If someone calls you a rat, take it as a compliment

A new study found that rats display compassion for their fellow rodents, even if they have nothing to gain.?

Rats?don't always act like, well,?rats.

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New experiments show?rats?demonstrating compassion and helping other rodents. It's a trait some scientists thought was reserved only for humans and higher primates.

And it's certainly not the sneaky, selfish rap that goes with calling someone a dirty?rat.

In repeated tests,?rats?freed another trapped?rat?in their cage, even when yummy chocolate served as a tempting distraction. Twenty-three of the 30?rats?opened the trap by pushing in a door. The?rats?could have gobbled the chocolate before freeing their partners, but often didn't, choosing to help and share the goodies.

"Basically they told us (freeing another?rat) is as important as eating chocolate," said study author Peggy Mason of the University of Chicago. "That's a very striking thing."

In some cases, the?rats?first took the chocolate chips out of a container, but didn't eat them, then freed the other?rat?and shared "almost as if they were serving them chocolate," Mason said. The research is reported in Thursday's journal Science.

Also, females showed more consistent?empathy?than males, Mason said. All six females freed their trapped partner; 17 of the 24 males did so. This confirms other studies that show females demonstrating more pro-social behavior than males, she said.

There were days when the male?rats?took the day off from helping their trapped partner, but the females never did, she said.

Jeff Mogil at McGill University in Canada, who wasn't part of the study, said it was a tad surprising but even more convincing.

"It's a very, very obvious demonstration of the phenomena," Mogil said. Both scientists said social?empathy?is probably a characteristic that is important in the evolution of animals.

Mason joked that if?rats?can be so caring and helpful "there's a sense of optimism. It's something we could be."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/eadQ62L-ZqA/If-someone-calls-you-a-rat-take-it-as-a-compliment

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