Can Apes Learn to Talk Like Humans? What Decades of Experiments Show
A toddler and a baby chimpanzee playing with blocks in a living room No one has yet managed to teach an ape to speak out loud the way humans do....
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Research news and accessible explanations across physics, chemistry, biology, Earth science, and the methods scientists use to understand the world.
How Night Shift Work Affects the Body, and Why People Adapt Faster Than Their Biology
A person sleeping during the day in a darkened bedroom Night shift workers often get used to their schedule faster than they expect, but their bodies usually do not. Doctors,...
Read more → Two new sea spider species found in the Salish Sea, one with a three-lipped mouth
The newly described sea spider Callipallene pilosuspedes under a microscope Scientists have identified two previously unknown species of sea spider in the Salish Sea, off the coasts of Canada and...
Read more → Finnish study links higher coffee intake to less body fat, more muscle and distinct hormone levels
A young woman with a huge cup of coffee People who drink more coffee may differ from lighter drinkers in how their bodies are built, even when they weigh the...
Read more → What Would Happen If a Spacecraft Hatch Were Opened in Space
Spacecraft decompression after the hatch is opened A spacecraft’s outer hatch cannot simply be yanked open by accident. If it were somehow opened while the cabin was at normal pressure,...
Read more → How Long Could a Human Survive Without a Spacesuit on Each Planet?
A person in a spacesuit against the planets of the Solar System On almost every planet in the Solar System other than Earth, an unprotected human would lose consciousness within...
Read more → One Notification Can Derail Your Focus for About Seven Seconds, Swiss Study Finds
A single on-screen notification is enough to knock the brain off a demanding task for roughly seven seconds, according to a study by Swiss psychologists published in Computers in Human...
Read more → Why Insects Survive Falls From Tall Buildings: The Physics of Being Small
An ant or beetle that tumbles off a high-rise balcony usually walks away unharmed, while the same fall would almost certainly kill a person. The main reason is not a...
Read more → Why Drivers Turn Down the Music to Park: The Cognitive Science Behind the Habit
Turning down the car stereo before squeezing into a tight parking space looks absurd on paper: your ears do not steer the wheel or check the mirrors. Yet the habit...
Read more → Why Soda Tingles: Blame Carbonic Acid and a Pain Receptor, Not Bursting Bubbles
Sometimes it is the gas bubbles themselves that give soda its refreshing effect The prickling you feel from a sip of carbonated water, cola or an energy drink is not...
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