If you think laughter and comedy are reserved strictly for humans, you’d be wrong. A study in the late 1990s showed that creatures like rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations while playing with or ...

Now that we know octopi like to play with cameras, it’s time to investigate other forms of animal play. Did you know that rats laugh when you tickle them? This ...

There's nothing quite like that yelp of laughter you emit when being tickled. Now, experts have confirmed that shrieks induced by tickling really do sound recognisably different to other types of ...

Tickling is a very strange sensation because it doesn't depend on your will. That's right, you don't decide whether or not to laugh; your body simply reacts. Your brain doesn't even have a chance to ...

For nearly a decade, Vincent Bombail has been tickling rats. It’s been a standard technique used in the study of animal happiness. But not all rats particularly enjoy the experience, data show. Female ...

When animals are used in research,there is seldom, if ever, a focus on affectionate or playful handling. However, based on what has already been proven about rats and their response to positive ...