The Function of Cat Whiskers

Domestic cats are mostly nocturnal. Whiskers apparently help them to identify nearby objects and catch prey, particularly after dusk.

Cats’ whiskers are attached to tissues that have multiple nerve endings. These nerves are sensitive to even the slightest movement of air. As a result, cats can detect nearby objects without seeing them—obviously an advantage in the dark.

Since whiskers are sensitive to pressure, cats use them to determine the position and movement of an object or of prey. Whiskers also help cats to measure the width of an opening before they attempt to go through it. The Encyclopædia Britannica acknowledges that “the functions of the whiskers (vibrissae) are only partially understood; however, it is known that, if they are cut off, the cat is temporarily incapacitated.”

Scientists are designing robots equipped with sensors that mimic cat whiskers to help the robots navigate around obstacles. These sensors, called e-whiskers, should have a wide range of applications for advanced robotics, human-machine user interfaces, and biological applications.

The Lantern of the Photuris Firefly

THE lantern, or light organ, of a particular Photuris firefly is covered with jagged scales that dramatically enhance the brightness of the light that the insect produces. * Jagged scales Consider: Researchers have found that tiny scales on the lantern surface of some fireflies form a corrugated pattern, somewhat like overlapping shingles or tiles. The scales tilt up at one end by just 3 micrometers —less than one twentieth the thickness of a human hair. Yet this tiny tilt lets the lantern shine almost 50 percent more brightly than it would if the scales formed an even surface!

An Overview of Indonesia

Land Straddling the equator between Australia and continental Asia, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. Most of its more than 17,500 islands feature rugged mountains and dense tropical forests. With more than 100 active volcanoes, it is also the most active volcanic region on earth.

PORTRAITS FROM THE PASTIgnaz Semmelweis

IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS may not be a household name, yet his work has benefited most modern families. Born in Buda (now Budapest), Hungary, he received his medical degree at the University of Vienna in 1844. On taking up his post as assistant to a professor at the First Maternity Clinic of Vienna’s General Hospital in 1846, Semmelweis faced an appalling reality —more than 13 percent of the women giving birth there died from a disease called childbed fever. Various theories as to the cause of this disease had been proposed, yet no one had solved the mystery. All attempts to reduce the mortality rate proved futile. Troubled by the spectacle of numerous mothers suffering a slow, agonizing death, Semmelweis determined to find the cause of the disease and prevent it.

Rielyn Co

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