<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:large;color:#000000">They are exploring the possibility that the cats smell something about dying people. bill w</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Oct 11, 2020 at 6:01 AM Henrik Ohrstrom via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0.2px"> And there are cats that can tell if someone is dying (nursing home data).</span> </div><div> <br></div>Anyone working with old and sick people learn to recognize the signs of dying, not likely hard for the cats too learn too. <div>Also many cats try to console sad or sick humans. Buut the extra care given to the dying might also be the reason..</div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">Den tors 8 okt. 2020 kl 21:57 skrev Dan TheBookMan via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org" target="_blank">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>>:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 6:10 PM William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat<br>
<<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org" target="_blank">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<br>
> A pilot scheme involving 4 sniffer dogs at Helsinki airport indicated that<br>
> dogs can detect the presence of the virus in less than 10 seconds with<br>
> nearly 100% accuracy. (from Nature)<br>
><br>
> That's before symptoms arise. So what's next? Bears? They have the<br>
> best noses of any animal in America. And there are cats that can tell if<br>
> someone is dying (nursing home data). Why don't we make more use<br>
> of the abilities animals have that we don't? Bears looking into ...... bill w<br>
<br>
You're restricting animals to mammals. The male silkmoth has mammals<br>
and all vertebrates beat. Supposedly, it can detect a single molecule<br>
of scent from a distant female.<br>
<br>
But if the dogs can detect with near 100% accuracy in this area -- and<br>
dogs are widely available and already easy to handle and train -- why<br>
go looking for better scent detectors in the animal kingdom? Bears are<br>
harder to train and far fewer are tame and ready for duty.<br>
<br>
By the way, I thought the nursing home data on cats was ambiguous. Not<br>
doubting their ability to smell or pick up on other subtle clues. But<br>
I thought there was also things like putting heating blankets on dying<br>
patients -- where cats go for warmth so it might not be clear they're<br>
smelling death as opposed to simply seeking a comfortably warm area to<br>
rest.<br>
<br>
In the end, though, I imagine technology will beat animal abilities here.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Dan<br>
Sample my Kindle books via:<br>
<a href="http://author.to/DanUst" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://author.to/DanUst</a><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
extropy-chat mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org" target="_blank">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a><br>
<a href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat</a><br>
</blockquote></div>
_______________________________________________<br>
extropy-chat mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org" target="_blank">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a><br>
<a href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat</a><br>
</blockquote></div>