Chimpanzees are aping robots and scientists are scratching their heads

• A new study reveals that chimpanzees can "catch" yawns from an android robot that imitates human facial expressions.
• Researchers found that chimpanzees yawned and lay down in response to yawns made by the android robot, suggesting that observing another individual yawn may act as a cue to rest.
• The study involved exposing 14 adult chimpanzees to an android head that simulated facial expressions, including yawns, gaping, and neutral expressions.
• Eight of the 14 chimpanzees yawned in response to the android’s "yawn" expression, with the highest contagion occurring when the android displayed a fully wide-open mouth.
• The findings shed light on primates’ susceptibility to contagiously induced behaviours, but the exact biological mechanisms surrounding contagious yawning remain unclear, prompting further research.

IN FULL

Scientists perplexed to find chimpanzees can ‘catch’ yawns – even from robots