It’s not often that mice sneak into the news, but they do manage it from time to time.
One story that gotten a lot of attention is about how researchers created “super mice” by injecting nanoparticles into their eyes to give them “night vision.” Here are links to the stories about that research.
A Shot of Nanoparticles Lets Mice See in the Dark (MIT Technology Review)
Night-Vision ‘Super-Mice’ Created Using Light-Converting Nanoparticles (Matthew Warren, Nature)
Mammalian Near-Infrared Image Vision through Injectable and Self-Powered Retinal Nanoantennae (Yuqian Ma, et al., Cell)
In case you’re wondering what that would look like, here’s a link to a 360° video about how animals see the world that will give you a sense of it. The video concludes with segments on how rats see the world normally (2:32) and snakes see the world in the infrared (3:30).
How Animals See The World (BuzzFeedVideo, YouTube)
So that’s “interesting.”
Another story was a bit more entertaining. It involved a critter called Alston’s singing mouse. Here’s a link to a one minute introduction and an article about the talented little guys.
Singing Mice Perform Incredible Songs (Animal Wire, YouTube)
Interspecific Dominance Via Vocal Interactions Mediates Altitudinal Zonation in Neotropical Singing Mice (Bret Pasch, Benjamin M. Bolker and Steven M. Phelps, The American Natura)
In fact, these mice, and others, actually sing ultrasonic love songs. Here’s a link to a video and some articles about the talented, frisky little guys.
Male Mice Sing for Females (Slate, YouTube)
Male Mice Song Syntax Depends on Social Contexts and Influences Female Preferences (Jonathan Chabout1, Abhra Sarkar, David B. Dunson and Erich D. Jarvis, Frontiers of Behavioral Neuroscience)
Call of the Wild: The Male Mouse’s Adorable Ultrasonic Mating Songs (Jim Festante, Slate)
Awww, such sweet little fellas! 🙂
Finally, the most interesting news was about how studying the singing mouse’s serenades could lead to treatments for humans with communication disorders that are a result of things like stroke or autism. Here’s a link to a video and some articles about that research.
Singing Mouse Study Shows How Brains Achieve Conversation (NYU Langone Health, YouTube)
Singing Mice Could Offer Clues About How Human Brains Manage Conversation (Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica)
These Mice Sing Their Little Hearts Out — and That’s Good for Neuroscience (Jessica Boddy, Popular Science)
This Singing Mouse’s Brain Could Reveal Keys to Snappy Conversation (Kelly Servick, Science Magazine)
Motor Cortical Control of Vocal Interaction in Neotropical Singing Mice (Daniel E. Okobi Jr., et al., Science Magazine)
So that’s neat stuff, but if you’re sad because you thought this was going to be about a mouse actually singing a song, with words, here’s a link to a clip from Sing to help you feel better.
Sing – Singing Mouse Scene (Fandango Family, YouTube)
Find out more awesome things about mice, music and communication in general…