Playing with Rats for Science
In a new study illuminating playful behavior in animals, scientists taught rats to play a simplified, rat-versus-human version of hide-and-seek.
Rats picked up the game within a week or two and learned how to alternate between hiding and seeking roles. Rather than offering food, the researchers rewarded successful hiding and seeking behaviors with playful social interactions, such as tickling and petting.
Read more about playful rats at my Animal Minds blog: Rats and Researchers Play Hide-and-Seek.
Robotic Pets: A Senior's Best Friend?
We are in the midst of a demographic phenomenon known as the graying of society. In more affluent countries, the population is aging. This demographic shift, along with a shortage of health care personnel, has led to increasing demand for new technologies that can assist the elderly in their daily lives. One result is a growing menagerie of robotic pets designed to address the companionship needs of older adults. Who are robotic pets for and what can they do?
Read my latest story for IEEE Pulse magazine: Robotic Pets: A Senior's Best Friend?
Playful Meerkats Mirror One Another's Expressions
When two animals are play fighting, how do they avoid misunderstandings and communicate to one another that they’re not serious? One way meerkats do it is by making a special facial expression - and mimicking the facial expressions of their playmates.
Read the whole story at my Animal Minds blog: Playful Meerkats Mirror One Another's Expressions.
Elephants Smell Out Differences in Quantity
A new study finds that elephants can discriminate between two quantities of food using only their sense of smell. The study is an example of the move towards more species-specific, ecologically valid cognition tests and could have applications in conservation.
Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Elephants Smell Out Differences in Quantity.
Social Isolation Destroys Wasps' Ability to Learn Faces
The golden paper wasp has the unique and specialized ability to recognize the individual faces of other wasps. But without social experience, this ability is decimated.
Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Social Isolation Destroys Wasps' Ability to Learn Faces