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The Power of...: The Power of Cute

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The Power of Cute

17/05/2016

The Power of...

BBC Radio 4 - The Power of..., The Power of Cute

Lucy Cooke explores our seeming obsession with all things cute.

Lucy Cooke explores the biology behind our seeming obsession with all things adorable. Is there a science to being cute, and if you are not, what are the consequences?

Zoologist and broadcaster Lucy Cooke explores the science behind our seeming obsession with all things adorable. There has been an explosion in interest in cuteness, particularly online, with an ever growing number of websites dedicated to pandas, kittens, puppies and of course babies. If you are feeling a bit down in the dumps, what better way to brighten your day then looking at some cute baby animal frolicking about. But what is it that makes these creatures so darn attractive to us and can you be addicted to cute? Lucy investigates the latest scientific research looking at just what makes babies cute, and what looking at them does to our brain, with some surprising results. She visits London Zoo to visit her number one cute creature of choice, the sloth, to find out why sloths hit the top of the cute charts, but the Chinese giant salamander definitely doesn't, and why in terms of conservation, that matters.

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Lucy Cooke examines what gives some animal species the evolutionary edge over their rivals

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