Dung Beetles Navigate By the Milky Way; Pigeons Tune In To Magnetism 82
sciencehabit writes with this excerpt from Science magazine's colorful synopsis of a paywalled article at Current Biology "A day in the life of a male dung beetle goes something like this: Fly to a heap of dung, sculpt a clump of it into a large ball, then roll the ball away from the pile as fast as possible. However, it turns out that the beetles, who work at night, need some sort of compass to prevent them from rolling around in circles. New research suggests that the insects use starlight to guide their way. Birds, seals, and humans also use starlight to navigate, but this is the first time it's been shown in an insect." Also on the topic of How Animals Get Around Without GPS, new research has considerably heightened scientists understanding of birds' sensitivity to magnetic fields. For homing pigeons at least, this ability seems to be tied to a cluster of just 53 neurons (original paper, also behind a paywall).
Re:This is why I love science. (Score:4, Insightful)
If you believe anything you read just because the person claims it to be a scientific fact, then that's your fault--not science. Don't just believe everyone you hear, that would be a good place to start.
If something cannot be successfully proven or is in fact proven to be bullshit, then it is discarded as such. That is what is good about science. It's also really weird when you grew up interested in astronomy being taught and passing tests in school of the "nine planets" and all of a sudden there's eight. Poor little Pluto. :(
Re:I have a very amazing and interesting reponse . (Score:5, Insightful)
Welcome to Slashdot. Paywalls don't matter to us because reading the articles is frowned upon.
That doesn't stop us from bitching about them though.
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Insightful)
How do you use a candy bar to navigate?
Offer it to someone in return for directions?