The Raspberry Pi Virtual Reality system (PiVR) is a versatile tool for presenting virtual reality environments to small, freely moving animals (such as flies and fish larvae). The use of PiVR, together with techniques like optogenetics, will facilitate the mapping and characterization of neural circuits involved in behavior.

Getting kids interested in national parks can be a challenge—and so is keeping them entertained once you get there! Here are a few tips for helping your family make the most of its time in the great outdoors: 1. Can’t get your kids off their phones? Encourage them to take photos for a family album that focuses on the variety of detail on trails. Put each child in charge of a certain thing: plants, rocks, tree bark, animals, water, etc. 2. Get your younger kids involved in Junior Ranger programs! Some parks have programs for older kids, too. 3. Prepare kids for the elements with appropriate layers of clothing, footwear, mittens, and hats. Don’t forget sunscreen and bug spray, too! 4. Check your park’s specific NPS site before you leave home—you’ll find special kid-friendly programs and activities under “kids.” 5. Play trail games like “I Spy” to keep kids engaged along the way. 6. Choose shorter trails for young kids with attractions as destinations: lakes, boulders to play on, driftwood on beaches. 7. Check out the program: 4th graders can visit all national parks for free! 8. Prevent meltdowns by having snacks and water handy, even on short hikes or adventures. For more tips for exploring the national parks with your family, pick up: [hbg-title isbn="9781640492790" summary="They’ve been dubbed America’s best idea for a reason: get inspired, get outdoors, and discover the wild beauty of the United States with Moon USA National Parks."] [hbg-post heading="What to read next:" id="684728,672906,669869" /] Pin it for Later

Following is a recap of major news at Hachette Book Group for the week of April 15-19, 2019: HBG Community Service Day: we had our second annual Community Service Day on Wednesday, and close to 600 HBG employees volunteered in a wide variety of activities – preparing food in community kitchens, delivering hot meals to homebound seniors, reading with children, repainting rooms in community centers, gardening in green spaces, caring for animals in rescue shelters, assisting with literacy and mental health awareness projects, creating handmade cards for hospitalized children, and much more. Bestseller news:  James Patterson’s The Fall of Crazy House (JIMMY Patterson) debuts at #4 on the New York Times YA Hardcover list. Also, debuting on the NYT lists are William W. Li’s Eat to Beat Disease (GCP) at #10 on the Advice, How-To, & Misc., and Miracle at St. Andrews by James Patterson & Peter de Jonge (LB) at #13 on the Print HC Fiction list. HBG’s distribution clients have a #1 bestseller with Jeff Kinney’s new addition to the Diary of the Wimpy Kid franchise, Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid (Abrams) at the top of the Middle Grade Hardcover list. And David Sax’s The Revenge of the Analog (PublicAffairs) makes a surprise appearance at #1 on the Washington Post bestseller list this week. LA Times Book Prize: Beth Macy’s Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America (LB) has won the 2018  for Science & Technology. Ondaatje Prize shortlist: Adam Weymouth’s Kings of the Yukon (LB) has been named to the Royal Society of Literature’s 2019  shortlist. The £10,000 prize is awarded annually to a book of the highest literary merit – fiction, non-fiction, or poetry – which best evokes the spirit of a place. The winner will be announced May 13. Major launch: Ali Benjamin’s highly anticipated The Next Great Paulie Fink (LBYR) went on sale this week with an interview on NPR’s Here & Now, coverage to come in The Denver Post, New York Times, People, and the Wall Street Journal, and a two-week national tour.

Researchers argue that cognitive studies in comparative psychology often wrongly take an anthropocentric approach, resulting in an over-valuation of human-like abilities and the assumption that cognitive skills cluster in animals as they do in humans. The authors advocate for philosophical and procedural changes to the discipline that would lead to a better understanding of animal minds and the evolution of multiple forms of cognition.

A research team has found a small area of the brain in mice that can profoundly control the animals' sense of pain. Somewhat unexpectedly, this brain center turns pain off, not on. It's located in an area where few people would have thought to look for an anti-pain center, the amygdala, which is often considered the home of negative emotions and responses, like the fight or flight response and general anxiety.

A 9500-year-old dog discovered on a remote island off Siberia is remarkably similar to living sled dogs in Greenland, suggesting that people have been breeding these working animals for millennia

The Bad Batch will hit the streaming service in 2021.

The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, the zoo made famous in the "Tiger King" documentary on Netflix, was searched by police on Friday.

A dog in Texas has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed animal in the state to be infected with the virus, officials said on Wednesday.

Each year, wind turbines are responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of airborne animals such as bats. To find a constructive way out of this ''green-green'' dilemma, companies building and running wind turbines might have to work together with environmental experts and conservationists. Yet lack of trust between them can hinder effective collaboration. Scientists show: shared values are not sufficient to build trust, as beliefs and emotions have stronger influence.