Dr. Paul Nealen
  • Home
  • Research interests
  • Student research colleagues
  • Recent teaching
  • Office hours
  • Science news blog

I often share, and interpret, science news with my students -
some of these reports are collected here.

Just like bats, humans can use echolocation

9/21/2019

0 Comments

 

Good morning all,

We recently considered bat echolocation as a model for sensory coevolution.  During our discussions, we noted that many animals have sensory capabilities outside of the range of humans.

How about humans who can perform echolocation?

https://phys.org/news/2018-04-humans-echolocation.html

There are a small number (few dozen) people in the world who have developed some level of proficiency at echolocation for navigation.  Daniel Kish is the most famous person with these abilities (but there are others):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8lztr1tu4o

In all of these cases, the ability came about after a loss of vision.  Our human visual cortices make up a huge part of our brains, and once they are freed from visual responsibilities, it seems that they can be co-opted (at least in part) for other uses.  This neural flexibility is well-known, as it is the basis for the recovery that is possible from brain trauma, including stroke.  Blind persons who read Braille are known to have some expanded touch sensitivity in visual areas of the brain, and sensory re-mapping is known to occur in persons with high-levels of musical training, or in new mothers nursing infants.  Still, the development of echolocation as a sensory capability is quite different, in that it adds to the human sensory repertoire, not simply expands upon an existing sense.

There are lots of interesting articles about human echolocation, including:

https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-can-echolocate-like-bats-and-whales-and-we-ve-finally-figured-out-how-it-works
https://www.livescience.com/39231-humans-can-learn-to-echolocate.html
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2145962-this-is-how-some-blind-people-are-able-to-echolocate-like-bats/

Next time you find yourself in a dark room, you might be tempted to give it a try!  I think that I will stay close to the light switch...

Have a great weekend -
Dr. Nealen
0 Comments

CIA unveils Cold War spy-pigeon missions - BBC News

9/14/2019

0 Comments

 

Good morning everyone,

In my scans of the science news, I often come across articles that overlap with our course topics.  I'll share some of these with you, in the hopes that you find them interesting, and with a goal of broadening our conversations.

Today's news comes from a report about animal-based espionage, via training programs conducted by the CIA during the height of the Cold War.  Animals are often highly adept at trained behaviors, and instinctual behaviors (like homing) can be co-opted for specialized tasks.  Still, this report suggests that there was little direct benefit from these programs - or, perhaps they are not telling us everything, as much remains classified.

So, the next time you see a pigeon, cat, or dolphin(!) nearby, remember: they may be watching you as well...
 
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49692534

Have a great weekend -
Dr. Nealen
0 Comments

Hanging Out With Humans Makes This Bird Bad at Its Job - The New York Times

9/9/2019

0 Comments

 

Good morning all,

Just passing along here an interesting news article, linking behavior and conservation.

Human have long associated with animals, and in doing so have shaped many of their behaviors.  Here's an example of a detrimental effect: a semi-domestication that changes foraging behavior and seed dispersal in endangered New Zealand weka:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/science/weka-birds-seeds-new-zealand.html

This kind of change illustrates the behavioral flexibility many species employ, particularly for adapting their own ecology to exploit the humans around them.  In the long run, these sorts of associations can cause evolutionary change in brain and behavior (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/09/humans-shaped-dog-brains/), in ways that can dramatically alter the natural ecology of species.  This is also an important reminder that interacting too much with endangered species can endanger them ever more if they imprint too strongly on humans - hence the need for 'panda suits' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaLP6S9ZHQ4 - how's that for a day job?).

See you tomorrow for review of the material for our first exam.  I'm not planning a formal lecture; instead, I will review any material on which you have questions.

Sincerely,
Dr. Nealen
0 Comments
Forward>>

    Archives

    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    Categories

    All
    Addiction
    Art
    Behavior
    Cancer
    Circulation
    Cognition
    Consciousness
    Conservation
    Coronavirus
    Defenses
    Diet
    Evolution
    Exercise
    Genetics
    Health
    Heredity
    Hormones
    Humans And Their Environment
    Immunity
    Mental Disorders
    Migration
    Neuroscience
    Nobel Prize
    Pain
    Physiology
    Pollution
    Regeneration
    Renal Function
    Reproduction
    Respiration
    Sleep
    Sociality
    Space
    Sport
    Stem Cells
    Temperature
    Vaping
    Vision

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Research interests
  • Student research colleagues
  • Recent teaching
  • Office hours
  • Science news blog