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Scientists find out why dogs' noses are cold

Dogs' Noses - Level 4

Researchers may have answered one of science's mysteries - why a dog's nose is cold. The scientists believe dogs' noses are cold because they act as "ultra-sensitive heat detectors". Dogs sense the temperature of things without touching them. They use their noses to detect temperature, such as when predators or prey are nearby. Humans only know something is hot through touch. It was believed that dogs' noses are cold to control their body temperature.

Researchers did experiments on dogs, which had to detect the temperature of different objects. Brain activity in the dogs showed that they knew which objects were warmer than others. A researcher said: "Dogs are able to sense the thermal radiation coming from warm bodies...and they can change their behaviour according to this." Scientists may now re-evaluate how animals hunt. Many animals may use heat-sensing abilities to hunt.

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Dogs' Noses - Level 5

Researchers may have solved one of science's great mysteries - why a dog's nose is cold. Scientists from universities in Sweden and Hungary believe dogs' noses are always cold because they act as "ultra-sensitive heat detectors". Dogs can sense the temperature of things before they touch them. They said dogs use their noses to detect changes in temperature, such as when predators or prey are nearby. Humans only know something is hot after touching it, often with painful consequences. It was believed that dogs' noses are cold to control and regulate their own body temperature.

Researchers did experiments on dogs. The dogs had to detect the temperature of different objects. Humans could only differentiate the temperatures by touching the objects. The brain activity in the dogs showed that they knew which objects were warmer than others. The lead author of the study said: "Dogs are able to sense the thermal radiation coming from warm bodies...and they can change their behaviour according to this signal." Scientists should now re-evaluate how animals hunt. Many predators may use heat-sensing abilities to track or sense their prey.

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Dogs' Noses - Level 6

Researchers believe they have solved one of science's greatest mysteries. They think they have found out why a dog's nose is cold. Scientists from universities in Sweden and Hungary have posited that dogs' noses are constantly cold because they act as "ultra-sensitive heat detectors". Canines can sense the temperature of something before they touch it. They added that dogs use their noses to detect tiny changes in temperature, such as when possible predators or prey are nearby. Humans generally only know something is hot after touching it, often with painful consequences. It was common belief that the only reason dogs' noses are cold is to control and regulate their own body temperature.

The researchers conducted experiments on sixteen dogs that had to detect the temperature of different objects in a room. The objects had different temperatures that humans could only differentiate by touching them. The scientists said that the brain activity in the dogs showed that they could discern which objects were warmer than others. Anna Balint, lead author of the study, said: "Dogs are able to sense the thermal radiation coming from warm bodies or weak thermal radiation, and they can change their behaviour according to this signal." Another scientist said scientists should now re-evaluate how predators hunt. Many may use heat-sensing abilities to track or sense their prey.

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