Monkeys Typing Shakespeare

A recent article from Newhouse News Service reports that a scientist named Judy Cameron is hoping to enlist the help of rhesus monkeys in order to investigate the relationship between anxiety and depression, and their genetic causes. Some forms of anxiety run, in similar ways, in both monkey and human families.

Of course, monkeys have drawbacks in a depression study. “Diagnosing depression requires figuring out a patient’s feelings and thoughts — [this is] very hard with children and impossible with Cameron’s subjects. ‘Monkeys, it turns out, are terrible at questionnaires,’ Cameron said.”

Maybe if they just gave the monkeys some more time to answer the questions….