Name: Dog Tales
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Researchers use brain imaging to figure out whether dogs love us—or if they just want treats.

It's time to learn the truth once and for all.

Do Dogs Love Us or do They Just Want Treats?

Dogs have long been dependable companions by our sides. But it wasn’t always that way, and a look at their closest living relative, the wolf, makes it clear why. Research into dog domestication and intelligence offers clues into what the human-dog relationship. And analyzing dogs’ brain activity and genes may even help answer whether dogs are in it for the food—or if they really love us.

Follow the epic journey of dog domestication and see what science says about dogs’ love.

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A researcher uncovers 30,000-year-old skulls from Europe, which appear to be halfway between those of wolves and domestic canines. But do the skulls actually belong to the ancestors of today's dogs?

Learn more about the evolution of our furry companions.

Can Bones Reveal How Dogs Evolved from Wolves?

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Northern Mariana Islands

Puerto Rico

American Samoa

Guam

U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Minor Outlying Islands

US & Territories

Dogs have long been dependable companions by our sides. But it wasn’t always that way, and a look at their closest living relative, the wolf, makes it clear why. Research into dog domestication and intelligence offers clues into the human-dog relationship. And analyzing dogs’ brain activity and genes may even help answer whether dogs are in it for the food—or if they really love us.

Dog Tales

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Dogs have long been dependable companions by our sides. But it wasn’t always that way, and a look at their closest living relative, the wolf, makes it clear why. Research into dog domestication and intelligence offers clues into what the human-dog relationship is all about. And analyzing dogs’ brain activity and genes may even help answer the question of whether dogs are in it for the food—or if they really love us. (Premiered February 12, 2020)

Emory University

Durham University, England

University of Vienna

Follow the epic journey of dog domestication and see what science says about dogs’ love.

Nature

Colossal explosions shake a remote corner of the Siberian tundra, leaving behind massive craters. In Alaska, a huge lake erupts with bubbles of inflammable gas. Scientists are discovering that these mystifying phenomena add up to a ticking time bomb, as long-frozen permafrost melts and releases vast amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. What are the implications of these dramatic developments in the Arctic? Scientists and local communities alike are struggling to grasp the scale of the methane threat and what it means for our climate future. (Premiered February 2, 2022)

In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate.

Arctic Sinkholes

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A composite image of Jupiter using images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.

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A transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (orange) replicating from the plasma membrane of an infected H9 T cell. Credit: NIAID, Flickr

Scientists have cured a handful of people of HIV by piggybacking on treatments they received for blood cancer. But does that bring a widespread cure any closer?

Dog Tales

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Explore More

Five Dogs with Crazy Résumés

Do Dogs Love Us or do They Just Want Treats?

Dogs' Brains Respond to People's Voices the Same Way We Do

Dogs Can Diagnose Malaria By Sniffing Socks

Wolves boop their snoots to touch screens to feed their friends. Dogs? Not so much.

Canines evolved puppy dog eyes to woo human companions

Dogs' Dazzling Sense of Smell

Cat Tales

Dog Tales

What Are Animals Saying?

AI Trained to Act Like a Dog

The World’s Smartest Dog

Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

Chaser, the language-learning dog with a 1,000-word vocabulary, has died

Wolf—Human Alliance May Have Finished Off the Neanderthals

Can Dogs Predict Seizures?