NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Dogs' brains show love for owners

American scientists have discovered that the smell of dogs' owners stays in their brain like the way a beautiful perfume or cologne stays in our brains. "When humans smell the perfume or cologne of someone they love, they may have an immediate, emotional reaction [that they're likely not consciously aware of]," said study leader Gregory Berns of Atlanta, Georgia's Emory University. They pinpointed the area of the dog brain that responds more strongly to the smell of familiar humans than the smell of strangers and analysed it to see if dogs have the same subconscious emotional reaction. In the experiment 12 dogs of different breeds received brain scans while five different scents were directed at them. The five samples came from the dog itself, another dog the subject had never met, a dog that lived in the same house as the subject, a human the dog had never met, and a human that lived with the dog. One specific part of all 12 dogs' brains lit up in the scan when they were presented with the smell of a familiar human. The smell of familiar dogs also stimulated this part of the brain, though not as much. Even though their owner wasn't present the dogs were able to identify their smell and had the most positive reaction to it compared to lots of other smells.
 

Marathon bombing victim dances again

Adrianna Haslet-Davis a professional dancer, lost part of her left leg in last April's Boston Marathon bombings. She made it her mission to dance again and recently that mission was successfully accomplished! Haslet-Davis danced the rumba with her partner at the TEDTalk conference in Vancouver with a specially designed prosthetic leg that was created by MIT's head Biomechatronics researcher Hugh Herr.

Herr met Haslet-Davis while he was giving a talk at a rehab centre where she was in rehabilitation. He lost both of his legs when he was 17 from a climbing accident and made it his goal to climb again after his injury, so he understood Haslet-Davis' desire to get back on the dance floor and agreed to help her reach her goal.

Herr and his team studied the movements of dancers of similar size to Haslet-Davis and eventually created a prefect prosthetic limb that could respond to her movements in a natural way. "Conquering that out on that stage felt like accomplishing something I have been waiting my entire life to accomplish," Haslet-Davis said. "To dance again is incredible." "In 3.5 seconds, the criminals and cowards took Adrianne off the dance floor," Herr said at the TED Talk. "In 200 days, we put her back.

 

Disney announces 'Incredibles 2', 'Cars 3'

Walt Disney Company has announced that Pixar will release a third 'Cars' movie as well as a sequel to 'The Incredibles!'

'The Incredibles' came out 10 years ago in 2004. Brad Bird, who directed 'The Incredibles,' is currently writing a script for the movie's sequel. In 2007 he expressed that he was hesitant to make a sequel because the story would have to be perfect. "Pixar does not look at sequels as a financial plan. We feel we have a relationship with the audience and that they believe in each movie we put out. we believe completely in every movie we put out. If I can come up with a story that is as good or better than that first film, then I'd love to return that to the world, but it would have to be story first," Bird said. It looks like he's been inspired and has come up with a perfect story! 'The Incredibles 2' is said to focus on the crime fighting abilities of the superhero family and what happens when they work together. The first 'Cars' movie came out in 2006 and 'Cars 2' came out in 2011. Not a lot of information about 'Cars 3' is available currently except that Pixar is currently working on it. Unfortunately the release date for 'The Incredible 2' and 'Cars 3' haven't been announced.