Bats are 3-D cartographers

Special cells in the mammal’s brain chart its path as it flies

Holy flying fruit bats!

FLYING MAPMAKER The Egyptian fruit bat (pictured) uses neurons called place cells to draw mental maps of 3-D spaces. Courtesy of Organization for Bat Conservation and Steve Gettle Photography

An Egyptian fruit bat (shown in an illustration) wears a monitoring device on its head to record neural activity.