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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Mark Stratton.

Have you ever done something for someone else? Knowing that your actions would solely benefit

them and not you? Maybe you opened a door or donated blood or volunteered in a hospital's ER

during the pandemic. This is called a prosocial behaviour, caregiving, group coordination,

conflict resolution, sharing. Humans engage in these types of behaviours all the time.

We've learned that it's a large part of the reason we've succeeded as a species,

but a major question remains in science. Are we the only species who do this?

As one of our closest relatives, chimpanzees have long been studied for signs of this.

Their genetic similarities could help us tease out the evolutionary trajectory

or the desire to selflessly help others. So far, research has provided mic results on the question.

Studies of these animals in the wild and captivity seem to come to different conclusions.

Some studies show that chimps cooperatively hunt, share food, and can solve each other.

But one highly cited study came to a very different conclusion. He said chimpanzees are in

different to the welfare of others. The study used what's called a prosocial choice test.

The controlled lab experiment where chimpanzees in enclosures were given two options.

Push a button to give food to themselves, or push the button to give food to themselves

...