This experiment involves the Egyptian
fruit bat to wear a “lightweight wireless recording devices to their heads and
an implanted electrode in the brain” (Rosen).
The bats flew around a room while researchers observed their neural
activity. The bat uses its place cells
to mentally locate places in the room, but in 3-D.
Article URL by Meghan Rosen: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349761/description/News_in_Brief_Bats_are_3-D_cartographers
NOS Themes:
1. Science is based on evidence
2. Science is collaborative
3. Role of motivation and curiosity
This is amazing that scientists are now able to tap into a bats brain and see what it sees! Although, I am a little confused on why the bat allows researchers to put a lightweight machine on its head. If I was the bat I would be scratching and clawing at it with my wings until they took it off. Anyway, I think this is a very cool advancement for scientists.
ReplyDeleteHere's another article I found that's just on the background of how bats locate their prey and other things.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/mammals/bat2.htm
This is very interesting! Bats can navigate even in unknown locations by using their perception of the magnetic field. When the magnetic field was altered in another study, the bats flew east instead of south, unlike the control group with an unchanged magnetic field.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100329152523.htm
The technology of 3d scanning has developed so far that commercial desktop 3d scanners are available. These are usually used to scan objects for 3d printing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.makerbot.com/blog/2013/03/08/makerbot-digitizer-scan-to-print-in-no-time/