- WHY IT MATTERS: Lead researcher Ron Yu of Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City says the findings shed light on how animals identify one another.
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Sniffing out the identities of mice
New research shows how mammals use their sense of smell to detect complex signals in urine that convey information about gender, strain, and the social and reproductive status of individual animals. In mice, an organ in the nose called the vomeronasal organ detects chemicals that trigger behavioral responses and transmits the corresponding signals to the brain.
Source:
Science. Audio excerpt from the weekly Science journal podcast.
