Wiggling ears may have once helped us hear

Ancient ear-wiggling muscles kick on when people strain to hear. That auricular activity, described January 30 in Frontiers in Neuroscience, probably doesn’t do much, if anything. But these small muscles are at least present, and more active than anyone knew.

You’ve probably seen a cat or dog swing their ears toward a sound, like satellite dishes orienting to a signal. We can’t move our relatively rigid human ears this dramatically. And yet, humans still possess ear-moving muscles, as those of us who can wiggle our ears on demand know.

.email-conversion { border: 1px solid #ffcccb; color: white; margin-top: 50px; background-image: url(“/wp-content/themes/sciencenews/client/src/images/[email protected]”); padding: 20px; clear: both;

Related News

Prediction Markets Let You Bet on Whether a Wildfire Will Burn Down Your Town

What Are Fish Oil Supplements Good For? Here’s Your Crash Course

Workers claim unsafe conditions at a restaurant owned by the South Park creators. They have Brooke Shields on their side

Trump Accounts are now live. Here’s what you need to know

How I Went From Side Hustle to 7 Figures in 12 Months Using 4 AI Tools (No Employees, No Investors)

AI Can Do a Lot — But Most Companies Don’t Want It Talking to Their Clients. Here’s Why.