0:00:02 > 0:00:04BOTH: We are Dr Chris and Dr Xand van Tulleken.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08- And we track down the most awesome...- incredible...
0:00:08 > 0:00:10BOTH: ..living things in the universe!
0:00:21 > 0:00:26BOTH: Come with us and discover unbelievable things that will...
0:00:28 > 0:00:33Blow Your Mind will be bringing you the top experts on the planet -
0:00:33 > 0:00:35from icebergs to elephants,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38- spaceships to sharks.- Look at that!
0:00:38 > 0:00:41And this week it's all about amazing animals.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44So, hold on to your brains, here's what's coming up.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Today we're investigating the amazing secrets
0:00:47 > 0:00:50of the animal we know best of all - dogs.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54We'll meet a pooch with an incredible superpower...
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and a real-life dog that can tell the time?!
0:00:59 > 0:01:02This is Millie. As you can see, Millie's a dog.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06What we're interested in, is that dog actually have superpowers.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Like flying or zapping cats with laser eyes?
0:01:09 > 0:01:11No. That's NOT what I meant.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14What if I was to ask you how do dogs smell?
0:01:14 > 0:01:17This one smells damp with a hint of dog food.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18True. But apart from that,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22I'm interested in how dogs have an incredible sense of smell.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25All dogs have got amazing noses,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29but some dogs have got absolutely incredible sniffing power.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Let's find out what happened
0:01:31 > 0:01:34when our friend Chris Packham went to Northern Ireland
0:01:34 > 0:01:37to see Fern the sniffer dog at work.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Neil Powell trains sniffer dogs,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44and one of his top performers is Fern.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Fern usually works for the Search And Rescue Dog Association,
0:01:49 > 0:01:54but today she'll try and sniff out something Neil has hidden.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58What's extraordinary is that it's not on dry land -
0:01:58 > 0:02:00it's in the lake.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02It's underwater.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Let's get this straight. You've been out this morning
0:02:05 > 0:02:08- and hidden a lure in the lake...- Mmm.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12..and we're going to go out and she'll sniff it and find it?
0:02:12 > 0:02:17Yes. About two hours ago we hid a small canister in 20ft of water.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19It's got pork meat in it.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21I know where it is, but she doesn't.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23So, we'll search the lake with her,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26and hopefully get within 30ft of it.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28- Come on, then, Fern.- Let's go.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30I really do need to see this.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Can a dog really smell something on the bottom of a lake
0:02:34 > 0:02:36in pouring rain and strong winds?
0:02:36 > 0:02:38It sounds impossible!
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Neil and the dive team know where the canister is hidden
0:02:44 > 0:02:46because they fixed a GPS position on it
0:02:46 > 0:02:49when they dropped it into the lake.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52The question is - can Fern find it?
0:02:52 > 0:02:54So, you're saying that Fern
0:02:54 > 0:02:58will be able to detect a tiny piece of meat
0:02:58 > 0:03:00hidden inside a tin can,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02sunk in the middle of a lake,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05outdoors, on a rainy, windy day? No way.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Well, she certainly thinks she can. Is she right?
0:03:10 > 0:03:15- CHRIS P:- The team systematically criss-crosses the lake
0:03:15 > 0:03:18so that at some point Fern will find herself
0:03:18 > 0:03:21directly downwind of the sunken canister -
0:03:21 > 0:03:23but will she pick up the scent?
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Only the tiniest quantities of chemicals from the meat
0:03:27 > 0:03:30might reach the surface,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34and almost all of it will get blown away.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38And yet, around 10 minutes after we start...
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- Fern senses something. - FERN BARKS
0:03:43 > 0:03:47She's got the scent, but how are you going to know
0:03:47 > 0:03:49when we are in the closest possible spot?
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Once you're right over top of it,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53you'll see her go over the side more
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and really focus on the water.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59See, there!
0:03:59 > 0:04:03- See that?- Yeah. - Bring her round there, John.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06'Fern has made it quite clear where SHE thinks
0:04:06 > 0:04:08'the source of the smell is.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12'There's only one way to know if Fern's chosen the correct spot.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15'The dive team check it against the GPS fix
0:04:15 > 0:04:18'they took when they threw the canister into the water,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23'and, unbelievably, Fern is bang on top of it!
0:04:23 > 0:04:26'The diver's final job is to retrieve the canister,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29'but the lake bed has a surprise -
0:04:29 > 0:04:33'the bottom is a metre of soft silt,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35'and the canister has sunk right into it.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40'So, amazingly, Fern hasn't just sniffed the lure
0:04:40 > 0:04:42'through 6m of water,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45'but also through a metre of mud as well.'
0:04:45 > 0:04:48What an absolutely astonishing thing!
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Now, I've seen animals over the years
0:04:51 > 0:04:53pull off some remarkable feats,
0:04:53 > 0:04:59but this has been something else, it really has.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02I cannot believe that. That is totally amazing.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05I told you, dogs have super smelling power.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07What do you think she got as a reward?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09A gold trophy? A cuddle? A cat?
0:05:09 > 0:05:13- Nope. A stinky old tennis ball. - Stinky tennis ball?- Here you go!
0:05:13 > 0:05:15What a clever girl!
0:05:15 > 0:05:16Good girl!
0:05:18 > 0:05:20That has really blown my mind.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24How faint must the smell of the meat on the surface of the lake have been!
0:05:24 > 0:05:28It's like being able to taste one teaspoon of sugar
0:05:28 > 0:05:30in two Olympic swimming pools full of tea.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Dogs really do have a super sense of smell.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40What if I told you dogs could do something even more amazing?
0:05:40 > 0:05:43What would you say if I told you
0:05:43 > 0:05:46that dogs could smell the time?
0:05:46 > 0:05:50I'd say, "No-one believes that, Xand. It's lies and rubbish."
0:05:50 > 0:05:52That's what I thought. Look at this.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Meet the owners of Jazz, the Hungarian Visler.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Stop licking my ear.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04They're convinced that Jazz knows exactly when his master Johnny
0:06:04 > 0:06:06is about to come home.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10And to witness this we've left cameras running
0:06:10 > 0:06:13all over their house for a week.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15The family have a regular routine.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20Christine and Johnny leave the house at the same time in the morning,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23leaving Jazz to his own devices.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25DOG BARKS
0:06:25 > 0:06:29And every evening, Christine comes home at four o'clock.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Hello!
0:06:32 > 0:06:36But it's what Jazz does next that really interests us.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Every evening at around 4.40pm,
0:06:40 > 0:06:4320 minutes or so before Johnny comes home,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Jazz always leaps up on the sofa
0:06:46 > 0:06:48as if he is waiting for him.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Between 4.30pm and 5pm,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Jazz is always looking out for Johnny.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59It seems Jazz somehow knows that Johnny is coming home.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02I don't think this is so impressive.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Johnny comes home at the same time every day,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07so Jazz knows when he'll come.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10But dogs can't tell the time. He can't look at a clock.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Now, it could just be that Christine coming home
0:07:17 > 0:07:19sets Jazz's clock.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21We know it's not because he needs dinner,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25or his walkies, because Christine's dealt with that.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31There is a theory that a dog's sense of smell could play a role.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Whilst Johnny's out of the house,
0:07:33 > 0:07:38the smell he leaves behind fades at a regular rate,
0:07:38 > 0:07:43so could it be that when Johnny's scent drops to a particular level,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Jazz senses he's about to return?
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Hello, boy!
0:07:49 > 0:07:50Hello, son!
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Hey, there, Jazzy boy.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56That makes sense. I can smell when you've been around.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59People's smell does hang around, even after they've gone,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03and dogs can detect that, although people can't.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05So you're saying Jazz knows Johnny is due home
0:08:05 > 0:08:09because his smell has dropped below a certain level?
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Some scientists do think that,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13so we decided to put it to the test.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15- CHRIS P:- To test this theory,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18at the end of the week we made a change.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22On her way home, Christine swung by Johnny's football club
0:08:22 > 0:08:25to get some of his freshly worn T-shirts.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Then, when she got back at her usual time,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35she wafted them around the living room
0:08:35 > 0:08:37to spread Johnny's smell around.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40If Jazz is using the fading smell of Johnny
0:08:40 > 0:08:42to sense the passage of time,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46this should be the equivalent of resetting the clock.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50So, will Jazz still know what time it is?
0:08:50 > 0:08:53We use Johnny's clothes to stop his scent dropping
0:08:53 > 0:08:56and confuse Jazz about when he's coming home.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Right. Will Jazz, TODAY, know when Johnny's due home?
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Will he get up at 4.40pm,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04like he usually does, and go to the window?
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Let's see.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11It's now less than half an hour before Johnny normally comes home.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15But for the first time Jazz stays dozing.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21It's now for 4.48pm...
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Jazz only lifted his head for about 30 seconds,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27he's lying flat-out again,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30enjoying the heat at the radiator.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Now, Johnny's back
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and, to Jazz, it seems to come
0:09:39 > 0:09:42as a complete surprise!
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Now, Jazz doesn't wear a watch
0:09:45 > 0:09:47and he can't read a clock,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49but he can still tell the time
0:09:49 > 0:09:51using his sense of smell.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54So that's amazing.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Although time was invented by people
0:09:57 > 0:09:59to tell us when to go to bed and get up,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- and watch Blow Your Mind on CBBC... - I love that show!
0:10:02 > 0:10:06..now dogs can use their sense of smell to tell the time
0:10:06 > 0:10:08and fit in with their owners' routines.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12If I worked on my sense of smell, could I use it to tell the time?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14No, you definitely couldn't.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Dogs have got amazing and completely different noses to us.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- Are you ready for the science bit?- Always.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Dogs' noses are nothing like ours.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29Each nostril can be controlled independently, allowing dogs
0:10:29 > 0:10:33to detect precisely the direction a smell is coming from.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37And what goes on inside is even more amazing.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Dogs split the flow of air into two separate streams,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44one for breathing and one for smelling,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47so they can do both at the same time.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Their world is a complex,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52finely tuned, sensitive, smell-scape.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56They can sniff out things that are too far away to see,
0:10:56 > 0:10:57or that are hidden,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00and they can pick up the faintest scent in the air.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04So one reason dogs can do this amazing stuff with their noses,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07is because they can use each nostril independently,
0:11:07 > 0:11:12rather like our ears, or our eyes - they can see or hear, but with smell.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15We know how dogs' noses work, but what about their brains?
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Finding out about dogs' brains is at the cutting edge of science.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Take a look at this.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25- CHRIS P:- In Atlanta, neuroscientist Greg Burns
0:11:25 > 0:11:28is adapting a harmless medical technique
0:11:28 > 0:11:31to study brain activity in dogs.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33The need to keep still
0:11:33 > 0:11:38makes it impossible to scan most animals, unless they're sedated.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Not a good way to study their brains!
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Greg has teamed up with Mark Spivak
0:11:45 > 0:11:48to devise a programme to train dogs
0:11:48 > 0:11:51for the bizarre conditions they will face.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54The key is a steady supply of snacks.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57After scanning many dogs,
0:11:57 > 0:12:02Greg's results show the area of the dog's brain that responds.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04So, Kady's in the scanner now,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and Patricia is giving Kady hand signals.
0:12:07 > 0:12:13So, we've already taught the dogs, with practice, this means food. OK?
0:12:13 > 0:12:16So every time Patricia puts the signal up,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20we are going to be looking in her brain for what that response is.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23We're going to be looking for a very specific area
0:12:23 > 0:12:25called the caudate nucleus.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29We also have another hand signal, like this,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and that means no reward.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35If we look very closely,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39we find that the area that's common to all the dogs
0:12:39 > 0:12:43corresponds exactly to the same part of the human brain
0:12:43 > 0:12:45that responds to reward.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Rewards like money, music, food -
0:12:48 > 0:12:51all the things that humans like
0:12:51 > 0:12:53is also activating in the dog's brain.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57So, Kady's brain scan shows she reacts emotionally to the signals,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01because she associates it with getting something she likes - food.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06So, it seems exactly the same part of the brain in dogs AND humans
0:13:06 > 0:13:08is lit up when you get a reward.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10We're not so different, are we, Millie!
0:13:10 > 0:13:13- Apart from the hairy body. - Well...- And four legs.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- And they eat dog food. - I like dog food.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20And they've got amazing noses. So, we're VERY different to dogs.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Coming up this afternoon we have even more amazing stuff
0:13:24 > 0:13:26to blow your mind.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27We'll meet dogs'
0:13:27 > 0:13:30great-great-great-great grandparents - wolves.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32HOWLING
0:13:32 > 0:13:35We'll see how wolves go crazy for posh perfume,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39and will discover some of the cutest wolf cubs on the whole planet.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41So join us later to...