evolution

Jun

2020

Why Do Dogs’ Eyes Look So Sad?

Exploreevolution, wolves

A fascinating study published in 2019 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the facial muscles of our canine companions may have evolved to be able to better communicate with humans. This explains how dogs can tug on human heartstrings by giving people that “adopt me please” look. This study found that domestic dogs’ faces are structured in such a way that complex expressions are possible. This same ability is not found in wolves. This suggests that because dogs coevolved with humans over tens of thousands of years, that they developed a special ability to communicate…

Mar

2020

By Ellen Britt

Where Did Dogs Come From?

Exploreevolution, history, wolves

Dogs and humans. We’ve been together a long, long time. In fact, some scientists say we’ve been hanging around with each other for over 15,000 years. Now that’s a real friendship! When you look at all the different dog breeds, especially the huge variation in size, from a tiny Chihuahua to a towering Great Dane, it’s hard to believe they are the same species. But all dogs have a common history. Dogs are members of the biological family Canidae, which is why they are also called canines. The canids are a subset of a bigger group known as Carnivora. According…