This week we discovered the computer programme that’s learned how to name dogs, science and dogs take a step forward to detecting human diseases and a funny Tweet steals the show. Get the Scoop!
Dog’s amazing noses could detect Parkinson’s disease
Maybe you’ve already heard diabetes detection dogs, but perhaps you didn’t know that it’s now thought that dogs could be trained to help detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease too? It might sound stranger than fiction, but after a woman claimed that her husband’s smell changed years before he began to show early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as difficulty with movement, scientists are now investigating whether the condition has an odour of its own. Thanks to dog’s amazing noses, it’s hoped that Medical Detection Dogs could be used to help treat diseases like Parkinson’s to help begin treatment much earlier.
Would you let a computer name your dog?
We’re guessing your gut reaction to that question would be “of course not!”. After all, why trust a machine to name your precious pooch – a name you’ll probably be calling in the park for years! Well, with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, a computer programme to pick a name for your dog could be more reliable than you might think. A recent experiment used an algorithm to ‘study’ a list of more than 80,000 dog names and then crunched out a list of brand new name suggestions. Examples include Snowflatey, Coocoda and Figgie. Not convinced? Well, they were dogs living in New York City, so that explains that…
Viral Tweet spawns terrible dog and wood puns
Should I take my dog to the vet pic.twitter.com/CHiW4C6fQz
— Honky Kong (@miketotheklocke) July 12, 2017
When Twitter user @miketotheklocke shared a picture of a piece of wood that, due to a chance arrangement of knots and grain, appeared to show a dog’s face, the ‘Twittersphere’ went completely berserk. The original Tweet has been shared more than 100,000 times! The image is a classic example of what’s known as pareidolia – (or should that be pareiDOGlia?). That’s when your brain connects patterns to create images that aren’t really there; better known as “seeing faces in objects”.
We had quite a chuckle at the humorous Tweeted responses. Here are some of our favourites:
Have you had him chipped?
— Graeme Boyd (@AceyBongos) July 12, 2017
have you tried playing with him? he just looks a little board
— fall (@autumnjariens) July 12, 2017
By the way, is he a labradoor?
— Jacques Maree (@JacquesMaree73) July 13, 2017
Cc @dog_rates. They’re wood dogs Bront.
— Graeme Boyd (@AceyBongos) July 13, 2017