![Bees shown to 'count' from left to right for first time](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/00/1d/94/Bees-shown-to--count--from-left-to--141068.jpg)
-
Venezuela takes diplomatic jab at Brazil in spat over election
-
Multiple people shot along highway in US state of Kentucky
-
'Super proud' Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller
-
In Papua New Guinea, Pope holds mass 'at the edge of the world'
-
Hewett stays positive for wheelchair tennis despite agonising defeat
-
Three things on US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka
-
Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller
-
USA men land Paralympic basketball three-peat, Jiang takes 7th swim gold
-
USA slump to first home defeat against Canada in 67 years
-
Argentina hand Australia record 67-27 loss in Rugby Championship
-
England impress on Carsley bow, Germany, Dutch hit five
-
AFP photographer wins top prize for Gaza coverage
-
No Love for Packers for three weeks after ligament sprain: reports
-
Pedro Almodovar: chronicler of modern Spain crowned in Venice
-
Almodovar wins top Venice prize for end-of-life film
-
Trump sounds dark tone at rally, Harris 'ready' for debate
-
Wirtz and Musiala dazzle to kick-start new Germany era
-
Chinese teenager takes 7th gold of Paris Paralympics
-
England interim boss Carsley 'respects' divided opinions over anthem
-
Neuville moves to the front in the Acropolis Rally
-
Garfield, Pugh charm Toronto in new romance 'We Live in Time'
-
21 boys confirmed dead in Kenya school inferno
-
Over 100,000 protest in France against new prime minister
-
Golden 30 minutes takes China to swimming Paralympics swimming domination
-
Green leads Australia to T20 series sweep of Scotland
-
Nigeria, Cameroon win afer chaotic AFCON build-ups
-
Nicole Kidman: A-lister, cinematic chameleon, wins in Venice
-
'I had to prove myself', says Kolisi after win against All Blacks
-
Almodovar wins top prize at Venice film festival
-
Grealish savours England redemption after 'worst summer'
-
Carsley makes flying start as England interim boss in win over Ireland
-
Springboks close on Rugby Championship with storming win over All Blacks
-
Sri Lanka's De Silva and Kamindu Mendis defy England in third Test
-
Farrell's Racing lose on opening day of Top 14
-
Ireland and UK to 'reset' relations as Starmer visits Dublin
-
Dunbar takes second Vuelta stage as Roglic closes in on victory
-
Fritz eyes US Open glory to end 21 years of American hurt
-
Thousands protest in France against new prime minister
-
Death toll from Kenya school blaze rises to 21
-
Brazil's right rallies for 'freedom' after X suspended
-
Trump to hold rally in swing state, Harris preps for debate
-
Stone at the double as Sri Lanka collapse against England in third Test
-
French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse
-
Italy backs Kyiv's 'legitimate defence' as Zelensky presses allies
-
The Body Shop rescued from administration after deal
-
Martin roars to victory in San Marino sprint, extends MotoGP lead
-
Smoke and screams: The horror of Kenya's school dorm inferno
-
MotoGP leader Martin roars to victory in San Marino sprint
-
Ireland and UK to 'reset' relations as Starmer begins Dublin visit
-
Ma Lin turns brutal encounter with bear into glorious Paralympic career
![Bees shown to 'count' from left to right for first time](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/00/1d/94/Bees-shown-to--count--from-left-to--141068.jpg)
Bees shown to 'count' from left to right for first time
Bees order numbers in increasing size from left to right, a study has shown for the first time, supporting the much-debated theory that this direction is inherent in all animals including humans.
Western research has found that even before children learn to count, they start organising growing quantities from left to right in what has been called the "mental number line".
However the opposite direction has been found in people from cultures that use an Arabic script which reads from right to left.
"The subject is still being debated between those who think the mental number line has an innate character and those who say it is cultural," said Martin Giurfa, a professor at the Research Centre on Animal Cognition at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France.
There has been recent evidence that newborn babies and some vertebrate animals, including primates, organise numbers from left to right.
Giurfa led a study, published last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), aiming to find out if the same holds true for insects, via an experiment on bees.
"It has already been shown that bees are able to count -- at least up to five," Giurfa told AFP.
They also process information differently in the two hemispheres of their brains, he added. This trait they seem to share with humans, and is thought to be a potential reason for the "the existence of the mental number line," Giurfa said.
- A numbers game -
For the experiment, the researchers had individual honeybees fly into the first of two compartments of a wooden box.
Sugar-water was then used to entice the bees to select a number affixed to the middle of the back of the second compartment.
The number stayed the same for each individual bee, but varied randomly across the group from between one, three or five, in shapes of circles, squares or triangles.
Once the bees were trained to fly towards their set number, the researchers removed it and put another number on both sides of the second compartment, leaving the middle blank.
They then removed the sugar-water reward and observed which way the bees went.
For example, if the bee was trained to select the number three, and was now faced with two number ones on either side and nothing in the middle, which way did they fly?
Around 80 percent of the time the bees chose the option on the left -- the "correct choice" if brains order numbers from left to right, Giurfa said.
But if those same bees were given two number fives to choose from, they went right, again supporting the mental number line.
And bees trained to go for number one went to the right for a number three, while bees targeting a five went left for their three.
So if animals do in fact think of numbers from left to right, why is this not true for all humans?
Giurfa said it was more complicated than directly choosing between nature and nurture.
Even if the mental number line "is innate, culture can still modify it, even reverse it -- or on the contrary accentuate it," he said.
Bees, on the other hand, have to stick to what nature dictates.
J.Horn--BTB