristics that set humans apart from all other animals. Later, scientists discovered the use of tools by great apes. More recently, bottlenose dolphins in Australia’s Shark bay are observed to carry sea sponges on their beaks for protection when searching for food in the sandy sea bottom.

What is really fascinating is that the dolphins probably learned the trick from their moms rather than inheriting a sponge-shuttling gene. Dr. Michael Krutzen at the University of Zürich which first discovered the phenomena, writes in his Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publication that dolphins’ sponge use is a case of cultural transmission-the passing along of a learned behaviour.
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