Latest news with #VestaEleuteri
CBC
23-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
May 24: How to live forever, and more...
Apart from their rich vocal palette, chimpanzees drum on trees to communicate over long distances. A new interdisciplinary study, led in part by PhD student Vesta Eleuteri and primatologist Cat Hobaiter from the University of St. Andrews, investigated the rhythms they used and found that different populations drum with rhythms similar to the beats in human music. The research was published in the journal Current Biology. The Archaeopteryx, a 150-million-year-old bird-like dinosaur, is known from about a dozen fossils found in Germany. A new one recently studied at Chicago's Field Museum may be the best preserved yet. It's giving researchers, like paleontologist Jingmai O'Connor, new insights into how the ancient animal moved around the Jurassic landscape. The research was published in the journal Nature. Inspired by the structure of bone, researchers have created limestone-like biomineralized construction materials using a fungal-scaffold that they seeded with bacteria. Montana State University's Chelsea Heveran said they demonstrated they could mould it into specific shapes with internal properties similar to bone, and that it remained alive for a month. It's early days yet, but she envisions a day when they can grow living structural material on site that may even be able to heal themselves. The study is in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. Scientists have created a clever combination of physical sensors and computer technology to produce a flexible Band-Aid-like device that can accurately read emotions when it is stuck to the face. It's not quite mind reading, but it could give physicians better insight into the emotional state of their patients. Huanyu Cheng of Penn State led the work, which was published in the journal Nano Letters. Do you want to live forever? As he noticed himself showing signs of aging, immunologist John Tregoning decided to find out what he could do to make that possible. So he explored the investigations that scientists are doing into why we age and die — and tried a few experiments on himself. Bob speaks with him about his new book, Live Forever? A Curious Scientists' Guide to Wellness, Ageing and Death. Tregoning dutifully documents everything he discovers as he undergoes testing for his heart, gets his genes sequenced, has a bronchoscopy, and follows an extreme diet, among other experiments. But he comes to the conclusion that "when it comes to improving life outcomes, exercise considerably trumps nearly everything I am planning to do whilst writing this book."
The Star
21-05-2025
- Science
- The Star
Chimp drumming reveals building blocks of human rhythm
A file photo from 2016 of a male chimpanzee making a pant-hoot call to distant group members in Uganda's Budongo Forest. — ADRIAN SOLDATI/AP Out west, they groove with fast, evenly spaced beats. In the east, it's more free-form and fluid. Like humans, chimpanzees drum with distinct rhythms – and two subspecies living on opposite sides of Africa have their own signature styles, according to a study published in Current Biology. The idea that ape drumming might hold clues to the origins of human musicality has long fascinated scientists, but collecting enough clean data amid the cacophony of the jungle had, until now, proven elusive. 'Finally we've been able to quantify that chimps drum rhythmically – they don't just randomly drum,' said lead author Vesta Eleuteri of the University of Vienna in Austria. The findings lend fresh weight to the theory that the raw ingredients of human music were present before our evolutionary split from chimpanzees six million years ago. Previous work showed chimpanzees pound the huge flared buttress roots of rainforest trees to broadcast low frequency booms through dense foliage. Scientists believe these rhythmic signals help transmit information across both short and long distances. Chimpanzees drum with definitive rhythmic intent, and the timing of their strikes is not random. For the new study, Eleuteri and colleagues – including senior authors Catherine Hobaiter of the University of St. Andrews in Britain and Andrea Ravignani of Sapienza University in Rome, Italy – compiled more than a century's worth of observational data. After cutting through the noise, the team focused on 371 high-quality drumming bouts recorded from 11 chimpanzee communities across six populations living in both rainforest and savannah-woodland habitats across eastern and western Africa. Their analysis showed that chimpanzees drum with definitive rhythmic intent – the timing of their strikes is not random. Distinct differences also emerged between subspecies: Western chimpanzees tended to produce more evenly timed beats, while eastern chimpanzees more frequently alternated between shorter and longer intervals. Western chimps also drummed more frequently, kept a quicker tempo, and began drumming earlier in their signature chimp calls, made up of rapid pants and hoots. The researchers do not yet know what is driving the differences – but they propose that it might signify differences in social dynamics. The western chimps' faster, predictable pulse might promote or be evidence of greater social cohesion, the authors argue, noting that western groups are generally less aggressive toward outsiders. By contrast, the eastern apes' variable rhythms could carry extra nuance – handy for locating or signalling companions when their parties are more widely dispersed. Next, Hobaiter says she would like to study the data further to understand whether there are inter-generational differences between rhythms within the same groups. 'Music is not only a difference between different musical styles, but a musical style like rock or jazz, is itself going to evolve over time,' she said. 'We're actually going to have to find a way to tease apart group and intergenerational differences to get at that question of whether or not it is socially learned,' she said. 'Do you have one guy that comes in with a new style and the next generation picks it up?' – AFP
Sinar Daily
17-05-2025
- Science
- Sinar Daily
Do chimpanzees have their own music? Study reveals rhythmic drumming
The idea that ape drumming might hold clues to the origins of human musicality has long fascinated scientists, but collecting enough clean data amid the cacophony of the jungle had, until now, proven elusive. 17 May 2025 07:04pm Like humans, chimpanzees drum with distinct rhythms -- and two subspecies living on opposite sides of Africa have their own signature styles, according to a study published recently in Current Biology. - AFP file photo WASHINGTON - Out west, they groove with fast, evenly spaced beats. In the east, it's more free-form and fluid. Like humans, chimpanzees drum with distinct rhythms -- and two subspecies living on opposite sides of Africa have their own signature styles, according to a study published recently in Current Biology. The idea that ape drumming might hold clues to the origins of human musicality has long fascinated scientists, but collecting enough clean data amid the cacophony of the jungle had, until now, proven elusive. "Finally we've been able to quantify that chimps drum rhythmically -- they don't just randomly drum," lead author Vesta Eleuteri of the University of Vienna told AFP. The findings lend fresh weight to the theory that the raw ingredients of human music were present before our evolutionary split from chimpanzees six million years ago. Previous work showed chimpanzees pound the huge flared buttress roots of rainforest trees to broadcast low frequency booms through dense foliage. Scientists believe these rhythmic signals help transmit information across both short and long distances. For the new study, Eleuteri and colleagues -- including senior authors Catherine Hobaiter of the University of St. Andrews in the UK and Andrea Ravignani of Sapienza University in Rome -- compiled more than a century's worth of observational data. After cutting through the noise, the team focused on 371 high-quality drumming bouts recorded from 11 chimpanzee communities across six populations living in both rainforest and savannah-woodland habitats across eastern and western Africa. Their analysis showed that chimpanzees drum with definitive rhythmic intent -- the timing of their strikes is not random. Distinct differences also emerged between subspecies: western chimpanzees tended to produce more evenly timed beats, while eastern chimpanzees more frequently alternated between shorter and longer intervals. Western chimps also drummed more frequently, kept a quicker tempo, and began drumming earlier in their signature chimp calls, made up of rapid pants and hoots. The researchers do not yet know what is driving the differences -- but they propose that it might signify differences in social dynamics. The western chimps' faster, predictable pulse might promote or be evidence of greater social cohesion, the authors argue, noting that western groups are generally less aggressive toward outsiders. By contrast, the eastern apes' variable rhythms could carry extra nuance -- handy for locating or signalling companions when their parties are more widely dispersed. Next, Hobaiter says she would like to study the data further to understand whether there are intergenerational differences between rhythms within the same groups. "Music is not only a difference between different musical styles, but a musical style like rock or jazz, is itself going to evolve over time," she said. "We're actually going to have to find a way to tease apart group and intergenerational differences to get at that question of whether or not it is socially learned," she said. "Do you have one guy that comes in with a new style and the next generation picks it up?" - AFP
South China Morning Post
13-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Can the origins of human music be seen in chimps drumming? Study provides new insights
Out west, they groove with fast, evenly spaced beats. In the east, it is more free-form and fluid. Like humans, chimpanzees drum with distinct rhythms – and two subspecies living on opposite sides of Africa have their own signature styles, according to a study published in the scientific journal Current Biology. The idea that ape drumming might hold clues to the origins of human musicality has long fascinated scientists, but collecting enough clean data amid the cacophony of the jungle had, until now, proven elusive. 'Finally we've been able to quantify that chimps drum rhythmically – they don't just randomly drum,' said the study's lead author, Vesta Eleuteri, of the University of Vienna in Austria. Play The findings lend fresh weight to the theory that the raw ingredients of human music were present before our evolutionary split from chimpanzees 6 million years ago.
Asharq Al-Awsat
11-05-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Jungle Music: Chimp Drumming Reveals Building Blocks of Human Rhythm
Like humans, chimpanzees drum with distinct rhythms - and two subspecies living on opposite sides of Africa have their own signature styles, according to a study published in Current Biology. Previous work showed chimpanzees pound the huge flared buttress roots of rainforest trees to broadcast low‑frequency booms through dense foliage. The idea that ape drumming might hold clues to the origins of human musicality has long fascinated scientists, but collecting enough clean data amid the cacophony of the jungle had, until now, proven elusive. 'Finally we've been able to quantify that chimps drum rhythmically - they don't just randomly drum,' lead author Vesta Eleuteri of the University of Vienna told AFP. The findings lend fresh weight to the theory that the raw ingredients of human music were present before our evolutionary split from chimpanzees six million years ago. For the new study, Eleuteri and colleagues - including senior authors Catherine Hobaiter of the University of St Andrews in the UK and Andrea Ravignani of Sapienza University in Rome - compiled more than a century's worth of observational data. After cutting through the noise, the team focused on 371 high-quality drumming bouts recorded from 11 chimpanzee communities across six populations living in both rainforest and savannah-woodland habitats across eastern and western Africa. Their analysis showed that chimpanzees drum with definitive rhythmic intent - the timing of their strikes is not random. Distinct differences also emerged between subspecies: western chimpanzees tended to produce more evenly timed beats, while eastern chimpanzees more frequently alternated between shorter and longer intervals. Western chimps also drummed more frequently, kept a quicker tempo, and began drumming earlier in their signature chimp calls, made up of rapid pants and hoots. The researchers do not yet know what is driving the differences - but they propose that it might signify differences in social dynamics. The western chimps' faster, predictable pulse might promote or be evidence of greater social cohesion, the authors argue, noting that western groups are generally less aggressive toward outsiders. By contrast, the eastern apes' variable rhythms could carry extra nuance - handy for locating or signaling companions when their parties are more widely dispersed. Next, Hobaiter says she would like to study the data further to understand whether there are intergenerational differences between rhythms within the same groups. 'Music is not only a difference between different musical styles, but a musical style like rock or jazz, is itself going to evolve over time,' she said. 'We're actually going to have to find a way to tease apart group and intergenerational differences to get at that question of whether or not it is socially learned,' she said. 'Do you have one guy that comes in with a new style and the next generation picks it up?'
