A recent American study has raised the hypothesis that i rats possess extraordinary abilities related to their ultrasonic vocalizations. According to researchers Eduardo Mercado III, a psychologist at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Jessica Zhuo, a neuroscience student at Harvard, these sound emissions could allow rodents to manipulate particles in the airimproving theirs sense of smell.
Published in the magazine Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviewsopens curious and unexpected scenarios on the behavior of these small animals. Rats actually produce ultrasonic signals ranging from 20 kHz to 100 kHza range of frequencies not perceptible to humans. Traditionally these vocalizations were considered a simple means of communication, mainly used during courtship.
However, Mercado and Zhuo observed a particular behavior in rodents: after emitting these sounds, they stop to smell the air. This gesture, according to the researchers, could represent a strategy for aggregate molecules in the atmospheremaking them more easily perceptible through smell.
It would allow them to distinguish friends, partners and threats
The vibrations generated by ultrasonic calls could have a direct effect on particles suspended in the air, such as pheromones or other odorous molecules. This mechanism could give rats a sensory advantageallowing them to better distinguish between friends, partners or potential threats. Similar properties of ultrasonic waves are already known in other contexts, for example in therapeutic devices or noise reduction technologies.
The study suggests that rats’ ability to manipulate nanoparticles could represent an important field of research for broader applications. As Mercado points out, better understanding this phenomenon could offer insights into how to use sound for manipulate materials on a microscopic scalewith possible implications in scientific and technological fields.
It should be noted that the hypothesis advanced is still awaiting verification through peer review. If confirmed, this discovery would revolutionize the way we understand the interaction between sound and environment in the animal kingdom, adding a new level of complexity to the sensory capabilities of rats. In any case, this study represents an interesting starting point to further explore the surprising abilities of these rodents and the potential of ultrasonic vibrations in nature and technology.
