Feature Channels: Pets

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A mammalian protein previously shown by UT Southwestern microbiologists to inhibit the virus that causes COVID-19 in cell culture also protected live mouse models, significantly limiting infection in the lung cells and diminishing the symptoms. The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, could lead to new strategies to treat COVID-19, which still infects thousands and kills hundreds in the U.S. every week.

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Feathers, fins or fur, all pets can make us feel happier. Now, new research from the University of South Australia shows that pet ownership and pet care can also support communication and wellbeing, especially for people with acquired language difficulties such as aphasia.

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Although rare, mucosal melanoma in humans has a low survival rate. It has been difficult to investigate due to a lack of similar cancers in animals for study.

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Homeless people and their dogs have a mutually beneficial relationship, with the dogs providing critical support for their owners’ emotional and mental health while owners make every effort to protect the dog and meet their welfare needs, new research has found.

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Research led by Margaret Bultas, Ph.D., professor at SLU's Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing, has found that integrating a therapy dog into the classroom increases mental health support for nursing students.

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The latest research in psychology and psychiatry on Newswise.

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Neurons become active when mice exploring a maze correct after making a wrong turn.

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Researchers of the Biochemistry Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University (CUVET) have developed “Dust Mites Repellent Herbal Spray” and “Pet Fragrance Spray from Mangosteen Peel Extract” by applying nanotechnology to pet products to enhance their potency. Certifiably safe, both products are now available through a CUVET startup company.

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Rutgers Institute for Health researcher calls for policymakers to consider animal welfare in decision-making and explains benefits for doing so.

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Scientists have found the secret to felines’ finesse at sniffing out food, friends and foes. A complex collection of tightly coiled bony airway structures gets the credit, according to the first detailed analysis of the domestic cat’s nasal airway.

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Want to enjoy Independence Day fireworks responsibly? A Penn State Health physician offers tips to help you celebrate with a bang – safely.

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Dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity, but these differences don’t always match up with the beliefs people – including veterinarians – hold about breed-specific pain sensitivity.

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Dogs who slow down physically also slow down mentally, according to a new study from North Carolina State University. Measuring gait speed in senior dogs could be a simple way to monitor their health and to document decline in their neurological function as they age.

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A study by researchers at the University of Vienna and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna shows that information from body postures plays a similarly important role for dogs as it does for humans. The results offer new insights into how dogs and humans perceive each other and their environment. They confirm that the temporal lobe plays a central role in social communication and perception. The study is currently published in the journal Communications Biology.

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Ahead of the July 4th holiday, Virginia Tech experts can speak on a variety of topics, including food & beer pairings for cookouts, pets & fireworks safety, grilling safety tips, and more. To schedule an interview, please contact the media relations office at [email protected]. Safeguarding pets on the 4th of July Summer heat and holiday travel can always be dangerous for pets, and so can the noise of fireworks.

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A combination of radiotherapy followed by immunotherapy is a promising strategy for the treatment of oral malignant melanomas in dogs.

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As we enter the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere and the possibility of extreme heat becomes more common, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the science of heat waves and take measures to protect ourselves from this growing public health threat.

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University of Helsinki researchers tested a new method of diagnosing sleep-disordered breathing in dogs using a neckband developed for human sleep apnoea diagnostics.

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Flat-faced dogs, such as French and English Bulldogs, are extremely popular despite suffering from severe innate diseases. Hungarian researchers have attempted to uncover the explanation for this paradox. In the end, they concluded that although enthusiasts of flat-faced dogs are aware of the health issues and strive to provide the best for their dogs, they are likely to normalize health problems.

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New survey data from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reveals that one-third (33%) of Americans “always or often” experience disrupted sleep due to pets, and younger generations are more likely to be impacted.

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For millions of Americans that suffer from seasonal allergies (pollen and mold), climate change is exacerbating an earlier, longer, and overall worse allergy season.

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Dogs with dementia suffer the same sleep disruptions that humans with dementia do.

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A Cornell University-led project has added a new chapter to the story of Balto – the most famous sled dog in history – by using ancient DNA extraction and analysis to reconstruct his phenotype and identify his genetic connections to modern dog breeds.

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A successful gene therapy trialed at Michigan State University in dogs with an inherited eye disease is ready to be developed for clinical use in human patients with a rare condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

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Johns Hopkins University researchers have found that traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) were the second most common injury among adults treated in U.S. emergency rooms for injuries related to walking a leashed dog from 2001 to 2020.

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Pet rabbits have higher levels of the stress hormone - corticosterone - and show activity rebound when kept in small hutches with restricted exercise, new research led by the University of Bristol Vet School has found.

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Researcher will discuss the study which involved a sleeping aid known as suvorexant that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insomnia, hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Below are some of the latest headlines in the new Avian Flu channel on Newswise.

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They say that cats have nine lives, but one UA Little Rock student-athlete believes it’s a miracle that she found her beloved dog, a 4-year-old Australian Shepherd named Remy, alive and well after he was trapped in her apartment for almost a day following the devastating tornado that struck Little Rock on March 31.

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Given the recent news regarding tickborne illnesses, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine recently posed a question about a mild winter and if that would result in an increase of ticks in the spring. A pair of Cummings School experts shared their advice.

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In an analysis of over 65,000 infants from Japan, children exposed to pet cats or indoor dogs during fetal development or early infancy tended to have fewer food allergies compared to other children.

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Research into the unique cognitive abilities of dogs often leads to surprises, including dogs’ ability to form mental representations of things they smell, or that they know when their owners do something by accident.

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In today’s pet food market, there are products to match nearly every lifestyle, value system, and price point pet owners demand, including vegan formulations. New University of Illinois research shows at least two human-grade, lightly cooked vegan diets provide adequate nutrition for dogs.

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New report is designed to educate the animal research community about the growing threat of animal rights activism and encourage stakeholders to improve communication and outreach efforts.

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When exotic species such as parrots, snakes, monkeys, or aquarium fishes are kept as pets, this may lead to unsustainable trade and impact negatively the conservation of these species globally.

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Early COVID-19 pandemic suspicions about dogs’ resistance to the disease have given way to a long-haul clinical data gap as new variants of the virus have emerged.

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Researchers at the University of Helsinki identified several links between various risk factors and feline litterbox issues.

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Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridioides difficile, Candida auris, Drug-resistant Shigella. These bacteria not only have difficult names to pronounce, but they are also difficult to fight off. These bacteria may infect humans and animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria. Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent global public health threat.

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Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium report abnormalities in functional neural networks of dogs diagnosed with anxiety.

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A new four-legged caregiver, a yellow Labrador/golden retriever named Grayson, is walking the halls of Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation – Fort Worth, a joint venture between Baylor Scott & White and Select Medical. He is the Baylor Scott & White Health’s sixth and newest facility dog, provided through a unique collaboration with not-for-profit Canine Companions®.

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There are reasons to assume that not only humans but also some non-human species of animal have conscious perception.

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A new Australian study focused on defence veterans’ mental health has found strong evidence that assistance dogs used in conjunction with traditional therapies provide the most effective treatment outcomes.