A recipe for dog bite injuries: Kids, dogs and warm weather

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If you and your child are romping in the park or enjoying a stroll on a warm spring day and a dog approaches, be ultra vigilant. Children, warm weather, and dogs, even family dogs, don't mix well, according to a study conducted by pediatric otolaryngologists from the Universit...

Big cats, wild pigs and short-eared dogs -- oh, my!

NEW YORK (January 27, 2009) -- The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) released photos today from the first large-scale census of jaguars in the Amazon region of Ecuadorone of the most biologically rich regions on the planet. The ongoing census, which began in 2007, is working to establish ba...

Pigs and dogs can bridge gap between mice and humans in developing new therapies

Human and veterinary medicine could receive a big boost through use of larger animals, especially pigs and dogs, in research, with Europe at the forefront. There is the prospect of bringing drugs to the market more quickly at less cost, as well as accelerating progress in other forms of therapy, n...

Scat sniffing dogs detecting rare California carnivores

BERKELEY, Calif.Scientists at the U.S. Forest Service Redwood Sciences Lab and University of Vermont found scat sniffing dogs might be the best way to confirm the presence of rare carnivores in forested areas like the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. In 2003 and 2004, they compared the ability...

Innovative surgery by MSU veterinarian provides new lease on life to dogs

EAST LANSING, Mich. Only six months after undergoing a unique and innovative surgery at Michigan State University, Jake part dog and now part machine spends his time working out on an underwater treadmill, traversing obstacle courses and prancing around pain free. Jake, an 11-year-old yellow...

The truth about cats and dogs

Thinking about adopting a perky little puppy as a friend for your fluffy cat, but worried that they'll fight -- well, like cats and dogs? Think again. New research at Tel Aviv University, the first of its kind in the world, has found a new recipe for success. According to the study, if the cat ...

DNA study unlocks mystery to diverse traits in dogs

ROCKVILLE, MD, June 22, 2008 What makes a pointer point, a sheep dog herd, and a retriever retrieve? Why do Yorkshire terriers live longer than Great Danes? And how can a tiny Chihuahua possibly be related to a Great Dane? Dogs vary in size, shape, color, coat length and behavior more than...

Lost dogs found more often than lost cats, study suggests

A lost dog is more likely to be reunited with its owner than a lost cat, according to two new studies. In one city in southwestern Ohio , researchers found that 71 percent of lost dogs were found, compared to just 53 percent of lost cats. More than a third of the recovered dogs were found by ...

Fast test for low blood flow in dogs detects early heart trouble

Working with dogs and using the latest in imaging software and machinery, also known as a 64-slice CT scanner, Johns Hopkins heart specialists have developed a fast and accurate means of tracking blood that has been slowed down by narrowing of the coronary arteries. Researchers say it took them le...

Can dogs smell cancer?

In a society where lung and breast cancers are leading causes of cancer death worldwide, early detection of the disease is highly desirable. In a new scientific study, researchers present astonishing new evidence that man's best friend, the dog, may have the capacity to contribute to the process of...

After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller

...ith lots of new transposable elements and a dramatic drop-off in the number of older elements. But not in most mammals. In humans, macaques, cows, dogs and mouse, Lynch's group observed a hill-shaped curve, with a peak of middle-aged LTRs and drop-offs both in the number of older and younger LTRs. The...

Researchers develop 'brain-reading' methods

... aware you have actually been hit," explains Hanson. "By looking at the back of the brain, we can 'read out,' for example, that a person is looking at dogs and cats before they actually know they are looking at a dog or a cat." Unlike most research that has focused on specific areas of the brain, Hanso...

Dogs, humans, put heads together to find cure for brain cancer

...een. "By looking at tumors seen in both humans and dogs we have a simple way to narrow the search: we comp...lated areas on dog chromosomes. This works because dogs and humans are genetically similar and both get th... chromosome 26. The researchers discovered that in dogs with meningioma, chromosome 26, and hence NF2, was...

What really prompts the dog's 'guilty look'

...ork, uncovered the origins of the "guilty look" in dogs in the recently published "Canine Behaviour and Co... were asked to leave the room after ordering their dogs not to eat a tasty treat. While the owner was away, Horowitz gave some of the dogs this forbidden treat before asking the owners back...

UF makes gene therapy advance in severe genetic disorder

...0 minutes to survive. "Without treatment, these dogs all die," said David Weinstein, M.D., M.M.Sc., dir... the study. The dog, which comes from a line of dogs genetically prone to the disease, received its fir...ns, but for now would like to test gene therapy in dogs again within the next year, Weinstein said. "Th...

NAU discovery could help feed millions

... raccoons, horses, buffalo and elk as well as cats and dogs. "What we are doing right now is we are preparing the translation of this technology to dogs and cats. We have already completed six months of study in dogs. This could have a tremendous impact on reducing the number of animals in shelters," s...

Using 'dominance' to explain dog behavior is old hat

... Contrary to popular belief, aggressive dogs are NOT trying to assert their dominance over thei...rch . The researchers spent six months studying dogs freely interacting at a dogs Trust rehoming centre, and reanalysing data from s...

Some vocal-mimicking animals, particularly parrots, can move to a musical beat

...lly searched the database for videos of animals moving with the beat of the music, including vocal mimics such as parrots and vocal non-mimics such as dogs and cats. Schachner analyzed the videos frame-by-frame, using the same analyses applied to the case-study birds. Criteria included the animal's s...

Analysis finds strong match between molecular, fossil data in evolutionary studies

...to data based on the kinds of features used to distinguish fossil lineages for 228 mammal and 197 mollusk lineages at the genus level (both wolves and dogs belong to the genus Canis , for example). No matter how they looked at it, the lineages defined by their fossil forms "showed an imperfect but ver...

Towards a natural pacemaker

...l to genetically 'rewire' two of the HCN channels. The resulting heart rate was very rapid with irregular pauses, just as has already been observed in dogs and mice. It is early days but the valuable new computer and cellular models are ideal for testing potential new drugs to influence heart rate and...

NC State researchers find soy may aid in treating canine cancers

...akes the chemotherapy work more efficiently and faster, which translates to less stress on the patient and less money spent on chemotherapy." Since dogs absorb GCP in much the same way that humans do, Suter hopes that veterinarians will be able to offer this therapy to canine patients in the near futur...

Prairie dog research promotes caring, conservation

...e book to bring attention to the fact that prairie dogs are lapsing into extinction," Slobodchikoff says. ...gh they only grow to about 15 inches high, prairie dogs are a keystone genus that 200 other plains species...f at least 100 words. "The little yips prairie dogs make contain a lot of information," he explains. "...

Novel veterinary procedure detecting life-threatening injuries touted

...ce of pneumothorax (PTX), or collapsed lung, among dogs and cats with blunt and penetrating trauma has bee...erinary emergency and critical care, evaluated 145 dogs within 24 hours of their injury which included aut...tremely helpful in traumatized cats as well as any dogs or cats in respiratory distress. "The use of ou...

If you're aggressive, your dog will be too, says veterinary study at University of Pennsylvania

...ggressive response from at least 25 percent of the dogs on which they were attempted. In addition, dogs brought to the hospital for aggressive behavior to...gressively to some confrontational techniques than dogs brought in for other behavioral reasons. "This ...

Biologists solve mystery of black wolves

...are the result of historical matings between black dogs and wild gray wolves. The research, federall... of when the black coat color was transferred from dogs to wolves, but they believe it was not a recent oc...arrival of Europeans to North America and involved dogs that were here with Native Americans. "This ...

Dog owners more likely to share germs with pets by not washing hands than by sleeping with dog

... topic because there is such a strong bond between dogs and their owners," Stenske said. "If you look at o...e. "We also know diseases can be shared between dogs and people," Stenske said. "About 75 percent of em...h is common in the gastrointestinal tracts of both dogs and humans. "People have it,...

Researchers genetically link Lou Gehrig's disease in humans to dog disease

...on responsible for degenerative myelopathy (DM) in dogs is the same mutation that causes amyotrophic later...my of Sciences this week, researchers can now use dogs with DM as animal models to help identify therapeu...ene SOD1, which causes ALS. Researchers found that dogs with DM also had mutations in their SOD1 gene. Man...

Hope for a rabies eradication strategy in Africa

... Most of the rabies virus circulating in dogs in western and central Africa comes from a common ancestor introduced to the continent around 200 years ago, probably by European colonialists. In the...

Dogs chase efficiently, but cats skulk counterintuitively

...ggests that evolution can behave as differently as dogs and cats. While the dogs depend on an energy-efficient style of four-footed...feline toys. Long-distance chase predators like dogs can reduce their muscular work needed to move forw...

100-meter sprint world record could go as low as 9.48 seconds

...ces of humans and two other famous racing species, dogs and thoroughbred horses, to find how close modern ... Having found records dating back to the 1920s for dogs and the 19th century for humans and thoroughbreds,...ver the years, it was clear that racing horses and dogs have already reached a plateau. There has been no ...

Researchers recreate SARS virus, open door for potential defenses against future strains

...ed with SARS in 2003, 774 died. Baric said SARS is believed to have originated in bats, and "jumped" to humans either directly or through raccoon dogs and palm civets, both considered delicacies for humans in China. "Although the strains associated with the 2002-2003 epidemic no longer circulate ...

Sniffing out a better chemical sensor

... into an electrical signal that the brain interprets as a smell. In humans, there are about 350 types of sensory neurons and many copies of each type; dogs and mice have several hundreds more types of sensory neurons than that. Odor recognition proceeds in a step-by-step fashion where the chemical identit...

Scientist clears hurdles for muscular dystrophy therapy

...t and 60 percent of the body weight is muscle, so it's vital that we find a way to deliver the therapy to every muscle in the body," Duan said. "Since dogs are 250 times the size of mice, but only nine times smaller than a human on average, we have taken a significant step in understanding if this therapy...

Iowa State researcher develops new treatment method for canine eye diseases

...method of getting medicine to the eyes of infected dogs that is more effective and reliable than using eye... new drug delivery method on six dogs. None of the dogs had been improving with the use of eye drops. Groz...ing results with the new treatment. "In all the dogs we saw positive results," said Grozdanic. "In some...

The Marine Mammal Center begins new leptospirosis study in California

..., the patient can develop kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, and respiratory distress. The Marine Mammal Center advises beach goers and their dogs to stay away from marine mammals they may encounter on beaches and to call the Center's 24-hour response line at (415) 289-SEAL should they come acros...

Running on rocket fuel

...t Lady Margaret Hall Oxford, intensively studied every move of African wild dogs in Zimbabwe to the extent of "living with packs" for periods of up to a mon...s was outweighed by the greater costs of running. To chase their prey, wild dogs need to be lithe and athletic, a design that ensures their stomachs can't b...

Lessons from the Iditarod

...e, and provide comfort when we are lovesick. Since dogs became domesticated 15,000 years ago, they have wo...lete canine: the racing sled dogs. Racing sled dogs are best known for their "mushing" each March duri...o come close to the physiological attributes these dogs display. Dr. Michael Davis has focused on the ...

U of M researchers identify gene linked to common ailment in labrador retrievers

...icine have identified a gene in Labrador retriever dogs highly associated with the syndrome of exercise-in...e hunting or retrieving exercise, activities these dogs are trained to perform, affected Labradors start t...bbly and the limbs give out, and in rare cases the dogs may die. Labradors are the most common dog breed ...

The Clorox Company's new indoor allergen product reduces common indoor allergens up to 90 percent

...to 40 million people in the United States alone, and the incidence is increasing. In fact, about 15 percent of the population is allergic to cats and dogs and 10 percent is allergic to dust mites. Clorox® Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray works to denature allergens produced from these source...

NC State first university in nation to offer canine bone marrow transplants

... dogs suffering from lymphoma will be able to receive th... survival rates considerably, and it is hoped that dogs will see the same benefits. "We know that dogs who have received bone marrow transplants have a c...