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Science-Backed Tips: Six Simple Ways to Enhance Your Dog’s Life Instantly

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My dog, Pepper, is a carefree senior who cherishes bedtime. While his treat might be a motivating factor, he genuinely enjoys the time when we all settle down for the night. He loves short walks, where he takes his time to sniff around.

He also gets excited to see the horses in the nearby fields (which sometimes earns him an extra treat, especially since he used to be scared of them). Many dogs may have their preferences, but these are definitely Pepper’s favorites.

When considering ways to enhance your dog’s life, think about what is commonly important for dogs in general, but also tailor it to your individual pet’s likes.

1. Improve the “scent”

A key principle of enrichment is that it should cater to the primary sense of an animal. For dogs, that sense is smell. Research shows that scent-trained dogs exhibit greater optimism compared to those engaged in other reward-based activities.

This finding comes from a study published in Applied Animal Behavior Science, where dogs participated in a two-week class involving either scent work or heel training, followed by judgment bias tests before and after the sessions.

The tests measured how quickly dogs approached an ambiguous bowl placed between locations where food is regularly found versus places where it is never present (the idea being that optimistic dogs expect to find food and reach the bowl faster).

During off-leash walks, allow your dog to utilize his nose. Even on-leash walks, let them explore and sniff around.

Consider scattering treats in safe grassy areas, encouraging your dog to find them using his nose. You can also invest in or create a snuffle mat (a thick rug designed to hide treats); use it around your home when your dog isn’t looking. Alternatively, enroll in a scent class, which can be particularly beneficial for reactive dogs that may respond to certain stimuli with behaviors often mistaken for aggression.

2. Use a variety of snacks

Enhance the rewards used during training. While food is a powerful reinforcement, avoid relying solely on kibble. Experiment with a variety of treats and human snacks like chicken, roast beef, and cheese.

Studies have indicated that dogs are quicker to approach bowls known to contain sausage rather than those with kibble. So, keep in mind that the type of reward matters to them.

Some dogs may prefer a single type of treat, resembling their typical variety over time. Engaging in quick play sessions can also serve as a substantial reward for certain dogs.

If you haven’t adopted a reward-based training approach, it’s time to make a switch. Tools like leashes, prong collars, and shock collars are associated with risks to dog welfare.

3. Make your playtime social

If your dog enjoys the company of other dogs, seek out opportunities for social play. Play is crucial for dogs—especially young ones. Ideally, puppies should participate in closely supervised play sessions in puppy classes to learn about gentle biting and other physical skills.

Play also fulfills an essential social function. While watching your dog play, notice signs like bouncing steps, playful facial expressions, and play bows (where the front legs are on the ground and the back legs are lifted).

Photo credit: Getty

Watch for changes in play activity, such as dogs chasing each other. Older dogs may play less and often prefer to hang out with other dogs instead of engaging in roughhousing or chasing.

If your dog isn’t fond of unfamiliar dogs, stick to interactions with dogs they already enjoy. Conversely, if they don’t particularly like other dogs, spend more time playing with them yourself—it’s also an excellent way to satisfy their playtime needs.

4. Give your dog a safe space

When your dog needs to unwind, provide them with a safe space. This could be a dog bed in a quiet area or a crate with the door left open. Such spaces are vital, particularly in homes with children, or for dogs that may be shy or fearful.

Ensure everyone in the household respects these boundaries. Allow dogs to enter and exit their safe space as they wish and refrain from bothering them. If you need to encourage them out of their safe area, call them rather than forcing them.

5. Get a decent dog bed

Dogs spend a lot of time sleeping, so investing in a quality dog bed is worthwhile. They may not need to mimic your sofa or bed, so disregard assumptions about not letting them on furniture.

Older dogs sleep more than younger adults and might suffer from issues like arthritis, so consider beds that are lower to the ground (for easy access) or provide steps or ramps for reaching furniture.

6. Discover your dog’s preferences

A great tip is to engage in activities that both you and your dog enjoy. Does your dog prefer fetching, pulling, or chasing games? They might also enjoy playing with flirt poles (toys designed for interactive play, akin to cat wands but for dogs) due to their predatory instincts.

Does your dog favor hiking through woods, or visiting parks with splash ponds? Perhaps they just want to cuddle on the couch while watching TV.

Preferences vary by individual dog, so don’t make assumptions. Pay attention to what excites them. Participating in shared activities and spending quality time together can strengthen the bond between humans and their dogs.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

AI Can Clone Faces Instantly: Is There Cause for Concern?

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Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) has simplified the process of creating digital doppelgangers.

For decades, AI tools have been programmed to generate faces. The face was chosen as a primary focus for testing capabilities due to multiple factors.

Firstly, the structure and layout of human faces are relatively consistent, making them ideal for early AI learning. There is also an abundance of facial images available online, providing more data for AI to train on.

Importantly, the choice to focus on facial recognition stemmed from its familiarity. Humans are highly skilled at recognizing and interpreting faces, while assessing the accuracy of AI-generated images of landscapes or buildings can pose challenges.

This is why studies showcasing AI’s ability to create hyper-realistic synthetic faces have continually garnered significant attention.

Consequently, AI has evolved into a facial recognition expert. Today, it can analyze live video footage, precisely identify facial features, and transition seamlessly between different pre-learned faces, including those of celebrities and public figures.

Moreover, users can adjust lighting and create exaggerated facial expressions. The “Deepfake” technology successfully mimics these effects.

Additionally, with a collection of images showing faces from various angles, AI has the capability to generate double the number of faces, enabling overlays on existing images. With such doppelgänger technology, anyone can effectively become you.

Best of all, this technology is freely accessible to anyone who knows how to install and operate it on a standard computer.

While creating a digital doppelgänger may require a certain skill level, it’s not difficult to find user-friendly software. However, these advancements raise significant concerns for privacy and verification.

This article addresses the inquiry (submitted by Julian Fisher via email) “How can I easily create my digital doppelganger?”

Please email us with your questions at Question @sciencefocus.com or reach out via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram Page (please include your name and location).

Explore our ultimate Fun fact and discover more fascinating science content.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Australia Hesitated, But Can Robots Deliver Your Pizza Instantly?

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rZiping paths may seem advanced, but they are increasingly becoming a part of delivery jobs globally.

Retail and food industries are leveraging robots for various purposes. A hazard detection robot has been spotted in a Woolworths store, and virtual waiters are cooking in understaffed restaurant kitchens to serve hungry diners in recent years.

Abroad, particularly in states like California, robots are more commonplace in daily life. Following initial self-driving vehicle tests in cities like San Francisco, humans now share sidewalks with robots.


It’s similar to a wheel locker, as robotics partners with Uber Eats and DoorDash deploys an army of robots on Los Angeles sidewalks for take-out meals and groceries.

Delivery robots have also been delivering meals in Europe for years. Countries like Sweden, Finland, and the UK allow customers to summon robots through food delivery apps.

However, autonomous robots are still a rarity in the Australian market.

One of the main obstacles hindering this technology in Australia is the uncertainty surrounding the legal status and safety of delivery robots.

When Australia trialed a robotic “mobile parcel locker” in Brisbane in 2017, its effectiveness was questioned as it required human accompaniment and could only transport one parcel at a time.

In contrast to drone food delivery, the trial went ahead, but the legal status of robots remains undetermined.

Christine Eldridge, an attorney specializing in automobile accidents, noted that robots fall under various road and sidewalk regulations, creating foggy areas across states and local councils.

She compared the limitations faced by delivery robots to those of e-scooters.

The absence of legal guidelines for these emerging vehicles means they are commonly allowed in public spaces, except in certain council areas conducting trials.


On March 5th, 2024, an Uber Eats food delivery robot was seen navigating pedestrians during a media demonstration in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Kajiyama Shiyama/AP

“For instance, current laws concerning liability and compensation do not adequately address robotics. The law is struggling to keep pace with technology,” she remarked.

“It’s quite the minefield,” said Eldridge.

Hussein Deer, a future mobility professor at Swinburne University, concurred, asserting the current legal landscape is ambiguous.

“There is no legislation stating they’re permitted, nor is there any stating they’re forbidden,” Deer mentioned.

The federal government is working on a comprehensive legal framework for self-driving vehicles, including those transporting passengers, with regulations expected by 2026.

DIA aims to “accept more risks” with announced regulations to help Australia keep pace with overseas advancements and “demystify” technology for pedestrians and other road users.

“Evidence suggests that they are remarkably safe.”


Creating spaces where self-driving cars and robots can co-exist with pedestrians and drivers requires extensive planning, including adjustments to streets, sidewalks, and terrain.

Moreover, utilizing a robot mandates adherence to slow speeds, generally below 10 km/h, combined with various sensors to detect obstacles and potential hazards, halting the device accordingly.

Reducing Pollution, Traffic, and Labor Costs

Once challenges are addressed, delivery robots can offer substantial advantages.

“In city centers, vehicles that pollute and exacerbate traffic can be substituted, freeing up parking spaces.”

Professor Michael Bell from the Institute for Transport and Logistics at the University of Sydney believes that Australia trails behind in utilizing delivery robots compared to densely populated foreign cities with simpler terrain. He noted that agriculture and mining are currently leading the way for robotics in Australia.

The attractiveness of delivery robots lies in their potential to lower labor costs, streamline elevator navigation to meet couriers at high-rise entrances, and enhance efficiency in controlled environments like university campuses.


The Connected Autonomous Vehicle team at Monash University has created delivery robots tailored for defined areas such as campuses, industrial zones, shopping centers, and hospitals. Photo: Eugene Highland/Guardian

“Courier delivery is costly, so there is an economic incentive here. Any situation that reduces delivery time will be appealing,” Bell said.

Kate Lötel, an associate professor at the Peter Faber Business School at Australian Catholic University, anticipates that robots will lead to more affordable delivery solutions.

“In the end, we may witness a shift towards reduced or tiered service delivery based on whether items are transported by land, air, humans, or technology-assisted humans,” she stated.

“Initially, we may not see changes in costs but rather an increase in value for customers by addressing general inconveniences associated with deliveries,” she added.

Nevertheless, emerging technologies also bring challenges. As cheaper and more accessible delivery through robots and drones becomes a reality, researchers anticipate that Australians will have a higher junk food intake, affecting public health.

Local Innovation

The unclear legal status of delivery robots in Australia hasn’t stifled local innovation. Startups are focusing on implementing technology in private settings.

A group of student engineers from the Connected Autonomous Vehicle team at Monash University has designed delivery robots specifically for circumscribed areas, including campuses, industrial parks, shopping centers, and hospitals.

A robot named Ari operates at speeds up to 6 km/h and stands around 1 meter tall, equipped with a set of camera-like sensors for navigation.

ARIs utilize these sensors for communication, moving between restaurants where employees load orders to customers, eliminating the need for a stable internet connection.

Monash University ARI Robot Activities

Monash University ARI robots in action.

This setup entails significant initial costs in deploying a network of sensors, but it ultimately leads to lower costs for individual robots, making them easier to scale.

The notion is that in high-density environments, multiple cameras can be installed simultaneously, making it more economical as demand rises.

Moreover, ARI boasts features that its creators trust in.

The heated and cooled compartments enable each ARI robot to deliver multiple orders while maintaining the appropriate temperatures. This ensures that pizza arrives hot, ice cream stays frozen, and medicine arrives safely.

ARI has begun distributing foods like burgers and burritos throughout Monash University’s Clayton campus, with plans to commercialize the technology underway.

More than just labor savings, 24-year-old inventor John Bui noted that temperature-controlled compartments give ARIs an edge over competing robots and traditional delivery personnel.

“Imagine receiving a hot coffee or warm burrito,” Bui expressed.

Ultimately, beyond legal and technical limitations, behavioral and psychological factors also pose significant barriers to the adoption of delivery robots.

“There is already tension between pedestrians and e-scooter riders; it’s expected that someone walking late at night might confront a delivery robot while picking up pizza,” Deer suggested.

“Of course, there are locks to protect the food, but I hope people treat these robots with respect.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

AI Predicts Weather Instantly Without a Supercomputer

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Thunderstorms in Indonesia seen from the International Space Station

NASA EARTH OBSERVATORATORY / INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)

Its creators claim that AI weather programs running for a second on the desktop can match the accuracy of traditional predictions that take hours or days on a powerful supercomputer.

Weather forecasts rely on physics-based models that extrapolate from observations made using satellites, balloons and weather stations since the 1950s. However, these calculations, known as numerical weather forecasts (NWPs), are highly concentrated and rely on vast, expensive, energy-hungry supercomputers.

In recent years, researchers have tried to streamline this process by applying AI. Last year, Google Scientists created an AI tool that could replace a small chunk of complex code in each cell of a weather model, dramatically reducing computer power. DeepMind later went further by doing this, using AI to replace the entire prediction. This approach is adopted by European Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). The tool has been launched Last month it was called the Artificial Intelligence Prediction System.

However, this gradual expansion of the role of AI in weather forecasting has not replaced the calculation of all traditional figures – the new model created by Richard Turner Cambridge University and his colleagues are looking for change.

Turner says that previous work was limited to prediction and passed a step called initialization. There, data from satellites, balloons and weather stations around the world is collated, washed, manipulated and integrated into an organized grid where predictions can begin. “It’s actually half the computational resource,” Turner says.

The researchers created a model called Aardvark Weather. This replaces both the prediction and initialization stages for the first time. It uses only 10% of the input data that existing systems make, but achieves results comparable to the latest NWP predictions. Turner and his colleagues report in a study assessing the method.

Generating a perfect prediction that takes hours or days on a powerful NWP prediction supercomputer can be done in about a second on a single desktop computer using Aardvark.

However, Aardvark uses a grid model of the Earth’s surface with a square cell of 1.5 degrees, while ECMWF’s ERA5 model uses a grid with cells. 0.3 degrees smaller. This means that Aardvark’s model is too rough to pick up complex and unexpected weather patterns, David Schultz At the University of Manchester, UK.

“There are a lot of unresolved things that could blow up predictions,” Schultz says. “They don’t represent any extremes at all. They can’t solve it on this scale.”

Turner argues that Aardvark can actually beat some existing models. However, he acknowledges that AI models like him also rely entirely on these physics-based models. “It’s absolutely not working just to steal training data and train with observational data,” he says. “We tried to do that and did a complete modelless physics, but it didn’t work.”

He believes the future of weather forecasting could be scientists working on more accurate physics-based models. This is used to train AI models that replicate output faster and with less hardware. Some are even more optimistic about the AI ​​outlook.

Nikita Gouryanov At Oxford University, we believe that AI will eventually be able to produce weather forecasts that actually exceed NWP. They are trained solely on observational and historical weather data, and produce accurate predictions that are completely independent of the NWP, he says. “It’s a matter of scale, but also a matter of smartness. You have to be smart about how you deliver data and how you build the structure of a neural network.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com