Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. There are many forms of touch in the human vocabulary, like caresses ...

Beccy holds a PhD in Biological Science, a Master’s in Molecular Biology of Parasites and Disease Vectors, and a Bachelor’s in Human Biology and Forensic Science. Beccy holds a PhD in Biological ...

Admit it: You love being tickled. There’s something about that “pleasurable agony,” the strange combination of discomfort and pleasure that elicits such explosive fits of shrieks and laughter. And it ...

"Tickling the rat" has got to be a euphemism for something. But it's also a way of studying the neurobiology of depression. At least that's what Wöhr et al say in a new paper. They started from the ...

Need a good laugh? The feeling is pretty universal, according to researchers who tickled rats for the sake of science. When the animals received a 10-second tickle from a gloved hand, they responded ...

Tickle a rat and it will jump for joy, gleefully squeak and beg for more. In addition to describing these delightful reactions to a tickling hand, a new study identifies nerve cells in the brain that ...

Similar to licking your elbow or sneezing while keeping your eyes open, you're not supposed to be able to tickle yourself. While some of you are busy looking for a feather to test this theory out, ...

It's darn near impossible to tickle yourself. Kids know this. Adults who act like kids know this. And so do the creators of certain Sesame Street toys that tend to inspire fist-fights between ...

Need a good laugh? The feeling is pretty universal, according to researchers who tickled rats for the sake of science. When the animals received a 10-second tickle from a gloved hand, they responded ...

Similar to licking your elbow or sneezing while keeping your eyes open, you're not supposed to be able to tickle yourself. While some of you are busy looking for a feather to test this theory out, ...

One thing we know about tickling: It makes us laugh. But why? And what exactly is it? Is it pain? Pleasure? Aristotle wrote about tickling all the way back in 350 B.C. Darwin did too, in 1872. But, of ...