Scientists ask dog lovers to guess breeds in ‘Mutt Mix’

Hubble belongs to a University of Massachusetts Medical School professor and is a participant in the online “Mutt Mix” study.

Quick: What kind of dog is Hubble?

Using its scruffy face, plump black nose and blondish fur as clues, you might guess that it’s part or all Wheaten terrier. And that might lead you to think this dog, being of the vermincatching terrier stock, would like to chase other animals.

But according to a DNA test by researchers at the University of Massachusetts and the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Hubble is a male poodlegolden retriever hybrid known as a “goldendoodle,” plus some dashes of other breeds that share ancestry with those two. Unlike terriers, this crossbreed is said to have a low “prey drive.”

The heritage of Hubble, Hubble’s DNA test results show he’s mostly a poodle-golden retriever mix, often called a “goldendoodle.”

the pet of a University of Massachusetts Medical School professor, is just one small slice of a large study on the genetics of dog behavior. But the researchers and dog behaviorists behind it want to know whether ordinary people can guess his bloodlines by looking at his photo.

Why? Because what we think dogs are made of influences our expectations of them, and those in turn can influence the animals’ behavior.

To find out, they’ve just launched an online quiz called “Mutt Mix.” If you’ve got some time — and with around 40 dogs to scrutinize, it does take time — you can log on and test your breedguessing abilities.

“We’re pretty sure everyone is going to be wrong,” said Marjorie Alonso, executive director of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, a partner in the project. But that’s okay, Alonso clarified: “We have been. None of us have been right about anything.”

“Mutt Mix” is an offshoot of a bigger canine-genetics study called “Darwin’s Dogs.” Researchers led by Elinor Karlsson, a professor of bioinformatics and integrative biology, are collecting saliva samples from thousands of U.S. dogs and owner-completed questionnaires about the House mouse carries disease-causing bacteria

That mouse scurrying through your apartment kitchen is even ickier than you thought.

New York City house mice carry bacteria that can make people sick — including gastrointestinal disease-causing bacteria such as C. difficile, E. coli and salmonella, according to two new studies. Some diseases even could be fatal.

“We found a whole series of bacteria that are associated with human disease,” Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, a senior author of both studies, said.

Researchers studying the bacteria collected 416 mice from residential buildings at seven sites across four boroughs of the city, over the course of the year.

“This is not something that’s restricted to any one socioeconomic group, any one geographic area,” Lipkin said of the stomach-turning findings.

Clownfish need energy to live in bleached home

If you’ve seen “‘Finding Nemo,” you’re familiar with the special relationship between clownfish and anemones, the stinging spaghetti rugs of the reef that Nemo calls home.

Normally, algae inside the anemone convert sunlight into energy to feed the anemone, which provides protection for the fish and its eggs.

But when warming water or an environmental disturbance cause coral and anemones to bleach, the situation changes. Algae die. Anemones shrink. And clownfish, most of which remain in their bleached home, don’t reproduce as well.