Hong Kong CNN  —  Pandas famously love bamboo but the fluffy mammals actually have digestive systems typical of animals that eat a meat-based diet - and Chinese scientists now think they know why. They say gorging on the tall, fast-growing plant can influence the covert carnivores’ behavior and regulate the bears’ sense of smell and taste. Native to southwest China, pandas spend up to 16 hours a day devouring bamboo, absorbing a genetic material called microRNA (miRNA) into their bloodstream,