What the scientists are saying…
How dogs smell fear Dog owners often believe their pets can read their emotions – and this seems to be true, says the New Scientist. Researchers have found evidence that dogs smell human fear and are affected by it. Previous studies have indicated that dogs are adept at interpreting their owners’ facial expressions and tone of voice; a team at the University of Naples decided to examine whether they also pick up on olfactory cues. The researchers asked human volunteers to watch The Jungle Book (which was expected to elicit a happy response), the horror movie The Shining, or a film deemed to be neutral in its emotional impact, then collected sweat samples from them. When some 40 dogs were exposed to these scents, those which smelt the fear sweat showed significantly more signs of stress than those exposed either to happy smells or neutral ones: they had higher heart rates, sought more reassurance from their owners and were more nervous of strangers.
Millions of people are dying in pain Every year, around 25.5 million people (almost half of global deaths annually) die in agony, owing to a lack of pain-relieving drugs, an investigation for The Lancet has found. One in ten are children. The researchers behind the study estimate that a further 35.5 million people live with chronic pain. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of this suffering takes place in low- and middle-income countries, where morphine is in short supply. The researchers looked at how much morphine is distributed to more than 100 countries, and used this to work out whether their populations’ needs were being met. They found that some nations – including the US – have an abundance of opioids, leading to their misuse, while others face a desperate shortage: China, for example, receives 16% of the morphine it needs to ensure its people do not suffer serious pain, India 4% and Nigeria just 0.2%. Although oral and injectable morphine is out of patent, it is significantly more expensive in poor countries than in rich ones. The researchers calculate that if all countries had access to it at the lowest price, it would only cost around £110m a year to make up the global shortfall. “Denying this intervention is a moral failing, especially for children and patients at the end of life,” said Dr Felicia Knaul, of the University of Miami.
Dyslexia: in the eyes? Scientists think they may have found a physiological cause of dyslexia, and that it could be treatable. Owing to the uneven distribution of light receptor cells in their retinas, most people have a dominant and a weaker eye. This asymmetry seems to allow the signals from one eye to override the other, to create a single image. In dyslexic people, however, the cells are evenly distributed in both eyes. This, the researchers say, may mean the brain gets two “slightly different versions” of a single visual scene, creating visual confusion. “The lack of asymmetry might be the anatomical basis of reading and spelling disabilities” say the study’s authors in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. They also found that when their dyslexic subjects were reading, they could “cancel” the second image using fast-flashing LED lights.
NHS braced for flu epidemic Letters have been sent to all 1.4 million NHS staff urging them to have a flu jab to protect patients from infection. Following the worst flu seasons in Australia and New Zealand in years, NHS bosses are concerned that the UK will face a major epidemic this winter – putting a severe strain on the health service. Last year, 63% of NHS staff took up the offer of a free flu vaccination. NHS England is also offering the free vaccine to a million care-home workers.