Moles Can Smell in Stereo | The Institute for Creation Research

Moles Can Smell in Stereo

Most people have heard of "stereo sound," but not many may be familiar with "stereo vision," which helps many mammals discern depth. Seeing and hearing in stereo helps creatures living above ground, but moles need different equipment. Biologist Kenneth Catania of Vanderbilt University conducted three clever experiments to see if the blind eastern American mole used "stereo smell."

First, he built a chamber with trails that led outward from a central mole entry point, like a semicircle of wheel spokes. He placed a bit of earthworm, which moles love to eat, at the end of one of the trails and watched. On each trial, the mole first sniffed, moving its head back and forth, and then travelled straight to the food. Nature Communications published the results.1

For the second experiment, Catania blocked the mole's left nostril. This skewed the creature's tracking accuracy consistently to the left. Similar results obtained when Catania blocked just the right nostril. Finally, Catania inserted tubes into both nostrils, but the tubes crossed so that each nostril accessed air that would usually enter the other nostril. This left the poor creature totally confused.

"It was amazing. [The moles] found the food in less than five seconds and went directly to the right food well almost every time. They have a hyper-sensitive sense of smell," Catania told Vanderbilt research news.2

Stereo smell can only work if the nervous system can detect a difference in the strength of an odor entering each nostril. Considering the tiny distance between the nostrils, the precision and miniaturization of this biological chemical detector is mind-boggling.

Whether noticed or ignored, one can always detect the scent of the expert Designer behind any expert design. And these blind moles certainly emanate the fragrance of design.

References

  1. Catania, K. C. 2013. Stereo and serial sniffing guide navigation to an odour source in a mammal. Nature Communications. 4 (2).
  2. Salisbury, D. Evidence moles can smell in stereo. Vanderbilt University news. Posted on news.vanderbilt.edu February 5, 3013, accessed February 12, 2013.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on February 27, 2013.

The Latest
CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Evangelism, Apologetics, and Fighting a False Gospel | Creation.Live...
How do we share the Gospel in a society where truth is subjective? How can we effectively reject the insidious counterfeit gospels that have crept...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Butterflies
by Renée Dusseau and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Exceedingly, Abundantly Grateful
As I finished another year of teaching in the spring of 2023, I knew the Lord was preparing me for something different in my career—I just didn’t...

ACTS & FACTS
Genetic Recombination: A Regulated and Designed Chromosomal System
According to the evolutionary paradigm, complex genetic information in the form of genes and regulatory DNA can randomly evolve through mutations and...

ACTS & FACTS
Makoshika State Park: Dinosaur Myths and Wonders
by Brian Thomas, Ph.D., and Tommy Lohman* Makoshika State Park, located just southeast of Glendive, Montana, became a state park in 1939....

ACTS & FACTS
ICR Veteran Don Barber Retires
Don and Rebecca Barber   After 34 years with the Institute for Creation Research, Don Barber retired on March 31, 2024. His...

ACTS & FACTS
Why Biology Needs A Theory of Biological Design, Part 3
Have you ever been reading a story when it dawns on you that the author merely took a biblical account and reset it to modern times with renamed characters?...

NEWS
Lamprey Lunacy
Lampreys are a group of strange-looking jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes. Since evolutionists reject the biblical origins model, they must...

NEWS
Stasis and More Stasis in Living Fossils
Living fossils have been a challenge to evolutionists ever since Darwin coined the phrase in 1859.1,2 They are members of a living species...

NEWS
Scaly Skin on a Feathered Dinosaur?
Fossil experts from University College Cork in Ireland took stunning images of Psittacosaurus skin. The dinosaurs’ belly shows patches of skin...