Snakes’ forked tongues have long inspired fear, but, in reality, they are part of a highly-effective sensory system. When snakes flick out their tongues, they waggle them up and down Keep reading
Tag: smell
Sniffing
In many ways, smell is a strange sense. The very act of sniffing – pulling air and odor molecules into our noses – changes what remains behind in a way Keep reading
Sniffing Underwater
Star-nosed moles – tiny mammals native to the northeastern United States – have an underwater superpower: sniffing. To seek prey underwater, the moles blow bubbles and suck them back into Keep reading
Bioinspiration, Underwater Sniffing, and Mixing Toothpaste
In this month’s FYFD/JFM video, we explore some intersections between the animal kingdom and our own lives. Learn about designing better buildings with inspiration from termites; see the fascinating superpower Keep reading
Sniffing Underwater
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the star-nosed mole looks funny. Its distinctive star-shaped nose is a highly-sensitive organ, but the mole doesn’t just use it for finding its way Keep reading
Visualizing Smell
Every day we’re surrounded by an invisible world of smells. Like the fluorescein dye in the animation above, these odors drift and swirl in the background flow. What you may Keep reading