It’s called the McGurk Effect – see/hear it for yourself! Speech perception is multimodal – we use both visual and auditory information. The McGurk effect shows that visual information is integrated into our perception of speech automatically and unconsciously.

It’s a record-breaking year for endangered black-footed ferrets. The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) reports that 50 surviving black-footed ferret kits were born at the Zoo’s Front Royal Facility this year. Monday, September 26 marks the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the last 24 wild black-footed ferrets in North America. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service intervened to save the tiny population, and the animals were transferred from Wyoming to captive breeding centers across the country. Today, more than 1,000 black-footed ferrets exist in the wild due to breeding and reintroduction programs at six institutions, including SCBI. Visit the National Zoo’s Black-Footed Ferret Press Kit to learn more about the Recovery Program.

What happens when a self-described “small-time scientist” and “ordinary guy” discovers he has the same brain abnormalities as psychopathic serial killers? An engaging story that touches on nature versus nurture, labels, self-identity, and free will. James Fallon at the World Science Festival

Reported in this week’s   Nature Methods, researchers at the Mayo Clinic created transgenic cats that possess a heightened immune system and a green, glowing hue. The scientists used the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, which has its origins in jellyfish, as a marker to visualize another gene of interest. The GFP gene expresses proteins that fluoresce when illuminated with the right kind of light and is regularly used in transgenic experiments to track gene activity. Along with the GFP gene, cats were bestowed with a protein called TRIMCyp. Found in humans and monkeys but not in cats, it prevents the animals from becoming infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), the feline version of human AIDS. Cat eggs containing both of these introduced genes were fertilized and injected into adult. . . Read More

The African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) is three feet long from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail and can weigh up to four pounds. Besides its distinction for being a rodent of unusual size, these rats have been trained to sniff out threats to human lives. The nonprofit Apopo (an acronym in Dutch for Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development) was founded in 1997 by Bart Weetjens, who saw potential in the rats’ sense of smell. The organization trains giant pouched rats to detect TNT, an ingredient in most mines, and deploys them on the minefields of Africa. Due to their low weight, there is no danger of them setting off the mines as they search. The rats are led on leashes and indicate the presence of a mine by scratching at the ground. Apopo has trained 150 mine-sniffing rats – check out their website here. You can even sponsor a rat! This week The Wall Street Journal reported another. . . Read More