Read this interesting article today about removing fear at Guardian Unlimited:
The Tokyo University professor has just unveiled mutant mice that have lost their innate fear of cats.
Rather than flee or freeze when confronted with their feline enemy, the mice sniffed and even played with them, blissfully unaware of the potential dangers.
Kobayakawa developed the fearless mice by shutting down receptors in their olfactory bulb – the area of the brain that processes information about smells – which would normally induce panic as soon as they get so much as a whiff of a cat.
Okay. But how does this prevent them from being eaten?
“Mice fear cats because they are innately conditioned to fear when sensing the odour of the predators. So by getting rid of the specific receptors for sensing the odour, mice never feel afraid of cats,” Kobayakawa told Reuters.
His research confirms the long-held belief among scientists that fear in animals is connected to their keen sense of smell.
“Once removing innate elements by which mice fear cats from them, we are able to make mice who can get along with cats,” he said.
But does the cat get along with the mouse? That’s a huge, HUGE assumption.
“So by applying this theory to other mammals, we will probably be able to make other animals that are not afraid of their natural enemies.”
Which will make these animals more vulnerable in their own environment and possibly extinct. Just because you’re not afraid of your enemies, doesn’t mean they won’t hurt you. That only works in afterschool specials.
But what, I ask again, prevents the cat from eating the fearless mice? Are the overwhelmed with respect and lose their appetites?
Inducing fearlessness in mice does not mean that cats, too, are ready to form unlikely friendships with their prey. Mochikko-chan, a cat used in a recent demonstration, was chosen because of her particularly docile nature.
Fear is not a bad thing. It protects us mice from getting eaten from cats. Or swatted with claws, or embarrassing ourselves in public. We may over inflate our fears to a point that we are controlled by them. Of course this is bad. Fear shouldn’t stop us from progressing, just pause us. Allow us to think things over.
Just because something doesn’t smelly fishy, doesn’t mean its okay.
Also, according to the researchers, even the modified mice froze in fear whenever the cats meowed.
I knew those mice weren’t totally stupid!!
