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Why are yawns contagious?

When you see a friend yawn, you are very likely to catch it. But it鈥檚 not just limited to seeing or hearing them in others, even reading or thinking about them can set off an irrepressible compulsion to yawn. So why does this happen? Anand Jagatia speaks to UCL鈥檚 Sophie Scott for answers. She tells him about a pioneer in yawning research, the late Robert Provine.

(Image: Yawn, Credit: Getty Images.)

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1 minute

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