Feature Channels: Pets

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Working with nine animal models, researchers find a preference for stability over energy conservation during speed-related gait transitions.

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After the Category 5 hurricane hit, family pets became separated from their owners, regular spay/neuter operations for strays ceased and few animal shelters could function because of the island’s fractured infrastructure. Now, veterinarians from the College of Veterinary Medicine are leading service trips as part of a national initiative to alleviate these conditions.

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That creature on the surgical table isn’t Frankenstein’s monster, but with its realistic tissue and organs, it comes close. Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine has introduced state-of-the-art artificial canine cadavers on which veterinary students can practice their surgical skills. The synthetic cadavers mimic living tissue, with individual muscles, bones and organs.

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University of Colorado Boulder neuroscientist Linda Watkins has developed an opioid-free, long-lasting shot for management of chronic pain. So far, it has been tested in more than 40 dogs with impressive results and no adverse effects. Human trials are underway.

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Argonne celebrates National Cat Day by highlighting the scientific prowess of the laboratory’s CATS — Collaborative Access Teams, that is. These teams rely on hard X-ray beams generated by the Advanced Photon Source to investigate materials that are difficult to observe and measure.

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Veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder were less anxious and depressed and had an improved quality of life after an eight-week therapeutic horseback riding program, according to a Baylor University study.

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It’s time to open up a can of tuna and celebrate National Cat Day on Oct. 29, and if it’s true cats have nine lives, that’s almost as many days that are devoted to worshipping your furry feline – a case of duplicat-tion if ever there was one.

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A new Cornell study published this month in Environmental Pollution finds that glyphosate, the active herbicidal ingredient in widely used weed killers like Roundup, was present at low levels in a variety of dog and cat foods the researchers purchased at stores. Before you go switching Fido or Fluffy’s favorite brand, however, be aware that the amounts of the herbicide found correspond to levels currently considered safe for humans.

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Two studies into deadly cancers in dogs are now underway, offered through the newly formed Clinical Trials Office at Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University. Dogs with spontaneous osteosarcoma, as well as dogs with mast cell tumors and solid tumors, may be eligible for enrollment.

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Cornell University alumnae have developed a set of tools for veterinarians across the United States to more easily address pet obesity with pet owners. The resources in the Pet Obesity Toolkit – created by Gillian Angliss and Stephanie Janeczko – are now available for free to all members of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

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The quality of the conversations of a California mice couple after one partner has been unfaithful can help predict which mouse pairs will successfully produce a litter of mouse pups and which males are good fathers, according to a study published recently by the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution in a special issue on the evolution of monogamy.

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A UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher and his colleagues have been awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate how to improve radiation treatment for dogs undergoing treatment for sarcoma.

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A new study in the journal Scientific Reports gets to the bottom of it: Why do dogs that are trained to locate poop sometimes find the wrong kind of poop?

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The latest research and features on ecology and wildlife.

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Arizona State University scientists used genetic testing in over 900 shelter dogs to identify breed heritage in the largest study of its kind. The researchers found widespread genetic diversity: 125 breeds in the sample and an average of three breed matches per dog. The accuracy of shelter staff in identifying more than one breed in the dog’s heritage based just on physical appearance was only 10%. How breed labels can impact shelter dogs is discussed.

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Among pet snakes and lizards, the biggest-selling species are also the most likely to be released by their owners – and to potentially become invasive species, according to a Rutgers study published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The study by Rutgers University–New Brunswick ecologists provides new clarity on how and why the exotic pet trade has become the primary venue by which reptiles and amphibians arrive in non-native lands, the first step to becoming ecologically damaging invaders.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered new details in how the olfactory epithelium develops. The new knowledge could help scientists prove that turbinates and the resulting larger surface area of the olfactory epithelium are one definitive reason dogs smell so well.

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Beyond airlines, colleges and courts struggle to understand need, effects, researchers say

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The annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society is Aug. 3-6, with panel discussions and keynotes on understanding spiders, horses, dogs, birds, octopuses and many other organisms.

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Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges announce institute to be based at Iowa State; jointly funded by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State University.

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Dogs are thought to be very aware of people’s emotions, but if a pup’s owner was really upset, would it actually go out of its way to offer help and comfort? Some not only will, but they’ll also overcome obstacles in a hurry to do it.

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Mars Petcare and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt announced a collaboration to create the Mars Petcare Pet Therapy Fund to support a dedicated facility dog and staff position at Children’s Hospital with a goal of showing how pet visits improve the health of patients — thus getting them home faster.

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In a first of its kind randomized trial, researchers from the UCI School of Medicine found therapy dogs to be effective in reducing the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The study’s main outcomes were recently published by the American Psychological Association in the Society of Counseling Psychology’s Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin (HAIB). Additional new findings were presented at the International Society for Anthrozoology 2018 Conference held July 2-5 in Sydney, Australia.

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Sadie, an American foxhound, went missing from a hunt club on the West Virginia border in 2014. Over the next two-and-a-half years, she traveled close to 400 miles to upstate New York before being rescued in June 2017. Toward the end of that journey, she caught her right hind paw in a coyote trap and ended up losing it.

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Using ancient dog DNA and DNA from modern village dogs, University of Michigan researchers find new genetic sites that may be responsible for important domestication traits--sites that are also connected to rare genetic syndromes in people.

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“Our research suggests it might be a good idea for potential close relationship partners to have compatible attitudes towards pets,” Marshall said.

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The intense heat and humidity in the southeastern U.S. is hard not only for people but for dogs as well. Here are some practical tips for keeping your pup happy and healthy during the blistering summer months.

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Dogs born June through August are at higher risk of heart disease than those born other months, rising in July to 74 percent higher risk, according to a study published this week in Scientific Reports from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A correlation to outdoor air pollution may be the culprit.

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Canine researcher's discovery reveals more about the depth and origin of the human-dog relationship

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The latest research and experts on Wildfires in the Wildlife News Source

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For some, the thought of a tarantula makes their skin crawl. Not Keara Clancy, a student in the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The more exotic the critter, the more she embraces it. From the time she was about 5, Clancy recalls collecting millipedes as pets at her school playground.

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Researchers found antibodies against two strains of influenza D in blood samples from horses in the Midwest. “It’s nothing we need to worry about at this moment, but more studies are needed,” according to professor Feng Li.

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Need an expert in a hurry? Need to pitch an expert in a hurry? Find experts and manage your experts in the Newswise Expert Directory. Our database of experts is growing daily. Search by institution, name, subject, keywords, and place.

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In an editorial that draws on results of previously published studies and experiences in their medical intensive care unit (ICU), a team of Johns Hopkins Medicine professionals say that bringing specially trained dogs into ICUs can safely and substantially ease patients’ physical and emotional suffering.

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The owners of long-haired dogs have an unsavory problem that is not widely discussed, because, frankly, it’s kind of gross: Small clumps of feces get stuck in their dogs’ fur after the dogs defecate.

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If you install solar panels on your roof and avoid dousing your lawn with chemicals and pesticides, your online peers may consider you to be environmentally friendly. But this street cred can all be erased if you let your cat roam around outdoors.

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Allergens are widespread, but highly variable in U.S. homes, according to the nation’s largest indoor allergen study to date. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health report that over 90 percent of homes had three or more detectable allergens, and 73 percent of homes had at least one allergen at elevated levels. The findings were published November 30 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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Pets have become an integral part of human medical research. However, a recent collaboration between Penn Med and Penn Vet has turned the tables on the arrangement.

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The first study to actually count the number of cortical neurons in the brains of a number of carnivores, including cats and dogs, has found that dogs possess significantly more neurons than cats.

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Although you may consider your pet a part of the family, there are many reasons why it should not join you at the dinner table during Thanksgiving.