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Is the laughter invoked upon being tickled the same as that produced when responding to a funny joke? Host Alan Alda undergoes an experiment to find out in Scientific American Frontiers: Life's Little Questions II. No other animal laughs as humans do, although chimpanzees show a laughter-like reaction. The cure for the common cold has proved very elusive, and Alda visits a scientist who tries out various methods of treatment on his student volunteers. At a pharmaceutical company, researchers explain all the criteria a drug for colds must meet, including few side effects.