Could Your Dog Ever Really Talk to You? Scientists Tackle Humanity's Oldest Dream
For centuries, we've imagined it: a dog who could bark out "I love you" or "More treats, please!" Now researchers are asking whether this fantasy could ever become reality—and the answer is more fascinating than you might think.
Owning a dog is influenced by our genetic make-up
A team of Swedish and British scientists have studied the heritability of dog ownership using information from 35,035 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Registry. The new study suggests that genetic variation explains more than half of the variation in dog ownership, implying that the choice of getting a dog is heavily influenced by an individual's genetic make-up.
Man’s best friend could be the spotted lanternfly’s worst enemy
A new study led by Virginia Tech found that volunteer dog-handler teams — made up of everyday people and their pets — can effectively detect the elusive egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that's damaging farms and forests across the eastern and central United States.
