Primates

Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered over 100 genes that uniquely evolved in the human brain, providing insight into our cognitive abilities. This study, using single-cell analysis, contributes to the Human Cell Atlas and offers new perspectives on brain evolution and associated disorders.The researchers found 139 genes that are common across the primate groups but highly divergent in their expression in human brains.An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has uncovered…

A new study demonstrates that apes possess an exceptional social memory, recognizing former groupmates after more than 25 years. This finding, suggesting a significant cognitive similarity between apes and humans, underscores the depth and duration of social relationships in our closest animal relatives.Study finds the longest lasting non-human social memories ever documented.Apes recognize photos of groupmates they haven’t seen for more than 25 years and respond even more enthusiastically to pictures of their friends, a…

New research reveals that female chimpanzees experience menopause and live beyond their reproductive years, challenging previous beliefs and providing new insights into the evolution of menopause in mammals. Above is a female chimpanzee from the Ngogo community in western Uganda. Credit: The Ngogo Chimpanzee Project Research on the Ngogo community in Uganda reveals that humans humans aren’t the only primates with long post-fertile life stage. A team of researchers has been studying the Ngogo community of wild chimpanzees…

In 1978, at the tender age of 4, a mountain gorilla named Titus living in East Africa’s Virunga Mountains experienced a series of unthinkable tragedies. His father and brother were killed by poachers, and as his tribe reshuffled and males fought for dominance, another gorilla killed his younger sister. His mother and older sister fled the dangerous situation, leaving him to fend for himself in a new social order. Research on other primates, including humans,…

In 2011 Marcus Perlman saw a YouTube video of a gorilla named Zola spinning in circles while playing in a water puddle at the Calgary Zoo in Alberta. In 2017 he noticed Zola again, this time in a viral video from the Dallas Zoo in Texas. Zola whirled in a plastic blue kiddie pool as the water splashed up around him. Perlman, a lecturer in English language and linguistics at the University of Birmingham in England, had done research on communicative gesturing, and the YouTube video sparked his curiosity about this form of…

Was Tyrannosaurus rex as smart as a baboon? Scientists don’t like to compare intelligence between species (everyone has their own talents, after all), but a controversial new study suggests some dino brains were as densely packed with neurons as those of modern primates. If so, that would mean they were very smart—more than researchers previously thought—and could have achieved feats only humans and other very intelligent animals have, such as using tools. The…

A new study investigated the differences and similarities of cells in the prefrontal cortex — the frontmost region of the brain, an area that plays a central role in higher cognitive functions — between humans and non-human primates such as chimpanzees, Rhesus macaques, and marmosets.A new study reveals that the brains of humans and non-human primates may be remarkably similar, despite the very distinct physical differences between them. And yet, the smallest changes may make big differences in developmental and…

The researchers have learned about species-specific differences in neuron architecture.There are differences in the neuronal architecture of primates and non-primates.A multinational research team has now been able to increase their understanding of species-specific variations in the architecture of cortical neurons thanks to high-resolution microscopy.Researchers from the Developmental Neurobiology research group at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, led by Professor Petra Wahle, have demonstrated that primates and non-primates…

In just the past few weeks, wild monkeys have attacked at least 58 people in and around the city of Yamaguchi in southwestern Japan, and no one seems to know exactly why, according to a report from the Associated Press. “I have never seen anything like this my entire life,” city official Masato Saito told the AP on Wednesday. Things have gotten so bad that Yamaguchi city hall has assembled a special unit to tranquilize and capture the primates.So far, there have been no serious injuries but victims have incurred scratches…

A comprehensive family tree for primates has been created that covers more than 900 species.Fossil-based compilation reveals new information on the evolution and spread of primates.The largest and most comprehensive family tree of the order primates, including both living and extinct species, has been assembled by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Leeds.Covering more than 900 species—about half living and half extinct—the new tree can help scientists understand the history of monkeys, apes,…