For the first time, a case of rat hepatitis E has been discovered in a human in Hong Kong. A 56-year-old man has been diagnosed with the disease, researchers from the University of Hong Kong said. It was not previously known the disease could be passed from rats to humans. "Previous laboratory experiments have found that rat hepatitis E virus cannot be transmitted to monkeys, and human hepatitis A virus cannot be transmitted to rats," said Dr. Siddharth Sridhar...

Many specimens were discovered to be carrying bacteria and worms that can be passed on to humans, prompting experts to talk about a public health problem

The rat was discovered in farmland in India, where experts say a soya bean seed had probably fallen into an open wound and germinated

Scientists say they have taken a significant step towards the goal of giving paralysed people control of their hands again. The team at King's College London used gene therapy to repair damage in the spinal cord of rats. The animals could then pick up and eat sugar cubes with their front paws. It is early stage research, but experts said it was some of the most compelling evidence that people's hand function could one day be restored.

The sun is barely up when Thoeun Theap pulls into a clearing in the thick Cambodian bush with a giant African rat on the seat beside him. In a few minutes the two will be out there beyond the treeline, scouring the earth for the remnants of a war Mr Theap fled almost 40 years ago. He spends most mornings out here in no man's land with his team of pouched rat handlers from APOPO and de-miners from the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC). A step in the wrong direction could see them lose a leg.

A team of Indiana University researchers has reported the first evidence that non-human animals (rats) can replay a stream of multiple episodic memories. The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

Mexican mammal may have staged its comeback thanks to dwindling agriculture

The wildly social rodents will work for snacks. By Jessica Leigh Hester.

New study suggests that death rates don't rise with age, as they do for most animals

Human body lice, rather than rat fleas, spread plague during the Black Death, a study simulating the outbreak suggests.

A graduate student sequenced rats all over Manhattan, and discovered how the city affects their genetic diversity.

A graduate student sequenced rats all over Manhattan, and discovered how the city affects their genetic diversity.

A disabled French girl covered in rat bites is critically ill in hospital after a pack swarmed into her bedroom in northern France. The 14-year-old paraplegic was sleeping on the ground floor when the attack happened, in a rented house in Roubaix. A medical expert quoted by France Info said the girl had 45 facial lesions, 150 on her hands and 30 on her feet. The girl's father is suing the landlord for alleged negligence. Reports say rubbish bins nearby were overflowing.

Warmer weather is fueling a rodent surge, straining public health systems and the economy. It's time for the federal government to step in.

Rats can feel regret - a cognitive behavior once thought to be uniquely human.

Instead of disappearing, the pesky rodents proliferated.

By tickling rats and then photographing them, researchers found that a rat's ears are more pinkish and are positioned at a more relaxed angle when it is experiencing positive emotions.

Why and when tickling makes us laugh is still mysterious. But researchers who studied what happens in rat brains when they're tickled say they emit ultrasonic giggles, too — when in the mood for fun.

Dr. John Bumpass Calhoun spent the '60s and '70s playing god to thousands of rodents.

Adding flashing lights and music to gambling encourages risky decision-making—even if you’re a rat.