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The Rachel Maddow Show   |  December 20, 2012

Rudolph's red nose? It's science!

Rachel Maddow relays some scientific research into why some reindeer really do have a red nose.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> best new thing in the world. this is a reindeer. up north they have these guys. that is reindeer now drunks. one of the things that alcohol does to your body is it dilates your capillaries. if you drink too much alcohol, your cells release his ta mean which causes them to dilate which causes a red flush. so the health and perform aps ance of them can cause a physical appearance. let's go back to the reindeer some have evolved so they have a dense concentration of cap larries in the part of their face in their nose. so they have red noses . not every one has one. and now dutch researchers are looking into how it functions in regard to regulating function. they took a bunch of reindeer and got them sweaty on a treadmill and this is the image that was produced. the red parts are those sending off the most body heat into the air. the nose is functions as a body heat control. as if this was having to tow a heavy burden. perhaps one that is toting jingling bells. it is not a myth. also, the arrow is pointing at the nose. but we are going to stay focused on the nose end of things. dutch scientists. absolutely the best new thing in the world today. now it is time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell.