Brown claimed the social media post was damaging to his reputation

Trump Stepped Into Trap Set By Liberal Media. What Happens Next Boils Down To Three Things

The post Neurological Disorders in Cats: Our Vet Explains Signs, Causes & Treatments by Dr. Karyn Kanowski BVSc MRCVS (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Click to Skip Ahead Feline Neurological Disease Overview Most Common Forms of Neurological Disorders It’s really scary when our pets become ill, particularly when they’re not acting like their normal selves. Often, one of the first signs that there’s something wrong with our cat is that they seem quiet, lethargic, or try to hide. These sorts of signs can occur with many different issues, from a fever to something more serious. But what if their personality changes, or they have difficulty walking, or even start having seizures? These can be signs of a neurological problem and need immediate veterinary attention. There are several causes of neurological disease in cats: infection, trauma, congenital problems, and cancer, to name a few. Let’s take a closer look at the neurological disorders that affect cats to learn what signs to watch out for, and how these disorders can be treated. Understanding Feline Neurological Disease Image Credit: Tyler Olson, Shutterstock As we know, the nervous system is extremely complex and is responsible for controlling every other aspect of biological function, from basic reflexes, movement and coordination, hormones, digestion, breathing, thinking—everything! So, when something goes wrong with this system, the results can be catastrophic. Because there are so many different ways that a neurological disorder can present, a thorough history is vital, including what sort of signs you have noticed, how long they’ve been going on, and any other changes that have been seen. The location, type, and duration of clinical signs can give us a huge amount of information. HOW the neurological system is being damaged can dictate what sort of signs we may see. For example, an infection may produce other clinical signs alongside those caused by the neurological disorder, such as discharge from the eyes, nose, or ears, whereas a condition such as epilepsy will only result in seizures. WHERE in the body the problem is will determine what effects it will have. For example, an injury or tumor in the spine may cause weakness, incoordination, or paralysis in the limbs, but not affect brain function, whereas a problem in the brain can have an effect on any or all bodily functions. Knowing WHEN the clinical signs started will help give us an idea of what sort of illness or disorder we are dealing with. For example, a cat with a congenital neurological disorder is likely to have been showing from a young age or since birth. Neurological changes due to infection may take days to weeks to appear, whereas signs caused by a tumor or age will tend to affect older cats, with signs appearing over weeks or months. What Are the Most Common Forms of Neurological Disorders in Cats? Now that we have a better understanding of how to approach neurological disease, let’s take a look at some examples of disorders in cats. 1. Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) You might be wondering how peritonitis fits into neurological disorders, and it is a misleading label. FIP is a viral infection caused by a strain of Feline Coronavirus, a family of viruses that cause a number of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases in humans, including COVID-19, SARS, and MERS. Feline coronavirus is relatively common amongst cats, particularly those living in high-density feline populations or multi-cat households. It is shed in the feces and easily picked up by other cats in a shared environment, and in the majority of cases, is asymptomatic. If a cat becomes unwell or immunocompromised, is infected by another virus (such as feline leukemia virus), or is generally in poor health and condition, the virus can mutate into an active form which, in almost all cases, is fatal. The most common presentation of FIP in cats is one that produces fluid buildup in the body (effusion), particularly within the peritoneal cavity, or abdomen. This is also referred to as “wet” FIP, due to the effusions it causes. The second form creates little or no effusion, so is referred to as “dry” FIP, although both forms can occur simultaneously. Dry FIP can affect numerous organ systems, most notably, the eyes and nervous system. The virus may cause painful inflammation, infection, and bleeding in the eyes. As it reaches the brain, this inflammation will cause depression, personality changes, seizures, ataxia (wobbly, unstable walking), coma, and death. Most cases of active FIP are seen in cats under the age of 2 years old; however, the virus can remain dormant for years and be activated at any age. Clinical signs of the virus tend to progress rapidly, over the course of days/weeks. Treatment: Until as recently as 2022, FIP was invariably fatal. In the wake of Covid-19, the drug Remdesivir, has shown promising results in the effective treatment of feline coronavirus. However, price and availability are limiting its use in veterinary practice. Remdesivir is currently only available in Australia and the United Kingdom, with the average price of a treatment course being around £5,000 (US $6,250). Prevention: There is an FIP vaccine available in the US, but its effectiveness has not been proven, and its use is not recommended by the American Association of Feline Practitioners Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel. Although it is virtually impossible to completely prevent infection with feline coronavirus, the most effective strategy against FIP is optimizing your cat’s immune system by feeding them a high-quality diet, keeping up to date with routine vaccination and parasite treatment, and maintaining good litter box hygiene. 2. Otitis Image Credit: RJ22,Shutterstock Ear infections can sometimes trigger reactions that look like neurological signs, but they can also cause true neurological disorders. If a cat has an infection to the outer part of the ear (otitis externa), they may tilt their head because of the pain and inflammation in the ear, but this is not a neurological head tilt. If infection reaches the middle ear (otitis media) or inner ear (otitis interna), inflammation of the facial nerves, causes Horner’s Syndrome or disruption of the vestibular system. Signs of vestibular disease include ataxia, circling, head tilt, and a rapid flickering of the eyes, called nystagmus. In severe cases, infection and inflammation can travel up the nerves toward the brain, which can cause more severe neurological signs like depression, behavioral changes, and seizures. Neurological signs associated with otitis can appear over a matter of hours but will usually be preceded by signs of discomfort and irritation of the ear. Cats that have had repeated episodes of otitis externa are at a greater risk of developing otitis media or interna, as are cats that suffer from ear polyps. Treatment: Treatment of otitis may involve ear drops, oral antibiotics, and steroids. Your vet will likely take swabs of the infection for culture and sensitivity to ensure the right antibiotics are selected, and cases that do not respond to conservative treatment may need CT scans to further diagnose and treat the problem. In most cases, the prognosis is favorable, provided that there is no permanent damage to the nerves. 3. Neoplasia (Cancer) Brain and spinal cord tumors are, fortunately, not common in cats, and rarely seen in cats younger than 10 years old. The clinical signs produced by tumors affecting the brain and spinal cord will depend very much on where the tumor is located, the type of tumor, and how quickly it is growing. Some tumors are benign, meaning that they may be growing for a long time (months to years) before any clinical signs are seen, whereas malignant tumors will invade other tissues. Malignant tumors in other parts of the body may also spread (metastasize) to the brain. One of the most common clinical signs of brain tumors is seizures, with changes in personality, lethargy, depression, ataxia, head tilt, nystagmus, and inappetence also being common signs. Tumors located in the spinal cord will most often result in weakness, tremors, or paralysis of limbs, and may also cause urinary or fecal incontinence. Treatment: Options for the treatment of brain or spinal tumors in cats are often limited, not only by the anatomy involved but the cost and side effects of that treatment. Depending on the type and location of the tumor, treatment may involve surgery, radiation therapy, or medical management of clinical signs, particularly where seizures are involved. Prognosis is therefore quite guarded. In most cases, the prognosis is favorable, provided that there is no permanent damage to the nerves. 4. Epilepsy/Seizures Image Credit: Gorodenkoff, Shutterstock In cats, as with humans, seizures can generally placed in one of three categories: Genetic/idiopathic seizures (AKA epilepsy) Secondary (structural) seizures: caused by brain tumors, diseases directly affecting brain tissue (intracranial disease). Reactive seizures: caused by inflammation, toxins, fever, etc. outside the brain (extracranial disease). Epilepsy first appears in cats younger than 7 years old, and the cat is completely normal in between seizures. It is quite common for cats with epilepsy to have periods of several months between seizures, but the frequency tends to increase over time. Compared with dogs, cats are more likely to suffer from partial (focal) seizures, where parts of the body may exhibit seizure activity, without a loss of consciousness. Accurate diagnosis of epilepsy requires a range of diagnostic tests to rule out extracranial and intracranial causes of seizures, such as bloodwork, ultrasound, and CT scans. It is not uncommon for epilepsy to be excluded as a diagnosis if the seizures emerge after the age of 10–12 years old, or are accompanied by any other neurological signs. Treatment: In the case of secondary or reactive seizures, treatment (and success of treatment) will depend on the underlying cause. The treatment of feline epilepsy will usually involve the use of anti-epileptic medication but may not be initiated unless/until the seizures are frequent and/or severe. The prognosis for cats with epilepsy is dependent on their response to therapeutic treatment. 5. Cerebellar Hypoplasia Although there are a large number of congenital neurological disorders in cats, cerebellar hypoplasia is the most common one that may allow long-term survival. Sometimes referred to as “wobbly” or “clumsy,” kittens with cerebellar hypoplasia are affected from birth, with clinical signs becoming more noticeable as the kitten becomes more active. If a female cat is infected with the Panleukopenia Virus (also known as feline distemper virus) during pregnancy, the virus can stunt the development of the cerebellum in the unborn kitten. The cerebellum is responsible for coordinating motor function with brain function, so cats with cerebellar hypoplasia will have varying levels of ataxia, incoordination, and balance problems, depending on the extent of the disorder. Treatment There is no treatment for the condition, and in many cases, the kittens are euthanized on humane grounds. However, with patience, perseverance, and support, it is possible for some kittens to overcome this dysfunction and enjoy a good quality of life. 6.  Trauma Image Credit: YuSafa, Shutterstock Road traffic accidents are the most common cause of trauma-induced neurological dysfunction. The clinical signs seen will depend on the type, location, and severity of the injury sustained, and may be permanent or temporary. The three most commonly encountered traumatic neurological disorders seen in veterinary practice involve: Pelvic/spinal injuries Tail pull injuries Head trauma 7. Feline Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS) Also known as feline senile dementia, CDS is relatively common in geriatric cats. It presents in many different ways, including minor personality changes, inappropriate toileting, new/changed habits, or “vacant” behavior. As many of these signs can also be linked to common geriatric problems, such as renal disease, cystitis, hyperthyroidism, or arthritis, it is vital to bring your cat in for a health check before dismissing any of these changes as just “old age.” Treatment Treatment for CDS is limited, just as it sadly is for humans. However, there are several supplements and medical treatments available to help improve cognitive function in cats, so talk to your vet if you think your elderly cat might need a helping hand in their twilight years. Conclusion As you can see, neurological disorders in cats are just about as numerous and complex as the nervous system itself. Being an integral part of all bodily functions, any damage, disease, or dysfunction of the neurological system can have effects anywhere in the body. Cats are incredibly resilient creatures, which is why they are often said to have nine lives. However, they are still susceptible to infection, damage, and disease, and even minor problems can become catastrophic once the nervous system becomes involved. If you notice any changes in your cat’s behavior, personality, movements, or posture, do not hesitate to get in touch with your veterinarian. Sources https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/neurological-disorders https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=7259123&pid=14365 https://www.msdvetmanual.com/cat-owners/ear-disorders-of-cats/otitis-media-and-interna-in-cats https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7337200/ https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952907 https://www.ndsr.co.uk/insights/management-of-cats-with-a-tail-pull-injury/ https://www.msdvetmanual.com/cat-owners/brain,-spinal-cord,-and-nerve-disorders-of-cats/congenital-and-inherited-disorders-of-the-nervous-system-in-cats https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/focal-seizures-and-fly-biting-in-cats https://icatcare.org/advice/seizures-epilepsy-in-cats/#:~:text=Compared%20with%20dogs%2C%20cats%20more,head%2C%20neck%20or%20limb%20movements. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102903&id=4952636 https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/horners-syndrome-in-cats#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20clinical%20signs,side%20often%20appears%20sunken%20(enophthalmos) https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=7259264&pid=14365 https://www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-vet/news/successful-fip-treatment-with-remdesivir https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/coronaviruses   Featured Image Credit: Official, Shutterstock The post Neurological Disorders in Cats: Our Vet Explains Signs, Causes & Treatments by Dr. Karyn Kanowski BVSc MRCVS (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

The long-awaited PC version of Ghost of Tsushima is finally here, and the game runs on a wide variety of hardware. That includes handheld PCs like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go, too. While you can just set all of the graphics to low and call it a day, you can squeeze a surprising amount of visual fidelity out of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut on the Steam Deck and other handheld devices without tanking the framerate too much. These devices are surprisingly customizable, and that’s perfect for a game like this. Ghost of Tsushima Steam Deck Settings With these settings, you’ll be able to maintain a solid 30 FPS on your Steam Deck when playing Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut without making the game look that much worse. Texture Quality: Medium Texture Filtering: 4x Anisotropic Shadow Quality: Low Level of Detail: Medium Terrain Detail: Medium Volumetric Fog: Low Depth of Field: Very low Screen Space Reflections...

When any highly-anticipated game comes to PC, there will inevitably be a huge modding scene surrounding it. Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is no exception. Fans have been clamoring for a PC version of this game ever since it was first released on PlayStation 4 back in 2020, and now fans can finally develop the mods they’ve been dreaming about for years with the newly released PC port of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut. Model swaps, graphics tweaks, and more await you if you’re looking to install mods for your Ghost of Tsushima playthrough on PC. Best Ghost of Tsushima PC Mods The Ghost of Tsushima modding scene is still young, so bigger mods will take some time to get released. Still, there are quite a few mods that make the game even better that you can download right now. Fast Launch (Skip Startup Videos) Image: Instanity (NexusMods) This type of mod always comes around when a new game is released, and for good reason. There are simply way...

Arena Breakout Infinite, the free-to-play alternative to Escape From Tarkov, is blowing up on Twitch because there are thousands of closed beta keys being given away via Twitch Drops. Since there are a ton of players desperately trying to claw their way into the closed beta for the F2P extraction shooter, there are a few issues popping up with the code redemption process and players are experiencing longer than usual wait times when trying to get their accounts whitelisted for the beta test. If you’re having problems with your Arena Breakout Infinite Twitch Drops, keep reading to learn what you can do. How to Claim Arena Breakout Infinite Twitch Drops Arena Breakout Infinite Twitch Drops work just like any other Twitch Drop campaign. As long as you watch any participating stream for 60 minutes, you’ll be granted beta access for Arena Breakout Infinite. The stream window must be active and unmuted for this to work, and you can check your current progress in the Twit...

Despite national attention and thousands of protesting parents, a federal court is refusing to allow parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ courses in school. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided on Wednesday that Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland does not have to allow parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed lessons. Judge G. Steven Agee, a George W. Bush appointee, claimed that the parents seeking to opt their children out of the lessons in question did not provide sufficient evidence to justify a preliminary injunction. In March of last year, MCPS added nearly two dozen “LGBTQ+ inclusive texts” to the pre-K through eighth-grade curriculum. According to a lawsuit filed in May, parents were told that “no notice will be given” of when LGBTQ-themed lessons will be taught and that “no opt-outs [will be] tolerated because [students] must learn to be more ‘LGBTQ-Inclusive.’” The federal lawsuit was brought by a group of Christian and Muslim parents who wished to remove their children from LGBT-themed lessons on religious grounds. More than 1,000 parents—including Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox, evangelical, Muslim, and Jewish parents—attended a subsequent MCPS board meeting to protest the decision to rescind parental opt-outs. Then, in August, President Joe Biden-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Boardman ruled against Maryland parents, claiming that mandatory LGBT lessons do not constitute a religious liberty infringement. She wrote that reading books about transgenderism, drag queens, and bondage fetishes to children as young as 3 “is not indoctrination” and does not “directly or indirectly” coerce children into activity “that violates their religious beliefs.” Instead, she suggested that concerned parents—who, according to the policy Boardman sanctioned, have no notice of when these lessons are being taught—discuss the lessons with their children at home after school. On a separate note, Boardman expressed a concern that too many parents would opt their children out of LGBTQ lessons, which she claimed would “expose students who believe the books represent them and their families to social stigma and isolation” and would further “defeat [the school board’s] ‘efforts to ensure a classroom environment that is safe and conducive to learning for all students’ … ” Finally, the judge denied any preliminary injunction, meaning that parents cannot currently opt their children out of the objectionable lessons. Boardman wrote that “a constitutional violation is not likely or imminent” and thus “the plaintiffs are not likely to suffer imminent irreparable harm.” In comments to The Washington Stand, the Family Research Council’s senior fellow for education studies, Meg Kilgannon, warned: “It’s important to understand that this is an effort to develop curriculum to affirm diverse identities.” She noted that the LGBTQ-themed lessons are “not a separate unit (it’s not sex education),” but instead “sexual material that is meant to be incorporated in lessons as the teacher is instructing children in math, reading, science, or history.” “That is what makes it so noxious. The incorporation of this material this way makes it impossible to remove the content or to remove children from the classes where it is taught,” Kilgannon explained, adding: The progressive administrative staff insist on incorporating this material in lessons exactly this way because the parents don’t want it. It’s based on a belief that ‘LGBTQ children’ are likely to be oppressed by their religious families and that the school community should be the place they can ‘learn to be themselves.’ Agee, in his majority opinion on Wednesday, wrote that, “given the Parents’ broad claims, the very high burden required to obtain a preliminary injunction, and the scant record before us, we are constrained to affirm the district court’s order denying a preliminary injunction.” The judge observed: While the specifics vary, the Parents all cite their religious views as spurring their desire to opt their children out of the Storybooks. Broadly speaking, they believe they have a religious duty to train their children in accord with their faiths on what it means to be male and female; the institution of marriage; human sexuality; and related themes. Their respective religious faiths direct and inform their views about these issues, and they want to maintain control over what, how, and when these matters are introduced to their children. The parents, Agee noted, argue that the MCPS decision not to provide notice of when LGBTQ lessons will be taught or offer a chance to opt their children out of the lessons “violates the free exercise of their religion and their due process right to direct their children’s education.” Agee cited the U.S. Supreme Court to explain that a “preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy never awarded as of right,” and that in granting preliminary injunctions, courts must “‘balance the competing claims of injury,’ ‘consider the effect on each party,’ and ‘pay particular regard for the public consequences’ of issuing a preliminary injunction.” He added, “Plaintiffs appealing the denial of a preliminary injunction face an even higher burden as they must show that the district court abused its discretion in denying relief.” “Considering [their] broad claim joined with the extremely limited record, we conclude the Parents have not shown a cognizable burden to support their free exercise claim,” Agee concluded, adding: As such, they have not shown a likelihood of succeeding on the merits. Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying them a preliminary injunction as to the free exercise claim. Agee also acknowledged that LGBT-themed lessons were contradictory to the moral teachings of numerous faiths, but added that “simply hearing about other views does not necessarily exert pressure to believe or act differently than one’s religious faith requires.” “For the reasons stated, we conclude that the Parents have not come forward at this stage with sufficient evidence of a cognizable burden on their free exercise rights to satisfy the requirements of a free exercise claim,” Agee declared. “This absence of proof means that they have not shown a likelihood of success on the merits, and their free exercise claim cannot serve as a basis for obtaining a preliminary injunction.” Joseph Backholm, a lawyer and the Family Research Council’s senior fellow for biblical worldview, told The Washington Stand, “I think the question presented in this case and questions like it are culturally defining. One difference between the Left and the Right these days is on the question of who is in charge of the children.” He continued, “Either government exists to protect the inalienable rights of parents to raise their children, or it is government’s job to raise children, which means they have to protect children from their parents.” Historically in the West, we have recognized that children have a right to their parents and that parents have a right to their children, but leftism, in its effort to create ideological homogeneity, believes parental rights are a threat to their revolution. A dissenting opinion was penned by President Donald Trump-appointed Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. “The parents have shown the board’s decision to deny religious opt-outs burdened these parents’ right to exercise their religion and direct the religious upbringing of their children by putting them to the choice of either compromising their religious beliefs or forgoing a public education for their children,” he wrote. I would reverse the District Court and enjoin the Montgomery County School Board of Education from denying religious opt-outs for instruction to K-5 children involving the texts. “Parents of certain K-5 Montgomery County schoolchildren object to their children being instructed with these books. These parents claim their faiths—Islam, Roman Catholicism, and Ukrainian Orthodox—dictate that they, and not the Montgomery County schools, teach their children about sex, human sexuality, gender and family life,” Quattlebaum observed. “They also claim the messages from the books conflict with and undermine the sincerely held religious beliefs they seek to convey to their children.” “Importantly, interfering or burdening the exercise of religion is not limited to direct coercion,” the dissenting judge wrote, contradicting Agee’s reasoning. Citing the Supreme Court, Quattlebaum continued: When a state ‘conditions receipt of an important benefit upon conduct proscribed by a religious faith, or where it denies such a benefit because of conduct mandated by religious belief, thereby putting substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs, a burden upon religion exists.’ Referring to Boardman’s prior argument that mandatory LGBTQ-themed lessons did not impose a burden upon parents’ religious freedom, Quattlebaum wrote, “I disagree. For decades, the Supreme Court has made clear that ‘the liberties of religion and expression may be infringed by the denial of or placing of conditions upon a benefit or privilege.’” He continued: The parents claim their faith compels that they teach their children about sex, human sexuality, gender and family life. They also claim the messages from the books conflict with and undermine the sincerely held religious beliefs they hold and seek to convey to their children. And while the concerns include the content of the texts, they also include the responses the school board provided to teachers to use when children or parents questioned the texts. According to the parents, the suggested responses make clear that, in addition to using the books, schools will advocate for the themes and values in the texts and against any opposition to them. As a result, they claim that if they cannot opt their children out of the instruction involving the books, they must either forgo a public education or violate their deeply held religious beliefs. Some of the “guidance” prescribed to teachers included scripted answers to questions. For example, if a child says, “Being _____ (gay, lesbian, queer, etc.) is wrong and not allowed in my religion,” school officials are encouraged to respond with some variation of “I understand that is what you believe, but not everyone believes that. We don’t have to understand or support a person’s identity to treat them with respect and kindness.” School officials are also instructed to “[d]isrupt the either/or thinking” of heterosexuality and say things such as “[A]ctually, people of any gender can like whoever they like. … How do you think it would make (character’s name) [feel] to hear you say that? Do you think it’s fair for people to decide for us who we can and can’t like?” If children ask what transgender means, school officials are told to respond, “When we’re born, people make a guess about our gender and label us ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ based on our body parts. Sometimes they’re right, and sometimes they’re wrong. … Our body parts do not decide our gender. Our gender comes from our inside.” “The board’s refusal to grant the parents’ requests for religious opt-outs to instruction with the books the board required be used to promote diversity and inclusivity to the LGBTQ+ community forces the parents to make a choice—either adhere to their faith or receive a free public education for their children,” Quattlebaum wrote. “They cannot do both.” Quattlebaum also disagreed “with the majority’s conclusion that the parents have not produced enough evidence to establish that their free exercise rights have been burdened.” The parents have met their burden. They have produced the books that no one disputes will be used to instruct their K-5 children. They produced declarations explaining in detail why the books conflict with their religious beliefs. He noted that the parents also produced the internal MCPS guidance for school officials on discussing LGBT-themed lessons with children. “Recall those documents advise teachers that they can ‘[d]isrupt the either/or thinking by saying something like: actually, people of any gender can like whoever they like…’” The dissenting judge wrote, “These parents’ faith dictates that they—not others—teach their children about sex, human sexuality, gender and family life. Their faiths dictate that they shield their children from teachings that contradict and undermine their religious views on those topics.” He added: And no matter how you slice it, the board’s decision to deny religious opt-outs prevents the parents from exercising these aspects of their faith if they want their children to obtain a public education. “Based on Supreme Court precedent, the record here tells all we need to know,” Quattlebaum concluded. “The standard for a preliminary injunction is not ultimate success, but likelihood of success. … The parents have established they are likely to succeed in proving the board’s decisions burdened their First Amendment rights.” Originally published at WashingtonStand.com The post Federal Appeals Court Rules Maryland Parents Cannot Opt Children Out of LGBTQ Lessons appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The past decade has seen an explosion of new research into some of the most fascinating sounds in the sea: the vocalisations of whales and dolphins.Scientists have uncovered how humpback whales learn songs from neighbouring populations, so that these songs travel from western Australia to South America. They discovered bowhead whales singing 184 different songs over three years, and learned how bottlenose dolphins use signature whistles to shore up alliances.Researchers have also showed that sperm whale vocal dialects are more different the more they are in contact with each other across the entire Pacific, suggesting these dialects function as ethnic markers. Advancing technology in the form of drones, acoustic tags and recorders mean such insights are accumulating rapidly.Much of what whales and dolphins signal seems to relate to identity within social contexts. This can include identifying alliance members, or members of long-term social units and clans, or a particular population or species. Vocal communication also builds and reinforces social bonds and coordinates cooperative foraging.We have also seen the resurrection of an old idea: that hiding behind all these findings is really a human-like language. If we can just find the right tools, the thinking goes, we can decode it and start talking to whales like we talk to our neighbours.The hottest new tool is AI. Reading some of the press around the topic, you could be forgiven for thinking such conversations are imminent.Two recent studies stand out for the dramatic claims they make about whale language. One details a humpback responding to the playback of a call with a similar one (but then ultimately losing interest).This study’s importance was to demonstrate that such playback studies are possible, because playing back an animal’s calls and observing their reaction is a tested method for uncovering the meanings and functions of signals.It’s not, however, the first playback to whales or dolphins, and neither, as the scientists claimed, were they “conversing” with the whale. If this was a “conversation”, then we’ve been having more insightful “conversations” with other species for decades – there have been over 600 such playback studies on birds.The second study is a detailed analysis of patterns of clicks, called codas, produced by sperm whales. It shows that the whales appear to synchronously change the tempo of their codas when using them in exchanges with each other.    Such synchronous chorusing is not unique to whales. It happens across the animal kingdom, from fireflies to primates. Few animal displays are as breathtakingly synchronised as the four-part chorusing of plain-tailed wrens, while happy wrens use pair-specific duets to signal commitment to mates.Nonetheless, the sperm whale findings are exciting, and fit in with our general understanding of codas having a social bonding function. But the scientists also tried to force these tempo changes into a “phonetic alphabet”, “like the International Phonetic Alphabet for human languages”, and it is this latter claim that has grabbed headlines.There is, however, no evidence that sperm whales use these different tempos in anything like the complex sequences that characterise human language. We find better evidence for complex sequencing rules in Bengal finches. I wonder why we don’t see headlines about phonetic alphabets or imminent conversations with these birds?Don’t believe the hypeWe’ve been closely studying cetacean vocal behaviour in the wild and in captivity for several decades now. Compare that to how quickly you or I can start exchanging ideas with another person we don’t share a language with – because we use our theory of mind to understand each other as communicative agents.If language was there, I think we would have found it by now. The most powerful language detector we know of sits between our ears, and we used it to effortlessly learn the language of our childhood as toddlers. As the story of Helen Keller shows, language finds a way.Persuading the BBC not to describe sperm whale clicks as “language” in their Blue Planet II series was the highlight of my science communication career. Why?A lot of complex communication is going on in cetaceans, much of which we still don’t understand. However, I am convinced that we should drop the stifling and anthropocentric focus on language. It crowds out other perspectives on what is going on – for example, the relationship between rhythm-based communication and music might be a better way to understand the bonding function of coda synchrony in sperm whales.We should be wary of ranking species on a single dimension relative to humans, as if all evolution is a path to something like us (much like early anthropologists ranked societies by their progress toward western “perfection”). Instead, let’s take ourselves off the top of the ladder and see other animals as distinct branches of an evolutionary tree.Both of the research groups promoting talking to whales are linked to, or name themselves after, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (Seti). The leaders of one group, Project Ceti, argue that understanding whale “language” will help us when we meet ET.Whale communication research has been treated as a test run for talking with aliens. Josemaria Toscano/ShutterstockWe’ve been here before. John Lilly also leaned into Seti, promoting the idea that dolphins were an alien intelligence with a complex language. His weak evidence ultimately evaporated in a cloud of hype and hallucinogens.Unfortunately, his claims kept the important discovery of bottlenose dolphin signature whistles in the shadows for far too long, and cast a cloud of disrepute over the entire field of cetacean communication that took decades to disperse. It would be tragic if today’s important insights suffered the same fate because of irresponsible claims and a narrow focus on language.We should strive to understand and value these awesome creatures for what they are, not for how they might sooth our cosmic loneliness.Luke Rendell, Reader in Biology, University of St AndrewsThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Seashells may seem like a harmless memento from your trip to the beach, but there are a few good reasons why you let it be and leave them on the shore.Beachcombing, if done carelessly, has the potential to cause real upset for coastal ecosystems. A study in 2014 investigated the removal of seashells from beaches and concluded it’s causing “significant damage” to the many lifeforms that rely on shells.Shells are a surprisingly important cog in coastal ecosystems. Along with beach stabilization providing birds with building materials for their nests, they provide a home or attachment surface for diverse marine organisms, including algae, seagrass, sponges, and crutseans. They are also a source of calcium carbonate, which can dissolve in seawater and be recycled back into the ocean.“Shells are remarkable in that they serve multiple functions in natural ecosystems,” Michal Kowalewski, lead study author and paleontologist at the Florida Museum, said in a statement. "Molluscan shells are of prime importance to hermit crabs, and although sand beaches are not good places for such crabs, dead snail shells on mud-flats and rocky shores do form a primary resource for abundant hermit crabs. More subtly, many small organisms settle on dead shells, and so removing such shells will eliminate habitats for these colonists," added Geerat Vermeij, a mollusk shell expert and distinguished professor of geology at the University of California Davis, who was not involved in the study.The study saw researchers carry out multiple monthly surveys from 1978 to 1981 and from 2008 to 2010 on Llarga Beach, an hour-long car ride from Barcelona in Spain. Their results showed the number of seashells had been decimated by up to 60 percent between the two study periods. They suspected that the demise of shells was most likely due to the influx of tourists to the area because shells were more abundant during the winter period when fewer people visited the beach."Humans may play a significant role in altering habitats through activities that many would perceive as mostly harmless, such as beachcombing and seashell collecting. It is important that we continue to investigate the more subtle aspects of tourism-related activities and their impact on shoreline habitats," Kowalewski said.Another good reason to not take home seashells: it’s illegal in many parts of the world. In the UK, the Coastal Protection Act 1949 prohibits taking any natural materials from public beaches. It’s a little more relaxed in the US where recreational collection of empty sea shells is permitted in many circumstances. However, certain species are protected and harvesting their live shells could land you in trouble with the law. In 2018, a woman was reportedly jailed after she took 40 seashells from the beach in Florida's Key West. The shells contained live queen conches, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The 30-year-old woman was ordered to serve 15 days in jail and pay a $500 fine – that's one way to ruin your holiday.

History is filled with stories about island and their civilizations that disappear after some cataclysm (I bet I can guess which one you’re thinking of). But I doubt many people have heard the story of Teonimanu, the landmass that has now vanished from among the Solomon Islands. We only now know of its existence because of the cultural memory of those living in the area today.Storytelling and mythmaking are a fundamental aspect of human culture. Although many elements of such stories are fantastical and improbably, they have nevertheless been vehicles for many abstract “truths” that are passed down through the generations. But in addition to these types of “lessons”, myths can also be sources of historical information, especially about events that occurred in the distant past. And although some researchers have been aware of this for some time, the wider scientist community is increasingly taking note of how local myths can shine light on geological events that happened thousands of years ago.The island of Teonimanu is a powerful example of this. If you go to Google Earth and search for 9°59'36"S 161°59'10"E, do you know what you’ll find? Nothing. Well, that’s not completely true. You’ll find a dark blue patch surrounded by the general blue of the Pacific Ocean. This darker patch, however, indicates a small landmass, now known as Lark Shoal, that is submerged below 1 to 14 meters (3.2 to 45 feet) of water.However, if you could rewind Google Earth to show the same area several hundred years ago then you would have seen an island sitting where Lark Shoal is today. This is where Teonimanu used to be.Before it disappeared below the waves, along with a few others in the area, the island was inhabited by hundreds of people. That is, according to Professor Patrick Nunn, a geologist and geomythologists at the University of the Sunshine Coast who learnt about the lost islands through oral traditions and histories passed down among the people of the central Solomon Islands.From their accounts, Nunn suspects the islands probably disappeared sometime between the late 16th century and the late 18th century, essentially between the times when the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña (1568) and the English explorer James Cook arrived in the region.When it sank, it was said to have sunk quickly. The stories tell of how only a few people managed to make it to their canoes and then reach the safety of the other islands. It seems the islands were struck by an enormous wave that covered the volcanic island in a way that would have looked like it was simply washed away.Today, we know that Teonimanu was affected by a seafloor earthquake that made part of the undersea ridge that supported the island become unstable. This led to a giant landslide that dragged the ride under water and sent tsunamis to cover Teonimanu.If it wasn’t for the oral traditions of the people who have lived in the area for generations then we probably would not know about this incident. As Nunn has written, “their stories might easily be mistaken for legends, for fictions, but like many such ancient stories there remain cores of truth – genuine observations – that over time have become encased in layers of narrative embellishment.”Many of the stories concerning Teonimanu’s disappearance begin with a woman from the island who was called Sauwete'au. This local beauty was married to Roraimenu, a man who lived on nearby Ali'te island.One day, Sauwete'au fell in love and eloped with another man, called Kaliita’alu, and both returned to Teonimanu. In his rage, Roraimenu obtained a wave curse that he used on the island as a way to enact his vengeance. He unleashed eight destructive waves on the hapless island and climbed to the highest point on Ali'ite where he watched with dark satisfaction.Those who survived the curse were scattered to the various Solomon Islands, but many more lost their lives to this cruel act.Of course, the narrative materials surrounding this story are all exaggerated and fanciful, its what makes them a great and engaging vehicle for transmission after all, but they hint at something very real and very destructive that nevertheless happened.Lark Shoel is located within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region that is known for tis frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Through an assessment of the seismic data, Nunn has identified debris from the original landslide, which, he believes, shows that the ridge is “inherently unstable”.Across the Pacific, there are other stories of disappearing islands that met a similar fate to Teonimanu. These oral narratives offer us insights into a world that is otherwise lost to history. But stories like those from the Solomon Islands, as well as other places where generations of people have lived in volatile locations, may also have lessons for our current world. As global temperatures continue to rise and sea levels continue to rise, the knowledge of indigenous oral traditions is becoming more relevant to more people. But such knowledge may soon disappear as well. As Nunn explained to the BBC, “I think everywhere in the world, as oral societies are becoming largely literate, knowledge that has been held orally is disappearing, yet it is this indigenous knowledge that is going to help [future generations] cope with sea level rise.”Scientists now appreciate the value of indigenous knowledge for something more than just and anthropological curiosity, but let's hope there is still time for us to learn from it.