How does the learning process really work many teachers have scratched their heads over that question. And scientists also know very little about what happens in the brain when we learn. One research has set up a number of experiments to find out but not with school kids. Pigeons are reputed to be not very smart but might we be wrong about them lets take this average pigeon we call it right now were going to do an experiment to find out if i can distinguish between photos with and without humans in them. We show id have pictures of dogs and peer. Family and adrian. Caro and. The pigeon passes easily this is it works because its identified. Humans as a category i have been trained and shown lots of pictures with and without people in them. The pigeon clearly didnt memorize the pictures but learned something abstract from them recognizing a human being and it can apply that to any picture. But. The team of neuroscientists observe the pigeons learning behavior in whats known as a skinner box the process of learning how to distinguish between pictures with and without humans appears to follow certain principles in order to investigate them the tests are carried out according to strict rules. You see its always close to the food. The pigeon picks out a yellow patch then if it successfully distinguishes between humans and say animals it gets cornfield as a reward if it gets it wrong the light is briefly switched off. For. This kind of experiment you need animals that dont get easily frustrated can take a long time and to start with the animal doesnt know what you wanted to do the patients are very conscientious if you give them a task theyll stick with it even if it takes weeks its fantastic. Thats fantastic. Pigeons actually the sole focus of. Work. Just as interested in how learning works in all animals and in humans since animal perception is similar to that of humans experiments with animals allow him to form conclusions about how the brain perceives processes learning. The basic mechanisms are not just demonstrated by tests with photos couldnt even manage to teach is pigeons and spelling to begin with failed. And to distinguish between real english words and made up words then new words are introduced. If the word is a real one the pigeon picks on it if its a made up word it picks on the star. Of this test proves is that there is a rule to spelling which letters go together in a particular language and this differs from german to english for instance but pigeons and humans learn the probabilities of letter sequences according to the same principle. Whether its Elementary School children or pigeons they learn exactly the same rules at all exactly like you think. The difference is that pigeons dont understand what all those squiggles actually mean still theres something we can learn from pigeons here for regions of show me the importance of hard work to sign even if youre not very smart and working hard can take you far. Even hard working pigeons like i deserve a break once in a while and one things for sure no one will ever call her birdbrain again. Nowadays more and more people are turning to a vegetarian or even feel good lifestyle that they may want a protein rich alternative to meet. Like tofu matron so you can. All say time a few protein. All mushrooms theyre low in fat and time protein we could them to the test do funky cut the mustard as a meat substitute. They look like sausages but theyre meat lets not that the shoppers here know that. This couple samples them what are they made of the air. Succumbs is quite a surprise and not a nice one its mold. Them on. The. Malt its supposed to taste good the sausages are indeed made of mold but theyre anything that unhealthy. Want to taste good and not of called good things of indians i wouldnt have noticed if you hadnt told me this is that it is still very good taste like sausage was doubt but theres no accounting for taste but there are benefits to sausages made of fungus. They have almost zero fat and they dont boost l. D. L. Cholesterol they contain no poisonous found guide theyre made to feel sorry invent another term harmless strain high in protein its found in a range of products in supermarkets the sausage is forty six percent fungus with added albumin and wheat flour as a binding agent plus east extract for extra flavor. The juicy looking filets are eighty eight percent fungal or michael protein along with protein from potatoes and peas fibers this substitute minced meat is ninety five percent micro protein and can be cooked like the real thing. But is it really a replacement for meat in the long term and does it taste like meat at this stand eric heiden makes fries and serves up burgers until now theyve consisted of one hundred percent beef but today hes creating one for especially out of mince fashion from micro protein. You know i will people notice it isnt real mince meat its given our thinks are especially in direct comparison with a meat burger. Where about to find out micro protein has yet to conquer menus the world over but great things have small beginnings. Scientists. This state of the Art Research Lab and geese an intentional germany have been working for years on the Perfect League in the substitute. Although their fungal meat is made of common edible mushrooms. That with a lesser why do you use oyster mushrooms. First its a very flavorful mushroom were going to intense. Because. Plus its very high in protein and it has a nice texture so you dont have this squishy spongy feeling in your mouth it sounds promising lets give it a go to. Move. My tastes lovely. The researchers dont wait for the fungus to develop into a mushroom all they need is the webby massive thread like filaments known as the mycelium. The process is demonstrated here on a small scale. The liquid nutrient contains fructose to feed the fungus the flasks its far more sustainable on environmentally friendly. Normally the team produced their micro protein in this bio reactor it takes three days. This impressive looking more to della was made without the use of eggs or other binding agents derived from animals its currently a prototype and not yet commercially available. And im granted a sneak preview. Its not quite the same as mortadella but it does have a good strong taste. And if youd never think it was made from that mushroom stick. And how well our burgers do it will be interesting to see whether our test tasters can distinguish the meat from the fungus version. You can. Say this is me and this one isnt. And how about this guy. Are not me. Here is definitely not made the right again this is me. Not me but its a circle not bad to make delicious so its time for you to try one will the creator himself be won over by the fungus burgers. As for mr burnet is from personally i dont like the taste that much but i could imagine that vegetarians and vegans might like it flies and thats. Us on the second. As it has a dyed in the wool meet either im unlikely to go digging overnight but if youre looking to reduce your Meat Consumption this is a decent alternative to. Mushrooms and other kinds of funky other special type of organisms not plants not animals. Theyre a world of their own are the fascinating inhabitants. And the impact mushrooms have on the environment can be seen especially when theyre gone. Close besler has a mission. To bring mushrooms out of the shadows. Germany is home to over six thousand types of mushroom most of which grow wild in forests but not as much as they used to and that is potentially problematic. Invite since the get there are two central process is underway in a forest ecosystem the build up of organic matter tree growth and the degradation of organic matter autumn leaves that accumulate. Trees could never grow to such heights without the help of funky put simply would be swamped in dead leaves and dead wood without fungal species they help it all break down. A problem with. That funky are woefully underappreciated. In germany trees in manage forest supplanted very close together so they grow straight and a cut down as soon as possible natural forests a completely different dead trees are left to grow and diet their own pale. And the Bavarian ForestNational Park best shows us the remains of a crime evil forest. And it there are the good people its a range of funky found here is more or less unique in germany theres a lot of dead wood here and old trees which is why there are such diversity of funky here. But in fact the whole of germany could be like this and ill see him. Of course close beslow knows theres no way all forest can be left to its own devices. Hes investigating ways that phunky can be encouraged to flourish in managed forests and has set up experimentation zones at first glance they look unusual hes had trees felled entreats helps chairman and the key question is does leaving dead wood alone lead to a greater perforation of fungal the answer is clearly yes it does diversity of trees also encourages diversity of fungal such as would decay fungus only the fruiting body in the mushroom is visible the rest is in the tree trunk or in similarly only the fruiting bodies of soil fundi of visible the actual fungus is in the soil its made up of very delicate threads. This is the my psyllium it forms on the roots of trees and plants and supplies them with nutrients. In the my c. M. Can spread out to cover large areas these underground network store water nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus which is shed with the trees. For the wood. And return the trees supply the funky with sugar compounds they cant produce things themselves but they need them to grow many funky feed off dead wood poorest wood provides a habitat for animal life such as insects the researches are trying to find out which surfaces animals thrive most in their experiments not yet finished but theyve already reached certain conclusions reached here whats more important than the quantity of dead wood is the diversity of dead wood trees that are stored standing dead wood on the ground and old leaves thats another decisive factor is the role of light in the Forest Forest managers need to ensure that there are clearings so the dead wood get some sunlight that encourages biodiversity if you fight right now biodiversity is suffering as fungus experts are well aware. Endangered species are added to the global fungal read list. In germany volunteers have examined and evaluated over three million from me as part of the project. With his six there are some six thousand types of macro fungus in germany ken we can only identify a fraction of this number on sight around two hundred types give or take. We have to identify the rest with the help of reference books back home. Or examine them under a microscope. That smells of aniseed. Oh look a rare bracket fungus. The collectors might be delighted by the sheer number of funny they find but the result of the stock taking in so growing at least twenty five percent of local funny are endangered in data on many types of fundy cant be compiled in q two a lack of information. Flow would like to rescue as many types of endangered funding as possible to steadfast. Forest is the only place in germany where this particular type grows. Keen to get it to multiply two years ago he succeeded in transplanting it to another factory fire of wood new plugs. Now he can take a sample and conduct a genetic analysis to establish if the fungus has actually settled but it will be a few months before the results are ready. And whatever the results is committed to continuing his work in Fungus Conservation and in the process protecting forests. Well stay on facebook what feelings you associate with forests. How much fuss econ forests are a good place for recreation and Outdoor Activities he says eating dinner in the woods is an amazing experience. Martina come visit disagrees in her post she points to the horrors of the woods like getting attacked by thousands of mosquitoes stumbling over vines and gets in your clothes by thorns. But. Sixteen she compares nature and its splendid forests took her some looking beautiful in new clothing and she says we should stop deforestation every way. I. Know its time for all of you a question. This time may have been prompted by industrial chimneys all railroads in any case it comes from. West africa. Curry from god i want to know. Why is sometimes white turn sometimes but. In general white smoke is produced when materials are burnt black small because common corn plastic spork look which go up and. Flames the color of smoke has a lot to do with the stuff thats burning. And the range of colors is wide and varied. With steam locomotives but if its warm outside and humidity is low the steam or smoke pops out of the stack is really quite thats because theres hardly any condensation. The smoke made by this beekeeper looks pretty white. The plant matter in his smoker is still a bit more iced but no matter what the color itll still ward off to be as for at least a while. Smoke is actually bad for both our health and the environment but it is sometimes used. To smoke in whatever color is going to track detention. And thats in a rock said without smoke. Special effects with smoke stuff said. On stage at the movies. Billowing clouds smoke and swirling particles. This is the stuff of fluid simulation used out of this world movie special effects. Are seen here in the latest star with adventure the last jet i. Real simulated clouds of smoke are easy enough to conjure up with something on a tank of water. But for the creators of computer animated effects they can be a challenge. Near us today is a professor of games engineering in munich. Hes worked on visual effects for a range of hollywood movies. In twenty twelve you shared a technical achievement oscar for a program that simulates clouds of smoke its a highly complex process. Does colorless good looks a little as its all about turbulence its the same problem that aircraft manufacturers car makers and weather forecasters have the underlying physics is very complicated and the complexity that arises is far too great for it to be simulated by. The. National encounter. The acclaimed why evil at turbulent software calculates smoke and explosions and recreates them in a realistic manner its been used in numerous blockbuster movies including the star wars spin off rogue one. And in the last jet i the spectacular clowns from exploding spaceships would not have been possible without the munich teams work. What makes a realistic rendition of moving liquids in gas is so difficult is the chaotic motion of the individual particles in the smoke or ink how and where they move and how fast is determined by many different factors. Simulation becomes even more difficult when the particles hit an obstacle. So far there hasnt been a satisfactory way to model bad behavior. But now it needs today and his colleagues have found a solution instead of calculating the path of each individual particle their program only requires a rough preliminary design. The system will then independently recognize patterns of motion and complete the animation with archive data its based on a technique known as deep learning. The so called illegally easy idea behind it is to use large amounts of data and let the computer learn to recognise the relationships between data its a hugely promising approach deep learning makes a lot more possible so its an Interesting Development for many areas of i. T. Including these physics simulations has a voice in and from article in time off to do the physics not on. The Research Team is confident that deep learning methods will enable complex and realistic smoke simulations that even low budget film studios could afford. And while the algorithms developed to munich would be lending additional relisten to movies scientists or other applications in mind in medicine for instance. The good ones and other kind which is in the blood and of veins can be modeled using the same equations used to create these smoke clouds an interesting idea would be to build up a library of precise simulations such as blood flow behavior for a particular blood vessel geometry we could then use the learning algorithms to predict how an x. Ray image relates to these flows that would be a very interesting direction for us and Justin Bieber and his angels and to reach them here. One day the fluid simulations might even help to save lives. But for now will primarily be seen them on the big screen in the jet i blow away the bad guys and audiences with explosives special effects. All the more stories from the world of research and Technology Head to our web site e. W. Dot com slash science. And to send us your comments on twitter and facebook. Wed love to hear from you. Once and for today next time well be looking at Autonomous Cars are highly seductive idea but whos responsible when theres an accident to find out next week on tomorrow today see you then top i am. Move. To. China has become a global power. Its economy is growing at a rapid pace overseen by a communist party. President xi jinping has come in for much praise and acclaim. But what is this energetic leaders master plan to. China the new world power. The fast pace of life in the digital no im sure she has the lowdown on the way showing new developments and providing useful information. And interviews with the makers and users. Should be in forty five minutes. Going to unofficial estimates more than one point two million venezuelans are in colombia and illegally. Already at all ive returned to. Visit friends is that i dont think id ever go back there to live you know what i live there again i dont know so im not sure. Bearing witness global news that matters. Made from minds. We make up of what we watch as of office that hundred twenty five we ought to seventy seven percent. Want to shape the continents future to. Be part of enjoying african youngsters as they share their stories their dreams and their challenges. To seventy seven percent. Platform for africa charting. It created movie milestones it was an instrument of propaganda and persecution. It underwent bankruptcy and restructuring. But it still turning out films today. Flop germanys biggest and oldest film company. A cinematic history from the german empire to the present one hundred years so far starting february eighteenth on. South africas ruling a. N. C. Party has reportedly agreed to remove president. As head of state local media say the move was decided at a marathon meeting zuma has faced pressure to resign over corruption allegations. Crane has deported former georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili took poland closed caption footage appears to show saakashvili being arrested in a key of restaurant ukrainian authorities accuse him of staying in the country illegally where he