THE PHRASE “BLIND AS BAT” may be an alliterative simile, but that doesn’t make it true. Bats can in fact see, but they use still more of their senses to navigate. Now researchers at University of California, Berkeley have released a study about how bats navigate in social groups, and they think it may provide answers to some human behavior and even insight into Alzheimer’s disease.  

The study looked at bats’ hippocampus, which helps all mammals make their way through the world by “mapping” familiar surroundings and storing the information. It’s how we remember which way to walk home or where the grocery store keeps its deli.

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Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.