Researchers in Australia tickled the rodents every day for a month to see if it would improve their emotional well-being. By Yan Zhuang MELBOURNE, Australia — It’s generally not a good time to be a ...

Living with little to no physical contact during the pandemic has reminded many of us of just how much we need it. As it turns out, another member of the animal kingdom — one most fondly known to ...

CNN — (CNN) — Editor’s note: Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Puppies tussle in the ...

At parties and bars, he introduces himself as a “rat tickler.” The title makes Shimpei Ishiyama sound like he belongs in some forgotten guild of yore, with the Victorian “pure-finders,” who collected ...

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. Rat ...

To study play behaviors in animals, scientists must be able to authentically simulate play-conducive environments in the laboratory. Animals like rats are less inclined to play if they are anxious or ...

Berlin-based researchers who tickled rats for the sake of science say tickling, induces a “primitive form of joy” in animals, according to neurobiologist Shimpei Ishiyama of Humboldt University.