Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. When the brain releases oxytocin during sex, childbirth, breastfeeding, and social interactions, the hormone supports strong feelings such as attachment, trust, and closeness. That's why oxytocin is frequently nicknamed the love, cuddle, or happy hormone--even though it's also linked with aggression. To continue investigating the biological role of oxytocin, a team of researchers studied it with scientist's poster species for love and friendship, the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). The small rodents found throughout central North America have bonds that are "similar to human friendships in the sense that they are selective and long-lasting. Voles form strong, stable bonds with specific peers," Markita Landry, a chemist from the University of California (UC), Berkeley, tells Popular Science.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. Chelsea Conaboy's new book, Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood, is an ambitious look at new science investigating how caregiving changes everyone who does it. Conaboy draws on research from neuroscience and psychology to make sense of the challenging transitions of early parenthood.

Dog-owners often feel that their pooches are good at picking up on their emotions. New studies show how behavioral and chemical cues from humans can affect dogs in ways that enable them to not only discriminate between their owners' fear, excitement, or anger, but also to "catch" these feelings from their human companions. Just as human toddlers look to their parents for cues about how to react to the people and world around them, dogs often look to humans for similar signs. When their people project feelings of calm and confidence, dogs tend to view their surroundings as safe and secure. "The emotional connection between humans and dogs is the essence of the relationship," says Clive Wynne, a professor of psychology and director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University.

Armed with a bottle of Lysol and rolls of paper towels, Anya Fetcher packed up her car with enough food to get her through a road trip, and clothes to last several weeks, and headed to a friend's home. The first thing she did when she arrived was ask for a hug. "He started to pull away and I was like, 'Wait, can we just stay here for another second? It's been four weeks since [I've had] any kind of human contact,' " she told me. Thanks to the pandemic, a month of no physical interaction with another human--no hugs, no handshakes, no high-fives or fist bumps--had taken a toll on her mental health.

The proposal to open Café fellatio, an establishment in Geneva, Switzerland where men would be able to get oral sex while drinking their coffee, was met with no uncertain outrage. And city authorities have decided it's also against Swiss law. It's not clear what the robots would look like or what they'd be able to do. The Geneva authorities have also yet to make up their mind whether that's an acceptable solution. On the one hand, you could argue that these sorts of robots, presumably looking as human-like as possible, are nothing more than technologically advanced sex toys--the dildos and fleshlights of the digital age.

Oxytocin, a hormone involved in social bonding, influences what dogs see and how they experience the world around them, a new study has found. Normally, dogs focus on the most remarkable aspect of a situation, for example threatening stimuli in scary situations - an important skill for survival. But the new study found that dogs under the influence of oxytocin were more likely to focus on smiling human faces than angry ones. Pictured top left are examples of two images shown to the dogs treated with oxytocin during the experiment. Left is an angry face, and right is a happy face.