Unsweetened cats, as described in PLoS July 2005, ScienceNOW 25 July 2005 and BBC News 1 August 2005. Cat owners have known for a long time that cats are not attracted to sweet food. Now the reason for this has been found by a group of scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Centre, Philadelphia, USA, […]
Tag: senses
Unique Pressure Receptors
Special pressure receptors unique to crocodilians described in Nature, vol 417, p241, 16 May 2002. University of Maryland biologist Daphne Soares has studied the small pigmented dome shaped lumps on alligators’ faces and found they are highly sensitive receptors that enable the animals to detect tiny disturbances in the water surface as they lie semi-submerged. […]
Learning to Follow Your Nose
Learning to follow your nose described in an article in ScienceNOW 18 December 2006 and New Scientist , 23 Dec 2006, p9. University of California Berkeley scientists have found that humans can follow a scent trail like a dog and can get better if they practice. The researchers tested 32 people to see if they […]
Human Ears Evolved Early
Human ears evolved early, according to a report in New Scientist, 26 June 2004, p16. Scientists have used computerised x-ray scanning of fossilised skulls from the mountains of Spain to study their middle and inner ear structure. The skulls are classified as Homo heidelbergensis, believed to be 350,000 years old. They found the ears would […]
How Butterflies Hear
How butterflies hear, according to articles in Journal of Experimental Biology , vol. 212, p3533, and ScienceDaily 22 Oct 2009. Insects have been found to have ears on just about any part of their body. These usually consist of a taut membrane that vibrates when exposed to sound and is connected to nerve cells. Scientists […]
Gyroscope Control for Moths
Gyroscope control for moths reported in Science, vol. 315, p863, 9 February 2007. Sanjay Sane of the University of Seattle has been researching how moths maintain stability in flight when they are so light that any gentle breeze could blow them off course. He analysed high speed films of moths in flight and measured the […]