What cats and dogs hear + A 'smell map' of the nose
5/1/202618 min
Animal neuroaudiologist Pete Scheifele joins us to answer some burning questions from SciFri listener Paul: Why can dogs and cats hear a wider range of frequencies than we do? Is it in their ears, their brains? And what would life be like if you had dog ears or cat ears?
And, scientists have created the first “smell map” of the nose using a mouse model. Host Flora Lichtman talks with neurobiologist Bob Datta about this latest research, and what it tells us about our own sense of smell.
Guests:
Dr. Pete Scheifele is a neuroaudiologist at the University of Cincinnati and executive director of the FETCHLAB, an animal audiology clinic and lab.
Dr. Bob Datta is a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Flora Lichtman· Host0:23
[gentle music] Hey, it's Flora Lichtman, and you're listening to Science Friday.
Paul0:30
[beep] Hi, I'm Paul. I'm calling from Davis, California, and my question is, what is it about dogs and cats that makes them able to hear a much wider, uh, range of sound frequencies than humans?
Flora Lichtman· Host0:45
Good question, Paul. Why do our fave animal companions seem to be able to hear things we can't? Is it their ears? Is it their brains? And what would life be like if you could hear the world through your dog's ears? Here to fetch us some answers is Dr. Pete Scheifele. He's a neuro-audiologist at the University of Cincinnati and the executive director of the Fetch Lab, an animal audiology clinic and research lab. Pete, welcome to Science Friday.
Pete Scheifele· Guest1:15
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Flora Lichtman· Host1:17
The Fetch Lab sounds like a pretty cool place to, to work.
Pete Scheifele· Guest1:20
Uh, well, I, I and my, uh, medical and audiology students think so. [laughs] [laughs] It's, uh, it's, it's way out