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Writer:

Haneef Harland Said

Pit vipers, which include species like rattlesnakes found in diverse regions, exhibit an extraordinary infrared detection system housed in specialized heat-sensing organs known as pit organs. Nestled between the snake's eyes and nostrils, these pits boast a thin membrane intricately connected to the optic nerve. This remarkable adaptation allows pit vipers to perceive infrared radiation emitted by warm objects, offering them a unique advantage in their hunting and navigation capabilities. The diverse landscapes these vipers call home, ranging from arid deserts to dense forests, showcase the versatility of their infrared sensing abilities.

Recent research has delved into the molecular intricacies of this infrared detection system, shedding light on the presence of "wasabi receptors" in the pit organ membrane. Originally identified for their role in detecting chemical irritants, these receptors have evolved in pit vipers to specifically sense heat. The pit organ's astonishing sensitivity to temperature changes, capable of discerning minute differences in a matter of milliseconds, empowers pit vipers to swiftly locate and strike prey, even in the pitch darkness of their natural habitats.

A groundbreaking study (refer to sources) has proposed a comprehensive model elucidating the biophysics behind how the pit organ membrane transforms infrared radiation into electrical signals. This model portrays the membrane as a thermally expanding, thin-film material with static charge carriers. When exposed to infrared radiation, the membrane undergoes precise changes in position and density, resulting in a voltage change across the membrane. This electrical signal is then transmitted electrochemically to the snake's brain through nerve cells. The simplicity and robustness of this mechanism provide valuable insights into the intricacies of snake physiology, showcasing the sophistication of their infrared sensing abilities.

The advantages of this infrared detection system become evident in the pit viper's ability to navigate and hunt effectively in the darkness of its habitat. The rapid location of prey, precise strike capabilities, and sensitivity to temperature differences all underscore the prowess of this unique sensory adaptation. However, potential disadvantages may arise in specific environmental conditions, prompting inquiries into the system's susceptibility to false positives. Nonetheless, the pit viper's infrared detection mechanism not only enriches our understanding of snake physiology but also serves as an inspiring model for the development of pyroelectric materials, holding promise for diverse engineering applications across various fields. The unique adaptation of pit vipers, residing in a wide array of ecosystems, truly showcases the resilience and adaptability of these remarkable creatures.

Sources:

https://www.optica-opn.org/home/newsroom/2020/october/illuminating_the_infrared_vision_of_snakes/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855400/

https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.122

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Writer:

Haneef Harland Said

The star-nosed mole, indigenous to the bogs and wetlands of the eastern U.S. and Canada, presents an intriguing case of sensory adaptation with its extraordinary star-shaped snout. Functionally blind and reaching the size of a fully grown rat, this remarkable creature relies on its peculiar organ for navigating and hunting prey within its habitat. Comprising 22 ultra-sensitive tentacle-like rays, the star stands out as one of the most touch-sensitive organs in the animal kingdom, hosting an astonishing over 100,000 nerve endings within an area barely larger than 1 cm in diameter.

Research conducted jointly by UC Berkeley and Vanderbilt University has unveiled the sophisticated nature of the mole's star. Contrary to expectations, the organ is rich in neurons adapted for touch rather than pain sensitivity. Each of the rays, covered by Eimer's organs, functions as a touch receptor, densely packed and analogous to human touch fibers. The mole's brains exhibit spatial organization around tactile signals from the star, drawing parallels with the human visual cortex.

Despite its functionally blind nature, the star-nosed mole's brain allocates a substantial portion of the neocortex to processing tactile information from the star. The mole's unique mode of perception is akin to a form of echolocation, where it "sees" its underground environment by rapidly probing objects with its smallest rays. This behavior bears a resemblance to the short, rapid eye movements employed by primates for visual exploration. The star-nosed mole's tactile fovea, a high-resolution central portion of the star, along with its surrounding low-resolution side appendages, facilitates efficient scanning of the environment.

The advantages of the star-nosed mole's sensory system are striking, providing unparalleled sensitivity and precision in exploring its environment. Its rapid probing capability contributes to its exceptional foraging speed, a feat acknowledged by its inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest forager among mammals. However, potential disadvantages may arise in environments with limited visibility, where the reliance on touch might pose challenges in detecting predators or obstacles. Nevertheless, the mole's adaptive evolution showcases the effectiveness of its unique sensory organ, offering valuable insights into the general principles of evolutionary adaptation for high-resolution sensory systems. The intricate interplay of touch and perception in the star-nosed mole's sensory apparatus exemplifies the fascinating strategies employed by species to thrive in their respective habitats.

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-the-star-nosed-mole-sees-with-its-ultra-sensitive-snout-8926067/

https://www.ctpublic.org/environment/2020-01-24/the-speedy-super-sensitive-snouts-of-star-nosed-moles

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3172592/

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Writer:

Haneef Harland Said (due to the fact that there's multiple pictures, do consider checking out my sources for a more indepth view)

Platypuses, inhabitants of eastern Australia and Tasmania, fascinate with their extraordinary abilities, particularly their unique electroreception system that enables them to perceive underwater prey. Discovered over two centuries ago, these creatures initially faced skepticism and were considered by some to be a mammalian hoax. The platypus's peculiar features, including a duck-like bill, webbed feet, and the ability to lay eggs, challenged traditional mammalian norms. The revelation of their electroreception capabilities in deep, light-limited waters further baffled the scientific community.

Sir Everard Home's observations in 1802 noted the unique trigeminal nerves in the platypus's bill, suggesting heightened sensibility. However, it wasn't until the latter part of the 20th century that the connection was made between the platypus's bill and its electroreception abilities. Electroreception allows the platypus to accurately navigate through dark waters, and this phenomenon was initially suggested when the bill's pores demonstrated morphological similarities to electroreceptors in electric fish.

The platypus's electroreception system is a highly sophisticated mechanism, combining push-rod mechanoreceptors and mucous gland electroreceptors on its bill. Approximately 40,000 electroreceptors and 60,000 mechanoreceptors create bimodal input, allowing the platypus to detect electric potentials in a highly directional manner. The stripes on the bill, indicating the direction of prey, contribute to the platypus's ability to create a local map of its environment. This electroreception system enables the platypus to respond to electric fields as low as 20mV per cm in a highly directional manner, showcasing the efficiency of its unique sensory organ.

Advantages of the platypus's electroreception system include precise prey detection in light-limited environments, allowing the platypus to forage effectively. The combination of electroreception and mechanoreception creates a sophisticated sensory toolkit, making the platypus a top-tier monotreme in electroreceptive capabilities. The complexity of the platypus's electroreception system surpasses that of other monotremes, such as echidnas, emphasizing its status as one of the most unique and intriguing mammals on Earth.

The platypus's electroreception system not only challenges traditional views of mammalian sensory capabilities but also offers valuable insights into the adaptability and evolutionary strategies of species in their respective environments. The fusion of electroreception and mechanoreception in the platypus showcases the remarkable diversity of sensory adaptations in the animal kingdom, contributing to the ongoing exploration of nature's extraordinary intricacies.

Sources:

https://www.reed.edu/biology/professors/srenn/pages/teaching/web_2007/myp_site/

https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/news-posts/to-hunt-the-platypus-uses-its-electric-sixth-sense

https://www.reed.edu/biology/professors/srenn/pages/teaching/web_2007/myp_site/mechanism.html

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Group members:

-Malika

-Maisha

-Adho Satria

-Rahmat Ramdani

-Ozias

-Yasa

-Caca

-Aislin

-Muhamad Rafi

Dolphin Echolocation

Dolphins breathe through a hole on the top of their head. Below this hole, there is a small pocket filled with air. Dolphins will circulate air through this sac, producing high frequency sound waves. Then, this sound will be emitted to the surrounding environment periodically.

These sound waves are immediately reflected after hitting an object and then caught under the dolphin's lower jaw. Then, these waves will be played to the ear and then translated to the brain.

These sound waves will provide detailed information about an object's distance from it, it's size, and it's movement. In this way, dolphins can find out the location of their prey.

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Group Members :

Akyla Faisal Azmi,

Evansyah Harshavardhana,

El Shierazie

Abid,

Muhammad pasha,

Malika mulia,

Ryouga,

Rafi narazky,

Aya,

Ghifari Rayhan H.

The tongue is covered in little bumps called papillae. The papillae contain 5,000 to 10,000 taste buds in their wall. Each taste buds has 50 to 150 of taste receptor cells.

Extending from these cells are fine microvilli, also known as taste hairs or gustatory hairs, which protrude through an opening called the taste pore inside the mouth.

By small opening in the tounge surface, parts of the food dissolved in saliva come into contact with the taste receptor.

The taste receptor release neurotransmitters that stimulate sensory neurons to the areas of the brain via seventh, ninth, and tenth cranial nerves.

The brain will perceive the electrical signal as a particular flavor.

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The major hormonal players in these circuits include insulin, leptin, ghrelin, and multiple gut peptides (Besser and Mortimer, 1974; Schneeberger et al., 2014). These circulating hormones secreted by peripheral tissues inform the brain of available energy stores and as a results, corrective tunings to food intake are initiated in the brain. A powerful suppressor of appetite is the adipose hormone leptin, discovered by Jeffrey Friedman’s group in 1994 (Zhang et al., 1994). Acute leptin injections powerfully suppress food intake and promote weight loss in rodent studies. However, leptin resistance observed in obese individuals potentially disqualifies leptin therapies as a cure to the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic (Coppari and Bjørbæk, 2012; Neill, 2013). In addition, other hormonal signals also moderately influence satiety circuits, notably the pancreatic hormone insulin, in addition to its well established role of promoting glucose uptake in peripheral tissues.

Interestingly, meal initiation is influenced by many external factors such as sensory perception of food, whereas meal size mostly depends on the release of gut peptides, notably peptide YY3–36 (PYY3–36), glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and cholecystokinin (CCK) (Druce et al., 2004). Feeding as observed first by Pavlov is stimulated by gastric juices arising from the stomach, which have now been attributed by the hormone ghrelin discovered in Kojima et al. (1999). Ghrelin is secreted before meal onset and drives appetite in rodents and other mammals through hypothalamic activation of arcuate nucleus neurons (Abizaid and Horvath, 2012). Ghrelin’s action on feeding works through its activation on neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Agouti-related protein (AgRP) neurons and inhibitory effect on proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons (Cowley et al., 2003). The NPY/AgRP and POMC neurons ability to be modulated by opposing hormonal feedback mechanisms represents a fundamental neurocircuit to control appetite and satiety (Morton et al., 2014).

Sources :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6759725/

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Members:

Videl

Javid

Bhadra

James

Rayyan

Dylla

Nabil

Muti

Devanny

Nayyira

Sound waves enter the outer ear. Then they strike the eardrum, causing it to vibrate. The three bones in the middle ear pass these vibrations on to the cochlea. From there, a nerve picks up the vibration and carries it to the brain. The brain recognizes this as sound.

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Group Members:

Kai

Cherrysa

Nara

Akmal

Nabilah

Nicole

Ridho

Aurel

Amadeo

Neurotransmitters are chemical compounds in the body that function to carry and send messages between neurons or from neurons to various body part, such as muscles.

Neurotransmitters are located in a part of the neuron called the axon terminal. They’re stored within thin-walled sacs called synaptic vesicles. Each vesicle can contain thousands of neurotransmitter molecules.

Neurotransmitters relay their messages by traveling between cells and attaching to specific receptors on target cells. Each neurotransmitter attaches to a different receptor. For example, dopamine molecules attach to dopamine receptors. When they attach, it triggers an action in the target cells.

Sources:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326649#:~:text=Neurotransmitters%20relay%20their%20messages%20by,action%20in%20the%20target%20cells.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22513-neurotransmitters

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22513-neurotransmitters#:~:text=Neurotransmitters%20are%20chemical%20messengers%20that,muscle%20cell%20or%20a%20gland.

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A shark has special receptors located around the head that detect electric fields. These receptors can help a shark find a fish hidden under the sand by detecting its heartbeat. A shark also uses this sense to position its head and mouth when moving in for the final attack.

Many marine animals, from tiny clams to big fish, produce electric signals. Sharks and other ocean predators, including skates and rays, sense those electric fields. They do it using organs known as ampullae (AM-puh-lay) of Lorenzini. Scientists call such tissues electroreceptors because they detect electric fields.

When a fish swims nearby that gives off an electric field, those cells send signals to the shark’s brain: “Dinner!”

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Pangolins are the only mammals whose entire bodies are covered in scales. Choo et al. used branch location assays on 8,250 protein-coding orthologs shared between a number of model and non-model organisms to track signals of positive selection. The authors identified candidate genes related to hair formation, for example keratin, which is an important compound in hair and scales. Pangolin scales are an important morphological innovation to balance the reduced immunity normally provided by the skin. These hard, overlapping scales may function as armor to protect the pangolin from injury (or stress) that would make the pangolin more vulnerable to infection or attack by pathogens. Additionally, pangolins are conditioned to become nearly impenetrable balls, covering their scaleless bellies using a well-developed neuromuscular system, while sleeping or when threatened, which also supports the hypothesis that this adaptation serves to protect pangolins from skin injury. ” (Choo et al. 2016

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Keysah Hanna Taqiyah 10A - meaning of the human eye

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Keysah Hanna Taqiyah 10A - meaning of the human eye

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Creating a flowchart for the human senses involves understanding the various types of senses and their neural pathways. Here's a brief overview of the process:

1. Identify the five traditional senses: sight (vision), hearing (audition), taste (gustation), smell (olfaction), and touch (somatosensation).

2. Recognize the existence of additional sensory modalities, such as temperature (thermoception), kinesthetic sense (proprioception), pain (nociception), balance (equilibrioception), vibration (mechanoreception), and various internal stimuli (e.g., chemoreceptors for detecting salt and carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood).

3. Understand the neural pathways for each sense:

- Visual system: The eye, optic nerve, optic chiasma, optic tract, lateral geniculate body, optic radiation, visual cortex, and visual association cortex.

- Auditory system: The ear, cochlear nerve, dorsal and ventral cochlear nuclei, medial geniculate body, and auditory cortex.

- Olfactory system: The nose, olfactory bulb, and olfactory tract, which projects directly to the cerebral cortex.

- Gustatory system: Taste buds on the tongue, epiglottis, soft palate, and pharynx, which transmit taste information to the sensory cortex of the brain.

- Somatosensory system: Skin, muscles, and tendons, which connect with the spinal nerves and project to the thalamus and sensory cortex.

4. Create a flowchart that illustrates the neural pathways and connections for each sense, including the receptors, nerves, and cortical processing.

Remember that the human body has a complex nervous system that allows for the perception of a wide range of stimuli, both external and internal. The senses are interconnected and work together to provide a comprehensive understanding of the environment and the body's state.

Citations:

[1] https://www.conceptdraw.com/examples/nervous-system-diagram

[2] https://www.centreofthecell.org/blog/science-questions/how-many-senses-do-we-have/

[3] https://doctorlib.info/anatomy/textbook-clinical-neuroanatomy/18.html

[4] https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/14-5-sensory-and-motor-pathways/

[5] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Flowchart-that-describes-how-senses-and-arguments-are-changed-during-AMR-postprocessing_fig1_317231149

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Rifda Rafifah 10 Kuta - Smelling Process

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Rifda Rafifah 10 Kuta - Smelling Process