Neuroscience
Research News from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Warbling Whales Speak a Language All Their Own
“Researchers have now mathematically confirmed that whales have their own syntax that uses sound units to build phrases that can be combined to form songs that last for hours.
...
" 'Humpback songs are not like human language, but elements of language are seen in their songs,' said Ryuji Suzuki, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) predoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and first author of the paper."
Human linguists, please note: "... the authors do not claim that humpback whale songs meet the linguistic rigor necessary for a true language."
Lots of information for the popular cognitive scientist at the HHMI site (including sound files of the whales talking to each other), or see “Information entropy of humpback whale songs,“ by Ryuji Suzuki, John R. Buck, and Peter L. Tyack (2006) The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Volume 119, Issue 3, pp. 1849-1866. The abstract is available for free; full-text may be available @ your library.
Thanks to Bob for the story.
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from Hof & Van Der Gucht (2006) Spindle Neurons: The Next New Thing? In July, The Neurocritic wrote about a special class of cells found in the anterior cingulate cortex and frontoinsular cortex of humans and great apes. These spindle neurons are...
- Spindle Neurons
From the CBC: Humpback whales share brain cells with humans Last Updated: Monday, November 27, 2006 | 1:12 PM ET CBC News Humpback whales have joined an exclusive evolutionary club alongside humans, gorillas and dolphins, thanks to the discovery of a...
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A press release from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) concerning some new research findings from Nobel Winner Dr. Linda Buck [Bio] and her colleagues: May 23, 2005 Researchers Closer to Learning the Underlying Logic of the Olfactory System ...
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As always, it was a good year for music! I've completed my favorite song list of 2011 and posted it on Spotify. The full list, in song order, is below, with a few annotations here & there. Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks A great song to...
- Great Winter Break 2017 Internship Opportunity! Study The Humpback Whale Through The Ocean Mammal Institute! Apply Today!
Ocean Mammal Institute Humpback Whale Research Internship Maui, Hawaii January 3-20, 2017 Online Application: http://oceanmammalinst.org/ http://ter.ps/omiflyer http://ter.ps/omiflyer2 Learn field research techniques on the humpback whale....
Neuroscience
Talks with Whales
Research News from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Warbling Whales Speak a Language All Their Own
“Researchers have now mathematically confirmed that whales have their own syntax that uses sound units to build phrases that can be combined to form songs that last for hours.
...
" 'Humpback songs are not like human language, but elements of language are seen in their songs,' said Ryuji Suzuki, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) predoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and first author of the paper."
Human linguists, please note: "... the authors do not claim that humpback whale songs meet the linguistic rigor necessary for a true language."
Lots of information for the popular cognitive scientist at the HHMI site (including sound files of the whales talking to each other), or see “Information entropy of humpback whale songs,“ by Ryuji Suzuki, John R. Buck, and Peter L. Tyack (2006) The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Volume 119, Issue 3, pp. 1849-1866. The abstract is available for free; full-text may be available @ your library.
Thanks to Bob for the story.
- Spindle Neurons In Humpback Whales
from Hof & Van Der Gucht (2006) Spindle Neurons: The Next New Thing? In July, The Neurocritic wrote about a special class of cells found in the anterior cingulate cortex and frontoinsular cortex of humans and great apes. These spindle neurons are...
- Spindle Neurons
From the CBC: Humpback whales share brain cells with humans Last Updated: Monday, November 27, 2006 | 1:12 PM ET CBC News Humpback whales have joined an exclusive evolutionary club alongside humans, gorillas and dolphins, thanks to the discovery of a...
- Neural Mapping Of Olfactory Functioning
A press release from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) concerning some new research findings from Nobel Winner Dr. Linda Buck [Bio] and her colleagues: May 23, 2005 Researchers Closer to Learning the Underlying Logic of the Olfactory System ...
- Stephanie's Favorite Songs, 2011
As always, it was a good year for music! I've completed my favorite song list of 2011 and posted it on Spotify. The full list, in song order, is below, with a few annotations here & there. Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks A great song to...
- Great Winter Break 2017 Internship Opportunity! Study The Humpback Whale Through The Ocean Mammal Institute! Apply Today!
Ocean Mammal Institute Humpback Whale Research Internship Maui, Hawaii January 3-20, 2017 Online Application: http://oceanmammalinst.org/ http://ter.ps/omiflyer http://ter.ps/omiflyer2 Learn field research techniques on the humpback whale....