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MILES O'BRIEN: Talk about a shot in the dark. But even
with its vision blocked, this snake strikes its prey
with pinpoint precision.
MICHAEL GRACE: This blindfolded snake can strike perfectly
accurately based on its thermal sensation. It's ability to
detect a warm object in its environment. It is
literally seeing heat.
MILES O'BRIEN: With support from the National Science
Foundation, Florida Tech biologist, Michael Grace, and
his team carefully study these reptiles' infrared sensors.
MICHAEL GRACE: This ball python, like most boas and
pythons, has an array of these infrared sensory organs, called
pit organs, right around the mouth, so their brains have an
image of the visible world and an image of the thermal world.
So, they see both light and heat together at the same time. Our
ultimate goal is to understand the workings of the system so
that maybe you could build better artificial devices.
We can truly revolutionize the way infrared sensors are
used in industrial applications or police purposes
or military purposes.
MILES O'BRIEN: These snakes aren't just sharpshooters.
They're smart too. They can be trained to use their thermal
sense to make choices and get rewards. Grace wants to learn
just how sensitive those heat sensing organs are.
MICHAEL GRACE: They can be trained to do very complex
series of behaviors.
MILES O'BRIEN: In this experiment, kind of a game show
for snakes, this Burmese python must pick a door based on
whether or not it senses heat.
SHERRI EMER: This animal has been trained that when a thermal
stimulus is on to choose the left push button and this animal
has made the correct choice. And it is now retrieving its
dead mouse reward.
MILES O'BRIEN: Better understanding of these snakes'
thermal sensing skills could help authorities manage them in
places like the Everglades where they are an invasive species.
MICHAEL GRACE: We recognize this exotic mega predator as a
tremendous ecological threat. This infrared imaging system is
certainly part of the key to their success here in the
sub-tropics. People demonize snakes but I just love this
animal. Sort of looks like a big puppy.
MILES O'BRIEN: A puppy? Well, handle with care. These little
cuties may not bark, but they definitely bite.
For Science Nation, I'm Miles O'Brien.