[Chefelf]

Study shows dogs able to smell cancer
Emma Ross

Sept. 24, 2004 |

LONDON (AP) -- It has long been suspected that man's best friend has a special ability to sense when something is wrong with us. Now the first experiment to verify that scientifically has demonstrated that dogs are able to smell cancer.

Experts say it's unlikely that pooches will become practical partners in cancer detection any time soon, but the results of the study, outlined this week in the British Medical Journal, are promising.

http://www.salon.com...s/index_np.html

I may have to reconsider my position on dogs now. To think that scientists have been holed up in laboratories for 50 years trying to find out the secrets of cancer and all along some dumb golden retriever can just smell it with its big stupid nose.

Thanks to Jen for this one!

[Jen]

Okay, I must protest -- this is not a CRAP news story. This is a news story that is totally fricking AWESOME! Did you read it?! The dogs pointed out a man that the doctors thought was healthy -- and he had a tumor in his liver! I am buying a dog immediately!

This post has been edited by Jen: 24 September 2004 - 08:51 AM

[Just your average movie goer]

I may have to reconsider my position on dogs now.

What? Before this, you didn't think much of dogs? For shame, Chef. Dogs are wonderful... and so much better than those two awful cats that are fighting outside my window right now. I may just go out there and knock them both out.

[Chefelf]

I am buying a dog immediately!

I'm waiting until dogs can treat cancer until I am convinced.

[K1NGWARREN]

Hey check out this link! It doesn't belong on this thread at all and has nothing to do with it, but I'm mentioning it just the same!

http://mdn.mainichi....3ringtones.html

EVERYONE can be a moderator! Why comment on the day's crappy news when you can just hijack the thread? Yay!

[Chefelf]

I think what K1NGWARREN is trying to say is... stay on topic. PM any of us if you have a good story.

[SimeSublime]

[/i] I am buying a dog immediately!

I hate to be pessimistic, but do you realise how much effort it takes to train a sniffer dog? From memory, it takes about six months of intensive training to get a dog to recognize and react to a specific scent. If takes that long per dog, can you imagine how expensive they will be?

[Jen]

Pish posh!

[SimeSublime]

[Heccubus]

There was an Eastern European country that was using dog saliva to sterilize wounds for a while. Apparently it kills a whole heap of bacteria without all the sting. Dogs have many practical uses in the medical field, it seems.

[Slade]

I won't be impressed until dogs can save the rain forest and the ozone layer at the same time. Pff... sniffing cancer. What exactly does it smell like to a dog, I wonder? I bet rotten tomatoes and ass, with just a hint of lavander and thyme.

[Jane Sherwood]

Would you believe it if I said I actually heard this exact same thing several years ago?

[barend]

smell? yeah, well rover, you wanna impress me start curing the damn thing... or is that up to cats now...

well cats this is your one chance to beat the dogs

[Just your average movie goer]

Cats will never beat dogs. They are useless in the field of helping people... unless you can eat them, of course.

[civilian_number_two]

I hate to be pessimistic, but do you realise how much effort it takes to train a sniffer dog? From memory, it takes about six months of intensive training to get a dog to recognize and react to a specific scent. If takes that long per dog, can you imagine how expensive they will be?

Pish posh!

Pish posh indeed! Do you know how expensive doctors are? And how long it takes to train them? Plus, after they're trained, you need to keep them in Rolexs and the occasional Lexus, while dogs will take a nice walk and a smelly bone over a car or a watch any day.

Hooray for dogs!