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Dogs have pet facial expressions to use on humans, study finds
Dogs really do turn on the puppy eyes when humans look at them, according to researchers studying canine facial expressions. Scientists have discovered that dogs produce more facial movements when a human is paying attention to them – including raising their eyebrows, making their eyes appear bigger – than when they are being ignored or presented with a tasty morsel.
The research pushes back against the belief that animal facial expressions are largely unconscious movements, that reflect internal sentiments, rather than a way to communicate. "Facial expression is often seen as something that is very emotionally driven and is very fixed, and so it isn't something that animals can change depending on their circumstances," said Bridget Waller, professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Portsmouth, and an author of the study.
Also at Popular Science.
Human attention affects facial expressions in domestic dogs (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12781-x) (DX)
Earlier research: Paedomorphic Facial Expressions Give Dogs a Selective Advantage (open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082686) (DX)
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by Mykl on Monday October 23 2017, @05:54AM (1 child)
Me too. I freely admit to eating meat, but am fully aware that I will probably be viewed by most people in 100 years' time as a monster. I can see that this is the way that ethics will inevitably go, particularly once vat-foodtm becomes available.
It's what gives me a shred of sympathy for social conservatives out there, as many of them are probably viewing matters like gay marriage, immigration etc much the same as I view eating meat now (i.e. I'm not going to stop even though I could get my nutrition elsewhere if I put in some effort).
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday October 23 2017, @10:40AM
Modded up because there will be an attack on meat from multiple fronts (environmental, quality, cost, ethics...).
Cultured meat or whatever they are calling it will eventually wreck the livestock industry. And it will be the meat of choice (the only meat choice, alongside veggie alternatives) on Mars/etc.
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