https://phys.org/biology-news/veterinary-medicine en-us Veterinary medicine news stories about diseases, disorders and injuries in non-human animals Shelter dogs awaiting adoption fare better with a canine companion than when they're housed alone, according to new research from Virginia Tech. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-dogs-housed-companion-stressed-faster.html Veterinary medicine Wed, 12 Jun 2024 14:00:02 EDT news637401602 African swine fever virus is the only mammalian infectious virus that encodes type II DNA topoisomerase and has caused serious damage to the global swine industry in recent years. Safe and effective commercial vaccines and drugs are still lacking. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-potential-drug-african-swine-fever.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:00:38 EDT news636973235 Dogs' learning success is enhanced when they are not only rewarded with food, but also praised and petted for their good performance, according to a new study by researchers from the Department of Ethology at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, published in Scientific Reports. The ethologists investigated the relations among emotions, learning and sleep. Their results shed light on how learning style and sleep affect dogs' behavior and learning success. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-rewarding-dogs-petting-efficiently.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 06 Jun 2024 12:10:08 EDT news636894601 Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses are becoming increasingly flexible and are adapting to mammals in new ways that could have global consequences for humans, wildlife and livestock, according to a new study of a massive outbreak among elephant seals in Argentina in 2023. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-elephant-outbreak-transnational-highly-pathogenic.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Wed, 05 Jun 2024 14:55:04 EDT news636818102 A study from researchers at Durham University has found that the process of domestication and selective breeding has limited the ability of domestic dogs to use facial expressions to convey effective states (emotions) as effectively as their wolf ancestors. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-constrained-communication-abilities-domestic-dogs.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Tue, 04 Jun 2024 10:30:00 EDT news636715796 Zebrafish in the pet trade are asymptomatic carriers of previously undescribed microbes, including a novel virus that causes hemorrhaging in infected laboratory fish, Marlen Rice from the University of Utah, US, and colleagues report in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-virus-zebrafish-pet-disease-laboratory.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Thu, 30 May 2024 14:00:01 EDT news636276661 A new study has shown an advance in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections in animals. The research, focusing on a 5-year-old Siamese cat Squeaks with a multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection post-arthrodesis surgery, marks the first published documented application of personalized phage therapy in veterinary medicine. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-personalized-phage-therapy-resistant-wounds.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 27 May 2024 13:30:14 EDT news636035411 A team of geneticists and animal welfare specialists from the U.K. and one from the U.S. has identified the genetic mutation responsible for a newly discovered cat coat color pattern in Finland. In their study, published in the journal Animal Genetics, the group sequenced the genomes of two of the cats. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-genetic-mutation-responsible-coat-pattern.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Thu, 23 May 2024 10:00:02 EDT news635676866 Associations between feeding dogs a vegan diet and owner perceptions of their health are likely to be minimal, according to a new study by the University of Liverpool. The work is published in the journal PLOS ONE. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-alleged-benefits-vegan-diet-dogs.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 May 2024 14:55:04 EDT news635003701 Bacteria of the phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, including those of the genus Streptococcus, are the most common microorganisms found in the saliva of swine, which contains a different microbiota from swine feces and the environment in which the animals live. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-characterize-microbiota-saliva-weaned-piglets.html Cell & Microbiology Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 May 2024 13:33:04 EDT news634998781 A new study published in Biologia Futura found that dogs can imitate human actions from two-dimensional video projections. The study discovered that dogs' cognitive abilities to process and replicate actions observed in 2D video projections align with their everyday observational experiences with humans. The researchers are from the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-online-dog-dogs-ability-imitate.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 May 2024 12:58:41 EDT news634996717 A small number of New York City wild birds carry highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, according to a study published in the Journal of Virology,. The work highlights that the interface between animals and humans that may give rise to zoonotic infections or even pandemics is not limited to rural environments and commercial poultry operations, but extends into urban centers. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-avian-flu-york-city-wild.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 May 2024 09:00:01 EDT news634980902 A team of pathobiologists at The Royal Veterinary College, in the U.K., working with a colleague from National Chung Hsing University, in Taiwan, has created a life expectancy chart for approximately 8,000 domestic cat breeds. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-life-reveals-longest-shortest-cats.html Veterinary medicine Fri, 10 May 2024 12:10:02 EDT news634559826 In recent years, the practice of feeding dogs raw meat-based diets instead of kibble has grown, in part because raw meat does not require heavy processing or include binders and preservatives that could negatively affect a dog's health. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-dog-kibble-raw-meat-yields.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 06 May 2024 09:42:52 EDT news634207358 Pet parrots given the choice to video-call each other or watch pre-recorded videos of other birds will flock to the opportunity for live chats, new research shows. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-pet-parrots-video-pre-videos.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 02 May 2024 09:23:50 EDT news633860625 The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats—half of them on one farm—had died suddenly. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-texas-veterinarian-mystery-bird-flu.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Wed, 01 May 2024 15:37:42 EDT news633796657 It's a common belief that purebred dogs are more prone to disease than mixed-breed dogs, but a new study led by researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has busted this myth. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-dispels-myth-purebred-dogs-prone.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:32:58 EDT news633702772 As the world faces the loss of a staggering number of species of animals and plants to endangerment and extinction, one University of Michigan scientist has an urgent message: Chemists and pharmacists should be key players in species conservation efforts. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-link-species-pharmacists-chemists-tide.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Tue, 30 Apr 2024 10:14:53 EDT news633690887 Medium-sized dogs have a higher risk of developing cancer than the very largest or smallest breeds, according to a UC Riverside study. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-reveals-cancer-vulnerabilities-popular-dog.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:01:04 EDT news633603661 The case of a Florida bottlenose dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, or HPAIV—a discovery made by University of Florida researchers in collaboration with multiple other agencies and one of the first reports of a constantly growing list of mammals affected by this virus—has been published in Communications Biology. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-florida-dolphin-highly-pathogenic-avian.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Fri, 26 Apr 2024 13:32:03 EDT news633357121 Vaccination not only reduces the severity of TB in infected cattle, but reduces its spread in dairy herds by 89%, research finds. The research, led by the University of Cambridge and Penn State University, improves prospects for the elimination and control of bovine tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease of cattle that results in large economic costs and health impacts across the world. The study is published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-tuberculosis-vaccine-enable-disease-cattle.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Thu, 28 Mar 2024 14:00:01 EDT news630834150 Scientists have successfully carried out pioneering fecal microbiota transplantations on Navy bottlenose dolphins that showed signs of gastrointestinal disease. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-peer-fecal-microbiota-transplants-dolphins.html Cell & Microbiology Veterinary medicine Mon, 25 Mar 2024 12:50:13 EDT news630589808 It's no surprise that your dog can learn to sit when you say "sit" and come when called. But a study appearing March 22 in the journal Current Biology has made the unexpected discovery that dogs generally also know that certain words "stand for" certain objects. When dogs hear those words, brain activity recordings suggest they activate a matching mental representation in their minds. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-dog-words.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Fri, 22 Mar 2024 11:00:02 EDT news630314945 Touchscreens have long been integral to our everyday life—humans use them to work, play, talk with loved ones and snag Lightning Deals on Prime Day. In recent years, they've shown potential for the animal kingdom as well, leading to a growing body of academic research and a proliferation of consumer products promising to leverage technology to enhance our relationships with our pets. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-parrots-playing-tablet-games.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 21 Mar 2024 14:37:07 EDT news630250623 UC Riverside scientists confirm, for the first time, that a potentially fatal dog parasite is present in a portion of the Colorado River that runs through California. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-dog-flatworm-southern-california.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:39:03 EDT news629642341 Lila is a registered purebred beagle, but depending on what company does her DNA testing, she might be part rottweiler, part American foxhound, or not a beagle at all. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-trustworthy-dog-dna.html Veterinary medicine Sat, 09 Mar 2024 04:27:59 EST news629180861 Researchers at the Family Dog Project of Eötvös Loránd University have designed a tool to investigate the social dynamics of cohabiting family dogs. Their results are published in Animal Cognition. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-social-dynamics-family-dogs-peek.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:06:03 EST news629028361 New research in PLOS ONE uncovers an important discovery in the study of marine mammal health by being the first study to detect Otariid gammaherpesvirus 1 (OtGHV1) in free-ranging South American pinnipeds, as well as a novel herpesvirus Otariid gammaherpesvirus 8 (OtGHV8) in South American sea lions (Otaria byronia) in the Southern Hemisphere. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-reveals-herpesvirus-south-american-pinnipeds.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:01:03 EST news628966862 New research finds around a quarter of Labrador retriever dogs face a double-whammy of feeling hungry all the time and burning fewer calories due to a genetic mutation. The results are published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-genetic-mutation-quarter-labradors-hard.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:00:01 EST news628942750 Owners of a popular dog breed are being encouraged to keep their pet pooch in tip-top condition after a James Cook University study found that Rottweilers could suffer from reduced lifespan after being neutered. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-neutering-rottweilers-affect-lifespan.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 29 Feb 2024 17:15:02 EST news628449301