World News Korner

Finally, science is proving what we here at msnNOW have been saying all along: Dogs are people, too. Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University, writes in the New York Times that he used an MRI machine set up in his living room to monitor the brain activity of a dozen dogs, including his own black terrier Callie. Berns writes that results showed dogs' caudate nucleus, the part of the brain that registers positive anticipation, functions similarly to humans'.

"In dogs, we found that activity in the caudate increased in response to hand signals indicating food," Berns writes. "The caudate also activated to the smells of familiar humans. And in preliminary tests, it activated to the return of an owner who had momentarily stepped out of view."

Berns' conclusion: Dogs experience positive emotions, and he believes they have the same level of sentience as human children. Of course, we've been saying that for a while — but it's nice of Berns to confirm. [Source]