Helping doctors put empathy to good use

- Dr. Helen Riess recently published a study showing that explicitly teaching empathy to doctors-in-training improves their interactions with patients.

(EVAN MCGLINN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

Rats: Holiday spirit, in rodent form

- During the holidays, if kids become brats, you can shout with a straight face, “Start acting like rats!” According to a study in the journal Science, University of Chicago researchers discovered that lab rats can show empathy - a quality not previously demonstrated in rodents - at levels that are rare even in primates.