Mice, contrary to popular belief and cartoons like Tom and Jerry, don't actually like cheese, British researchers said Wednesday after studying their diet and those of other animals.
Instead, the tiny rodents prefer foods with a high sugar content like grains and fruit and would turn their noses up at something as strong in smell and rich in taste as cheese, scientists in Manchester in northwest England said.
Animal behaviourist David Holmes, from Manchester Metropolitan University, said: "Clearly the supposition of mice liking cheese is a popular premise. Mice have evolved almost entirely without cheese or anything resembling it.
"Mice respond to the smell, texture and taste of food and cheese is something that would not be available to them in their natural environment" and therefore they would not respond to it.
The next time I see one of these wandering across the Nebraska plains, I will give it plenty of room!
The world's most poisonous octopus is the size of a golf ball
First you will feel nauseous. Your vision becomes hazy. Within seconds you are blind. You loose your sense of touch. You cannot speak or swallow. Three minutes later you are paralysed and unable to breath.
You knew that the blue-ringed octopus is extremely poisonous but how were you to know that this was one when its tiny parrot-like beak bit through your wetsuit. The last thing the victim sees are the blue rings - visible only when it is about to attack.
The blue-ringed octopus is the size of a golf ball but its poison is powerful enough to kill an adult human in minutes. There's no known antidote. The only treatment is hours of heart massage and artificial respiration until the poison has worked its way out of your system.
The poison is not injected but is contained in the octopus's saliva, which comes from two glands each as big as its brain. Poison from the one is used on its main prey, crabs, and is relatively harmless to humans. Poison from the other gland serves as defence against predators. The blue-ringed octopus either secretes the poison in the vicinity of its prey, waits until it is immobile and then devours it, or it jumps out and envelops the prey in its 8 tentacles and bites it.
There are two species of blue-ringed octopus: the Hapalochlaena lunulata, which is the larger and grows up to 20cm (8 in) across its stretched tentacles. The other, the Hapalochlaena maculosa, is small and more common, weighing a mere 28 grams (1 oz). They are found in the shallow coral and rock pools of Australia. And they're rather cute, being brown or yellow in colour. But don't pick one up - by the time you see the electric-blue rings, it's too late!
The blue-ringed octopus - just look, don't touch! - the blue rings are visible only when it is about to attack
