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Scientists 'talk' with a whale for 20 minutes

Whales and Aliens - Level 0

Scientists had a "chat" with a humpback whale. The whale's name is Twain. They spoke in "humpback language" for 20 minutes. The scientists sent a "contact call" into the ocean. Twain heard the call, swam to the boat and "chatted". A researcher said it was the first ever chat between humans and humpback whales.

Whales use contact calls so other whales know where they are. The scientists made 36 calls in 20 minutes. Twain answered them all. A scientist said her research could make it easier to talk to aliens. She said: "We can better understand what alien intelligence might be like." It will be a different kind of intelligence.

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Whales and Aliens - Level 1

Scientists have had a "chat" with a humpback whale. The scientists are from three different organizations. The whale is named Twain. They spoke to her in "humpback language" for 20 minutes. The scientists sent a "contact call" into the ocean. Twain heard the call. She then swam to the research boat and "chatted". A researcher said it was the first ever chat between humans and humpback whales.

The chat with Twain was like lots of greetings. Whales use contact calls so other whales know where they are. The scientists made 36 calls in 20 minutes. Twain answered each call by calling back at the same intervals. A scientist said her research could make it easier to talk to aliens. She said: "We can better understand what an alien intelligence might be like because they are not going to be exactly like ours."

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Whales and Aliens - Level 2

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Scientists have had a "conversation" with a whale. This could help us talk to aliens in the future. The scientists are from three different organizations in the USA. They teamed up and spoke to a humpback whale named Twain. They spoke to her in "humpback language" for 20 minutes. The scientists sent a "contact call" into the ocean off the coast of Alaska. Twain heard the call and responded. She swam to the research boat and chatted. A researcher said it was the first ever communication between humans and humpback whales.

The conversation with Twain was like a series of greetings. Whales use contact calls so other whales know where they are. The scientists made 36 calls over a 20-minute period. Each time, Twain responded by calling back at the same intervals. A scientist told the Business Insider website that the research could make it easier to talk to aliens. She said: "There are diverse intelligences on this planet. By studying them, we can better understand what an alien intelligence might be like because they are not going to be exactly like ours."

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Whales and Aliens - Level 3

Scientists say they have had a "conversation" with a whale. They also say the chat could help them to one day talk to aliens. The scientists are from the University of California, the Alaska Whale Foundation, and SETI (Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence). The three organizations teamed up and spoke to a humpback whale named Twain. They spoke to her in "humpback language" for 20 minutes. Their conversation took place after the scientists sent a "contact call" into the ocean off the coast of Alaska. Twain heard the call and responded. She swam to the research boat and chatted. SETI said it was the first ever communication between humans and humpback whales.

The scientists say their conversation with Twain was not a deep one. Professor Brenda McCowan said it was more like a series of greetings. Whales use contact calls to let other whales know where they are. The scientists made the same call 36 times over a 20-minute period. Each time, Twain responded by calling back. She even matched the intervals between each call the researchers made. Professor McCowan told the Business Insider website that her research could make it easier to talk to aliens. She said: "There are diverse intelligences on this planet. By studying them, we can better understand what an alien intelligence might be like because they are not going to be exactly like ours."

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