Google Is Training a New A.I. Model to Decode Dolphin Chatter—and Potentially Talk Back
The company says its new model, called DolphinGemma, will be made open source this summer. Researchers are also trying to train dolphins to mimic made-up names for certain objects
Watch These Elephants Form an ‘Alert Circle’ as an Earthquake Shakes San Diego, Protecting Their Young at the Center
Footage from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park shows the large mammals huddling together around the herd’s calves
Synthetic Voices Shed Light on the Deep-Rooted Gender Biases Embedded in our Tech
An expert on the impacts of information technologies on society considers how talking machines got their male- and female-sounding voices
Enhanced Brain Implant Translates Stroke Survivor’s Thoughts Into Nearly Instant Speech Using Artificial Intelligence
The system harnesses technology similar to that of devices like Alexa and Siri, according to the researchers, and improves on a previous model
Listen to the First Known Recording of Shark Sounds, a ‘Weird’ Audio Clip Captured at a Marine Lab in New Zealand
Researchers detected short clicking noises from rig sharks during handling in the lab, though they’re not sure why or how the sound is produced
Huh? Interjections Are Critically Important to Communication
Utterances like “um,” “wow” and “mm-hmm” aren’t garbage—they keep conversations flowing
The QWERTY Keyboard Will Never Die. Where Did the 150-Year-Old Design Come From?
The invention’s true origin story has long been the subject of debate. Some argue it was created to prevent typewriter jams, while others insist it’s linked to the telegraph
Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom Stopped the United States Post Office Department From Launching on This Day in 1792
The American Revolution cemented the importance of a federally protected post office in the minds of the people and politicians
Dial Up the Story of the First 911 Call, Which Was Placed on This Day in 1968
Before the birth of the central emergency number, some rural Americans resorted to fireworks and loud noises to attract assistance
How Text Messaging Took Over the Way We Talk
From its start more than 30 years ago, texting has slowly but surely become the dominant form of communication
Humpback Whale Song Shares a Key Pattern With Human Language That Might Make It Easier for the Animals to Learn
Despite humans and whales being separated by millions of years of evolution, our vocalizations follow the same principle outlined in Zipf’s law
When Bonobos Know What You Don’t, They’ll Tell You. It’s a Sign of a Cognitive Ability Called ‘Theory of Mind’
A first-of-its-kind study suggests bonobos, like humans, can understand someone else’s lack of knowledge—and adjust their actions accordingly
If You’re Nostalgic for Nokia, See the Devices That Defined ’90s Cellphone Design in a New Online Archive
The iconic brand’s mobile phones were pop culture mainstays. Soon, a new online archive will bring together thousands of documents, early models and design concepts
The World’s Earliest Writing System May Have Been Influenced by Older Symbols Found on Stone ‘Cylinder Seals’
Thousands of years ago, our ancestors used symbols to track the sale of textile and agricultural products. New research suggests that these markings informed the development of writing
Voyager 1 Breaks Its Silence With NASA via a Radio Transmitter Not Used Since 1981
The farthest spacecraft in the universe went momentarily rogue, but scientists breathed a sigh of relief when it reconnected at an unexpected radio frequency
New ‘Portal’ Opens in Philadelphia, Connecting Residents to Cities Around the World With Identical Installations
The looming sculpture features a small camera above an eight-foot-tall screen, which displays live video from Lithuania, Poland and Ireland
Bottlenose Dolphins ‘Smile’ at Each Other During Playtime, Study Finds
Researchers still don’t know what the open-mouth facial expression means or whether it’s akin to smiling in humans—but several animals make a similar face during play
How Did Two Bowhead Whales That Were 60 Miles Apart Sync Their Diving?
Researchers suspect the marine mammals may have been communicating across the vast distance
Chimpanzees Take Turns in Fast-Paced Conversations, Just Like Humans Do
A new study finds the average chimpanzee response time in gestured conversations is 120 milliseconds, which isn’t that far from the human average of 200 milliseconds
African Elephants May Call Each Other by Name
In a new study, a computer model was able to identify the recipient of an elephant’s call more than a quarter of the time, which scientists say is significantly greater than chance
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