Now We Know Just How Sharks Follow Their Nose to Dinner

02 August 2010

Scientists have found that differences between the time when a shark’s nostrils receive smells is more important than the strength of the odors

FAITH LAPIDUS: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. This week, we will tell how sharks use their wonderful sense of smell to find food. We also will tell about what some researchers are calling the world's oldest leather shoe. And, we will have some good news for people fifty years of age and up.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Few creatures on earth are as good as sharks at finding their dinners. People often say that a shark follows its nose to its meals. Now, scientists have learned more about how those noses work to help the much-feared fish direct its movements.

Recently published research questions a common belief about sharks.

Some people think that sharks simply follow the strongest smells that reach them to find their prey, or target. But scientists now can show that differences between the time when a shark’s nostrils receive smells is more important than the strength of the odors.

Researchers Jayne Gardiner and Jelle Atema reported their findings in the publication Current Biology.

BOB DOUGHTY: The researchers studied small sharks called smooth dogfish, common to America’s New England coast. The animals were swimming in a tank or container.