April 26, 2019
Dogs have an incredible sense of smell, and some have been trained to detect a range of things, from cancer to drugs, to weapons and missing people. Researchers at the University of Foggia in Italy have recently discovered however, that people’s genes can affect the way they smell, which can impact sniffer dog’s ability to smell certain people when attempting to track them.
The gene they studied, SLC6A4 has been linked to how well we manage stress. The study showed those people with the short version of this gene are harder for dogs to detect when those individuals are feeling stressed, as their natural scent changes during these times of stress.
Source: Science News for Students
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