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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Choice Voice"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
(DOES NOT FULLY MATCH AUDIO)
HERE'S THE PITCH... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THE HUMAN VOICE: IT HAS THE POWER TO CAPTIVATE, IRRITATE, OR ACTIVATE... BUT, CAN VOICE PITCH HELP CHOOSE A MATE? A TEAM OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS--LED BY A RESEARCHER FROM HARVARD--HAS PUBLISHED SOME INTERESTING FINDINGS THAT RELATE THE LOWNESS OR HIGHNESS OF A MAN'S VOICE, TO HIS SUITABILITY AS A PARTNER--AND THE NUMBER OF KIDS THAT HE'LL HAVE. THE TEAM STUDIED A NATIVE PEOPLE THAT STILL LIVE PRETTY MUCH THE WAY THAT HUMANS DID SOME 200-THOUSAND YEARS AGO. ABOUT 100 OF THE HADZA--A REMOTE TRIBE OF HUNTER-GATHERERS IN TANZANIA--WERE ASKED TO SPEAK INTO A MICROPHONE. THE RECORDINGS WERE ANALYZED FOR VOICE FREQUENCY, OR AVERAGE PITCH. THEIR FINDINGS? CONTROLLING FOR AGE, MALES WITH LOWER VOICES HAD MORE CHILDREN. THE RESEARCHERS BELIEVE THAT HADZA WOMEN MAY SEE THE BARITONES AS BETTER PROVIDERS--MAKING THEM SUPERIOR CHOICES AS HUSBANDS, AS WELL AS A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO THE HOLIDAY CHORUS. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
