Laughter can communicate a lot more than good humor – people use it to smooth social interactions

Laughter is so fundamental that animals like chimps, rats and dogs share the ability with humans. But in people it serves more serious social functions than just letting others know you’re having fun.

Adrienne Wood, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia • conversation
July 25, 2023 ~8 min

Body language books get it wrong: the truth about reading nonverbal cues

Why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover: the limitations of reading body language.

Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill University • conversation
March 28, 2023 ~7 min


Moving in with your partner? Talking about these 3 things first can smooth the way, according to a couples therapist

Discussing some key topics before – or even after – they move in together can help couples successfully navigate this step.

Kristina S. Brown, Professor and Chair of Couple and Family Therapy, Adler University • conversation
March 22, 2023 ~6 min

Smell is the crucial sense that holds ant society together, helping the insects recognize, communicate and cooperate with one another

Researchers explore what happens when ants can’t properly use smell to detect friend from foe.

Stephen Ferguson, Postdoctoral Scholar in Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University • conversation
March 13, 2023 ~7 min

Unlocking secrets of the honeybee dance language – bees learn and culturally transmit their communication skills

Honeybees possess one of the most complex examples of nonhuman communication. New research suggests that it is learned and culturally passed down from older to younger bees.

James C. Nieh, Associate Dean and Professor of Biology, University of California, San Diego • conversation
March 9, 2023 ~8 min

Dolphins use signature whistles to represent other dolphins – similarly to how humans use names

Using urine and signature whistles from other dolphins, a team of scientists has shown that dolphins use signature whistles like names and hold mental representations of other dolphins in their minds.

Jason Bruck, Assistant Professor of Biology, Stephen F. Austin State University • conversation
Aug. 23, 2022 ~9 min

When texts suddenly stop: Why people ghost on social media

With online use ever-increasing, so is the rise of ghosting – when friends decide to disappear into the social ether.

Royette T. Dubar, Professor of Psychology, Wesleyan University • conversation
June 16, 2022 ~8 min

How to express yourself if you want others to cooperate with you – new research

Communication helps group members to size up the intentions of the others.

Zoe Adams, Post-doctoral researcher in Sociolinguistics, Queen Mary University of London • conversation
May 30, 2022 ~8 min


Do mushrooms really use language to talk to each other? A fungi expert investigates

New research has found what may be language in electrical impulses transmitted between mushrooms.

Katie Field, Professor in Plant-Soil Processes, University of Sheffield • conversation
April 14, 2022 ~8 min

What is aphasia? An expert explains the condition forcing Bruce Willis to retire from acting

The ‘Die Hard’ actor is suffering from a communications disorder that affects 2 million Americans.

Swathi Kiran, Professor of Neurorehabilitation, Boston University • conversation
March 31, 2022 ~6 min

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