MONKEY TALK
I Samuel 2:3
"Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed."
Several years ago Koko the gorilla amazed scientists and the public by apparently learning enough of the rudiments of the English language to communicate simple thoughts. Now, studies on wild vervet monkeys suggest that Koko's achievement might be nothing more than a normal, God-given ability.
Anthropologists from UCLA report that wild vervet monkey communication shows much more language development than scientists ever expected. It took years of study in the wild before anthropologists began to hear subtle differences in the grunts and screeches offered by the monkeys. They confirmed these differences by recording the different sounds and the actions that went with the sounds. Then they analyzed the sounds electronically and found that there was indeed a pattern of differences in the sounds that corresponds to specific actions.
Anthropologists then set up their sound equipment in the monkeys' home territory to test their interpretation of the sounds. When the grunt that researchers thought meant "open plain" was played, monkey listeners looked out toward the open plain. Likewise, when the "other group" grunt was played, the monkeys searched the open plain even more carefully. The scientists had discovered that they had successfully understood two other monkey phrases as well.
These vervet monkeys teach us that language is not the evolutionary development of early humans, but a gift from God, the Author of language.
Dear heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of language. Help me to make better use of this gift in praising You and telling others of Your love for us through the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Greenberg, John. 1985. "The sophisticated sounds of Simians." Science News, v. 127, June 15. p. 356. Photo: Vervet monkey. Courtesy of Derek Keats. (CC BY 2.0)
I Samuel 2:3
"Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed."
Several years ago Koko the gorilla amazed scientists and the public by apparently learning enough of the rudiments of the English language to communicate simple thoughts. Now, studies on wild vervet monkeys suggest that Koko's achievement might be nothing more than a normal, God-given ability.
Anthropologists from UCLA report that wild vervet monkey communication shows much more language development than scientists ever expected. It took years of study in the wild before anthropologists began to hear subtle differences in the grunts and screeches offered by the monkeys. They confirmed these differences by recording the different sounds and the actions that went with the sounds. Then they analyzed the sounds electronically and found that there was indeed a pattern of differences in the sounds that corresponds to specific actions.
Anthropologists then set up their sound equipment in the monkeys' home territory to test their interpretation of the sounds. When the grunt that researchers thought meant "open plain" was played, monkey listeners looked out toward the open plain. Likewise, when the "other group" grunt was played, the monkeys searched the open plain even more carefully. The scientists had discovered that they had successfully understood two other monkey phrases as well.
These vervet monkeys teach us that language is not the evolutionary development of early humans, but a gift from God, the Author of language.
Dear heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of language. Help me to make better use of this gift in praising You and telling others of Your love for us through the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Greenberg, John. 1985. "The sophisticated sounds of Simians." Science News, v. 127, June 15. p. 356. Photo: Vervet monkey. Courtesy of Derek Keats. (CC BY 2.0)
BIRD BARKS AND LIZARD GROWLS
Numbers 22:30
"And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay."
Have you ever noticed that we can usually sense whether an animal is hostile or friendly, simply by its sound? Did you ever wonder about the universal features that allow for important basic information to be shared between animals and humans?
None of us ever had to be taught that a dog, growling deeply and showing its teeth, was trying to threaten us. We're all familiar with the high-pitched yips that same dog makes to welcome its owner home. Research shows that the motivations expressed by high-pitched and low-pitched sounds are universal among most creatures.
Researchers say that almost all animals bark (the high-pitched sounds) or growl (the low-pitched sounds). Yet they were surprised to learn that animals don't simply make arbitrary noises. Sound has meaning. Even the higher-pitched voice of birds has a barking mode that can be seen on a graph and heard when a slowed-down recording is played. Animals make lower, harsher sounds when they're being aggressive. This is the growl. When friendly, an animal makes higher-pitched sounds. The bark seems to mean that an animal is neither hostile nor friendly, simply curious. Human speech follows the same general pattern.
These universal features of communication reflect the work of our Creator who intended for many different kinds of creatures to coexist. He gave us all a universal method for understanding important basic messages like fear, aggression and joy.
I thank You, Lord, for the joy that animals add to our lives. I also thank You that You have made us able to share some basic but important features of communication. However, help me to value most highly Your communication to me in Your Holy Word. Amen.
Bennett, Dawn D. 1985. "Making sense of animal sounds." Science News, v. 127, May 18. p. 314.
Numbers 22:30
"And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay."
Have you ever noticed that we can usually sense whether an animal is hostile or friendly, simply by its sound? Did you ever wonder about the universal features that allow for important basic information to be shared between animals and humans?
None of us ever had to be taught that a dog, growling deeply and showing its teeth, was trying to threaten us. We're all familiar with the high-pitched yips that same dog makes to welcome its owner home. Research shows that the motivations expressed by high-pitched and low-pitched sounds are universal among most creatures.
Researchers say that almost all animals bark (the high-pitched sounds) or growl (the low-pitched sounds). Yet they were surprised to learn that animals don't simply make arbitrary noises. Sound has meaning. Even the higher-pitched voice of birds has a barking mode that can be seen on a graph and heard when a slowed-down recording is played. Animals make lower, harsher sounds when they're being aggressive. This is the growl. When friendly, an animal makes higher-pitched sounds. The bark seems to mean that an animal is neither hostile nor friendly, simply curious. Human speech follows the same general pattern.
These universal features of communication reflect the work of our Creator who intended for many different kinds of creatures to coexist. He gave us all a universal method for understanding important basic messages like fear, aggression and joy.
I thank You, Lord, for the joy that animals add to our lives. I also thank You that You have made us able to share some basic but important features of communication. However, help me to value most highly Your communication to me in Your Holy Word. Amen.
Bennett, Dawn D. 1985. "Making sense of animal sounds." Science News, v. 127, May 18. p. 314.
THE TUATARA
Psalm 27:10
"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up."
What's green, has three eyes and is one of the rarest animals on Earth?
The answer: the tuatara. This reptile is found today only on a few small islands off New Zealand. Its home on the islands in the Bay of Plenty and Cook Strait has no mammals at all. The tuatara was once also found in New Zealand. However, when settlers introduced mammals, the tuatara became extinct, probably because it could not compete with the mammals.
The tuatara is a reptile that is the only surviving species in its order. That means it's so different from other creatures that science knows of no similar creatures living today. It grows to a length of about two feet. The chunky reptile has a dark olive green body with light-colored spots. Its eyes are like those of the cat, except for one thing – it has three of them. Besides the eyes you would expect on each side of its head, it has a third eye on top of its head. Scientists don't believe that this third eye actually works. That's because its structure does not seem to be that of a complete, working eye. However, this third eye does have a retina and other eye structures. A nocturnal animal, the tuatara eats insects, worms and small animals. It buries its 12 to 14 eggs in a shallow hole in the ground where they take up to a year to hatch.
The tuatara is a special example of God's creativity and His care for His creatures. It certainly isn't the fittest creature, yet God seems to have taken special care to preserve this unique animal.
I thank You, dear Father, that Your love and care are handed out based on Your mercy rather than on human values. I thank You that for this reason You sent Your Son to pay the penalty for my sins so that You could forgive me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Photo: A male tuatara named Henry, living at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, is still reproductively active at 111 years of age. Courtesy of KeresH. (CC BY 3.0)
Psalm 27:10
"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up."
What's green, has three eyes and is one of the rarest animals on Earth?
The answer: the tuatara. This reptile is found today only on a few small islands off New Zealand. Its home on the islands in the Bay of Plenty and Cook Strait has no mammals at all. The tuatara was once also found in New Zealand. However, when settlers introduced mammals, the tuatara became extinct, probably because it could not compete with the mammals.
The tuatara is a reptile that is the only surviving species in its order. That means it's so different from other creatures that science knows of no similar creatures living today. It grows to a length of about two feet. The chunky reptile has a dark olive green body with light-colored spots. Its eyes are like those of the cat, except for one thing – it has three of them. Besides the eyes you would expect on each side of its head, it has a third eye on top of its head. Scientists don't believe that this third eye actually works. That's because its structure does not seem to be that of a complete, working eye. However, this third eye does have a retina and other eye structures. A nocturnal animal, the tuatara eats insects, worms and small animals. It buries its 12 to 14 eggs in a shallow hole in the ground where they take up to a year to hatch.
The tuatara is a special example of God's creativity and His care for His creatures. It certainly isn't the fittest creature, yet God seems to have taken special care to preserve this unique animal.
I thank You, dear Father, that Your love and care are handed out based on Your mercy rather than on human values. I thank You that for this reason You sent Your Son to pay the penalty for my sins so that You could forgive me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Photo: A male tuatara named Henry, living at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, is still reproductively active at 111 years of age. Courtesy of KeresH. (CC BY 3.0)
GOD'S SAFETY VALVE?
Psalm 71:6
"By You I have been upheld from my birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You."
More than 75 percent of all women in their first trimester of pregnancy suffer some form of morning sickness. More than half become physically sick. While it may not help a woman with morning sickness feel better, it might help to know that morning sickness may serve a good purpose.
A University of California biologist has concluded that morning sickness may actually be the body's way of protecting the developing child. Margie Profet spent six years studying diets, birth defects and the level of natural toxins in our food. Most food has a natural, low concentration of poisons. For example, plants make poisons to protect their leaves from marauding insects. Normally these poisons are so weak that they are completely harmless to us. However, the newly developing infant is extremely susceptible to these low levels of toxins until about the eighth week of development. Naturally occurring chemicals in our environment can cause birth defects and even death to the vulnerable infant. When the body detects a level of toxins dangerous to the developing child, it may use morning sickness to rid the body of them.
Profet mentions other studies that showed that women who get nauseous and vomit during early pregnancy have lower rates of miscarriage than women who don't get sick.
The final scientific opinion isn't in yet. However, morning sickness may indeed be God's safety valve to protect the sensitive, developing child from harm.
I thank You, dear Father, for the wonderful way in which You formed me in my mother's womb. I realize that as I was formed, You hand-made me no less than You originally formed the first human being, Adam. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
"Morning sickness may protect fetus from toxins." Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 13. p. 7A.
Psalm 71:6
"By You I have been upheld from my birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You."
More than 75 percent of all women in their first trimester of pregnancy suffer some form of morning sickness. More than half become physically sick. While it may not help a woman with morning sickness feel better, it might help to know that morning sickness may serve a good purpose.
A University of California biologist has concluded that morning sickness may actually be the body's way of protecting the developing child. Margie Profet spent six years studying diets, birth defects and the level of natural toxins in our food. Most food has a natural, low concentration of poisons. For example, plants make poisons to protect their leaves from marauding insects. Normally these poisons are so weak that they are completely harmless to us. However, the newly developing infant is extremely susceptible to these low levels of toxins until about the eighth week of development. Naturally occurring chemicals in our environment can cause birth defects and even death to the vulnerable infant. When the body detects a level of toxins dangerous to the developing child, it may use morning sickness to rid the body of them.
Profet mentions other studies that showed that women who get nauseous and vomit during early pregnancy have lower rates of miscarriage than women who don't get sick.
The final scientific opinion isn't in yet. However, morning sickness may indeed be God's safety valve to protect the sensitive, developing child from harm.
I thank You, dear Father, for the wonderful way in which You formed me in my mother's womb. I realize that as I was formed, You hand-made me no less than You originally formed the first human being, Adam. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
"Morning sickness may protect fetus from toxins." Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 13. p. 7A.
BEE COLOGNE
Isaiah 53:5
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
Imagine being at a party that's all packed into one room and everyone is talking. Under these conditions it's often difficult to hear, or at least understand, what others around you are saying. Now imagine that all of these people look nearly identical. No one has any noticeable distinguishing features that make him different from anyone else in the room. Now, to make matters worse, you have been informed that you are to find the person in the room who was not invited to the party.
That's the impossible situation that honeybees constantly face. However, the noisy room that was just described is noisy in two ways. Bees not only communicate through sound. They also use scents to communicate. And the hive is full of scents. Yet honeybees are constantly alert to bees who are not members of the hive. Invaders are killed. How can bees so successfully protect the hive?
Entomologists have discovered that members of a hive all carry the same chemical password. The scent must be very distinctive because the hive is filled with smells. It also seems that all honeybees may use a specific combination and subtle variations of only two chemicals. Yet, each hive can instantly tell whether another bee carries the specific chemical password.
The complexity of this avenue of beehive defense shows not only a wise and powerful Creator. It also shows us that He cares for what He has created. He cares for You, too. Learn more about the specific details of His love for You in the Bible.
I thank You, Lord, that You have loved me so much that You carried the punishment for my sin on Your own body on the cross. Assure me that my sins are forgiven with Your peace and grant me a renewed hunger to learn Your Word. Amen.
Isaiah 53:5
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
Imagine being at a party that's all packed into one room and everyone is talking. Under these conditions it's often difficult to hear, or at least understand, what others around you are saying. Now imagine that all of these people look nearly identical. No one has any noticeable distinguishing features that make him different from anyone else in the room. Now, to make matters worse, you have been informed that you are to find the person in the room who was not invited to the party.
That's the impossible situation that honeybees constantly face. However, the noisy room that was just described is noisy in two ways. Bees not only communicate through sound. They also use scents to communicate. And the hive is full of scents. Yet honeybees are constantly alert to bees who are not members of the hive. Invaders are killed. How can bees so successfully protect the hive?
Entomologists have discovered that members of a hive all carry the same chemical password. The scent must be very distinctive because the hive is filled with smells. It also seems that all honeybees may use a specific combination and subtle variations of only two chemicals. Yet, each hive can instantly tell whether another bee carries the specific chemical password.
The complexity of this avenue of beehive defense shows not only a wise and powerful Creator. It also shows us that He cares for what He has created. He cares for You, too. Learn more about the specific details of His love for You in the Bible.
I thank You, Lord, that You have loved me so much that You carried the punishment for my sin on Your own body on the cross. Assure me that my sins are forgiven with Your peace and grant me a renewed hunger to learn Your Word. Amen.
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