研究发现，狗鼻子里的“红外传感器”可以探测到热量

研究发现，狗鼻子里的“红外传感器”可以探测到热量

Dogs have a type of infrared sensor in the tip of their nose which enables them to detect minute changes in temperature such as when other animals are nearby, according to new research.

最新研究显示，狗的鼻尖有一种红外传感器，可以探测到温度的微小变化，比如其他动物在附近的时候。

Scientists at Sweden’s Lund University and Hungary’s Eotvos Lorand University say the discovery can help better understand how predators detect their prey when other senses such as sight, hearing or smell are hindered.

瑞典隆德大学和匈牙利厄托沃斯罗兰德大学的科学家说，这一发现有助于更好地理解当视觉、听觉或嗅觉等其他感官受到阻碍时，捕食者是如何发现猎物的。

In their study printed in Scientific Reports, a journal published by Nature Research, scientists found that the naked, wet skin surface at the tip of a dog’s nose, which is full of nerve endings, worked as an infrared sensor.

科学家们在发表在《自然研究》杂志《科学报告》上的研究中发现，狗鼻尖裸露湿润的皮肤表面充满了神经末梢，起到了红外传感器的作用。

“Dogs are able to sense the thermal radiation coming from warm bodies or weak thermal radiation and they can also direct their behavior according to this signal,” said Anna Balint, lead author of the study.

这项研究的主要作者安娜·巴林特说：“狗能感觉到来自温暖身体或微弱热辐射的热辐射，它们也能根据这个信号来调整自己的行为。”。

“We tested whether we can find an area in the brain that shows higher activity if they are exposed to a warmer than to a colder object,” she said.

她说：“我们尝试在大脑中找到一个区域，测试当他们暴露在温暖的环境中，大脑活动是否会比暴露在寒冷的环境中更活跃。”

Brain scans showed increased brain activity when dogs were shown objects that were warmer than their surroundings.

脑部扫描显示，当狗看到比周围环境更温暖的物体时，它们的脑部活动会增强。

“It is possible that other carnivorans possess a similar infrared sense and that adds a new chapter to the story of prey-predator relationships,” said Ronald Kroger, a sensory scientist at Lund University.

隆德大学的感官科学家罗纳德·克罗格说:“其他食肉动物也可能具有类似的红外线感应能力，这为食肉动物与被捕食动物之间的关系揭开了新的一页。”

Among the dogs involved in the test were golden retrievers and border collies.

参与测试的狗包括金毛猎犬和边境牧羊犬。