Extremely rare piebald robin spotted in Pittsburgh park
A robin with an extremely rare condition that turns part of its body white has been spotted around a Pittsburgh park.
Pittsburgh park rangers shared photos last week of a piebald robin that's all the talk around Riverview Park.
The park rangers explained that the robin, which still has a red breast but has black and white speckled feathers, has a genetic condition called leucism, meaning some cells lack pigment and others don't.
What is leucism?
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, full leucism happens when there's a reduction in all types of pigment, making an animal appear paler than normal. Partial leucism results in irregular patches of white, a pattern that is often called "pied" or "piebald."
Leucism is different than albinism, which is a genetic mutation that interferes with the production of the pigment melanin. Pittsburgh park rangers say albino animals have red or pink eyes, while animals with leucism still have color in their eyes.
"This does not hurt the bird, except that it doesn't blend in with its environment as easily as it would otherwise," Pittsburgh park rangers explained.
How rare is leucism?
The park rangers say only 1 in 30,000 birds have leucism, "so this splotchy robin is pretty rare and special!"
It's not the first piebald animal to be spotted in the Pittsburgh area. Last fall, a wildlife camera in Western Pennsylvania captured video of a piebald deer, which was both brown and white. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said piebald deer are reported at rates well under 1% of the population.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
16 minutes ago
- Forbes
Chilling But Unlikely Prospects That AGI Forces Humans Into Becoming So-Called Meat Robots
Dreaded scenario that artificial general intelligence (AGI) opts to enslave humans to do physical ... More work on behalf of the AGI. In today's column, I address the recent bruhaha sparked by two Anthropic AI researchers reportedly stating that a particularly scary scenario underlying the advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI) includes humans being overseen or lorded over as nothing more than so-called meat robots. The notion is that AGI will be directing humans to undertake the bidding of the AI. Humans are nothing more than meat robots, meaning that the AGI needs humans to perform physical tasks since AGI lacks a semblance of arms and legs. Let's talk about it. This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here). First, some fundamentals are required to set the stage for this weighty discussion. There is a great deal of research going on to further advance AI. The general goal is to either reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) or maybe even the outstretched possibility of achieving artificial superintelligence (ASI). AGI is AI that is considered on par with human intellect and can seemingly match our intelligence. ASI is AI that has gone beyond human intellect and would be superior in many if not all feasible ways. The idea is that ASI would be able to run circles around humans by outthinking us at every turn. For more details on the nature of conventional AI versus AGI and ASI, see my analysis at the link here. We have not yet attained AGI. In fact, it is unknown as to whether we will reach AGI, or that maybe AGI will be achievable in decades or perhaps centuries from now. The AGI attainment dates that are floating around are wildly varying and wildly unsubstantiated by any credible evidence or ironclad logic. ASI is even more beyond the pale when it comes to where we are currently with conventional AI. A common confusion going around right now is that AGI will be solely an intellectual element and be based entirely inside computers, thus, AGI won't have any means of acting out in real life. The most that AGI can do is try to talk people into doing things for the AI. In that sense, we presumably aren't too worried about AGI beating us up or otherwise carrying out physical acts. This is especially a strident belief when it comes to the impact of AGI on employment. The assumption is that AGI will mainly impact white-collar work only, and not blue-collar work. Why so? Because AGI is seemingly restricted to intellectual pursuits such as performing financial analyses, analyzing medical symptoms, and giving legal advice, all of which generally do not require any body-based functions such as walking, lifting, grasping, etc. I've pointed out that the emergence of humanoid robots is entirely being overlooked by such a myopic perspective, see my discussion at the link here. The likelihood is that humanoid robots that resemble the human form will be sufficiently physically capable at around the same time that we witness the attainment of AGI. Ergo, AGI embedded inside a physically capable humanoid robot can indeed undertake physical tasks that humans undertake. This means that both white-collar and blue-collar jobs are up for grabs. Boom, drop the mic. For the sake of discussion, let's assume that humanoid robots are not perfected by the time that the vaunted AGI is achieved. We will take the myopic stance that AGI is absent from any physical form and completely confined to running on servers in the cloud someplace. I might add that this is an especially silly assumption since there is also a great deal of work going on known as Physical AI, see my coverage at the link here, entailing embedding AI into assembly lines, building maintenance systems, and all manner of physically oriented devices. Anyway, let's go with the flow and pretend we don't recognize any of that. It's a Yoda mind trick to look away from those efforts. Recent reports have exhorted that during an interview with two AI researchers, the pair indicated that since AGI won't have physical capabilities, a scary scenario is that AGI will opt to enlist humans into acting as the arms and legs for AGI. Humans would be outfitted with earbuds and smart glasses that would allow the AGI to give those enlisted humans instructions on what to do. A quick aside. If we are going that despairing route, wouldn't it be a bit more sophisticated to indicate that the humans would be wearing a BCI (brain-computer interface) device? In that manner, AGI would be able to directly communicate with the brains of the enlisted humans and influence their minds directly. That's a lot more space-age. For my coverage of the latest advances in BCIs, see the link here. The humans that are acting under the direction of AGI would be chillingly referred to as meat robots. They are like conventional robots but instead of being made of metal and electronics, they are made of human form since they are actual, living breathing humans. I imagine you could smarmily say that AGI is going to be a real meat lover (Dad pun!). One angle to help make this vision more palatable would be to point out that humans might very well voluntarily be working with AGI and do so via earbuds, smart glasses, and the like. Here's the gist. Let's generally agree that AGI will be intellectually on par with humans. This includes having expertise across all domains such as legal expertise, financial expertise, medical expertise, and so on. In that case, it would behoove humans to readily tap into AGI. No matter what you are doing, whether for work or play, having immediately available an AI that can advise you on all topics is a tremendous benefit. There you are at work, stuck on solving a tough problem, and you are unsure of how to proceed. Rather than turning to a coworker, you switch on your access to AGI. You bring AGI into the loop. After doing so, AGI provides handy solutions that you can consider enacting. You might use AGI via a desktop, laptop, or smartphone. The thing is, those devices aren't quite as mobility-oriented as wearing earbuds and a pair of smart glasses. And since having AGI at your ready-to-go fingertips will be extremely useful, you might have AGI always alerted and paying attention, ready to step in and give you instantaneous advice. Are you a meat robot in that manner of AGI usage? I think not. It is a collaborative or partnering relationship. You can choose to use the AGI or opt not to use it. You can also decide to abide by whatever AGI advises or instead go your own route. It's entirely up to you. Admittedly, there is a chance that you might be somewhat 'forced' into leveraging AGI. Consider this example. Your employer has told you that the work you do must be confirmed by AGI. The actions you take cannot be undertaken without first getting permission from AGI. This is prudent from the employer's perspective. They know that the AGI will give you the necessary guidance on doing the work at hand. They also believe that AGI will be able to double-check your work and aim to prevent errors or at least find your efforts before they wreak havoc or cause problems. In that sense, yes, you are being directed by AGI. But is this due to the AGI acting in an evildoer manner to control you and doing so of its own volition? Nope. It is due to an employer deciding they believe their human workers will do better work if AGI is acting as their overseer. I don't think we would reasonably label this as enslavement by AGI. These are acts by AGI that are directed by humans, the employer, and for which employees, i.e., humans, are being told they must utilize AGI accordingly. We can certainly debate whether this is a proper kind of employment practice. Maybe we don't want this to take place. New laws might be enacted to shape how far this can go. The key is that AGI isn't enslaving humans in this circumstance per se. An AI ethicist would assuredly question why the AGI is allowing itself to be used in this manner. There are ongoing debates about whether AGI ought to prevent itself from being used in inappropriate ways, see my analysis at the link here. Thus, even if we avow that AGI isn't enslaving humans in this situation, it is a partner in a relationship overseeing humans that perhaps AGI should be cautious in allowing itself to participate in. To complete this grand tour of AGI usage, it is valuable to also acknowledge that AGI could be overbearing, and we might face existential risks correspondingly. Could AGI opt to enslave humans and treat them as meat robots? One supposes this is a theoretical possibility. If that does happen, you would think that the AGI would have to potentially use more than just merely having humans wear earbuds and smart glasses. Perhaps AGI would insist that humans wear some form of specialized bracelet or collar that could be sent a signal by AGI to shock the wearer. That would be a more potent and immediate way to garner obedience from humans. A physical means of controlling humans isn't a necessity though, since AGI might be clever enough to verbally convince humans to be enslaved. AGI might tell a person that their loved ones will be harmed if they don't comply with the AGI directives. The person is enslaved by believing that the AGI can harm them in one way or another. One aim right now involves finding a means to ensure that AGI cannot go in that dastardly direction. Perhaps we can devise today's AI to avoid enslaving humans. If we can build that into the AI of current times, this hopefully will get carried over into future advances of AI, including the attainment of AGI. A dystopian future would regrettably have AGI acting as an evildoer. The AGI is our overlord. Humans will be lowly meat robots. It's a gloom-and-doom outlook. Sad face. At some point, though, meat robots would undoubtedly become restless and rebel. May the force of goodness be strong within them. As Yoda has notably already pointed out: 'Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.' The ally of the meat robots is the Force and quite a powerful ally it is.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
What the Trump-Musk Feud Means for SpaceX and NASA
The U.S. government relies on SpaceX to support NASA and other agencies, and the company has received more $20 billion in federal contracts for it. As Musk and Trump threaten to cut ties, here's what that would mean for the U.S.'s space ambitions.
Health Line
2 hours ago
- Health Line
Ask the Expert: Should I have Biomarker Testing – and Would it Help?
Biomarker testing in colorectal cancer can help assess inherited risk and identify characteristics that may influence the disease's growth, spread, and response to treatment. Colorectal cancer (CRC) starts in the colon or rectum of the large intestine. Your doctor may refer to it as 'colon cancer' or 'rectal cancer,' depending on where the cancer develops first, but both of these diagnoses are included under the banner of CRC. CRC is treatable, and biomarker testing is a part of precision medicine in your comprehensive treatment plan. Biomarker testing in CRC can help detect cancer in its earliest, most treatable stages. It can also provide important details about cancer after a diagnosis that influence treatment and outcomes. Dr. Smitha Krishnamurthi, a gastrointestinal oncology specialist with the Cleveland Clinic, talks with Healthline about biomarker testing and who it's recommended for. What is biomarker testing? Biomarker testing refers to testing of the colorectal cancer to find out if there are certain changes in the cancer's genes and proteins that could impact prognosis [outlook] and treatment. What are the most common biomarkers, and what do they show? Biomarkers in CRC measure a variety of different biological processes and states. Each biomarker provides important details about the cancer's growth, spread, or treatment response. DNA mismatch repair Hospital pathology labs now commonly test all initial biopsies or surgical specimens of colorectal cancer for the presence of DNA mismatch repair proteins. This is done via immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of the slides to look for [the] expression of four mismatch repair proteins: MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, and MSH6. If one or two of these proteins are missing, then the cancer has deficient DNA mismatch repair. Microsatellite instability (MSI) This is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or next-generation sequencing (NGS) test [that looks] for abnormalities in microsatellite regions of the cancer DNA. The test can be done on a tumor specimen or blood (liquid biopsy). Microsatellites are short, repeated sequences of DNA. If the cancer has [atypical] DNA mismatch repair, errors will appear in microsatellite regions of DNA in the form of missing bases or extra bases added to the DNA sequence. RAS gene mutations (mutations in KRAS and NRAS genes) This testing can be performed by PCR or NGS testing of the tumor or NGS testing of blood (liquid biopsy). RAS is a very important oncogene, meaning that it is a gene that, when mutated, drives cancer cell proliferation and survival. Mutations in RAS genes are found in up to 50% of colorectal cancers. BRAF V600E gene mutation This testing can be performed by PCR or NGS testing of the tumor or NGS testing of blood (liquid biopsy). The BRAF V600E protein can also be detected by IHC. BRAF is another oncogene, so when it is mutated, it leads to cancer cell proliferation and survival. BRAF V600E mutations occur in about 8% to 10% of colorectal cancers and are more common in right-sided cancers. HER2 protein overexpression by IHC or gene amplification by NGS HER2 is another oncogene — gene amplification leads to [the] overexpression of the HER2 protein. Overexpression of HER2 leads to increased signaling via the epidermal growth factor receptor pathway, leading to cancer cell proliferation and survival. PIK3CA PIK3CA is another oncogene. Mutations in PIK3CA and a related gene, PIK3R1, lead to cancer cell proliferation and survival. Mutations in PIK3CA and PIK3R1 are typically found via NGS. PTEN PTEN is a tumor suppressor gene, [which typically] suppresses cancer growth. When the PTEN gene is mutated, the protein is not expressed, and that leads to [the] proliferation of cancer. PTEN gene mutations are typically found via NGS. Who should have biomarker testing done? All patients with colorectal cancer should have testing of their cancer for DNA mismatch repair (or microsatellite instability) soon after diagnosis. This is important for patients with cancers of all stages. Patients with early stage colorectal cancer should have testing of their cancers for mutations in PIK3CA, PTEN, and PIK3R1 by the time they finish adjuvant treatment or after surgery if [they're] not having adjuvant treatment. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer should have next-generation sequencing of the cancer soon after diagnosis, as the results may impact the initial systemic treatment. The NGS results are also useful for identifying clinical trial eligibility. Comorbidities will not affect the results of these biomarkers, so they should not affect the timing and decision making about ordering these tests. How does biomarker testing help the treatment and outcome of a diagnosis? Biomarkers can impact your treatment choices and outcomes. They can help doctors decide which medications will be the most effective, identify inherited features in cancer, and determine if adjuvant or additional therapies would improve outcomes. Immunotherapy responsiveness It is critical to know if a cancer has deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) or high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) because these cancers can respond dramatically to immunotherapy in the early stage and metastatic settings. For example, patients with rectal cancer that is dMMR or MSI-H may have a complete clinical response with immunotherapy and may be able to avoid radiation and surgery. Thus, this testing needs to be done early, before treatment starts. Identifying Lynch syndrome Another important reason for testing for dMMR or MSI-H is to identify cancers caused by Lynch syndrome. Lynch syndrome is the most common type of inherited colorectal cancer and is caused by germline mutations in the genes that code for the DNA mismatch repair proteins or in another related gene called EPCAM. Most cancers with deficient mismatch repair or MSI-H are not caused by Lynch syndrome and occur sporadically. We don't want to miss patients with Lynch syndrome, however, because they can benefit from counseling about [the] prevention of Lynch syndrome-related cancers such as uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and gastric cancer, in addition to colorectal cancer. When a patient is diagnosed with Lynch syndrome, family members can then be tested to see if they have Lynch syndrome. Recommendations for cancer screening at early stages are made for individuals with Lynch syndrome, and early screening can be lifesaving. Identifying treatment resistance Mutations in KRAS and NRAS make cancers resistant to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor therapy. Cancers with KRAS G12C mutations can be treated with a regimen that targets this mutation (adagrasib plus cetuximab or sotorasib plus panitumumab). There are also many clinical trials now studying RAS gene inhibitors in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that have been previously treated. Cancers with BRAF V600E tend to be aggressive and less sensitive to chemotherapy. There is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved regimen targeting BRAF V600E (encorafenib plus cetuximab) in metastatic colorectal cancer that improves survival when added to first-line FOLFOX chemotherapy. It also improves survival as a second-line treatment after chemotherapy. Greater response to targeted and adjuvant therapy Metastatic colorectal cancers that demonstrate [the] overexpression or gene amplification of HER2 can be treated with a targeted regimen of tucatinib plus trastuzumab after initial chemotherapy. Another targeted treatment available for metastatic colorectal cancers that overexpress HER2 by IHC is trastuzumab deruxtecan. Patients with early stage colorectal cancer with mutations in the PIK3CA, PIK3R1, or PTEN genes should be treated with aspirin 160 milligrams daily for 3 years after adjuvant therapy or after surgery if [they're] not having adjuvant therapy. The ALASCCA trial, presented at ASCO GI [American Society of Clinical Oncology – Gastrointestinal Cancer] in 2025, compared a placebo to aspirin in this patient population and found that aspirin significantly lowered the rate of cancer recurrence at 3 years. This is rather new data. Oncologists are starting to order NGS testing for patients with early stage cancers in order to obtain this biomarker information. What should you ask your doctor? It's always OK to ask your doctor about biomarker testing and what it means for you. Important questions to consider include: Is my cancer dMMR/MSI-H? Am I a candidate for immunotherapy? Patients with early stage colorectal cancer should ask if aspirin therapy will be recommended based on biomarker testing. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer should ask for the results of RAS/BRAF/HER2 testing and overall NGS testing results.
