Pets & Veterinary Medicine

In a new, survey-based study of three kinds of "designer" crossbreed dogs, cockapoos, cavapoos and labradoodles, all three showed more undesirable behaviors than at least one of their purebred progenitor breeds, with cockapoos displaying the most unwanted habits. Gina Bryson of the Royal Veterinary College, U.K., and colleagues present these... Read more

Livestock breeders could soon have more tools to improve the health and quality of their animals, thanks to a recent study that sheds new light on regulatory elements in the sheep genome.... Read more

Two locations have been identified as the most likely entry points into Australia for a disease that poses a huge risk to the beef and dairy industries. A University of Queensland-led team has built the first geospatial model to map where insects carrying lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) could arrive... Read more

We all know cats represent a major threat to native animals and birds. Australia's 5.3 million domestic cats kill a total of 546 million animals each year in Australia. What's less well known is allowing your domestic cat to roam outside exposes them to considerable danger—and the risk of a... Read more

When cats fall, they usually land on their feet. This uncanny ability to right themselves before hitting the ground has long puzzled scientists. Now, a team from Yamaguchi University in Japan has the answer, and it's all down to the thoracic spine being more flexible than the lumbar spine, as... Read more

A new international survey reveals clear differences in how veterinarians and animal welfare scientists in Japan and the UK perceive animal welfare, particularly animal behavior. The findings are published in the journal Animal Welfare.... Read more

A Purdue University contraceptive vaccine seeks to address animal overpopulation by markedly reducing fertility in feral horses, deer, swine and other animals. Dr. Harm HogenEsch, distinguished professor of immunopathology in Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Raluca Ostafe, director of Purdue University's Molecular Evolution Protein Engineering and Production... Read more

Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School have found that viruses circulating in live poultry markets can be detected more effectively by sampling the surrounding environment than by testing individual birds. The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that environmental sampling can uncover a broader range of poultry viruses—including highly pathogenic avian... Read more

Researchers from the University of Nottingham have uncovered a surprising biological quirk in domestic cats that may help explain why they are so prone to chronic kidney disease. Unlike dogs and most other mammals, cats appear to accumulate unusual fats inside the cells of their kidneys, sometimes from a very... Read more

Currently, Australia is the only continent in the world still free from the highly contagious H5 bird flu. But that status faces an ongoing threat.... Read more

More than four out of every five dead black vultures examined by University of Georgia researchers tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. The actual toll of the virus on the integral species is likely exponentially higher, though, the researchers warned.... Read more

Ehime University investigators measured 34 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in 100 commercial dog and cat foods sold in Japan and detected PFAS across many products, with higher concentrations in fish-based foods and dry products, and higher estimated intake from wet products.... Read more

Why does your dog rush to "help" when you are searching for something, while your cat seems… eh, less concerned? New research suggests that this difference may stem from deep evolutionary roots—and that, in certain situations, dogs behave more similarly to young children than to cats.... Read more

A horse's whinny is an unusually distinctive mix of sounds including both high and low frequencies. Reporting in Current Biology, researchers demonstrate how horses produce high-frequency sounds that defy their large size while simultaneously producing lower tones: they whistle through their larynx while vibrating their vocal folds as a human... Read more

A study from an international team of experts in veterinary medicine, human medicine and genomics provides the first large-scale genetic map of feline cancer, revealing that cats may hold the key to understanding several human cancers.... Read more