Pit Viper Research
Pit Viper
“Florida Institute of Technology Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Michael Grace has earned a three-year, $369,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his work on the mechanisms of infrared imaging in pit vipers, pythons and boas. Part of the research is to make a molecular biological search for the proteins that do the difficult job of sensing very low-energy infrared photons. The other piece is, with the use of psychological conditioning, to train snakes to perform complex behaviors in response to thermal/infrared signals, much as a rat can be trained to press a lever for a food reward.”