Green Prophet Reports: Israeli study show worms can perform math

New research by Hebrew University of Jerusalem details the complex mathematical calculations that animals perform to locate their next meal. Turns out that even the simple earthworm constantly computes new scent data to see if they are on right track to food. Can humans learn from these tubular hermaphrodites?

Animals often rely on their sense of smell to locate food, and the ability to consistently find food increases survival rates. But how exactly do animal brains translate scent into navigational action? Neuro-geneticist Alon Zaslaver and his team tackled this topic, with their findings published this week in Nature Communications.

Think of the game “Hot or Cold” said Zaslaver in a statement released by the university. “Imagine you’re in a huge dark house and a chocolate cake has just been taken out of the oven. To find the cake, you’ll probably sniff around to see what direction the cake scent is coming from and begin walking in that direction.”

For the full article click here.