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Reposted by Elliot Howard-Spink

Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 8d

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 9d

⚠️ Chinese researchers have invented bone glue that mimics how oysters stick to surfaces underwater.

The adhesive can reportedly repair orthopedic fractures in 2-3 minutes, even in blood-rich environments, and is bioabsorbable.

interestingengineering.com/science/chin...

China's oyster-inspired 'bone glue' bonds fractures in minutes

A new oyster-inspired Bone-02 adhesive can revolutionize bone repair without metal fasteners.

interestingengineering.com

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Vic Martignac @vicmartignac.bsky.social · Aug 6

So happy to see my first PhD paper out royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

With my amazing supervisor @robinmorrison.bsky.social and the @savinggorillas.bsky.social, we examined female dispersal decisions in mountain gorillas.

Dispersed female networks: female gorillas’ inter-group relationships influence dispersal decisions | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Dispersal is a fundamental aspect of many animal societies, impacting gene flow, knowledge transmission, culture and individual fitness. However, little is known about the information individuals use when dispersing. Mountain gorillas exhibit a flexible ...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Balthasar Bickel @balthasarbickel.bsky.social · Jul 18

Exciting new opening @nccrlanguage.bsky.social with the option of permanent extension. If you work in cutting-edge stats and are interested in joining a highly inter-disciplinary, vibrant community, don't hesitate to apply at tinyurl.com/3fxwjk8e

UZH: Statistician

Within the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) Evolving Language and its 46 different research groups from a large variety of disciplines across Switzerland, and the University of Zurich ...

tinyurl.com

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primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social · Jul 19

Please consider helping us support the next generation of primatologists! Any support is greatly appreciated, and will help us host this fantastic event for the second time! 🐒

primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social · Jul 17

We need your help to raise money for our Field Skills Workshop! 🤝 Our workshop provides critical training for emerging primatologists who otherwise would not have opportunities to gain field experience. Consider donating to support this goal via the 🔗: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...

Help raise £1000 to Support the PSGB Field Skills Workshop 2025 – JustGiving Crowdfunding

Iʼm raising money to Support the PSGB Field Skills Workshop 2025. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

www.justgiving.com

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Queen Mary Faculty of Science and Engineering @qmulse.bsky.social · Jul 16

Brilliant to see this fascinating research! We're especially delighted to see @ehowaspi.bsky.social, visiting researcher at the @qmulsbbs.bsky.social, contributing to this amazing study.

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Jul 15

Then vs Now: Same chimp, same task - 17 years apart 🐒🔧

New Oxford-led research suggests that ageing can affect how wild chimpanzees use tools, though the impact varies widely between individuals.

More info ⬇️
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-07...

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Joanna Bagniewska @joannabagniewska.com · Jul 15

Chimps age - and when they do, using tools becomes more difficult.

Pretty relatable.

Article by @ehowaspi.bsky.social et al. here: elifesciences.org/articles/105... - and footage below.

🧪🌍🐒🔧

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Jul 15

Then vs Now: Same chimp, same task - 17 years apart 🐒🔧

New Oxford-led research suggests that ageing can affect how wild chimpanzees use tools, though the impact varies widely between individuals.

More info ⬇️
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-07...

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Reposted by Elliot Howard-Spink

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Jul 15

Then vs Now: Same chimp, same task - 17 years apart 🐒🔧

New Oxford-led research suggests that ageing can affect how wild chimpanzees use tools, though the impact varies widely between individuals.

More info ⬇️
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-07...

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

Additionally, huge thanks go to all coauthors on this study, Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Susana Carvalho, Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social, Katarina Almeida-Warren, and also both of my former DPhil supervisors, Thibaud Gruber @thibaudgruber.bsky.social & Dora Biro @dorabiro.bsky.social! 🙌

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

Many thanks to all researchers and field assistants involved with data collection over the years at Bossou, and in curating the Bossou video archive. (📸 credit T Matsuzawa).

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-07... here!

Past their prime? Tool use declines with age in wild chimpanzees |

New research led by University of Oxford researchers has found that old age likely impacts the habitual tool-use behaviours of some wild chimpanzees – although the extent to which different

www.ox.ac.uk

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

For more information, check out the paper, or this summary of our work: elifesciences.org/for-the-pres... and also

Old age takes its toll on tool use in wild chimpanzees

New research finds old age likely impacts the habitual tool-use behaviours of some wild chimpanzees, and the extent to which different individuals are affected is highly variable.

elifesciences.org

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

Our results provide some of the first insight into how old age can influence the cultural, technical behaviours of wild animals - importantly, these results give first evidence that some chimpanzees may experience periods of technological senescence, whereas others' behaviours are robust to aging.

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

The precise effects of aging on tool engagement, selection and efficiency differed between individuals, suggesting that old age can exacerbate interindividual differences in tool use for wild chimpanzees.

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

Using 17 years of video footage of chimpanzees cracking nuts using stone tools at Bossou, we found that older individuals began attending experimental nut cracking sites less often over time (but younger adults didn't). With aging, some elderly individuals also became less efficient tool users.

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 15

New paper out in eLife! 🎉 Old age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use elifesciences.org/articles/105... (including videos of wild elderly chimpanzees using tools! 🪨 🌰)

Old age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use

Long-term standardized data collection on wild western chimpanzees reveals late-life changes in stone tool use, and the extent of these changes varies between individuals.

elifesciences.org

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Jul 2

Congratulations!!!!

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Caroline Fryns @carolinefryns.bsky.social · Jun 25

1/n Hot off the press!
The first empirical chapter of my PhD and the fruit of a hugely collaborative project led with Franziska Wegdell and Johanna Schick is out! We explore if immature-directed vocalisations are present and in what quantity in wild great apes.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes

Human infants receive more directed communication than other great ape infants, indicating that it evolved alongside language.

www.science.org

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Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social · Jun 26

News you can use for better sleep 💤

Like us, orangutans need a good night's sleep. If they don't get enough, they squeeze in a nap the next day. They even have a trick: up to 10 mins napping for each hour missed last night. Try it at home.
@livingingroups.bsky.social

www.ab.mpg.de/718751/news_...

Orangutans nap to make up for lost sleep

New study reveals that wild orangutans recover from sleep loss with daytime naps, much like humans do

www.ab.mpg.de

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Cedric Boeckx @cedricboeckx.bsky.social · Apr 3

Important study yielding new insights into the deep roots of aspects of our communication system/#language— @berthetmelissa.bsky.social M. Surbeck and S. Townsend did great work to reveal semantic composition in vocal combinations in bonobos. 🧪 Out in @science.org :
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Extensive compositionality in the vocal system of bonobos

Compositionality, the capacity to combine meaningful elements into larger meaningful structures, is a hallmark of human language. Compositionality can be trivial (the combination’s meaning is the sum ...

www.science.org

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Apr 3

Haha I will try my best ;-) keep it up - persistence is key and it sounds like there is progress!

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Apr 3

Sorry to hear things are so manic, but it sounds like you are doing well to get your foot in the door in a few places! (As you say, that can often feel impossible in itself). If I can help/give any advice just drop me a message.

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Apr 3

For more details, check out the preprint. A huge thank you to everyone who has collected data for this project at SUAQ, and to all collaborators!

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Apr 3

This suggests that early hominin cultures were more expansive than can be predicted from surviving artifacts alone, including key information used for daily decision making.

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Apr 3

Whilst accumulating culturally-dependent expanses of knowledge is a key facet of humans' generative and open-ended cultures, or results suggest that this capacity is likely ancestral to (at least) great-ape species.

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Elliot Howard-Spink @ehowaspi.bsky.social · Apr 3

In extension, we evidence that the breadth of cultural knowledge possessed by orangutans is likely more expansive than any one individual could produce independently (thus, a 'culturally-dependent repertoire').

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