Hot on the heels of their ground-breaking bird genome research, the Claudio Mello Lab and colleagues have published new work showing the effects of alcohol on bird vocalization. This PLOS ONE study, by Christopher Olson, Devin Owen, Andrey Ryabinin, and Claudio Mello, showed that alcohol causes the zebra finches to produce song that is quieter and less organized–in effect, it slurs and softens their songs. Interestingly, the alcohol did not affect other areas of their motor coordination.

This discovery made headlines around the globe this past week. Check out the coverage here:

NPR All Things Considered
KATU
OregonLive
Slate Magazine
The Washington Post
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Huffington Post
Red Orbit
Bustle
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CBSNews.com
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The Independent’s News Matrix
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Mic
Utah People’s Post
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The Daily Meal
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Business 2 Community
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Full-Time Whistle
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Science World Report
South China Morning Post

And many more!