Understanding a dog’s superhero snout
KQED video series features UC Berkeley scientists' dog-sniffing research
March 1, 2019
Dogs are thousands of times better than humans at picking up scents, which is why they’re often the heroes of search-and-rescue missions. UC Berkeley neuroscientist Lucia Jacobs has long been studying animals’ smell-navigation skills and is a key member of a National Science Foundation brain initiative known as the Odor Navigation Project.
Lately, Judy Jinn, a graduate student of Jacobs, has found evidence suggesting that dogs find it easier to track smells under humid conditions that trap scent particles. Jacobs’ and Jinn’s research is featured on KQED’s Science’s Deep Look series.
A YouTube playlist of other Deep Look video stories on UC Berkeley research is available online.