Both historical documents and genetic data agree upon that the eggplant, better known as brinjal in Indian kitchens and cookery books, was first domesticated somewhere in the region of China and India. Surprisingly, many wild relatives of the presently cultivated eggplant originated in northeastern Africa about two million years ago. However, since ecology is all about staggering interconnections, it is not really surprising that there is an unmistakable pattern here. And Peter Poczai at the University of Helsinki noticed that the pattern has something to do with the dispersion of the seeds. The African elephant and the impala (both inhabitants of African savannahs with historical distribution ranges covering the continent) are known to eat the fruits of the wild relatives and disperse the seeds. These wild forms may suffer if the range of African elephants is drastically cut down due to human intervention. Poczai said, “If we want to secure eggplant production by tapping into the gene-pool of its wild relatives we have to protect African elephant populations.”
SNEAK PEEK
1. Dog nearby: One
Humans and dogs are separated by 80 million years of evolution but numerosity is a mechanism shared across them. Untrained dogs process basic numerical quantities, using neural regions corresponding closely to those in humans. Who discovered how it works?
1. Gregory Berns, Emory professor of psychology
2. Dog nearby: Two
Early environmental exposures influence our immune system and, in children, these include exposure to pets. People exposed to pet dogs before their 13th birthday are notably less likely (as much as 24%) to be diagnosed with schizophrenia later. Who found the link?
2. Robert H. Yolken, M.D. (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
3. Body fat real bad
People with higher amounts of fat in their mid-section, mostly in their 40s and 50s, will have poor fluid intelligence as they get older. Greater muscle mass poses no issue. Who found this to be true regardless of factors like level of education and socioeconomic status?
3. Brandon Klinedinst (Iowa State University)
4. Out-group guys
As machines become integral to society, people would readily engage in socially distinguishing humans from machines. And it would lead to reduced human cooperation with machines. Who said that “it is as if machines are treated, by default, as out-group members”?
4. Dr. Celso M. de Melo (U.S. Army Research Laboratory)
5. Lying face-to-face
If someone maintains eye contact with you, he or she is telling you the truth. Does it mean lying is easier by other means? Actually, most people choose to lie face-to-face, then via text message or a phone call or email, and last via social media. Who found it in a study?
5. Dr. Brianna Verigin (University of Portsmouth).
6. Cool gas reservoirs
Primordial galaxies had enough “food” in their environments to sustain the growth of supermassive black holes and vigorous star formation. This might explain how cosmic monsters grew so fast during the Cosmic Dawn in the Universe’s history. Who reported this?
6. Emanuele Paolo Farina (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy)
7. Before the impact
Earth was already unstable before the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. India’s Deccan Traps had already spewed huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere — as reflected in the change of the chemistry of clams and snail shells. Who noted the change?
7. Benjamin Linzmeier (Northwestern University)
8. Witnesses: One
Ask open-ended questions, rather than specific or cued questions, to witnesses! If investigators share things about themselves with witnesses (rapport-building), it will boost the trust factor and fetch a higher percentage of accurate information. Who stressed the point?
8. Dr. Jonathan P. Vallano (in ‘Applied Cognitive Psychology’)
9. Witnesses: Two
Children can be highly accurate in reporting an event. But they tend to make two errors of high legal consequences if they talk to other witnesses before their testimony. Who, in a thesis, identified these errors as addition of false details and omission of true details?
9. Emma Roos af Hjelmsäter (University of Gothenburg)
[ANSWERS]
1. Gregory Berns, Emory professor of psychology
2. Robert H. Yolken, M.D. (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
3. Brandon Klinedinst (Iowa State University)
4. Dr. Celso M. de Melo (U.S. Army Research Laboratory)
5. Dr. Brianna Verigin (University of Portsmouth).
6. Emanuele Paolo Farina (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy)
7. Benjamin Linzmeier (Northwestern University)
8. Dr. Jonathan P. Vallano (in ‘Applied Cognitive Psychology’)
9. Emma Roos af Hjelmsäter (University of Gothenburg)
QUIZ No. 935
1. A vacuum can’t be truly empty space. Who said “you can shout through a vacuum”?
– Friedrich Burmeister
– Philip Warren Anderson
– Xiang Zhang
1. Xiang Zhang
2. Elephant hair is four times thicker than our hair but only half as strong. Who noted it?
– Patricia S. Cowings
– Andre Frederic Cournand
– Wen Yang
2. Wen Yang
3. Many runners prefer a toe-to-heel trend. Who saw that it makes them less efficient?
– Dr. Christian Barton
– Raymond Brunson Huey
– Tom Kirkwood
3. Dr. Christian Barton
4. Which doctor wrote over 100 songs for his patients, tailored to their own situations?
– Burrill Bernard Crohn
– Hastings Kamuzu Banda
– Steven Eisenberg
4. Steven Eisenberg
5. Which serial killer was a doctor, and also Jack the Ripper per novelist Chris Scott?
– Arnfinn Nesset
– Herman Webster Mudgett
– Thomas Neill Cream
5. Thomas Neill Cream