Audio
Archive
2013
January
February
March
April
May
2012
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2011
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2010
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2009
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2008
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2007
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Subscribe
Jun. 05, 2009
Tickling Gorillas and the Evolution of Laughter
Click 
to enlarge images
to enlarge images
|
|
Tweet |
| It sounds like the setup for a joke: what do you get when you tickle a baby gorilla? Writing in the journal Current Biology, researchers give the answer: data on the evolution of laughter among the primates. The authors of the paper recorded the sounds made by tickled gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and human infants, and analyzed them for similarities and differences. We'll talk with the lead author of the report about what she found, and what the work can tell evolutionary biologists about laughter and other social behaviors. |
Produced by Charles Bergquist, Director and Contributing Producer
Guests
-
Marina Davilla Ross
Research Fellow,
Department of Psychology
University of Portsmouth
Portsmouth, UK
FEATURED READING
Brilliant Blunders
by Mario Livio
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED BLOG POSTS
- Predicting Storms, Electroshock Therapy, Germaphiles, and More
Each week we’ll round up links to science stories or studies that blow our mind, tickle our funny bone, or generally strike our ...
- Is Cooking Baked Into Our Biology?
According to the "cooking hypothesis," the advent of cooked food altered the course of human evolution.
- Meet Jean Berko Gleason, a Founding Mom of Psycholinguistics
Jean Berko Gleason studies the way we acquire language, how we lose it, and everything in between.
- Why Do I Get Nostalgic?
That bittersweet longing for the past can have an important impact on the present.
Discussion