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 　　This is Scientific American 60-second Science,I'm Gretchen Cuda Kroen,got a minute?The last time you splurged on a live lobster¹ for dinner ,you might not have given any thought to how much the little guy was going to suffer as he boiled to death.Until recently,many researchers believed the crustacean² nervous system too primitive³ to process pain.But scientists at Queen's University in Belfast now think that crustaceans⁴ may be more sensitive to pain than previously⁵ thought.The researchers used crabs⁶ as their test animals and they found that crabs that experienced electric shock when they hid under a safe,dark rock would eventually learn to avoid the hiding place.And that avoidance is key,the animal's ability to remember the unpleasant shock and avoid it is consistent with the ability to feel and remember pain.If the behavior was merely a reflex,the critters would continue to visit the shelter.The study is in the Journal of Experimental Biology.The situation is likely the same with lobsters,so before you break out the bibs and melted butter,it's may be nice to put our future dinner on a little anesthetic⁷ ice.