A new study seems to suggest that “Jedi” rodents don’t actually vocalize just to make noises. Instead, the study claims that they vocalize to “shake matter” around them, allowing them to influence how their noses inhale particulates, thus enhancing their smell.
This new discovery is highlighted in a study published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews earlier this month. The researchers involved say that this kind of behavior has never been observed before or even suspected in any animal that we’ve discovered thus far. They also say that the rodents are actually creating new “pathways of information” by using sound to manipulate the environment around them.
This is honestly crazy, and I can see why some might refer to them as “Jedi” rodents because of this phenomenon. One of the researchers described the entire discovery as being “like magic,” and honestly, he isn’t wrong. The inspiration for the study came from one of the researcher’s previous studies on humpback whales and the songs they sing.
From there, the researchers noticed that rodents explore their environment by stroking surfaces with their whiskers, while also sniffing incessantly. From there, the researchers noted that previous researcher showed rodents actually sniff immediately after producing vocalizations, which piqued their interest even more.
This caused them to dig deeper, eventually discovering just how Jedi-like rodents can be. It could also lead to revolutionary breakthroughs in understanding other animals. Because if we weren’t aware of this, the researchers say it means we don’t really understand how nanoparticles can be manipulated by sound for complex and complicated uses.
But, this research may give us a big head start, as it kind of confirms that nature has already solved this problem, which we may be able to piggyback off in different ways. Because it could help confirm that the sense of smell has evolved to help drive more sophisticated processes in the brain. Rats and other rodents have long been at the forefront of scientific works—including being taught how to move things with their minds—and this latest research only helps to further showcase just how vital they are to better understand our world and the various animals that call it home.
