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Scientists figured out chimpanzees have a rudimentary language by pranking them with fake snakes

Humans are not merely adept at communicating danger — it is seemingly built into our brains. That may be true for most social animals, but not all animals can communicate using specific nouns or verbs to refer to present dangers. That, it seems, is the unique power of human language, an ability that provides a strong evolutionary advantage....

Originally posted on salon.com

Scientists once thought they understood how domestication worked. Now, they’re not so sure

Though dogs are so close genetically close to wolves that many taxonomists consider them to be a subspecies, most people wouldn’t let a wolf lick their hand as readily as a Shih Tzu. When animals are domesticated, as the dog was, their traits change; an artificial selection occurs over many generations, which, in the case of the dog, probably happened through unconscious selection bias among ancient humans and their canid hangers-on....

Originally posted on salon.com

Electricity beats time when it comes to healing wounds, research finds

When the first residential electrical grids came to life, the world saw it as a utopian project. The miracle of science had brought an invisible force through a wire to their homes — one that could light rooms and make un-living objects move. Much as “AI” has become a buzzword to advertise consumer software nowadays, consumer products of that era advertised that they were superior because they were produced through electricity; Triscuit crackers, for instance, whose name was a portmanteau of “electricity biscuits” and which were produced in electric ovens, were so-named to heighten their appeal....

Originally posted on salon.com