Official News page 5

REAL LIFE NEWS: WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD CAT?

by Hazed

Certainly not the mice in this news story! Japanese scientists have produced some genetically engineered mice which no longer have the ability to sense dangerous smells. They found that fear, which is linked to the sense of smell, can be switched off simply by shutting down certain receptors in the brain.

The mice are still able to discriminate other smells, but they are no longer afraid of cat smells. However, they can be taught to avoid the odor of cats as a matter of habit rather than instinctive fear.

This work is a big step forward in explaining how smells are translated into actions. Though humans have a similar system for discerning smells, scientists now say that learned behaviors can sometimes over-rule innate ones.

Presumably, these mice wouldn't survive long outside the lab - they wouldn't know to run away from cats, and would be kitty lunch quite soon - which would make a rather short Tom and Jerry cartoon!

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