Media Advisory: June 06, 2008

A 20-year-old male chimpanzee named Albert was the first ape to join Face book, the largest online social network. Soon after Albert joined, three other chimps named Mr. Jones, Sheena, and Britney followed. Face book must be great: over 40 million humans and four chimps can't all be wrong!

Scientists from The University of Northern Oregon have spent the last two years training Albert and his comrades, who all belong to the Pan troglodytes species, to acquire language skills necessary for their online social life.

With the help of specially designed software that recognizes sign language (ASL), and a chimp proof adapted touch screen, these leading scientists recently announced that the four apes can communicate using more than 1000 symbols, adapted to the most popular features of the online social network. They can chat online with their best friends from around the world, write text messages and even upload their favorite profile pictures. Alberts gang has become very popular among Face book's users. Although sociologists and anthropologists have used social networks as empirical research tools, Face book will now provide a new platform for biologists to observe the chimpanzees´ social skills, claims Chief Researcher Dr. John F. Marlowe. Previous studies have revealed that chimpanzees and humans use the same brain region to communicate verbally and non-verbally. The neurobiological connection between chimps and humans was realized after years of observing chimps at the National Primate Research Center in Atlanta,

You can see Albert s profiles at:

http://www.palabea.net/profile/show/37848

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?k=100000080
&id=1288124731

To see Professors Marlowe related blog:

http://www.cyberchimps.org

ENDS

Gordon Campbell: On John Key’s Agenda For The Nation

There seemed to be three main components to John Key’s speech:

a) tax cuts largely paid for by a hike in GST
b) mining in national parks and on conservation land, while building more roads.
c) giving firms easier access to the r&d from Crown Research Institutes, so that business can continue to get the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the research that keeps them competitive.

After all, corporate welfare is always such a blessed thing – its only social welfare that corrodes enterprise and ambition. More>>