R&D INSIGHT
Fracas over whether chimps have accents
of their grunts, when they were relocated to Edinburgh Zoo to fit in with the local chimps. After the study was published, three
A and
researchers wrote to the journal Current Biology suggesting the results didn’t ring true. The original team responded and stands by its findings, with Dr Simon Townsend of Warwick University, one of the co-authors of the paper, saying, “It’s an interesting critique of our research - and this is exactly how science works.” In the study, the team observed the behaviour vocalisations of a group
of Dutch
study published in February, declared that a group of chimps from a Dutch safari park had changed the ‘accent’
chimpanzees, after they moved in with an existing colony in Edinburgh. Over several years, they described a change in the call that the Dutch chimps used for apples - a common food for both groups. The call appeared to have shifted from a high- pitched, excited grunt, to a low-pitched, unenthusiastic one more like the call used by local chimps. The excited tone was originally thought to relate to the emotional value of the food concerned, but the Dutch chimps really liked apples both before and after the move, so the change in enthusiasm seemed related to the local ‘dialect’. Critics argue that the two groups’ calls were not, in fact, so different in the first place.
Kangaroo farts not as environmentally friendly as previously thought
Kangaroos can no longer feel smug about their flatulence. Traditionally, it’s been thought that the animals produce unusually low amounts of methane when they pass gas. Livestock farts make up a large proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions, so kangaroos have been seen as potential lifesavers in the global warming department. Scientists had hoped that there might be some secret cocktail of microbes in their gut that made their emissions so delicate — perhaps one that could be given to cattle to make their farts less harmful. But according to a study in the Journal of Experimental Biology, there’s nothing special about a kangaroo fart. Kangaroos do produce less methane than cows, when one individual is compared to another. But when the researchers looked at methane emissions in relation to food intake, they found that kangaroos actually come pretty close to cow methane production. In other words, if a cow had the same digestion microbes as a kangaroo, they’d probably produce the same amount of methane that they do naturally.
www.projectsmagazine.eu.com IN BRIEF
Carbon nanotubes found in children’s lungs
Scientists at the University of Paris- Saclay have discovered carbon nanotubes in human lungs for the first time. The team studied fluid from the airways of 64 asthmatic children living in Paris, and discovered nanotubes in all of the samples. The use of nanotubes has raised some concerns after studies in mice showed immune reactions similar to those produced by asbestos. Researchers warn that there is still work to be done to find out whether these structures are harmless of harmful.
Cleaning up precious metals
Researchers at Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) have discovered a new material that can catalyse the decomposition of cyanide ions in process waste streams. Products made of precious metals require large amounts of highly toxic cyanide salts in their manufacture, so gold-producing companies must treat waste before they can release it into the environment, which is expensive and dangerous. In tests using industrial samples, UVA’s catalyst proved to be highly effective, removing over 99.9 per cent of the cyanide in a matter of minutes.
Living in ‘eternal summer’ may impact health
A team of researchers at the University of Aberdeen has published a paper outlining what they describe as the dangers of living in an “eternal summer”. Artificially changing the indoor environment may be working against health related bodily systems that have evolved to protect people from dangers unique to each season. For example, important genes have evolved to nudge the production of proteins responsible for helping ward off ailments such as the flu. Artificially modifying the environment could stop mechanisms like these from working.
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