chimpanzees

Chimps prove that human generosity is an ancient trait

Is selfless behavior in humans a unique evolutionary development? For years, studies designed to test prosociality, or altruism, in chimpanzees have presented them as “reluctant altruists” that are indifferent to the welfare of their fellow chimps. But now it seems that chimps care more for their fellow apes than we realized. A new study has…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 9

The making of a chimpanzee dictionary

Researchers recently discovered that chimps have over twice the number of sign language-like gestures than previously thought. Through painstaking effort, the researchers learned to decode which gestures meant, “I like your face,” versus “I’m going to claw your face off.” The first step to compiling a comprehensive database of ape language is full immersion –…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell May 6

Are humans more like chimps or bonobos? The correct answer is changing.

Humans may not be as chimp-like as you think. There could be a much more peaceable ape relative who is closer to us. I speak, of course, of the matriarchal, bisexual, polyamorous bonobo. Conventional evolutionary wisdom has human beings branching off from a common ancestor shared between humans, chimpanzees and bonobos about 6.5 million years…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Apr 25

Chimpanzees play with sticks as though they’re dolls

In many cultures, girls play with dolls more often than boys do. Now chimps have been observed treating sticks like dolls. Is there a gender imbalance in the way chimps play with their dolls, too? The differences in how boys and girls play is well-documented but controversial, which raises a tricky question. Is this tendency…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Dec 20

Chimp-Directed Chimpcam Project Will Win Every Oscar

The BBC plans to premiere The Chimpcam Project, a documentary shot by actual chimpanzees, this week. Get ready for the inevitable Avatar comparisons, and check out this video preview below. Basically, some researchers encased a camera in a chimp-proof box and gave it to both wild and zoo-bred chimps. Enraptured with the viewfinder, they began…

Movies Dan Nosowitz Jan 25

Chimpanzees Are Altruistic – But Only If You Ask Nicely

Chimps may be one of our closest relatives, but they’ve shown a remarkably different approach altruism: They’ll lend each other a hand, but need to be asked. A study published this week in PLoS One showed that chimps would share tools with each other, but usually only if requested. Which raises interesting questions about why…

io9 Tim Barribeau Oct 16

Everything You Know About Human Evolution Is Wrong

Well, maybe not everything, but new research suggests that we’re not as closely related to apes as you may have thought. The giveaway? The way we climb trees, apparently. According to Dr Jeremy DeSilva, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, our earliest ancestors may have liked to climb trees, but they didn’t have…

io9 Graeme McMillan Apr 15

Bad Science Looks Killer In “Sunshine”

We can’t wait for Danny Boyle’s Sunshine to come out on DVD next Tuesday. Sunshine might have been the best SF movie of 2007, even though its science was iffy in places. Take this cool-looking scene, where hapless communications officer Harvey tries to jump from one spaceship to another without a suit and doesn’t quite…

io9 Charliejane Jan 3

Cell Phones Turning Teens Into Chimpanzees

Well, this is certainly news. Looks like a professor at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute has accused Japanese teenagers of acting like monkeys—all because of their overuse of mobile phones. Basically, younger folk are mocking the behavior of chimpanzees by losing the ability to discern between public and private space. “They don’t eat meals…

Tech News Tgrumet Nov 10

Chimps prove that human generosity is an ancient trait

The making of a chimpanzee dictionary

Are humans more like chimps or bonobos? The correct answer is changing.

Chimpanzees play with sticks as though they’re dolls

Chimp-Directed Chimpcam Project Will Win Every Oscar

Chimpanzees Are Altruistic – But Only If You Ask Nicely

Everything You Know About Human Evolution Is Wrong

Bad Science Looks Killer In “Sunshine”

Cell Phones Turning Teens Into Chimpanzees

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