Is laughter heritable? On the evolution of laughter, why Darwin tickled chimpanzees, giggling twins, and what might be the only trait that is completely heritable (a bit gross). You can't go wrong with Nancy Segal and Sophie Scott on the show. @aberuni.bsky.social @charliemuss.bsky.social

Wit Happens: A Light-hearted Dive into the Science of Humour. A free public lecture on the psychology of humour at the start of Aberystwyth Comedy Festival. Friday, October 3. Tickets at abercomedyfest.co.uk/show/2025/dr... (via @machcomedyfest) @charliemuss.bsky.social @prifaber.bsky.social

A blog post describing my study, written by Nancy Segal, the top twin researcher in the world and a collaborator on the study. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/twof...

Our new study on the heritablity of humor ability. Surprising result, no heritablity for humor production, only for self-assessed humor. Possible null effect due to low power, skewed sample, artificial tasks, and other factors. First study on the topic. See: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Dr Gil Greengross from our Psychology Department has spoken to the Daily Mail to discuss his research about whether being able to crack a good joke runs in the family.

🖱️ tinyurl.com/ycy6xzez

Laura Betzig writes a wonderful tribute to the late Don Symons who died recently. His 1979 book, The Evolution of Human Sexuality, is perhaps the first true evolutionary psychology book and is still a great read today.
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...

Had the pleasure to visit Shrewsbury School and get a wonderful tour at their ancient libary. Charles Darwin attended this boarding school as a kid at the ages of 9-15. Among the amazing books in the library there is this original copy of the first edition of The Origin of Species.

A skeptical look at the health benefits of humor and laughter. My article in @psychmag.bsky.social
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

Cracking the joke…
Dr @giligg.bsky.social rethinks the health benefits of humour and laughter.
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

I was surprised to see an incorrect definition of sex in the
@sciencemuseumldn.bsky.social in London. Sex is defined by gamete size—not physical appearances, chromosomes, or hormones, which are derivatives of the definition.

Cool article on the evolution of kissing: "evidence supports that kissing isn't a derived signal of affection in humans, it instead represents a surviving devolved, vestigial form of primate grooming that conserved its ancestral form, context, and function."

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

For those interested in humor research, a nice interview with me and other humor researchers for science cafe Wales: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...