http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=seeing-in-stereo
Stereo Smell
Stereo Smell
Most mammals see and hear in stereo, which means we can see three dimensionally, and hear in different directions. Kenneth Cantania, a professor from Vanderbilt University, researched the common mole to see if smelling in stereo was a possibility in some animals . He knew how some animals, like the common mole, rely one their sense of smell to get their food, but he didn't think stereo smelling could be the answer at first because he thought the moles nostrils were too close together. However, when he was observing how a different species of mole used the flesh of its nose to detect its food, he compared it to how fast a common mole could find the same food. He thought it would find it slower because moles are almost blind, but instead, the common mole found it pretty quickly.
After, he began observing the common mole in a a chamber with pieces of food in different areas of the space. The mole found the pieces of food quickly. Then, Catania blocked one of the mole's left nostril, and put the piece of food straight ahead of him. He found that when the moles nose was blocked on the left side, the mole would veer to the right and would take quite a while longer to find the food rather than when both of his nostrils were open. When Catania blocked the mole's right nostril, he would veer off to the left. Finally, Catania switch the moles breathing pathways so that his right nostril was sniffing from the left and vice versa. He found that this time, the mole could not find the food at all. These findings are very good evidence that moles, and possibly other animals with a remarkable sense of smell, smell in stereo.
After, he began observing the common mole in a a chamber with pieces of food in different areas of the space. The mole found the pieces of food quickly. Then, Catania blocked one of the mole's left nostril, and put the piece of food straight ahead of him. He found that when the moles nose was blocked on the left side, the mole would veer to the right and would take quite a while longer to find the food rather than when both of his nostrils were open. When Catania blocked the mole's right nostril, he would veer off to the left. Finally, Catania switch the moles breathing pathways so that his right nostril was sniffing from the left and vice versa. He found that this time, the mole could not find the food at all. These findings are very good evidence that moles, and possibly other animals with a remarkable sense of smell, smell in stereo.
NOS:
- Role of Skepticism: "'I came at this as a skeptic'" (Vanderbilt University) Catania says he was skeptical about it at first, but believed it when he further researched it.
- Science is Based on Evidence: Catania researched and observed the common mole as he was trying to find the food and found that blocking its nostrils made a difference.
- Importance of Repeatability: It is important to repeat this experiment because moles have a mind of their own. If Catania repeats the different steps of this experiment, he will know whether or not the animal actually couldn't find the food, or if it just didn't want it.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=seeing-in-stereo
http://www.vision3d.com/stereo.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_C._Catania
Tori Gulon
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