The Obtain: Monkey names, and good masks for well being monitoring

The information: Do animals have names? It appears so, after new analysis seems to have found that small monkeys known as marmosets “vocally label” their monkey buddies with particular sounds.

How they did it: The crew used audio recorders and pattern-recognition software program to investigate the animals’ high-pitched chirps and twitters. To show they’d cracked the monkey code—and discovered the key names—the crew performed recordings on the marmosets by way of a speaker and located they responded extra usually when their label, or identify, was within the recording.

Why it issues: Till now, solely people, dolphins, elephants, and doubtless parrots had been identified to make use of particular sounds to name out to different people. This type of analysis may present clues to the origins of human language, arguably probably the most highly effective innovation in our species’ evolution. Learn the complete story.

—Antonio Regalado

A brand new good masks analyzes your breath to observe your well being

Your breath can provide away quite a bit about you. Every exhalation incorporates all types of compounds, together with doable biomarkers for illness or lung situations, that might give docs a helpful perception into your well being.

Now a brand new good masks may assist docs test your breath for these alerts repeatedly and in a noninvasive means. A affected person may put on the masks at dwelling, measure their very own ranges, after which go to the physician if a flare-up is probably going. Learn the complete story.

—Scott J Mulligan