A research group from the field of life sciences and computer science challenged goldfish to navigate in a terrestrial environment. The results change everything we thought about fish
Can a fish drive? Definitely yes! Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have proven that this is also possible, if scientific forces are united. A research group from the field of life sciences and computer science challenged goldfish to navigate in a terrestrial environment. The results change everything we thought about fish. The study was published in the journal Behavioral Brain Research.
Spatial orientation is one of the most important abilities of animals. This ability allows us to find food and shelter in our living space. Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev raised the question - does the ability to navigate depend on the natural environment of the animal itself or on the structure of its brain? One of the ways to understand how important the environment is is to move an animal from its natural environment to a completely new environment, one that requires a significant adaptation of the ways of orientation and navigation in space.
By the way, this is not the first time that the wisdom of the goldfish has been discovered. About a decade ago, the municipality of Monza in Italy issued a decree prohibiting the breeding of goldfish in round aquariums so as not to distort their world view.
For the video on the university website
In a study conducted at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, a multidisciplinary research group from the departments of Life Sciences and Computer Sciences applied this approach in the most extreme way by challenging a goldfish to navigate in a terrestrial environment. To this end, the group developed a vehicle designed for fish and functioning on land. This vehicle, which is a type of robot controlled by the animal, includes a water tank in which the fish is located and a computerized system that responds to its movements. The fish controls the direction of movement of the vehicle by positioning and turning its body in the desired direction of movement and the computerized system recognizes this and activates the wheels of the vehicle accordingly.
In order to make sure that Dag was indeed able to control the vehicles, Dag was given a task: he had to drive the robotic vehicle from different places in the room towards a target located on one of the walls. The target was visible through the walls of the water tank so the goldfish could direct the vehicle's traffic to it if it so desired. Successful navigation towards the target earned the fish a suitable reward in the form of a piece of food placed in the water.
After several days of trials and training, the goldfish learned the task and were able to direct the vehicle towards the target. They could do this even if the starting point of the navigator was different, even if they got stuck in the middle of the road without a way out (for example: a collision with one of the walls of the room) and even if the researchers tried to confuse them with additional dummy targets.
"The success of goldfish shows that they are indeed able to adapt their behavior to a completely different environment and in particular to find their way in a foreign terrestrial environment," explained the doctoral student Shahar Givon who conducted the research. "Their ability to do this suggests that the ability to navigate is universal and does not depend on the environment in which the organism lives."
The second conclusion that emerges from the study is that fish can learn to control vehicles. "This is an interesting result because it is a complex learning ability even for humans. In the case of the fish, not only is it a skill that is significantly different from the one for which it was coded evolutionary and developmental, but also one that goes against its fundamental nature," he said. Giving a seminar From the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. "The inevitable conclusion is that fish have the ability to learn very complex motor actions."
The research was carried out by the doctoral student Shahar Givon From the Department of Life Sciences, Master's student Giving a seminar from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Prof. Ahed Ben Shahar From the Department of Computer Science and Head of the School of Neuroscience andProf. Ronen Segev From the Department of Life Sciences and the Department of Biomedical Engineering, all from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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I recommend reading Chapek's book
"The war on salamanders" before we proceed with animals Oran.S
Happened in the Netherlands already in 2014...
https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4489201,00.html
It's amazing the blind man who grew up with us like a covered mushroom, shame on you mindless science and reason
This is incredible proof that evolution is a very weak theory. There were no vehicles millions of years ago, so how did the fish acquire the ability to drive? In general, a look at the complexity and sophistication of biological systems shows that everything was created by a super engineer and was not created by chance
It is certain that this goldfish drives better than the average Israeli driver
Scientists have discovered that a potato can speak, after a computer decoded its vibrational language and revealed the fact that it suffers greatly knowing it will be skinned while alive. A flying saucer was discovered in perfect condition in a secret chamber in the Giza pyramid. The flying saucer is the size of a regular saucer. The material from which the spacecraft is built is clay. And there are antagonistic scientists who claim that it is a simple saucer and not a flying saucer. Close to the moon, two space dogs were seen competing to be the first to reach a bone cooked in beef broth, which is not clear how it got into orbit around Venus. Luxury apartments were offered for two shekels on Mars for those who would get there. A Chinese spacecraft has discovered that certain parts of the dark side of the moon are actually made of cheese.
Stunning
So you can send a fish into space and have fun navigating it there
Spacefish 😅