Will Climate Change Make CO2-Sniffing Mice Go Crazy?

If detecting the breath of a predator lurking just around the corner was the difference between life and death, we'd have evolved better olfactory systems already.

That's exactly what mice have done: Rockefeller University researchers found that the nasal cavities of mice are lined with specialized olfactory neurons that detect carbon dioxide levels just .02% higher than normal.

The scientists wonder what this means in a time of rising CO2. "Animals may adapt to this gradual and persistent increase. Alternatively, the change may induce behavioral changes, such as an increase in irritability and aggression or a decrease in fertility," [study author Peter Mobaerts] says.

Well, one admittedly unscientific answer: I've seen mice living in car engines and machine room fuse boxes. I think they'll do just fine.
Detection of near-atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by an olfactory subsystem in the mouse [Science] [Not yet posted online]
*
Image: The one, the only, Ralph S. Mouse*