From Canine Cognition to Cosmic Collapse: Two Frontiers in Science Explored by Science Magazine

Science Magazine’s February 12, 2026 episode delves into two distinct frontiers of science. In the first segment, Kevin McLean and online news editor David Grimm visit Canine Companions to examine why more than half of service-dog training fails and how cognitive test batteries and estimated breeding values may streamline selecting dogs with the right roles. In the second segment, Keisha Loy Day discusses observing the birth of a stellar black hole in the nearby Andromeda galaxy, explaining how infrared data revealed a subtle brightening followed by disappearance and what this means for our understanding of which stars end their lives as black holes.

Overview

The episode combines a provocative look at how science-backed tools can improve real-world outcomes—training service dogs and understanding black-hole formation. The first half centers on the service-dog pipeline at Canine Companions, where breeding, puppy-raising, and two years of training cost substantial resources and where dropout rates linger around 50 percent. The second half shifts to astrophysics, presenting new observational evidence for the formation of a stellar-mass black hole in Andromeda.

Segment 1: Improving Service Dogs Through Cognitive Testing and EBVs

Hosts Yoke Kevin McLean and David Grimm explore how behavioral assessments in service-dog programs are being augmented with cognitive test batteries and concepts like estimated breeding values (EBVs) and genomically enhanced EBVs (GEBVs). The Canine Companions tour highlights a structured breeding program focused on Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers, aiming to predict which puppies will graduate and what specialized roles they might fulfill, from autism support to PTSD assistance. Emily Bray, the scientist overseeing testing, explains that the goal is to produce objective, repeatable metrics that can guide decisions across schools worldwide. "The goal is, can scientists come up with a handful of tests that are very objective, the scoring is very precise, and these can be repeated at a school anywhere in the world" - Emily Bray, scientist.

Segment 2: Observing a Stellar Black Hole in Andromeda

Keisha Loy Day and colleagues describe a near-field astronomical event: the rare formation of a stellar-mass black hole in the Andromeda galaxy, detected via a long-term infrared census. The data indicate a star brightened in infrared around 2015–2016, then faded in infrared, while the optical spectrum showed an extraordinary fade by a factor of about 10,000. Loy Day emphasizes that such observations can illuminate the process of black-hole formation and the fate of stars of modest mass, potentially transforming our understanding of stellar death and black-hole seeding. "Somewhere around 2015, 2016, the star brightened in infrared by about 50 percent, then faded and returned to its previous brightness, while in optical it faded by a factor of 10,000" - Keisha Loy Day.

Conclusion

The episode demonstrates how cross-disciplinary research—from genetics and animal behavior to observational astronomy—drives practical improvements and fundamental science, underscoring the ongoing quest to increase the efficiency of service-dog pipelines and to unravel the complex physics of black-hole formation.