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New Research Says That Dolphins Can Speak

New Research Says That Dolphins Can Speak

We all know how smart dolphins can be, whether they’re learning tricks or being part of the Russian navy. But, can they actually talk to each other?

Dolphins have shown the ability to imitate various noises and whistles, and there has also been some research showing that they can — at least in captivity — be trained to acquire a vocabulary for up to 40 different objects.

Researcher Denise Herzing now says that she and her Bahamas-based team have succeeded in creating a prototype that can actually decode the communication between the mammals, writesSüddeutsche Zeitung.

The underwater computer that divers can strap to their waists is called, aptly, a CHAT (Cetacean Hearing And Telemetry).Two hydrophones (underwater microphones) record the sounds of passing dolphins and analyze them. The CHAT can also emit sound waves that imitates the dolphins. Herzing refers to this as interfacing with the animals.

Herzing’s team based their research by following a pod of Atlantic Spotted dolphins. Objects were given assigned noises outside a dolphin's normal repetoire of whistles, but easily mimicable, and as the toys were passed out, the CHAT computer emitted a specific noise for each object.

In a blog post, Herzing writes that she was in the water when she heard the word ‘sargassum’ in her headphones after it was translated from dolphin-speak to English thanks to their software. For those of us less familiar with the lexicon, it’s a type of seaweed that the researchers were giving to the dolphins who love to play with it. She believes that the dolphins heard the specific whistle assigned to the word and repeated it.

“This doesn’t mean that the dolphin knew what it was saying, though,” Herzing admits. “It could be that the animal was just imitating that particular sound without associating it with the seaweed.”

Whether dolphins really can talk remains a controversial issue among scientists, but what is certain is that Bottle-Nosed dolphins can whistle a sort-of name that they call each other underwater. And, since very little is otherwise known about these calls, here’s where Herzing’s work may presently be most useful: as a suitable base for clearing that question up with a higher degree of certainty.

Here’s a TED talk Herzing gave last year about communicating with dolphins:

Photo by: sheilapic76 via Flickr

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Economy

Lex Tusk? How Poland’s Controversial "Russian Influence" Law Will Subvert Democracy

The new “lex Tusk” includes language about companies and their management. But is this likely to be a fair investigation into breaking sanctions on Russia, or a political witch-hunt in the business sphere?

Photo of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda

Piotr Miaczynski, Leszek Kostrzewski

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland’s new Commission for investigating Russian influence, which President Andrzej Duda signed into law on Monday, will be able to summon representatives of any company for inquiry. It has sparked a major controversy in Polish politics, as political opponents of the government warn that the Commission has been given near absolute power to investigate and punish any citizen, business or organization.

And opposition politicians are expected to be high on the list of would-be suspects, starting with Donald Tusk, who is challenging the ruling PiS government to return to the presidency next fall. For that reason, it has been sardonically dubbed: Lex Tusk.

University of Warsaw law professor Michal Romanowski notes that the interests of any firm can be considered favorable to Russia. “These are instruments which the likes of Putin and Orban would not be ashamed of," Romanowski said.

The law on the Commission for examining Russian influences has "atomic" prerogatives sewn into it. Nine members of the Commission with the rank of secretary of state will be able to summon virtually anyone, with the powers of severe punishment.

Under the new law, these Commissioners will become arbiters of nearly absolute power, and will be able to use the resources of nearly any organ of the state, including the secret services, in order to demand access to every available document. They will be able to prosecute people for acts which were not prohibited at the time they were committed.

Their prerogatives are broader than that of the President or the Prime Minister, wider than those of any court. And there is virtually no oversight over their actions.

Nobody can feel safe. This includes companies, their management, lawyers, journalists, and trade unionists.

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