Evolution is occurring practically right before our eyes.

‘Puppy dog eyes’ evolved so dogs could communicate with us

‘Puppy dog eyes’ have evolved to appeal to humans

Many, many facial expressions and other body language occurs widely among mammals, that we humans seem easily to understand.  This research focused on just one.

“That look,” that occurs so often in dogs, does not occur in gray wolves, today’s descendants of the species from which dogs originally came.

Researchers conclude that, in ancient times, human beings chose canines that displayed this look, that humans find so appealing, to keep and to breed; and chose to release those that did not display it, back into the wild.  So, gradually, all domesticated canines came to have it.

I want fMRI scan comparisons of the brains of wolves and dogs, to see what differences in structure are at work here; and fMRI scans of dogs and humans, to see what is going on in each, when dogs display this look and humans respond.

Notably, the researchers did not examine the head-turning that normally also occurs when dogs or other creatures display this look.

These things may inform the possibility that different races of human beings evolved differently.

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