MELBOURNE, Australia — It’s generally not a good time to be a rodent in Australia. But at one lab in Canberra, the nation’s capital, a select group of lab rats has had quite a different experience. Researchers have tickled them every day for a month to see if it will improve their emotional well-being, and perhaps make them better models for research. It adds, “Rat tickling is a technique used by animal technicians to mimic the play-fighting behavior that juvenile rats engage in. By participating in this behavior with our rats, we aim to lessen the impact of handling and increase positive associations with human interaction.”

Source: New York Times August 09, 2021 08:48 UTC