Tag: monkey

• The Chimps are Talking

  A study was published in Nature examining communication among chimpanzees. It found that chimps use "words," and can combine the words into "syntactic-like structures," the beginnings of phrases and sentences. Jeff and Anthony dig into how the researchers came to this conclusion, and discuss how this might alter their perception of primates. [more]

  May 29, 2023Episodes

• Lancelot Drink and Headless Slugs

  What separates us from the primates? Opposable thumbs? Self-awareness? What if it's water efficiency? Anthony and Jeff discuss a new study just might provide an answer an age-old question in an entirely new way. Then, researchers have discovered a kind of sea slug that can cut it's own head off and regrow its body over a series of weeks. Jeff and Anthony wonder what THAT'S like. [more]

  March 14, 2021Episodes

• Kid Justice and Stone Age Monkeys

  A new Yale study shows that many children are willing to make personal sacrifices to punish wrongdoers — and even more so if they believe punishment will teach the transgressor a lesson. Anthony and Jeff are heartened by the findings and wonder if there is encouraging evidence about how humans perceive justice. Then, researchers have discovered that one population of white-faced capuchin monkeys in Panama have entered the Stone Age. Jeff and Anthony talk about what this means for how we conceptualize evolution, until Jeff ruins everything with a pun. [more]

  December 11, 2020Episodes

• Working Like a Dog

  If you're a dog lover, just being with your pet feels good. So it's no surprise that therapy dogs are healing companions for people with health conditions. Research confirms that the benefits of pet therapy are real—but what do dogs think about helping humans? Science has considered this question too, and the results are reassuring. Jeff and Anthony discuss whether or not these findings apply to Anthony's perfect prince. [more]

  May 23, 2018Episodes

• Logo Mindstorms

  Humans assign value to brands. Brands represent wealth, strength, and yes, sex. We are our brands. And for some rhesus macaques in a lab, one brand, Adidas, represents monkey genitalia. The researchers paired dominant male faces, subordinate male faces, and female hindquarters with some brand logos, then paired scrambled images with other brand logos. “We know how social rewards can be processed differently compared to primary rewards like food or water,” the study’s first author M. Yavuz Acikalin in the Stanford Graduate School of Business told Gizmodo. “Essentially, what this is looking at, ‘is can monkeys also associate the rewards with arbitrary stimuli, and create associations more directly though conditioning.’” Jeff and Anthony discuss monkeys and business. [more]

  March 14, 2018Episodes

• Macaque of the Clones

  For the first time, scientists say they created cloned primates using the same complicated cloning technique that made Dolly the sheep in 1996. Shanghai scientists created two genetically identical and adorable long-tailed macaques. Researchers used modern technology developed only in the last couple of years to enhance the technique used to clone Dolly, which is called somatic cell transfer. Jeff and Anthony giggle childishly at some of the funny sounding words. [more]

  February 2, 2018Episodes