We know techies like robots. We know robots are infiltrating our workforce and that they may one day take over altogether. Maybe we think the same thing about chimpanzees (think Planet of the Apes).

Researchers believe the yawning robot may have triggered some biological mechanism in the chimps that they associated with sleep. Image: Popular Science composite, Getty Images/ RMJM, Aline ...

New research suggests wild chimpanzees have developed a far more nuanced communication system than previously realized, using several mechanisms that combine their vocalizations to create new meaning.

When people talk to each other, their conversations usually include many fast twists. Humans do not naturally talk in Shakespearean soliloquies, but by regularly interrupting and wildly gesticulating.

Editor's note: This segment was rebroadcast on July 7, 2025. Click here for that audio. Scientists studying chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest of Uganda noticed the creatures seem to be administering a ...

New research on the rhythmic drumming and complex calls of chimpanzees could point scientists to the origins of language. Chimpanzees drum and make calls to communicate. Two new studies have found ...