Moths with a nose for learning
... that the ringing of the bell meant food. In this case, the researchers conditioned a particular species of moth, Manduca sexta, to extend its proboscis in anticipation of a dollop of sucrose after being given a scent cue. The researchers attached electrodes to the insects mushroom bodies, a structure ...Advance in effort to fight malaria by tricking the mosquito's sense of smell
... The other two are the feathery antennae that serve as general-purpose olfactory organs and respond to a wide range of different chemicals and the proboscis that contains sensors designed for close-in odor and taste detection. The detailed map of the maxillary palp, which was published online in the ...Detecting explosives with honeybees
... exceptional olfactory sense where the bees' natural reaction to nectar, a proboscis extension reflex (sticking out their tongue), could be used to record an ... research, they trained bees to give a positive detection response, via the proboscis extension reflex, when they were exposed to vapors from TNT, C4, TATP ...Bumble bees can estimate time intervals
... Using a specially designed chamber in which bumble bees extended their proboscis to obtain sucrose rewards, the researchers observed that bees adjusted the timing of proboscis extensions so that most were made near the end of the programmed interval ...Leeches ferry infection among newts
... a characteristic patch of blood under the skin. Raffel, whose work is funded by the National Science Foundation, says "when a leech sticks its proboscis into an infected newt, either the mechanical action of the probe or the anti-inflammatory chemicals injected by the leech, could be used by the ...