Weaklings' sharper hearing sense helps them dodge danger

Washington, May 16 (ANI): Weaklings-people who are less physically fit-have a sharper sense of hearing which alerts them about approaching trouble in advance, says a new study.

The study found that for such people, approaching sounds are more likely to sound closer than they really are.

For the study, the scientists first studied how men hear looming sounds that steadily approach the listener.

They found that majority of the respondents-regardless of their fitness-believe the sources of such sounds have reached them before they actually have.

The adaptation may help humans sense and escape danger.

"If you err on the side of safety, that genetic characteristic will be passed on," National Geographic News quoted lead study author John Neuhoff, an evolutionary psychologist at the College of Wooster in Ohio, as saying.

However, people with wimpy physiques-who lack the strength to overpower threats or the cardiovascular fitness to outrun them-display more extreme versions of the auditory alarm system.

"If you're physically fit, you can react quickly. So you don't need as much of a margin of safety as you would if you were a typical couch potato," explained Neuhoff.

Neuhoff will present his findings at the Acoustical Society of America Meeting in Portland, Oregon. (ANI)