If you’ve ever caught yourself picking up a friend’s accent or slang, you already understand a little bit about vampire bats.

The following is an excerpt from Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans by Bill Schutt. When you purchase products through the Bookshop.org link on this page, Science Friday earns ...

You can probably picture a vampire: Pale, sharply fanged undead sucker of blood, deterred only by sunlight, religious paraphernalia and garlic. They’re gnarly creatures, often favorite subjects for ...

Ever suddenly realize you had picked up certain words or ways of speaking from a close friend? It turns out that humans are far from the only animals who copy the sounds of their closest companions—a ...

Humans are often happy to share food with their friends, but what about animals? Contrary to their reputation, vampire bats are surprisingly social and generous, and a well-fed bat will even ...

Ever suddenly realize you had picked up certain words or ways of speaking from a close friend? It turns out that humans are far from the only animals who copy the sounds of their closest companions — ...

Some of the cited work in the article is from long-term collaborators (such as Dr. Gerald Carter at Princeton University) with whom I frequently interact and work together. You can probably picture a ...