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<td class="lan18" valign="bottom" align="middle" height="30">Study: Humpback whales have "human" brain cells<img src="http://imgs.xinhuanet.com/icon/icon/typk.jpg" border="0"> </td></tr>
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<td align="middle"><a href="http://www.chinaview.cn">www.chinaview.cn</a> 2006-11-28 09:28:01 </td></tr></tbody></table>
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<td style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"><img style="WIDTH: 350px; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="A humpback whale was found dead on the beach of Lombardsijde near Nieuwpoort in Belgium on Mar 5 2006. " hspace="0" src="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-11/28/xinsrc_0821103280953093273607.jpg" border="0">
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<p align="left"><font color="#000080">A humpback whale was found dead on the beach of Lombardsijde near Nieuwpoort in Belgium on Mar 5 2006. (File Photo)<br></font><a href="http://www.chinaview.cn/photos/index.htm" target="_blank">
<font color="#800000">Photo Gallery >>></font></a></p></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p> BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. marine scientists say they've found humpback whales have a type of brain cell that is also seen in human brains.
<p> Researchers of the Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York studied the brains of humpback whales and discovered a type of cell called a spindle neuron in the cortex, in areas comparable to where they are seen in humans and great apes.
<p> The function of spindle neurons, which is not well understood yet, may be involved in cognition -- learning, remembering and recognizing the world around oneself.
<p> The finding may help explain some of the behaviors seen in whales, such as intricate communication skills, the formation of alliances, cooperation, cultural transmission and tool usage, the researchers report in The Anatomical Record.
<p> Spindle neurons probably first appeared in the common ancestor of hominids, humans and great apes about 15 million years ago, the researchers said -- they are not seen in lesser apes or monkeys.
<p> In cetaceans they would have evolved earlier, possibly as early as 30 million years ago, the researchers said.
<p> The new study suggests certain cetaceans and hominids may have evolved side by side. </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></font></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
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<td class="lan18" valign="bottom" align="middle" height="30">Male humpbacks use grammar in love songs </td></tr>
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<td align="middle"><a href="http://www.chinaview.cn">www.chinaview.cn</a> 2006-11-28 10:08:01 </td></tr></tbody></table>
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<p> BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Scientists have found that not only do male humpback whales sing love songs, they use grammar. And they have a larger vocabulary than previously thought.</p>
<p> Scientists had previously known of a very narrow range of sounds involved in humpback communication. These include calls associated with hunting for fish and long complex songs from male humpbacks linked with mating.
<p> "The most surprising thing was there were 35 different types of sounds found. We were expecting less than 10," said researcher Rebecca Dunlop at the University of Queensland in Australia.
<p> Dunlop and colleagues monitored humpback sounds and activity from land as the whales migrated along the east coast of Australia from breeding grounds inside the Great Barrier Reef to feeding grounds in the Antarctic.
<p> The underwater sounds they recorded included "thwops," "wops," "grumbles," "snorts," "cries," and what are likely underwater blows similar to surface spouting. Surface sounds include those when breaching or repeated slaps of the tail or fins.
<p> The scientists discovered these sounds appeared to have a variety of social uses including to help mothers and calves stay in contact, or as competitive calls among large groups of adults. The whale calls might also be be specific to one sex.
<p> Some sounds are only used by males for social interactions, especially when single males joined females. This could mean the song units are the key sexual signals in the male songs as opposed to song length or loudness, as is the case in some bird species, the researchers said.
<p> Research earlier this year found humpback whales to use grammar in their love songs.
<p> Interestingly, the new study found that a number of sounds were made by lone animals. This suggests their use is not limited to social interactions.
<p> This research could help understand the impact noise from ships and other manmade sounds have on whales.
<p> "This noise is increasing in the ocean," Dunlop said. "We don't know how this will affect individuals and populations of whales without first knowing how they communicate in a relatively 'noise-free' environment."
<p> The researchers will report their findings Dec. 1 in Honolulu at a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Acoustical Society of Japan. </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></font></p></td>
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