dancing mouse

a strain of mice displaying behavior that resembles dancing. Mice of this strain have a genetic defect that causes degeneration of the hair cells of the inner ear. This degeneration produces deafness and impaired functioning of the vestibular system of the ear, which is thought to cause the dancelike behavior.

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Psychology term of the day

January 28th 2025

deism

n. a type of natural religion associated chiefly with the 18th-century Enlightenment. It is based on the premise that a benevolent God will make sure that the knowledge necessary for human happiness is (a) universally available and (b) accessible to the intellectual powers natural to human beings. It follows that divine truth will conform to human reason and the evidence provided by the natural creation. Deism thus contrasts with revealed religion, which requires a divine revelation of truth beyond what is available by the light of nature. Most forms of deism hold that God created the universe and the natural laws that govern it but has since dispassionately and detachedly allowed it to run its course. Compare pantheism; theism. —deist adj., n.