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Understanding the Roots of Human Musicality
Catherine Offord | Mar 1, 2017 | 10+ min read
Researchers are using multiple methods to study the origins of humans’ capacity to process and produce music, and there’s no shortage of debate about the results.
Song Around the Animal Kingdom
The Scientist Staff | Mar 1, 2017 | 3 min read
Diverse species are said to sing, but music is in the ear of the beholder.
Birds May Make Music, But They Lack Rhythm
Jenny Rood | Mar 1, 2017 | 3 min read
Birdsong bears a striking resemblance to human music, but it’s not yet clear that birds interpret it that way.
Bats Sing Sort of Like Birds
Bob Grant | Mar 1, 2017 | 3 min read
Some bat vocalizations resemble bird songs, though at higher frequencies, and as researchers unveil the behaviors’ neural underpinnings, the similarities may run even deeper.
Researchers Study Rodent Songs They Can’t Hear
Joshua A. Krisch | Mar 1, 2017 | 3 min read
Mice and rats produce ultrasonic signals to attract mates.
Untangling the Social Webs in Frog Choruses
Tracy Vence | Mar 1, 2017 | 2 min read
Frogs and other anurans call to attract mates, and individuals must strive for their voices to be heard in the crowd.
From Cricket Choruses to Drosophila Calls
Jef Akst | Mar 1, 2017 | 3 min read
A handful of insect species communicate using auditory signals—sounds that researchers have dubbed “song.”
The Mystery of Whale Song
Kate Yandell | Mar 1, 2017 | 2 min read
Structured whale songs are shared by group members and evolve over time, but the calls’ functions are still unclear.
Fish Use a Variety of Sounds to Communicate
Kerry Grens | Mar 1, 2017 | 3 min read
Many fish species click, grunt, growl, grumble, or hum—but is it music?
Exploring the Mechanisms of Music Therapy
Elizabeth Stegemöller | Mar 1, 2017 | 10 min read
The principles of neuroplasticity may underlie the positive effects of music therapy in treating a diversity of diseases.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the March 2017 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Song of Ourselves
Song of Ourselves
“Nature’s melodies” may be a human construct that says more about us than about the musicality of other animals.
Speaking of Science
Notable Science Quotes
Notable Science Quotes
Music, the future of American science, and more
Notebook
Musical Tastes: Nature or Nurture?
Musical Tastes: Nature or Nurture?
Studies of remote Amazonian villages reveal how culture influences our musical preferences.
Understanding the Connection Between Synesthesia and Absolute Pitch
Understanding the Connection Between Synesthesia and Absolute Pitch
Researchers investigate the unusual association of musical sounds with tastes or colors through the lens of another perceptual quirk.
Music Tailored to Animals’ Tastes
Music Tailored to Animals’ Tastes
The evidence is equivocal on whether animals dig human songs, so scientists set out to make music that mimics their soundscapes.
Understanding Music Heard Through Cochlear Implants
Understanding Music Heard Through Cochlear Implants
Music sounds very different to cochlear implant users. Researchers are trying to improve the experience.
Critic at Large
Opinion: Improving FDA Evaluations Without Jeopardizing Safety and Efficacy
Opinion: Improving FDA Evaluations Without Jeopardizing Safety and Efficacy
What can be done to lower development costs and drug prices?
Modus Operandi
Massively Parallel Perturbations
Massively Parallel Perturbations
Scientists combine CRISPR gene editing with single-cell sequencing for genotype-phenotype screens.
The Literature
Neural Activity Reflects a Bird’s Perception of How Well It Sings
Neural Activity Reflects a Bird’s Perception of How Well It Sings
Zebra finches dial down dopamine signaling when they hear errors in a song performance.
Birds Possess an Innate Vocal Signature Based on Silent Gaps
Birds Possess an Innate Vocal Signature Based on Silent Gaps
Zebra finches reared by another species learn to sing their foster parents’ song with rhythms characteristic of their genetic background.
Rhythm Arises from Random Beats in a “Telephone” Game
Rhythm Arises from Random Beats in a “Telephone” Game
An experiment in which people pass each other initially nonrhythmic drumming sequences reveals the human affinity for musical patterns.
Profile
Singing In the Brain
Singing In the Brain
His first love was dance, but Erich Jarvis has long courted another love—understanding how the brain learns vocalization.
Scientist to Watch
John Iversen Explores our Perception of Musical Rhythm
John Iversen Explores our Perception of Musical Rhythm
At the Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego, the researcher studies the neurobiology of music perception.
Lab Tools
A Selection of CRISPR Proof-of-Principle Studies
A Selection of CRISPR Proof-of-Principle Studies
Advice on how to deploy the latest techniques in your own lab
Careers
The Past and Present of Research Integrity in China
The Past and Present of Research Integrity in China
Several initiatives aim to improve research integrity in the country, but recent high-profile cases of misconduct highlight a lingering problem.
Reading Frames
How Bad Singing Landed Me in an MRI Machine
How Bad Singing Landed Me in an MRI Machine
One author's journey through the science of his congenital amusia
Foundations
Newton’s Color Theory, ca. 1665
Newton’s Color Theory, ca. 1665
Newton’s rainbow forms the familiar ROYGBIV because he thought the range of visible colors should be analogous to the seven-note musical scale.