Dogs can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar human languages

 

They are the first non-human animals to be able to tell the difference between human languages.

If you were to move to a new country with a different language and bring along the family dog, your pet would likely have a hard time understanding commands from the locals, according to a new study looking at how dogs' brains react to different languages. 

MRI scans revealed that dogs' brains can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages, making them the first-known, and so far only, non-human animals to be able to tell the difference between human languages.

To read more on this story, click here: Dogs can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar human languages

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9-Year-Old Boy with Autism Relies on His Service Dog to Keep Him Safe and Calm While in the Hospital

Where James Isaac goes, Mahe follows – even into the boy's hospital bed.

The 9-year-old Wellington boy is autistic and relies on the black Labrador to keep him safe and calm.

James cannot speak, and recoils from touch and eye contact with his family.

But he will curl up happily with Mahe.

“And for Mahe, James is his best mate, he is all about James," mum Michelle Isaac said.

So important is the bond that Mahe was allowed to join James at the Wellington Children's Hospital as he underwent an MRI scan to diagnose the cause of his seizures.

As he went under general anesthetic, Mahe watched with concern, nuzzling his master's face.

"He was just looking at James, and looking really worried."

As Michelle waited in the hospital cafe for the scan to end, Mahe sat beside her, calming the mother as he had calmed the son.

"I was really shaken, it was pretty stressful watching James struggle."

Life for the Isaac family has improve immensely since Mahe came into their lives, 2½ years ago.

Michelle said going out into public with James used to be nightmare. He was likely to run off and lose the plot in any unfamiliar or over-stimulating involvement.

"We couldn't even go to a cafe as a family. James would get very anxious and want to leave immediately. But when we got Mahe, James would just sit there waiting for us to finish our coffee."

Mahe's presence not only calms James, but keeps him safe. Out and about, he is attached to Mahe on a tether. If he strays too far, or starts running towards a busy road, Mahe sits down and won't budge.

The Assistance Dogs New Zealand Trust trained Mahe for six months from a puppy to help children with autism.

The trust trains puppies to help people with a range of disabilities, from autism to diabetes to cerebral palsy.

The dogs can be taught to distract their owners, warn other family members of an impending medical event, or track down missing people and objects.

Wendy Isaacs, the trust's funding development manager, said Mahe had been picked for autism training because of his calm demeanor.

"There is such a magic that happens between a child with autism and the dogs, they just calm the kids down. The kids will maintain eye contact with the dog, but often not with their own parents and siblings."

If James' seizures persisted, Mahe could also be trained to pick up on early warning sign and whine or bark to alert his parents, she said.

To learn more about assistance dogs, visit the trust's website. 

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MRI Machine Explodes At Oradell Animal Hospital, Critically Injuring Repairman

Paramus, New Jersey - An MRI machine exploded during maintenance at the Oradell Animal Hospital late Friday morning, critically injuring one repairman but sparing scores of employees and animals in the hospital, Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.

The critically injured worker suffered cuts and crushing-related injuries; the other two had minor to moderate injuries including respiratory complaints, the chief said. He said their identities were being withheld pending family notification.

Responding to reports at 11:51 a.m. of a fire and an explosion at the animal hospital at 580 Winters Ave., police found the ceiling of the east wing collapsed, but the building remained structurally sound, the chief said. There was no evidence of a fire, he said.

About 60 animals and 100 employees were in the building and the staff subsequently accounted for all animals and employees.

Three men were injured, all contract workers from a private company not affiliated with the hospital.

They were in the process of removing the 10-year-old MRI machine when the explosion happened. The machine was being  leased from Advanced Veterinary Technologies, and was having software problems.

Emily Cottam, an emergency and critical care resident at the animal hospital, was in the rear of the hospital near the explosion. “The ceiling fell on my head,” she said.

Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Occupational Safety and Health Administration are assisting in the investigation. The building will remain closed until further notice.

MRI explosions are rare but can be deadly, said Wlad Sobol, Ph.D., a medical physicist and professor of radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

“I’m aware of maybe half a dozen events that led to catastrophic failure of a magnet” in the last decade, Sobol said.

Sobol, who has studied MRI explosions, said that there are two potential causes.

An MRI — magnetic resonance imaging — machine is a superconductive device, meaning it contains wire that can conduct electrical current without generating any resistance, or heat. Superconductivity happens at extremely cold temperatures, made possible by bathing the wire in liquid helium. If for some reason the superconductivity is lost — if one of the magnets in the device is dropped, for example, or the helium runs out — the large amount of energy stored inside the magnet quickly encounters resistance and releases heat.

“The amount of energy stored in a magnet like that is not trivial,” Sobol said, adding that it is equivalent to several kilograms of TNT — “It’s like a bomb in its ability to destroy stuff.”

The other possible scenario is that the ventilation system for the liquid helium becomes clogged. “The pressure will build up and the magnet will explode,” Sobol said.

Shortly after noon, about 60 people had congregated in the hospital's parking lot, along with several dogs. The staff brought animals out of the building, some on leashes, some carried in blankets and some in moving cages or hand crates.

Soon after the incident, no smoke or fire was observed coming out of the building. But A&S Drive was blocked off by police tape between Winters Avenue and Ring Road. Among the units that responded were Bergen County sheriff’s officers, Paramus and county police, and Paramus and Hackensack fire departments, the latter’s collapse team, Bergen County Hazardous Materials Unit, and the county Office of Emergency Management.


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