Smell something? Ask the rat -- he 'nose'
February 7, 2006
A Bangalore, India, neuroscientist says he's found rats smell in stereo, with each nostril operating independently of the other.
Stereo sniffing likely gives rats a leg up in everything from tracking down a meal to evading an enemy, said Upinder Bhalla of the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore.
"Imagine you have a predator sneaking up on you," he told National Geographic News during an e-mail interview. "If you can smell in stereo, you can detect and localize it in one sniff, and you'll have a decent chance of getting away. If you have to look around, or take multiple sniffs to find the predator, you may get eaten."
He said his study provides insight into the spatial dimension of smell and the speed at which the brain operates.
Once trained, rats in the study could determine the direction of a smell in as little as 50 milliseconds. According to a 1992 study, one sniff takes humans about 700 or more milliseconds to process.
Bhalla is a co-author of the study reported in the current issues of the journal Science.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
-
Desert ants perceive odor maps in stereo and use this information for navigation
Mar 09, 2010 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
0
-
Receptor for tasting fat identified in humans (w/ Audio)
Jan 12, 2012 |
not rated yet |
1
-
Bottom of the swimming league: Naked mole rat sperm
Dec 05, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
With training, a failing sense of smell can be reversed
Nov 20, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Whiskers marked milestone in evolution of mammals from reptiles
Nov 10, 2011 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
More news stories
Employers feel no love for unscrupulous practice of 'service sweethearting'
A new study led by two Florida State University marketing professors finds that some frontline service employees who are rewarded for hikes in customer loyalty and satisfaction also may engage in "service ...
Other Sciences / Economics & Business
22 hours ago |
4 / 5 (1) |
7
Sonic Cradle lands spot in TED exhibition
A Simon Fraser University graduate student project that melds music, meditation and modern technology has landed a rare spot as an exhibit at TEDActive 2012 in Palm Springs, California this month.
Feb 10, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
A frank discussion of the power law and linking correlation to causation
(PhysOrg.com) -- Michael Stumpf a mathematics professor at Imperial College in London, and Mason Porter a lecturer at Oxford have teamed together to write and publish a perspective piece in Science regarding the in ...
Feb 10, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
8
|
US workers are 'giving away the store,' costing firms billions
Nearly 70 percent of the nation's service employees give away free goods and services – from hamburgers to cable TV – costing companies billions of dollars a year, according to a groundbreaking study.
Other Sciences / Economics & Business
Feb 09, 2012 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
10
New insights into how to correct false knowledge
The abundance of false information available on the Internet, in movies and on TV has created a big challenge for educators.
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Feb 07, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
9
|
Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...
GPS court ruling leaves US phone tracking unclear
A US Supreme Court decision requiring a warrant to place a GPS device on the car of a criminal suspect leaves unresolved the bigger issue of police tracking using mobile phones, legal experts say.
Study finds that anti-diabetic medication can prevent the long-term effects of maternal obesity
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that short therapy with the anti-diabetic medication ...
Europe stakes billion-dollar bet on new rocket
A pencil-slim rocket is scheduled to lift into space from South America on Monday, carrying a billion-dollar bet that Europe can grab a juicy slice of the market to place satellites in low orbit.
Netflix settlement trims 14 pct off 4Q earnings
(AP) -- Netflix pressed the rewind button on its fourth-quarter earnings after settling allegations that the video subscription service violated a consumer-privacy law.
Steroid injections prove effective in treatment of lumbar disc herniations
The use of epidural steroid injections may be a more efficient treatment option for lumbar disc herniations, according to research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in ...
