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Contact: University Relations , or hodack msu. Basically, size does count - when it comes to ears. Story Nov. Email address Sign Up. Actually, this " grass-in-ear-behavior " appears to serve no discernible function. But after Julie did it, other chimps in her group began to follow suit. It's no surprise that chimpanzees have "culture," in that different groups develop different traditions, including unique behaviors and tools. But usually these things have a concrete function, whereas this one doesn't, according to the study, published in the journal Animal Cognition.
To make sure that the ear-grass thing wasn't just a random occurrence, researchers watched four different groups in Zambia's Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust for a year.
The researchers also found that chimps expressed two genes known to affect nose length and shape as well as skin color much more strongly than humans. While scientists are still searching for any sign of that common ancestor, they can still find hints at how apes and humans split by poking around in their genes.
Danny Lewis is a multimedia journalist working in print, radio, and illustration.
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