LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN SENSORY SYSTEMS
Keywords:
Sensory systems, animal senses, non-human sensesAbstract
All living organisms on earth have sensory systems which help them to detect changes in their environment so that they can respond appropriately to survive, protect themselves or grow. While our senses are incredible tools for perceiving and interacting with the world, they have limitations. Our eyes can only detect a narrow range of the electromagnetic spectrum, we have narrow field of vision and limited visual acuity. Our ears have a limited range of frequencies that they can detect, preventing us from hearing infrasound and ultrasound. We have relatively small number of olfactory receptors. Humans have around 9,000 taste buds, allowing us to detect a wide range of flavours. In contrast, cats have only around 470 taste buds, making them less sensitive to taste. Dogs, on the other hand, have around 1,700 taste buds but their sense of smell is more dominant in determining their food preferences. By understanding these limitations, and knowing about the different mechanisms for enhanced or alternative perception present in other organisms, we can develop technologies and methods to compensate for them and enhance our understanding of the world around us. Inspired by the eye of the morpho butterfly, a surgical camera is developed that connects to the goggles of a surgeon who sees infrared signals given off by tumour-binding dyes and surgeon can remove all of the cancerous tissue.
Pak J Physiol 2024;20(1):1-2
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