The brain is often likened to a computer, its hardware consisting of neurons organized in complex circuits; its software a plethora of codes that govern the neurons' behavior. But sometimes, the brain performs exceptionally well even when its hardware seems inadequate for the task. For example, it's been puzzling how humans and other mammals manage to navigate large-scale environments even though the brain's spatial perception circuits are seemingly suited to representing much smaller areas. A team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science, led by Prof. Nachum Ulanovsky of the Neurobiology Department, tackled this riddle by thinking outside the experimental box. By combining an unusual research model—fruit bats—with an unusual setting—a 200-meter-long bat tunnel—they were successful in revealing a novel neuronal code for spatial perception, as reported today in Science.