Bogong Moths
This paper is about the extraordinary Bogong moths of Australia who navigate to caves in the mountains during the summer to avoid high temperatures
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The long Way (excerpt) by Bernard Moitessier
Bernard Moitessier sailed single handed around the world in 1969 and published his accounts of this trip in 1971 in the book “The long Way”. This description comes from this book. Moitessier was a very seasoned sailor when he undertook the single handed round the world challenge in 1969. He opted out of the race…
The hippocampus of rats
Prof Kate Jeffery has done some very interesting work on how the hippocampus of rats processes navigational information. Scientists are clear that the hippocampus is critical for navigation but believe that it is only one part of a larger system that has many functions including recognising landmarks, computing distances and directions etc. and forming memories….
The Information Universe: On the Missing Link in Concepts of the Architecture of Reality
by Dirk K.F. Meijer1 This is an amazing effort to integrate quantum theory and the real world that we live in. It covers the very interesting ground that suggests that our Universe is actually a Universe of “information” and that the intelligence and creativity of humans adds to the Energy of the Universe and transforms…
Navigation Networks in the Brain
Professor Kate Jeffery of University College London gave the annual address to the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) this year (2014). This article published in RIN’s Navigation News is, for me, a seminal step forward in describing the parameters of animal navigation and building a structure to delve deeper into how navigation might work. Her idea that…
Head direction cells in a migratory bird prefer north
Animals exhibit remarkable navigation abilities as if they have an internal compass. Head direction (HD) cells encoding the animal’s heading azimuth are found in the brain of several animal species; the HD cell signals are dependent on the vestibular nuclei, where magnetic responsive cells are present in birds. However, it is difficult to determine whether…
The prevailing ideas on Navigation
A summary 2011 The two prevailing ideas on long distance navigation are based around two ideas: Magnetic cues Olfactory cues (smell) It is clear that near home animals, birds and humans build up a map of their neighbourhood with remembered sights smells and landmarks. This is all mediated by the hippocampus. There is some evidence…