Three-day course in methods for studying animal behavior in Beijing a filled to capacity
16 March 2010
With 60 participants attending last December’s course in animal behavior in Beijing, the interest was even greater than the organizers had hoped. People travelled from as far away as Hong Kong to attend this 3-day course. The participants were also very happy with it, with many giving it an above-average rating and not a single person giving it a poor rating. The content was a mixture of theory and hands-on. It covered the use of a wide variety of tools for measuring behavior including both manual and automatic ways to measure behavior.
New sociability cage: made for video tracking
15 March 2010
A complete solution for sociability tests with mice. That is what Noldus offers with the addition of their new three-chambered sociability cage. Made with clear acryllic walls, it is especially designed for optimal video tracking with EthoVision® XT. It also combines perfectly with the Multiple Body Points Module for detailed tracking of the mouse’s nose point, center point, and tail base, without the need for markers or sensors.
This new solution gets researchers exactly the parameters they need, such as how much time the mouse spends in each chamber, the number of transitions between the chambers, and the time spent investigating the partner animal. And to further detail the results, the Manual Event Recorder integrated in EthoVision XT Base allows scoring of additional behaviors, such as sniffing.
CSI The Hague: Advancing Crime Scene Investigation through Video Technology and Behavioral Analysis
15 March 2010
Ever wondered how detectives react when presented with a crime scene? Curious to know how new forensic techniques are used to help reconstruct crime scenes? A ground-breaking new research project, in which Noldus Information Technology will play an important role as technical partner, will contribute to answering these questions.
CSI The Hague: serious gaming at crime scenes will combine Human-Factors research techniques with crime scene investigation. Observations at crime scenes will be carried out in order to investigate behavior patterns. The researchers will work with The Observer® XT, sensors, video cameras, and other equipment, to enable accurate tracking of subjects and measurement of behavior. A total of 13 companies and institutes combine strengths to apply innovative techniques in forensics.
Snacking behavior studied by the ICE consortium
9 March 2010
The Inside Consumer Experience project group is an international consortium of four partners, which develops novel instruments and mobile services for the objective measurement of food selection and consumption in real-life contexts. The project aims to take the concept of situational food-related research a major step further. The first edition of their newsletter with the latest news on methods and tools for consumer studies in the food sector, is now available online! This newsletter is the result of the first two years of the Inside Consumer Experience project group.
Noldus products amongst wolves
9 March 2010
The Austrian Wolf Science Center uses The Observer® XT and Pocket Observer™ to study the behavior of wolves.
At the Wolf Science Center, they study cognition and cooperation in wolves and dogs, in the context of their relationship with con-specifics and with their human raisers. According to their scientists, wolf-human interactions have developed into close cooperation and intimate relationships between dogs and humans during the course of domestication. Cooperation is also at the core of canine social organization. Although it is clear that human collaborative skills are exceptional, comparisons with animals may reveal the evolutionary origins and the functional relevance of cooperation. Moreover, this approach might provide the opportunity to understand how cooperation evolves during the life of the animals, and the mechanisms that shape it.
Noldus opens new U.S. support office on East Coast
19 January 2010
In response to the growing number of customers, Noldus has opened a new U.S. support office on the East Coast. The opening of this third support office marks an important step in the development of customer service. In an increasingly automated world, Noldus cherishes the personal relationship with their customers. The new helpdesk is staffed by Jonathan Dale, who has nine years of experience at Noldus in sales and as a trainer, so he has an excellent in-depth knowledge of our products and solutions. Dr. Dale joined the company after completing his Ph.D. in Biology at Boston University.
Support helpdesks and offices are located in different time zones (Pacific Standard Time, Eastern Standard Time, and Central European Time) and continents for your convenience. Customers across the world can now reach the support team almost every hour of the day. All support inquiries are responded to within one business day and most challenges are solved even faster. Noldus has a 3-tier system of support so that if the helpdesk cannot solve your problem, it is quickly escalated to either a trainer or engineer to provide an optimum level of expertise.
20th Anniversary symposium great success
7 December 2009
Wageningen, The Netherlands - The 20th Anniversary symposium on 19 November was a great success. Renowned speakers as prof.dr. Marcel Dicke, prof.dr. Gerrit van der Veer, prof.dr. Berry Spruijt, and dr. Marchel Gorselink addressed a large audience of customers and long term business and project partners with compelling talks. Interactive games based on EthoVision XT were enthusiastically played by many.
Have a look at the photos to get a taste of the event (click on the photo below for a photo impression).
Pioneers in social behavior research speak to a packed room
7 December 2009
The Measuring Social Behavior: Scientific Challenges, test Paradigms, and Tools symposium (during Neuroscience 2009) was an overwhelming success. It brought together some of the pioneers in social behavior research. The panel was led by Dr. Pawel Boguszewski (Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland) and also featured Dr. Robert Blanchard, Dr. Marcel van Gaalen, and Professor Stephen M Siviy. Together, they provided a multifaceted discussion of the current state of studying social behavior.
Missed it? Or want to re-experience the symposium? Watch the video’s and presentations here!
The talks of the four renowned speakers were diverse and covered quite a full spectrum related to social behavior. There were two major themes, the first being the highly detailed behavioral assessment versus high throughput behavioral assessment.