The Killians write: >Sensory compensation isn't real anyway so there are lots of flaws. Sensory compensation IS real. I just read an article in the paper the jist of which is that the brain can rewire itself, suggesting is it far more adaptable and flexible than originally thought. For example, a blind person who is reading braille uses the part of the visual cortex that is normally used when a sighted person reads. Many other examples were given of how different parts of the brain can take on functions usually not processed there. So a blind deaf ferret could have a better sense of smell, as it had more of its brain available for that function. But I can't imagine a ferret would be very easy to train to find mines, unless they smelled like raisins, and as others mentioned, how the heck would the ferret let you know it had found anything? Linda Iroff Oberlin OH [Posted in FML issue 2854]