Everyone believes in the iron of the friendship of humans and dogs. Some people even love and trust dogs more than humans. At the same time, dogs do not shy away from sacrificing their lives for their owner. But did you know that this love of dogs and humans begins not with today's but with the history and development of human civilization? Now some scientists have opened up the secret of this friendship.
One study shows that dogs have a special gene that reduces their stress. It is only active when it is near humans. This gives them more comfort around people. Scientists have claimed that the exact reason for how dogs became man's best friends has been discovered. The answer to this question lies in the genes of dogs.
It has historically been argued that domesticating dogs was an evolutionary process that began with wolves in Southeast Asia about 33,000 years ago. But one study shows that dogs have a particular gene that reduces their stress, giving them more comfort around people. Research says it enabled a special relationship to develop between a man and a dog.
According to a news report published in Newsweek, Japanese researchers said that dogs have two mutations of a gene known as MC2R (melanocortin 2 receptor). This gene produces the hormone cortisol, nature's underlying alarm system that is released during fear or anxiety. Professor Miho Nagasawa of Ajabu University, co-author of the study, said, "These findings mean that MC2R played a role in domesticating dogs, perhaps by promoting lower levels of stress around humans."
Nagasawa and his colleagues conducted the research using two tasks to take on 624 domestic dogs, and first of all, the dog had to decide under which bowl the food was hidden, such as gazing, pointing and tapping. This experiment tested animals' understanding of human gestures and communication. While the other saw social attachment to humans. The dogs were given a problem-solving test, which involved attempting to open a container for them to access food. The main purpose of the study was to measure how often and for how long the dog watched the researchers.
Dogs were divided into two groups based on their breed – the ancient group (which includes breeds considered genetically close to wolves such as Akita and Siberian Husky) and the general group (all other breeds that are more genetically distant from wolves). The study found that dogs in the ancient group viewed the researchers less often than other dogs during the problem-solving task, suggesting that they were less connected to humans. The researchers found that there was no significant difference between breeds in the first task. They then looked for differences in genes associated with human-related cognitive abilities between groups.
According to the findings, two changes in the melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R) gene were associated with accurately interpreting gestures in the first task and seeing scientists more often in the problem-solving task. The researchers say this suggests that genes may have played a role in domesticating dogs.
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