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Unexpected Elements

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The news you know, the science you don’t.

The news you know, the science you don’t. Unexpected Elements looks beyond everyday narratives to discover a goldmine of scientific stories and connections from around the globe. From Afronauts, to why we argue, to a deep dive on animal lifespans: see the world in a new way.

The Science Hour

Unexpected Elements: Monkey Conversation; Human Evolution; HPV Vaccine in Laos

Photo credit: Marmoset monkey - © Leszek Leszczynski

19/10/2013

Monkey Conversation; Human Evolution; HPV Vaccine in Laos

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, Monkey Conversation; Human Evolution; HPV Vaccine in Laos

Marmoset monkey conversation is remarkably similar to ours.

Marmoset monkey conversation is remarkably similar to ours, multiple extinct human species actually form a single lineage and HPV Vaccine in Laos.

A recent study has revealed that Marmoset monkeys have conversational patterns and etiquettes are remarkably similar to our own.  It has long been known that primates use verbal communication in disputes or mating calls, but this is the first time we have seen any primate taking turns to 'speak' and glean so much information from verbal communication. They engage in chit chat for up to 30 minutes, just like we do. 

It has long been thought that several different early human species existed 2 million years ago. But research published this week suggests that may need re-thinking, and that  many of the species we thought were separate were actually all part of the same one. 

Women in Laos are among the first in the developing world to receive a new vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer. The vaccine prevents the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus which causes 70% of cervical cancer cases. Laos is one of nearly a dozen countries to benefit from a programme to ensure that poorer countries also receive the latest vaccines.

(Photo credit: Marmoset monkey - © Leszek Leszczynski)

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