Humans are adept combiners. As it turns out, so, too, are bonobos. According to a new study in Science, bonobos can combine their calls a lot like humans can, indicating that a hallmark of human ...

Bonobo male Kikongo making 'happy' grin faces at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 2010 Fiona Rogers / Laughter is universal among humans. Researchers have found ...

Humans can effortlessly talk about an infinite number of topics, from neuroscience to pink elephants, by combining words into sentences. This is thanks to compositionality: the ability to combine ...

Chimpanzees and bonobos structure their social relationships in similar ways to humans, according to a new international study led by researchers from Utrecht University and Universidad Carlos III de ...

A study of 140 laughter sequences found the same rhythmic timing pattern in humans, chimps, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans.

Bonobos, one of humanity’s closest relatives, appear to string together vocal calls in ways that mirror a key feature of the human language, a new study carried out in the forests of the Democratic ...

Laughing might seem uniquely human, but our closest relatives in the animal kingdom do it too. A groundbreaking new study has ...

The peeps, hoots and grunts of wild bonobos, a species of great ape living in the African rainforest, can convey complex thoughts in a way that mirrors some elements of human language, a new study ...

Kanzi, a bonobo, demonstrated symbolic pretend play by correctly tracking the location of imaginary juice in controlled experiments, showing cognitive abilities previously thought to be unique to ...

Can animals play pretend? It took a tea party with a bonobo to find out. In a set of experiments, a team of researchers offered a bonobo named Kanzi invisible juice and grapes, presenting the tests as ...

For humans, play is an activity normally confined to our childhood. Having fun with others and playing made-up games might ...