Feb 2, 2022 10:57 PM
Thousands of years of human dependence has shrunk your cat's brain, new research suggests.
https://www.livescience.com/house-cat-brain-size-shrink
INTRO: In a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers compared the cranial measurements (an indicator of brain size) of modern house cats with that of two of their closest wild ancestors, African (Felis lybica) and European wildcats (Felis silvestris). The team found that cranium size — and therefore brain size — in domesticated cats has shrunk significantly over the past 10,000 years or so compared with their wild ancestors.
This doesn't necessarily mean that your tabby is dumber than a wildcat. But, according to one hypothesis, it shows that prioritizing tameness in domesticated animals may have inadvertently changed the ways those animals' brains develop, the researchers said. These changes likely begin when an animal is still an embryo and just beginning to develop its neural crest cells — a special type of cell unique to vertebrates, which plays a key role in the development of the nervous system, among other things... (MORE - details)
Vets are furious about the latest designer dog trend: hairless Frenchies
https://gizmodo.com/vets-are-furious-abo...1848432833
EXCERPTS: Veterinarians in the UK aren’t too pleased with the breeders behind the country’s first known litter of hairless French bulldogs. They argue that it’s only the latest example of how “extreme breeding” is harming the long-term health of these short-faced dogs, who already face a higher risk of certain medical problems. They also fear that the puppies will grow up to develop added complications, like easily sunburned skin.
The trend of hairless Frenchies appears to have begun in 2020, possibly in China.
[...] “Just because people like things to look a certain way it shouldn’t justify people being able to do things to these dogs that we know is going to cause potential harm and suffering and welfare issues,” Justine Shotton, president of the British Veterinary Association, told the Guardian. The BVA has been outspoken about the health of bulldogs, pugs, and other short-faced, or brachycephalic, dogs for several years now... *(MORE - missing details)
First virus infection linked with infections later in life, study finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941957
INTRO: Asymptomatic viral infections in the first days and weeks of a baby’s life are associated with an increased risk of respiratory infections later in life, research suggests. Viruses were found to interact with newborns’ immune systems and microbiomes – the community of microbes that live in our body – in a way that affected both a child’s risk and number of subsequent infections.
Prevention of such early viral infections, or strengthening immune systems with specially designed probiotics, may avert this risk, experts say. The microbiome of a newborn baby can be influenced by many things, including delivery method – vaginal or caesarean section – breastfeeding, antibiotics and the hospital environment.
Respiratory infections are a major health concern. They are responsible for 15 per cent of deaths for children under the age of five globally and are one of the three main causes of doctors’ visits and hospital admittance in the first years of life... (MORE - details)
https://www.livescience.com/house-cat-brain-size-shrink
INTRO: In a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers compared the cranial measurements (an indicator of brain size) of modern house cats with that of two of their closest wild ancestors, African (Felis lybica) and European wildcats (Felis silvestris). The team found that cranium size — and therefore brain size — in domesticated cats has shrunk significantly over the past 10,000 years or so compared with their wild ancestors.
This doesn't necessarily mean that your tabby is dumber than a wildcat. But, according to one hypothesis, it shows that prioritizing tameness in domesticated animals may have inadvertently changed the ways those animals' brains develop, the researchers said. These changes likely begin when an animal is still an embryo and just beginning to develop its neural crest cells — a special type of cell unique to vertebrates, which plays a key role in the development of the nervous system, among other things... (MORE - details)
Vets are furious about the latest designer dog trend: hairless Frenchies
https://gizmodo.com/vets-are-furious-abo...1848432833
EXCERPTS: Veterinarians in the UK aren’t too pleased with the breeders behind the country’s first known litter of hairless French bulldogs. They argue that it’s only the latest example of how “extreme breeding” is harming the long-term health of these short-faced dogs, who already face a higher risk of certain medical problems. They also fear that the puppies will grow up to develop added complications, like easily sunburned skin.
The trend of hairless Frenchies appears to have begun in 2020, possibly in China.
[...] “Just because people like things to look a certain way it shouldn’t justify people being able to do things to these dogs that we know is going to cause potential harm and suffering and welfare issues,” Justine Shotton, president of the British Veterinary Association, told the Guardian. The BVA has been outspoken about the health of bulldogs, pugs, and other short-faced, or brachycephalic, dogs for several years now... *(MORE - missing details)
First virus infection linked with infections later in life, study finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941957
INTRO: Asymptomatic viral infections in the first days and weeks of a baby’s life are associated with an increased risk of respiratory infections later in life, research suggests. Viruses were found to interact with newborns’ immune systems and microbiomes – the community of microbes that live in our body – in a way that affected both a child’s risk and number of subsequent infections.
Prevention of such early viral infections, or strengthening immune systems with specially designed probiotics, may avert this risk, experts say. The microbiome of a newborn baby can be influenced by many things, including delivery method – vaginal or caesarean section – breastfeeding, antibiotics and the hospital environment.
Respiratory infections are a major health concern. They are responsible for 15 per cent of deaths for children under the age of five globally and are one of the three main causes of doctors’ visits and hospital admittance in the first years of life... (MORE - details)