Worm Watch Lab Talk

Worm displaying "curiosity" behaviour

  • lmayoral by lmayoral

    This worm seemed to recoil at encountering an unknown obstacle in its path. It then recoiled and seemed to stop to "think" about the consequences of continuing. It then ventured on its original path but it seemed to know that the obstacle in its path was still there. It appeared to investigate the obstacle and recoiled each time but not as much. On the third attempt, the worm investigated it, recoiled a bit and appeared to decide to continue on its path. Are these real worms or are they animations?

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  • geckzilla by geckzilla

    Animations? Aw, you hear that wormie? You've impressed the human.

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  • aexbrown by aexbrown scientist

    They're definitely real! 😃 They have touch sensors in their heads that let the feel when they run into something, but their sense of touch also habituates, meaning that after repeated touches they become temporarily less sensitive. It could be that that's what you're seeing here and what allows the worm to continue on its way.

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