Scientific American Frontiers on PBS

Alan Alda and his canine co-host Tug explore several ways in which pets are being helped by technology and vice versa. In one segment, Alda explores how dogs sniff out bombs and land mines, and meets two Tufts researchers who have devised an “artificial dog's nose.” Alda also surveys dog nutrition at a pet-food company research center. And, at MIT, he meets a researcher who uses “virtual dog training” to study dog brains. Then he chats up a parrot named Alex, who's part of a “pet project.”