Scientist Creates Frankenstein-Like Bird
“Mad science? By combining the brains of two different species, one scientist hopes to create a hybrid bird which can be taught to sing. Though unlike Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein, who sought fame and companionship from his concoction, Jarvis’ intent is born out of a genuine scientific curiosity. He hopes that the chimera bird can teach us more about the neurological basis of birdsong, and perhaps even human speech. Jarvis described his project to New Scientist: “The goal is to get a non-singing animal that can actually learn how to imitate sounds.” Non-singing birds like quails squawk innately and don’t learn their calls, while songbirds like finches learn to sing by imitating their parents. So by swapping their brains, Jarvis aims to hatch a quail with a finch-like brain which can be taught to sing.” w/ photos
