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  • The language that chimpanzees speak

    The language that chimpanzees speak

    A new study shows that wild chimpanzees communicate through a much more sophisticated communication system than previously thought. Chimpanzees use different mechanisms to combine sounds to create new meanings. A study published in the journal Science Advances highlights chimpanzee communication. Chimpanzee communication is thought to resemble some of the basic structures of human language.

    Scientists are examining language diversity by analyzing recordings from three groups of chimpanzees living in Ivory Coast. Chimpanzees express their feelings by gurgling and combining their calls. Like humans, they can create new phrases or change the order of words.

    The study is the first time scientists have documented the complexity of a communication system. They believe that chimpanzees’ ability represents an evolutionary transition between early animal communication and human language. “Combining words to create new or composite meanings is a feature of human language,” says scientist Catherine Crockford. I am trying to find out whether our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, have similar abilities. A separate study found similar evidence. Another primate called bonobos can combine their calls to change their calls and form phrases.

    These studies on language suggest that both species can produce the basic building blocks of human language. Bonobos and chimpanzees are one of the closest species to humans in evolutionary history. Scientists are trying to understand how human language evolved by analyzing the language of these animals. Scientist Cedric Girard-Batoge said, “Our findings indicate a vocal communication system in these animals. The complex ability to combine language is seen in other animals.”

    For the study, scientists followed specific animals in the forest from dawn to dusk every day. They recorded videos to learn about the complexity of the chimpanzee’s vocal system. They recorded more than 4,300 vocalizations of 53 wild chimpanzees. Researchers have tracked chimpanzees’ activities, social interactions, and environmental changes while recording their vocalizations. The researchers found that chimpanzees can combine all of their daily calls into a single, coherent set of sounds. The sounds can be combined to express a variety of meanings.

    Source: NBC News

  • What happens to the brain when you read a book

    What happens to the brain when you read a book

    The experience of getting lost in a great book is quite wonderful. We really know very little about what actually happens in the brain when we read a book. Scientists are trying to understand what happens in the brain when we read a book. They are trying to understand the world that is created inside our heads when we read a book.

    “There is a wealth of neuroscientific research on the representation of language. On the other hand, there is very little information about the effects of language on the human brain. Most of what we know comes from single studies on a small number of subjects,” says Sabrina Turker, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany.

    Scientists have conducted a meta-analysis on reading books, using brain scan data from 3,031 adults. They are trying to find out new information by combining the results of 163 tests in total. The tests have tried to find out the impact of different reading topics. In addition, they have tried to understand the importance of reading from individual letters to full texts. Scientists have tried to understand the impact of reading books silently and aloud. At the same time, they have looked at the effects of real words and nonsense words.

    Scientists have discovered which areas of the brain are activated when reading different books. The left hemisphere of the brain is known as the center for language processing. This part of the brain is activated when reading anything or reading individual letters, sentences or entire texts. Scientists said, ‘We found high processing impressions in the left hemisphere region only for reading letters, words, sentences and texts.’

    Neuroscientists have previously overlooked the role of the cerebellum. It turns out that the cerebellum is involved not only in word processing, but also in the creation of meaning. New research has shown that the right cerebellum is active in all types of reading. Some parts of the right cerebellum are more active when reading aloud. This suggests that this part plays a role in the ability to translate written words into speech.

    The left cerebellum, on the other hand, is particularly busy when reading words.

    The paper says that the left cerebellum appears to be more likely to be involved in word meaning retrieval during reading. The right cerebellum is primarily involved in the overall reading process. When words are read silently, the left orbitofrontal, cerebellar, and temporal cortices are more consistently activated. The scientists say their study provides insight into the neural architecture underlying reading. The study on the effects of reading books is published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.

  • Scientists create contact lenses that can see even in the dark

    Scientists create contact lenses that can see even in the dark

    For a long time, the only device to see in the dark was night glasses. But now scientists have created a type of contact lens that allows you to see clearly in the dark, even with your eyes closed.

    Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have recently developed a novel contact lens that can detect infrared waves and convert them into visible light without the need for a battery-powered device.

    According to the researchers, this technology can transform human vision into ‘supervision’. Professor Tian Shui, the lead author of the research paper, said, ‘Our research opens the door to a possibility that can add new dimensions to human vision through non-invasive or easy-to-use contact lenses.’ Regarding the potential use of this technology, he said, immediate application is possible in various sectors including security, rescue operations, secret messaging, information security and fraud detection.

    Humans can normally see light with wavelengths between 380 and 700 nanometers. However, the special nanoparticles used in these contact lenses can detect ‘near-infrared’ light between 800 and 1,600 nanometers. Although this infrared light is invisible to the eye, it becomes visible with the help of the lens.

    The researchers had previously tested the effectiveness of the nanoparticles by injecting them into the eyes of mice. Now, they have attached it to a soft contact lens to make the same technology easier to apply. The lens is made of a flexible and non-toxic polymer, which is also used to make regular contact lenses. In experimental use, it was found that infrared signals, such as light like Morse code, could be clearly detected in a dark room using this lens. Even more surprising is that the signals were detected more clearly when the eyes were closed.

    Professor Shue said that infrared light can also penetrate the eyelids, which is not possible with visible light. As a result, there is no disruption in light detection even when the eyes are closed, but rather the signal is understood better because there is no interference from visible light.

    The researchers also said that the nanoparticles are capable of converting infrared light of specific wavelengths into specific visible colors. For example, 980 nanometer wavelengths have been converted into blue, 808 nanometers into green, and 1,532 nanometers into red. This makes it possible to clearly understand more information and differences about the infrared environment.

    Researchers claim that this technology could also be helpful for color-blind people in the future. By converting infrared waves into other visible colors, invisible colors can be made visible to them. However, the researchers said that currently this lens is only able to detect light coming from specific infrared sources, such as LED light. In the next step, they want to create nanoparticles that can also clearly detect weak infrared light.

    “In the future, we want to work with optical and material scientists to develop contact lenses with improved sensitivity and higher clarity,” said Professor Shue. The research article was published in the scientific journal Cell.

  • Successful human brain transplant, a major achievement for Neuralink rival Paradromics

    Successful human brain transplant, a major achievement for Neuralink rival Paradromics

    For the first time, US neurotech startup Paradromics has successfully transplanted or implanted a human brain. After nearly three years of research on animals, the company conducted the experiment at the University of Michigan in the US on May 14. The successful implant is being considered a major breakthrough in brain computer interface (BCI) technology.

    The entire process of inserting and removing the device, known as ‘Conexus’, from the brain takes just 10 minutes. The surgery was performed by a team of doctors and engineers led by neurosurgeons Dr. Matthew Wilsey and Dr. Oren Sagh. Conexus is essentially a BCI device that reads nerve signals from the brain and converts them into language, writing, or computer cursor control. Paradromics is working to restore the ability to speak to people who have lost their speech due to stroke, spinal cord injury, or ALS. This is the first implant in a human body to be used during surgery on an epilepsy patient. The device is temporarily attached to the patient’s brain while the source of the seizure is removed. This gives researchers the opportunity to analyze the neurological changes caused by the disease.

    Founded in 2015, Paradromics CEO Matt Angle said they are working to make complex brain diseases that are still considered ‘intractable’ problems solvable through technology in the future. The company has been busy testing BCI technology on sheep for several years. After successful application in humans, they are now preparing for clinical trials. Paradromics said that if it receives the necessary regulatory approval, it will go into full human trials this year. The company hopes to get approval to market the device by the end of this decade. It is estimated that it can be sold commercially for 100,000 US dollars.

    Brain Computer Interface or BCI is a technology that allows direct communication between the brain and any external electronic device. This idea was first proposed by Jack Vidal, a computer scientist at the University of California, in 1973. Since then, researchers have been working on the development of BCI technology. In 2003, a study at Duke University in the United States showed that monkeys implanted with microelectrodes could consciously control a robotic hand. In 2004, paralyzed athlete Matt Nagle was able to use a BCI to operate a computer cursor and an artificial hand.

    The current top competition in BCI technology is between Elon Musk’s company Neuralink and Paradromics. Neuralink has already implanted its devices in three patients.