Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Blind, But Not Directionless

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2013/02/05/evidence_that_at_least_1_mammal_can_smell_in_stereo.html

A recent study published in the journal Nature Communications has concluded that the common mole, while it is almost blind, can smell in stereo.

A common mole

That means that it can tell where it can find food in complete darkness and without hearing. This was tested by placing a mole in a large, half-circle area with food wells in different directions. The mole would always go back and forth for a second, and then almost directly to the food, but when the right nostril was covered, it would veer to the left. If the left nostril was covered, the mole would veer to the right. If tubes were placed on the moles nose that made the right nostril smell from the left and the left from the right, it wouldn't be able to find the food at all.
This means that other mammals might have, and rely on, stereo sniffing as well. Humans have poor senses of smell compared to other mammals, so if we smell in stereo, it has to be an incredibly distasteful smell. Dogs, on the other hand, have very good senses of smell, so they may be able to smell in stereo.

 N.O.S.:
2. Science is based on evidence. An experiment was conducted to tell if common moles can smell in stereo, and the evidence from those experiments shows that they can.
8. Importance of repeatability. Someone could rebuild the cage that was made for the experiment and use some moles and food in the same places, and the experiment will have been repeated.
10. Role of motivation and curiosity. The moles must be motivated to find the food for this experiment to work.                                                                                                                                                                                                          

1 comment:

  1. I don't know if that is quite why I would consider this a tole of motivation and curiosity story. I thought that the scientists were curious to find out more about the mole, their sense of smell, and the lack of useful eyesight.
    http://www.icr.org/article/7302/ Here is another link another article on the same topic. Also, I thought I would help to define stereo smelling. It is using smell to judge depth and space as stereo sound is how bats can make noises and figure out depth through their hearing.

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