Fukushima Insects Tested for Cognition
24 comments
·September 14, 2025alex_suzuki
Nitpick: the article mentions that the bees are tracked with QR Codes, but I find that hard to believe, given the space constraints. In one photo it looks like it is an ArUco marker.
numpad0
TIL: Wikipedia does not have a standalone article for ArUco markers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARTag
diggan
2mm QR codes according to the article:
> The protocol used at Fukushima is automated. Each bee is equipped with a 2-mm-wide QR Code which is read by a camera, activating the opening of the maze.
But yeah, doesn't look like a QR code at all, are there possibly different variations of QR codes? Haven't heard about that myself.
blueflow
I can imagine the journalist referring to all Matrix Codes as "QR".
null
Thorrez
>Although the results of the study have yet to be published, scientists are already reporting a decline in insect cognition in the contaminated area of Fukushima Prefecture.
blueflow
Troll-tier conclusion: Human presence improves cognition in insects
gus_massa
I can see a direct relation in this test, but it may be my lack of imagination or knowdledge...
Anyway, animals in islands without predators lose escape hability, in particular the dodo.
IAmBroom
Scientific research causes cancer in mice.
That's actually a fact; there are specific bloodlines prone to cancers.
blackoil
Have we tried increasing cognition by selective breeding. Get mice best at maze to breed 100 descendants and repeat it few times, with varying food supply and survival difficulties.
giraffe_lady
This gets you mice that are better at navigating mazes. The connection between that and general cognition or learning capacity is not as robust as you would hope. Just as likely they simply have better peripheral vision or something.
miohtama
Teenage Mutant Ninja Bees
cs702
Perfect fodder for a horror movie script.
sunrunner
> Each bee is equipped with a 2-mm-wide QR Code
I'm not sure why but this sentence feels vaguely menacing.
crackleware
we should send contaminated insects to Mars
dudeinjapan
If the bees were exposed to radiation, shouldn't we be testing them for super-powers?
jebronie
this isn't reddit
blackoil
OR try getting teenagers stung by them.
MaxZero101
The power to make honey and die after using your stinger?
IAmBroom
The Fantastic 4,000 versus Wasp Man!
Should be: ...Tested for Impaired Cognition