Latest news with #DeGregorio
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Baby lemurs sing like children, Warwick university study shows
Young Madagascan lemurs that sing, display similar characteristics and development patterns to young children, research has revealed.A study by The University of Warwick found that young lemurs tend to sing out of tune before improving as adults, in a similar way to how humans also learn to control their singing discovery was made after analysing the vocal patterns of the lemurs, which are also known as the indris, at different ages. Dr Chiara De Gregorio, a postdoctoral researcher who led the study, said like humans, the indris each had their own voices and some would be better at singing than others. The findings were revealed as a result of researchers being interested to find out if the same things that happen to the human voice also happened to "distant relatives", Dr De Gregorio said the characteristics that were similar between humans and the indris are called nonlinear phenomena (NLP) and included cracks, jumps in pitch, and rough, noisy sounds."In this analysis of 62 wild indris we found that young indris produce many more NLPs compared to their adult counterparts, suggesting that singing in tune is an ability that develops," Dr De Gregorio added. The study also found there were singing differences between male and female males sang with more roughness and instability than females, potentially because of differences in social roles. The males use a type of irregular sound that can make them sound bigger and more indris also demonstrated more "off-key elements" at the end of musical phrases, which the researchers said indicated the animals were vocally tired, in the same way human singers could get tired after a long De Gregorio added her research had also led her to study the vocal patterns of orangutans. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Could a climate megaproject cloud Chile's unparalleled views of universe?
As night falls on the Atacama desert in northern Chile four giant telescopes turn their gaze towards the star-strewn heavens. The driest place on Earth is the best place to observe the universe, with darkness offering dazzling spectacles of cosmic wonder. The area is home to the Paranal Observatory, which houses the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, used by astronomers to search the Milky Way with "unparalleled clarity," according to Spanish astrophysicist Itziar de Gregorio. Perched at 2,635 meters (8,645 feet) above sea level, and located dozens of kilometers (miles) from the nearest town of Antofagasta, Paranal's unique atmospheric conditions make it one of the most productive observatories in the world. The Very Large Telescope -- made up of four individual telescopes -- produced the first ever image of an exoplanet (a planet outside our solar system) in 2004. But a huge green energy project, part of Chile's plans to become carbon neutral, risks clouding the view, scientists say. Latin America's fifth-largest economy aims to phase out fossil fuels by 2050, replacing them with renewable energy sources, which can also be used to produce green hydrogen. Green hydrogen, a clean method of generating electricity, has been touted as a means to help decarbonize Chile's crucial copper mining sector, among other industries. AES Andes, the Chilean subsidiary of US energy company AES Corporation, has submitted proposals for a 3,000-hectare (7,400-acre) site in the Atacama desert near Paranal to harness solar and wind energy, which in turn can be used to produce green hydrogen and ammonia, a gas used in making fertilizers. But scientists say the artificial light from such a facility could obscure some of the celestial phenomena observed at Paranal, such as eclipses and meteorite showers. They worry it could also endanger the functioning of the ESO's Extremely Large Telescope, billed as the world's "biggest eye on the sky," currently under construction near the Paranal Observatory. The stadium-sized telescope is slated to be completed by 2028. De Gregorio, the ESO's representative in Chile, warns that the country's unique "window onto the universe" could close, hampering scientists' quest to answer the great question of our time: Are we the only intelligent life form in the universe? - Like 'a tap running' - Chile, home to around 70 percent of the world's telescopes, has long been seen as a hub for stargazers. By day, astronomers at Paranal crunch numbers. By night, they explore the galaxy. The observatory's research covers almost all celestial phenomena, from planets and exo-planets to black holes and near-Earth comets, Steffen Mieske, the head of the site's scientific operations, said. That work could be jeopardized if the night sky brightens, even a fraction. "Light pollution is the main threat to astronomy because it affects the quality of the observable sky," the Skies of Chile Foundation, which works to preserve the quality of the country's night skies, argues. "When you see a tap running, you realize you're wasting water. But if you see a place lit up brightly at night, you don't think of it as pollution," the foundation's director Daniela Gonzalez said. AES Andes, in a statement, assured that its hydrogen and ammonia project, codenamed Inna, conformed to the "highest norms in terms of lighting," including a new Chilean rule aimed at protecting astronomy sites from skyglow. It has rejected Paranal's claim that it would be within 11 kilometers of the observatory, saying the distance would be around twice that. A group of 40 astronomers, scientists and poets have called for the establishment of a "light exclusion zone" around Paranal, to keep it pitch-black at night. The Inna project, which is currently awaiting an environmental permit, is not expected to be licensed for another two or three years. pa/vel/str/sf/cb/bfm
