When a cockroach scuttles into a dark corner as we flip on the
kitchen light, we feel revulsion, not kinship. But a new study
reveals that most humans share a basic trait with Kafka's creepy
creatures: right-handedness. Researchers released roaches into a
Y-shaped tube, where scents of vanilla or ethanol enticed the
insects to venture past the tube's splitting point. The
researchers then recorded which direction the bugs turned.
Cockroaches with intact antennae preferred the tube's right fork
57% of the time. This right-side bias persisted even after the
scientists chopped off one of the bugs' sensitive antennae, used
to sense touch and smells. The finding, which will be published
in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Insect Behavior, adds to
a growing body of evidence that even the tiniest brains show
side-preference. The insight could aid bioengineers who hope to
control cockroaches for search and rescue missions or pest
control. See more ScienceShots.