Higher social skills are distinctly human, toddler and ape study reveals

User rating: 4 / 5 after 17 vote(s)

Esther Herrmann and colleagues compared 105 2-year-old human children 106 chimpanzees and 32 organutans in a comprehensive battery of physical and social cognitive tests. Credit: Image courtesy of MPI EVAN
Esther Herrmann and colleagues compared 105 2-year-old human children, 106 chimpanzees and 32 organutans in a comprehensive battery of physical and social cognitive tests. Credit: Image courtesy of MPI EVAN

Apes bite and try to break a tube to retrieve the food inside while children follow the experimenter's example to get inside the tube to retrieve the prize, showing that even before preschool, toddlers are more sophisticated in their social learning skills than their closest primate relatives, according to a report published in the 7 September issue of the journal Science.


Full story »
All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for September 06, 2007

Over 200 narwhal trapped in Canadian ice

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
At least 200 narwhal whales in Canada's Arctic, trapped by winter ice that is setting in around them and facing starvation or suffocation, must be culled, officials said Friday.

Scientists identify blood component that turns bacteria virulent

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have discovered the key chemical that signals Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, to become lethal. This finding opens up new avenues of exploration ...

Portuguese dinosaur tail's sale sparks controversy

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
A Portuguese bulldozer driver has sparked controversy in his country by up putting a dinosaur fossil he found 10 years ago for sale on the Internet.

Teens' Online Safety Improved by Education, Research Shows

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Think protecting young teenagers on the Internet is important? Then be sure they think it's important, too, according to a forthcoming article in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication.

Bulgarian archaeologists unearth ancient chariot

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- Archaeologists have unearthed an elaborately decorated 1,800-year-old chariot sheathed in bronze at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Friday. "The ...
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive