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Virus-resistant pigs to vastly improve global animal health
Researchers at the University of Missouri have successfully produced a litter of pigs that are genetically resistant to a deadly porcine virus. Coronaviruses, highly contagious and widespread viruses known for their distinctive microscopic halos, are responsible for a variety of deadly intestinal...Read more -
Virus genomes help to explain why a major livestock disease has re-emerged in Europe
Livestock diseases like bluetongue virus (BTV) can have devastating economic and health consequences, but their origins can be difficult to establish. New research published in the open access journal PLOS Biology this week shows that the recent re-emergence of BTV in France could have been cause...Read more -
Vampire bat immunity and infection risk respond to livestock rearing
The availability of livestock as a food source for vampire bats influences their immune response and infection by bacterial pathogens, according to a new paper in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Because cattle ranching is common in areas where the bats live, the findings have i...Read more -
Securing the future of cattle production in Africa
A ‘world-first’ study of the genomes of indigenous cattle in Africa has revealed vital clues that will help secure the future of cattle production on the continent. Cattle are an increasingly important resource in Africa as sustainable sources of food, milk, traction and manure. With ...Read more -
Researchers find genetic ‘dial’ can control body size in pigs
Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a connection between the expression of the HMGA2 gene and body size in pigs. The work further demonstrates the gene’s importance in body size regulation across mammalian species, and provides a target for gene modification. ...Read more -
Pathogen Resistance To Antibiotics In Animals Could Lead To Resistant Human Pathogens
It’s bad enough when pathogenic bacteria work their way into the animal food supply. Here’s a related problem that has recently attracted scientists’ attention: some of the pathogens may become resistant to the antimicrobials that are used to fight animal disease, and that might lead to more huma...Read more -
New experimental vaccine for African swine fever virus shows promise
Government and academic investigators have developed a vaccine against African swine fever that appears to be far more effective than previously developed vaccines. The research appears this week in the Journal of Virology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology. Currently, there ...Read more -
How foot-and-mouth disease virus begins infection in cattle
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have identified the primary site where the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) begins infection in cattle. This discovery could lead to development of new vaccines to control and potentially eradicate FMD, a highly contagious and sometim...Read more -
Healthy soil lifts animal weight
Managing soil by well-designed grazing is the key to an animal’s growth and wellbeing shows new research that links soil health, pasture value and sustainable production Individual pastures on livestock farms yield surprisingly dissimilar benefits to a farm’s overall agricultural in...Read more -
Gene-edited pigs are resistant to billion-dollar virus
Scientists have produced pigs that can resist one of the world’s most costly animal diseases, by changing their genetic code. Tests with the virus — called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, or PRRS — found the pigs do not become infected at all. The animals show no ...Read more -
Experts advise using benchmarking to identify farms with high antibiotic use
Findings provide additional insight and potential routes through which antibiotic use can be reduced A number of British dairy farms are using extremely high levels of antibiotics in their cattle, finds a study published by Vet Record today. The findings from a large sample of farms across the UK...Read more -
DNA study of cow stomachs could aid meat and dairy production
Meat and milk production from cattle could one day be boosted, thanks to analysis of microbes in cows’ stomachs. The study paves the way for research to understand which types of microbe — such as bacteria — are best at helping cattle to extract energy from their food, experts s...Read more -
Deadly bacterial infection in pigs deciphered
New-born piglets often die painfully from infection with an intestinal bacterium. A team of researchers from 3 faculties at the University of Bern has now discovered how the bacterium causes fatal intestinal bleeding. They have thus made a breakthrough in veterinary research. Promising prospects ...Read more -
Cracking the genetic code for complex traits in cattle
Global genomic study accurately maps height in cattle, humans and dogs A massive global study involving 58,000 cattle has pinpointed the genes that influence the complex genetic trait of height in cattle, opening the door for researchers to use the same approach to map high-value traits including...Read more -
Conflict between farmers and livestock predators
A new Journal of Wildlife Management study conducted in South Africa has found that black-backed jackals, a similar species to coyotes and dingoes, prefer to eat livestock rather than similar-sized wild prey, which has important consequences for livestock husbandry and the management of predators...Read more -
Cattle-killer Two parasites are better than one
When calves are infected by two parasite species at the same time, one parasite renders the other far less deadly, according to a new study published in the current journal of Science Advances. The international team of scientists has quantified, for the first time, how co-infection significantly...Read more -
Cattle, sheep and goats may transmit leptospirosis to humans in Tanzania
Leptospirosis, which affects more than one million people worldwide each year, is known to be transmitted to humans from a wide range of animals. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have discovered that more than 7 percent of the cattle and 1 percent of sheep and goats ...Read more -
Cattle Unraveling the immunopathogenesis of Johne’s disease
A research team has unraveled the immunopathogenesis of Johne’s disease, a chronic bovine disease that has caused endemics in Japan and many other countries, placing financial burdens on cattle farmers. Researchers of Hokkaido University, the National Agriculture and Food Research Organizat...Read more -
Cattle may spread leptospirosis in Africa, study suggests
The bacterial infection leptospirosis is increasingly recognized as an important cause of fever in Africa. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have analyzed the major risk factors for contracting leptospirosis and discovered that rice and cattle farming are associated w...Read more -
Wild animals’ immune systems decline with age, sheep study finds
It is well established that weakened immune systems in old age affect people’s health and fitness, but a study suggests that it is also an issue for wild animals. Researchers studying wild Soay sheep on the remote St Kilda archipelago have revealed that the animals’ immune responses t...Read more -
Toxin promotes cattle-to-cattle transmission of deadly Escherichia coli strains
Shiga toxin subtype 2a (Stx2a) may play a key role in promoting the colonization and transmission of life-threatening Escherichia coli strains in cattle, according to a study published October 3 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Tom McNeilly of the Moredun Research Institute, David Gal...Read more -
Respiratory diseases linked with high blood pressure in lungs
Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that affects the lungs of both animals and people. When tiny vessels in the lungs become narrowed or blocked, it becomes harder for blood to flow through and can cause the heart to weaken or fail. Now, researchers at the University of Missou...Read more -
Potential for reduced methane from cows
An international team of scientists has shown it is possible to breed cattle to reduce their methane emissions. Published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers showed that the genetics of an individual cow strongly influenced the make-up of the microorganisms in its rumen (the first st...Read more -
Poisonous grasses and livestock
Stories of mass poisoning incidents of livestock due to toxic grasses made headlines especially overseas. Animal ecologists have studied whether this hazard is also lurking on German pastures. “Dangerous Pastures: Deadly Grass Puts Horses at Risk” — Such dire warnings on the we...Read more
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