I read the actual paper, and while I am not a member of the relevant scientific world, I was not at all stunned. In fact, the whole story felt like sequel to Jane Goodall’s Chimp war of the 60’s and 70’s. Sure enough:
While these results are consistent with the hypothesis that kin selection affects male chimpanzee behavior (see also Morin, Moore, Chakraborty, Jin, Goodall, & Woodruff, 1994), our study also indicated that unrelated individuals cooperate frequently (Langergraber, et al., 2007).
Ok, then.
Like - sure, this is useful scientific study and does increase our knowledge of Chimps in Africa. But, I’m hardly stunned by it as well. As he himself acknowledges, it’s consistent with previous studies. Is there a biologist reading this who can explain why the scientific world would be stunned by any of this? Or is this 2026 article about a paper published in 2020, expanding on papers dating back to the 1960’s all a load of click-bait?
I read the actual paper, and while I am not a member of the relevant scientific world, I was not at all stunned. In fact, the whole story felt like sequel to Jane Goodall’s Chimp war of the 60’s and 70’s. Sure enough:
Ok, then.
Like - sure, this is useful scientific study and does increase our knowledge of Chimps in Africa. But, I’m hardly stunned by it as well. As he himself acknowledges, it’s consistent with previous studies. Is there a biologist reading this who can explain why the scientific world would be stunned by any of this? Or is this 2026 article about a paper published in 2020, expanding on papers dating back to the 1960’s all a load of click-bait?