In trials dogs show an ability to detect cancer cells quite accurately 99%+ in some trials, they can detect through smell, 2 parts per trillion with substances (and perhaps likely more depending on what the smell is). Apparently they can train dogs to be ‘siezure alert dogs’ in which the dogs presumably smell some kind of chemical change/reaction, after-time dogs get quite good at this and can predict patient episodes up to 40 minutes away.
I’m not quite sure how large the area of the dog’s brain is devouted to processing smells (I assume and am willing to bet its massive. Someone should check for me.) specifically any information about the size of the visual, audio and smell processing areas of the dogs brain.
Anyway, this is pretty fantastic that dogs are able to do this. What a high degree of specialization, i’m sure ancient hunter-gatherers who tamed wolves had massive survival benefit in tracking/hunting prey, like uncomparable to not having a dog.
As is often said, “Dogs can smell your fear.” It is amazing that without the visual and audial senses we rely on so greatly to determine a person’s particular state, dogs can accurately pick up on insecurity, fear, etc. It makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint, though.
In some ways I somtimes think that for a dog, its smell must be something like our vision, just more pronounced (at least in certain ways). As in, with their smell, they can probably map the world and get an image in their head of their own surroundings. Like an echolocation of sorts, just not echolocation.
Yes, and if you consider somthing like a bear, that can probably smell your scent in the wind a long, long, long way off, even outside of things like blood. I was reading about a ice-age megafauna, the short-faced bear, or some such, the part of its brain devoted to smell was twice as large as modern bears.
That bear could probably detect food, miles and miles and miles off.
Hrmm…echolocation, but in terms of smell…now that’s an interesting concept. I can’t even begin to imagine what that kind of map in their mind would look like.
I wonder what kind of image they get in their mind when they are sniffing my ass.
If you want to discuss animals with a great sense of smell (taste, really), you want to discuss snakes. They blow other terrestrial animals away, but I’m partial.