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Gene study shows how sheep first separated from goats
Scientists have cracked the genetic code of sheep to reveal how they became a distinct species from goats around four million years ago. The study is the first to pinpoint the genetic differences that make sheep different from other animals. The findings could aid the development of DNA testing t...Read more -
Scientists work to develop heat-resistant ‘cow of the future’
University of Florida scientists are working to breed the “cow of the future” by studying the more heat-tolerant Brangus cow — a cross between an Angus and a Brahman. Raluca Mateescu, an associate professor in the UF/IFAS department of animal sciences, is part of a team of UF/IF...Read more -
Population of rare Stone’s sheep 20% smaller than previously thought
The already-rare Stone’s sheep of the Yukon is 20 per cent less common than previously thought, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists. The study examined 123 different DNA markers in approximately 2,800 thinhorn sheep in British Columbia and the Yukon, with the goal ...Read more -
Children allergic to cow’s milk smaller and lighter
Children who are allergic to cow’s milk are smaller and weigh less than peers who have allergies to peanuts or tree nuts, and these findings persist into early adolescence. The results from the longitudinal study — believed to be the first to characterize growth patterns from early ch...Read more -
AI system to diagnose pain levels in sheep
The researchers have developed an AI system which uses five different facial expressions to recognise whether a sheep is in pain, and estimate the severity of that pain. The results could be used to improve sheep welfare, and could be applied to other types of animals, such as rodents used in ani...Read more -
Potential benefits of wildlife-livestock coexistence in East Africa
A study of 3,588 square kilometers of privately owned land in central Kenya offers evidence that humans and their livestock can, in the right circumstances, share territory with zebras, giraffes, elephants and other wild mammals — to the benefit of all. The study, reported in the journal Na...Read more -
Goats prefer happy people
Goats can differentiate between human facial expressions and prefer to interact with happy people, according to a new study led by scientists at Queen Mary University of London. The study, which provides the first evidence of how goats read human emotional expressions, implies that the ability of...Read more -
Goats can distinguish emotions from the calls of other goats
Goats can probably distinguish subtle emotional changes in the calls of other goats, according to a new study led by Queen Mary University of London. The researchers measured behavioural and physiological changes in goats to determine if they can differentiate between calls linked to positive and...Read more -
Environmentally friendly cattle production (really)
Three hundred years ago, enormous herds of bison, antelope and elk roamed North America, and the land was pristine and the water clean. However, today when cattle congregate, they’re often cast as the poster animals for overgrazing, water pollution and an unsustainable industry. While some ...Read more -
Clay as a feed supplement in dairy cattle has multiple benefits
Dairy producers frequently add clay as a feed supplement to reduce the symptoms of aflatoxin and subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in lactating cows. In a new study from the University of Illinois, researchers show that clay can also improve the degradability of feedstuffs. “Farmers are givi...Read more -
Cattle urine’s planet-warming power can be curtailed with land restoration
The exceptional climate-altering capabilities of cattle are mainly due to methane, which they blast into the atmosphere during their daily digestive routine. Cattle urine is a lesser-known climate offender. It produces nitrous oxide (N2O), which has warming power far greater than that of carbon d...Read more -
Cattle ranching could help conserve rare African antelope, lions
Endangered African antelope and the lions that prey on them may benefit from certain cattle ranching practices in Kenya, according to newly published research led by a 2017 University of Wyoming Ph.D. graduate. Caroline Ng’weno, who conducted the research during her UW graduate studies, is ...Read more -
Mystery about history of genetic disease in horses
Warmblood fragile foal syndrome is a severe, usually fatal, genetic disease that manifests itself after birth in affected horses. Due to the defect, the connective tissue is unstable. Under force, for instance, the skin tears from the tissue underneath and the joints can suffer dislocation. A res...Read more -
Leptospirosis strains identified in Uruguay cattle
Leptospirosis infections, caused by Leptospira bacteria, occur in people and animals around the world, but different strains of the bacteria may vary in their ability to cause disease and to jump between species. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have for the first ti...Read more -
Early separation of cow and calf has long-term effects on social behavior
Calves of dairy cows are generally separated from their mothers within the first 24 hours after birth. The majority of the milk thus enters the food market and not the stomachs of the calves. However, growing up without a mother has consequences. Scientists at the Vetmeduni Vienna studied the lon...Read more -
Image analysis and artificial intelligence will change dairy farming
Dairy farmers are busy with routines such as cleaning cowsheds, milking, and feeding, so it’s very difficult to determine the condition of cows. If this continues, they will remain too busy to ensure the quantity and quality of milk and dairy products. A group of researchers led by Professo...Read more -
Care of horses Damage found in the bit area of most Finnish trotters
“Soft tissue damage associated with the bit is a common concern in the equine world, but no prior studies on the topic have been carried out among trotters in Finland. This is why we surveyed the oral health of trotters after a race as part of a welfare project coordinated by Suomen Hippos,...Read more -
Bovine genetics The startling diversity of Buša cattle
In a study of the genetic structure and population dynamics of a unique breed of cattle that is indigenous to Southeastern Europe, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich researchers have discovered a remarkable degree of genetic variation. The Buša breed is a threatened autochthonous str...Read more -
New treatment strategies for chronic kidney disease from the animal kingdom
The field of biomimetics offers an innovative approach to solving human problems by imitating strategies found in nature. Medical research could also benefit from biomimetics, as a group of international experts from various fields, including a wildlife veterinarian and wildlife ecologists from V...Read more -
Gene hunting The power of precision medicine
Humans and animals are made up of trillions of cells, and each cell contains DNA specific to that individual. Therefore, identifying DNA that causes genetic disorders gives researchers and clinicians a better understanding of how to treat inherited diseases and possibly prevent the diseases from ...Read more -
Exosomes promote remarkable recovery in stroke
It’s been almost a quarter century since the first drug was approved for stroke. But what’s even more striking is that only a single drug remains approved today. In a publication appearing this month in the journal Translational Stroke Research, animal scientists, funded by the Nation...Read more -
Antibiotic resistance in food animals nearly tripled since 2000
The growing appetite for animal protein in developing countries has resulted in a smorgasbord of antibiotic consumption for livestock that has nearly tripled the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria easily transmitted from animals to humans, according to a recent report...Read more -
Achieving a balance Animal welfare and conservation
In a paper recently published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science, a team of researchers, animal care experts and veterinarians evaluate the balance between animal welfare and conservation needs for a number of rare species of native birds being raised in San Diego Zoo Global breeding ...Read more -
A well-known animal health drug could stop outbreaks of malaria and Zika virus
Medicines given to household pets to kill fleas and ticks might be effective for preventing outbreaks of malaria, Zika fever and other dangerous insect-borne diseases that infect millions of people worldwide, according to a new study led by scientists at Calibr, a non-profit drug discovery instit...Read more
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