Tuesday, June 24, 2025

 The 23,000 year chronology for those footprints at White Sands seems to be holding up to confirmation.

This paper reports on an independent study of the chronology of a previously unrecognized stratigraphic record of paleolake Otero that is directly traceable into the track-bearing alluvium. The stratigraphic data along with 26 additional radiocarbon dates on palustrine mud determined by two labs independent of the original investigations document an aggrading lake/wetland/stream record that includes the tracks and spans >23.6 thousand years to ~17.0 thousand calibrated years before present, providing another line of evidence further supporting the validity of an LGM age for the tracks. 

Monday, May 26, 2025

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

 Cuttlefish pass marshmallow test

To examine whether cuttlefish could delay gratification for a better reward, researchers (Schnell et al. 2021) offered them an Asian shore crab (a less preferred food) immediately, or a grass shrimp (a more preferred food) if they were able to wait. The food was offered in two chambers with sliding doors. Before the test, cuttlefish were trained to recognize symbols on the doors that indicated if it would open immediately (a circle) or with a delay (a triangle). Most of the cuttlefish waited 50 to 130 seconds to get the more desirable grass shrimp, comparable to time delays shown by chimpanzees and crows.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Meanwhile in Taos: prosecutorial misconduct centering around witchcraft, in the aftermath of a decapitation. Head went in the Rio of course. Hard to pullquote this one, just read it.