
Chimpanzees drum with regular rhythm when they beat on tree trunks, a form of ancient communication
Chimpanzees and humans last shared a common ancestor around 6 million years ago. Scientists suspect this ancient ancestor must have been a drummer — using beats to communicate.
'Our ability to produce rhythm — and to use it in our social worlds — that seems to be something that predates humans being human,' said study co-author Cat Hobaiter, a University of St Andrews primatologist.
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Research sheds light on bacteria outbreak that killed 1 person, several ABQ BioPark Zoo primates
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Scientists Just Linked This Diet to a Lower Lung Cancer Risk
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Participants scored one point for each food or food group they included, with a possible high score of 14. Scores for this study ranged from 1 to 11 points, which represents low to medium diet adherence. What Did This Study Find? After running statistical analyses, including adjusting for potential confounding factors (factors that might influence or change results), researchers found that: Every 1-point increase in the PHD score was related to a 3% decrease in all-cause mortality (risk of dying from anything). Every 1-point increase in the PHD score was associated with a 9% lower lung cancer risk. When all factors were fully adjusted for, no relationship was found in this study between the PHD and cardiovascular disease risk. There were several limitations of this study. Because comparatively few people in the Biobank were following a planetary health diet eating pattern, the confidence of these results is lower than it would have been had there been more people following it. 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If you want more guidance and are ready to go all in on increasing your plant intake, check out our 7-Day Plant-Based High-Protein Meal Plan for Beginners. It's loaded with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins, like peanut butter, edamame and beans, to keep you full and satisfied. Whether you use the plan as is or use it as inspiration, you'll find it fun and easy to get more plants into your meals and snacks. Our Expert Take This study suggests that eating more plants may reduce your risk of all-cause mortality and lung disease. While this study didn't show an association between eating a plant-based diet and reduced risk of heart disease, other studies have. Just remember that eating more plants doesn't have to be all or nothing. Start where you're at and be intentional with choosing plant-based foods more often. Snacks can be an easy way to start. 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Yahoo
6 hours ago
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500-Million-Year-Old Fossil Suggests Ocean Origin For Spiders
The special brains of spiders may have started to evolve in the oceans, long before their ancestors crawled onto land. A fresh look at a 500-million-year-old fossil by researchers from the University of Arizona and Lycoming College in the US and King's College London has revealed remarkable similarities between the brains of extinct marine arthropods and modern-day arachnids. The discovery wades into controversial territory regarding the evolutionary origin of spiders and their relatives. Today, spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks are virtually all terrestrial, and the prevailing view is that these arachnids evolved from a common, land-dwelling ancestor. Related: Where that ancestor came from is a whole other mystery. Arachnids on land are related to other 'chelicerates' in the ocean, like sea spiders and horseshoe crabs, but the fossil record is very patchy. "It is still vigorously debated where and when arachnids first appeared, and what kind of chelicerates were their ancestors, and whether these were marine or semi-aquatic like horseshoe crabs," explains University of Arizona neuroscientist Nicholas Strausfeld. The transition from sea to land is a big step for a little creature, no matter how many legs it has. The oldest accepted remains of an arachnid are of a 430-million-year-old scorpion, a critter that lived on land. But new evidence suggests that arachnids as a whole may have started to diverge from other chelicerates long before that. On the outside, Mollisonia symmetrica may not look very 'spidery'. It kind of resembles a pillbug with a bunch of little legs, and previously, it was thought to be an ancestor of horseshoe crabs. Using light microscopy, researchers have now imaged the fossil's central nervous system and come across an unexpected find. The nervous system of Mollisonia doesn't resemble that of a horseshoe crab or even a crustacean or insect. Instead, the pattern of radiating neural centers was flipped backward, like that of an arachnid. "The arachnid brain is unlike any other brain on this planet," explains Strausfeld. In the Mollisonia fossil, the unique nervous system seems to innervate numerous legs, as well as two pincer-like mouth parts, where modern spiders now have fangs. "This is a major step in evolution, which appears to be exclusive to arachnids," says evolutionary neuroscientist Frank Hirth from King's College London. "Yet already in Mollisonia, we identified brain domains that correspond to living species… " That seems to be no coincidence. Upon further statistical analysis, Hirth and colleagues have found that arachnids probably didn't evolve similar structures to Mollisonia by accident; they were more likely inherited. If the team is right, that puts Mollisonia at the base of the arachnid lineage, making it a sister to horseshoe crabs and sea spiders. While still speculative, it's possible that the unique brain structure seen in the Mollisonia lineage helped its later successors survive on land. Neural 'shortcuts' to the legs and pincers, for instance, could make it easier to control and coordinate complex movements, like walking or weaving webs. "We might imagine that a Mollisonia-like arachnid also became adapted to terrestrial life making early insects and millipedes their daily diet," theorizes Strausfeld. Perhaps it was the earliest arachnids on land that first drove insects to evolve wings and hence flight – and maybe, in turn, airborne prey led to the evolution of webs. From the ocean floor to the treetops, the way that arachnids have adapted to the changing times is truly enviable. The study was published in Current Biology. Related News Secret Bone Armor Discovered Beneath Skins of Australian Lizards Many Butterflies Have a Second 'Head' – This Could Be Why Your Dog May Prefer Certain TV Shows, Research Suggests Solve the daily Crossword