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Dogs Really Love Owners, New Study Finds

A man carries his two dogs at a street market in Shanghai, China. Reuters file photo
A man carries his two dogs at a street market in Shanghai, China. Reuters file photo
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Dogs Really Love Owners, New Study Finds

A man carries his two dogs at a street market in Shanghai, China. Reuters file photo
A man carries his two dogs at a street market in Shanghai, China. Reuters file photo

Any dog owner will tell you that their pooch knows when it's time for a walk, a meal or snuggle. But new research commissioned by Canine Cottages, shows just how much dogs love their owners.

During the study, special heart rate tracking collars were fitted to four different dogs and the change in their heartbeat was tracked when owners interacted with them. Combining the heart rate tracking data from the four dogs over seven days, the researchers found that their average heart rate was 67bpm, The Metro reported.

However, when their owners told their four-legged friends they loved them, their heart rate jumped by a huge 46 percent to 98bpm, which just shows how excited they were to hear their owners' voices.

In comparison, when having cuddles with their owner, the average heart rate decreased by 23 percent from 67bpm to 52bpm, showing how relaxed and comfortable they were when getting affection.

Shannon Keary, campaigns manager at Canine Cottages, commented: "In the UK we are a nation of dog lovers, but although we know how much we love our pets, we've never really known if, or how, our dogs show their affection for us, which is why we conducted this research.”

“It's amazing to see that our dogs' heart rates increase when they are told they are loved, showing excitement, and decreases when having cuddles, showing contentedness. It's also interesting to see all the weird and wonderful ways our pets show their love for us. From this data, we can now officially say that our dogs really do love us."

Canine Cottages also tracked the owners' heart rates to see how much this compares with that of their pet, and discovered their heart rate increased by 10 percent on average when they saw their dog after being away from them for a period of time. So we may not be as excitable as man's best friend, but it's clear that owners really do love their dogs.

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Food Grown with Fewer Chemicals? A Brazilian Scientist Wins $500,000 for Showing the Way 

This undated image provided by the World Food Prize, shows Dr. Mariangela Hungria. (Antonio Neto/World Food Prize via AP)
This undated image provided by the World Food Prize, shows Dr. Mariangela Hungria. (Antonio Neto/World Food Prize via AP)
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Food Grown with Fewer Chemicals? A Brazilian Scientist Wins $500,000 for Showing the Way 

This undated image provided by the World Food Prize, shows Dr. Mariangela Hungria. (Antonio Neto/World Food Prize via AP)
This undated image provided by the World Food Prize, shows Dr. Mariangela Hungria. (Antonio Neto/World Food Prize via AP)

A Brazilian scientist who pushed back against chemical fertilizers and researched biologically based approaches to more robust food production has been honored with this year’s World Food Prize, the organization announced Tuesday.

Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria's research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse, an accomplishment that has now won her $500,000 from the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation. Hungria has been researching biological seed and soil treatments for 40 years and has worked with Brazilian farmers to implement her findings.

"I still cannot believe it. Everybody said, my whole life, it's improbable, you are going the wrong way, just go to things like chemicals and so on. And then, I received the most important prize in the world of agriculture," Hungria said in an interview. "Sometimes I still think I'll wake up and see that it's not true."

Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to dramatically increase crop yields and reduce the threat of starvation in many countries, founded the World Food Prize. Since the first prize was handed out in 1987, 55 people have been honored.

Hungria said she grew up wanting to alleviate hunger. Early in her career, she decided to focus on a process called biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil bacteria could be used to promote plant growth. At that time, farmers in Brazil and around the world were reluctant to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilizers, which dramatically increase crop production but lead to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutes waterways.

Hungria studied how bacteria can interact with plant roots to naturally produce nitrogen. She then demonstrated her work on test plots and began working directly with farmers to convince them that they wouldn't have to sacrifice high crop yields if they switched to a biological process.

The work is credited for increasing yields of several crops, including wheat, corn and beans, but it has been especially affective on soybeans. Brazil has since become the world's largest soybean producer, surpassing the United States and Argentina.

Although Hungria's research could be applied on farms in other countries, soybean production in the US is different than it is in Brazil; American farmers typically rotate crops on their land between growing corn and soybeans. Enough nitrate fertilizer applied to corn still remains in the soil when soybeans are planted that little or no fertilizer needs to be applied, Hungria said.

Brazilian agricultural companies have faced fierce criticism for clearing forested land to create farmland, largely to grow soybeans.

Much of that criticism is justified, Hungria said, but she added that her biological approach builds up the soil and makes further encroachment into forested areas less necessary.

"If you manage the crop well, the crop will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Soil health improves if you do the right things," she said.

Hungria will be awarded her prize at an annual October gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, of agricultural researchers and officials from around the world.

Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, credited Hungria for her "extraordinary scientific achievements" that have transformed agriculture in South America.

"Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertilizer inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad," Ejeta said in a statement.