News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
My family’s dog Teddy, a wide-eyed, brown and white spaniel, was a nervous wreck when a thunderstorm rolled in. To calm his shaking and panting, the vet prescribed him lorazepam, a benzodiazepine marketed as Ativan that’s also used to treat anxiety in humans. Lorazepam is just one of many drugs that dogs and humans take … Read more
A major supplier of dogs and other animals for academic and corporate research, which was cited last year for dozens of Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations at its Virginia beagle-breeding facility, was targeted by the state’s lawmakers this week. On 7 and 8 March, both houses of the Virginia General Assembly unanimously passed a bill … Read more
The loss of a beloved canine companion is devastating, and new research shows that you might not be the only one feeling it. Any other dogs in your family could also go through mourning, as indicated by their behavior. A survey of 426 multiple-dog owners in Italy revealed that, when one dog in the … Read more
Older adults who own a dog have a much lower risk of cognitive and physical disabilities, but those who own a cat don’t have the same benefit Health 23 February 2022 By Carissa Wong A couple walking their dog Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock People who own a dog have a much lower risk of disability in … Read more
Domestic dogs are fertilizing the green spaces where they regularly poop and pee, and not in a good way. Even in nature reserves where dogs are supposed to be kept on leash, a new study in Belgium shows our pets’ droppings are a major disturbance to wildlife. Each year, researchers estimate the paths that run … Read more
Dogs’ urine and faeces bring large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus into suburban nature reserves, which could be harmful to plant biodiversity Life 7 February 2022 By Chen Ly A dog in a wildflower patch at St Abbs Head Nature Reserve, UK Rebecca Cole / Alamy Stock Photo Taking your dog for a walk in … Read more
From chihuahuas to great Danes, dogs differ more in size than any other mammal species on the planet. A mutation behind such variation has been traced to an unexpected source: ancient wolves. The mutation lies near a gene called IGF1, which researchers flagged 15 years ago as having a major role in the size variation of … Read more
The friendliness of your dog could have serious implications for its social standing with other canines, new research suggests. In a questionnaire designed to measure the personality traits of companion dogs and compare them against their social ranking with other canines in multi-dog families, researchers found that dogs who scored highly for agreeableness and affection … Read more
One of the main genetic mutations responsible for small size in certain dog breeds, such as Pomeranians and Chihuahuas, evolved in dog relatives long before humans began breeding these miniature companions. Researchers discovered that the mutation can even be traced back to wolves that lived more than 50,000 years ago. Researchers discovered the mutation, which is found in … Read more
When humans began intensively breeding dogs in 19th century Great Britain, they created a cornucopia of canines seemingly out of whole cloth: hulking bullmastiffs, graceful golden retrievers, and pint-size Yorkshire terriers. But the real key to their success, a new study reveals, was taking advantage of two tiny but powerful genetic ratchets that have controlled … Read more