Welcome to 2003!
This Week in Science would like to wish everyone out there a very happy New Year. May we all hope for peace in the future. In the meantime, however, we have news to report. This Week in Science plans to continue to bring you quality science news throughout our 4th year of existence. Please, stay tuned.
Primate links to our evolution
A Bonobo chimp named Kanzi seems to be capable of a limited form of speech. Previously, primates have only demonstrated the capacity for symbol use in sign language or as represented on keyboards. Kanzi, however, seems to make sounds that are representative of particular things. It has been argued that the sounds might only be used to differentiate emotional states, which is cannot be ruled out at this time. Such a use does not specifically cancel out the possibility that the sounds might have other meanings. In order to discover just what these communicated sounds are all about, the researchers at Georgia State University where Kanzi is kept are videotaping and recording Kanzi and the other chimps (some of whom have not been trained to use language) at the facility. The tapes and recordings will be analyzed to determine whether Kanzi is imitating human speech, if it is a type of communication used by all Bonobos, or if the sounds are only used during certain emotional states. The use of such sounds for communication purposes points to the idea that primitive language could have evolved prior to the arrival of humans.
A study of orangutans supports the theory that culture might have evolved around 14 million years ago, much earlier than previously thought. One defining aspect of culture is that behaviors get passed through generations by imitation. This study, by Carel van Schaik from Duke University in North Carolina, reports 24 behaviors that are passed along through orangutan generations by imitiation alone. Since orangutans evolved earlier than either chimps or humans, this study suggests that cultural behaviors appeared at least as early as the point of orangutan divergence. In order to pin-point the emergence of the roots of human culture more exactly, researchers will have to study primate groups that evolved even earlier than orangutans.
A Clean Army of Ants
Researchers from Laussane University in Switzerland have demonstrated that European wood ants use conifer resin to disinfect their nests. This is the first time that an insect has been shown to use plants for such purposes. Team showed that the use of conifer resin in the nests inhibits the grown of fungus and disease-causing bacteria. However, this is not the first proven incidence of animals using plants for medicinal purposes: birds, chimps, dogs, and rats are some examples. The research group plans to investigate whether the use of resin affects mortality rates in the nest, and whether diseased nests collect more resin than healthier nests. The study of the medicinal uses of plants by animals will hopefully lead to the discovery of medicinal compounds that can be used by humans.
Hot Birds
Bird droppings might lead to the accumulation of radioactive isotopes in the food chain. A group of researchers from the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority are currently investigating the radioactive isoptope content of bird droppings (or guano) to discover whether it is a significant source of radioactivity. Based on early data, they believe that the birds might ingest radioactive material when they eat contaminated fish and crustaceans. Then their droppings, containing a concentrated amount of radioactive material, enter the soil. This might lead to the uptake of radioactive material by growing plants and bacteria. The researchers have evidence that bird droppings from a particular area of Norway contained very high quantities of radioactive isotopes, and that the vegetation in the area was also contaminated.
current science news posted by Kirsten at 1/06/2003 12:30:00 PM
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