Monday, July 31, 2006
Honeybee brain picks up on right scent
A honeybee's ability to smell scent appears to be linked to the right side of its brain, according to a new ANU study that could show how right and left 'handedness' evolved in other species.
"Just as humans use different brain hemispheres for different tasks, it appears honeybees and other insect species may also be right or left 'brained' for certain activities," PhD student Pinar Letzkus from the ANU Research School of Biological Sciences said.
...The study, published in the journal Current Biology (Abstract), is the first time that a right/left tendency for odour recognition has been shown in creatures such as insects, which have small and relatively simple brains.
...Ms Letzkus said the results could shed light on brain physiology and evolution more generally.
"But there is still much to be answered. One of the biggest questions is whether this system of left/right demarcation has evolved separately in insects and mammals, or whether it's a primitive system that for some reason has been genetically conserved in the evolutionary process."
technorati tags: honeybee, brain, insects, species, biology, physiology, evolution, mammals, primitive, evolutionary, handedness
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