ScienceHuman History

Cryonics, Dakota the Dog, and the Hope of Forever

As pet deathcare providers, we assist families with the euthanasia process in their own homes and with the disposition of their pet’s body once death has occurred. Most families chose traditional dispositions like burial or cremation. Less frequently, they may choose something untraditional, like taxidermy. This would be the first time we’ve ever worked with … Continued

ScienceBiology

Your Dog’s Ice-Cold Nose May Be a Sensor for Detecting Heat at Distance

The amazing canine nose is more impressive than we thought, demonstrating the ability to detect weak infrared radiation from a distance, according to new research. The rhinarium—the cold, wet, bare tip of a dog’s snout—is capable of sensing weak thermal radiation, according to new research published today in Scientific Reports. The canine nose, therefore, in … Continued

io9Toys & Collectibles

You Can Pretend to Murder This Adorable Robotic Balloon Dog

Unless artist Jeff Koons, known for his giant balloon dog sculptures, decides to get litigious, Moose Toys will be introducing some competition for Sony’s Aibo later this year with Squeakee, the world’s first robotic balloon dog that could potentially put clowns and birthday party entertainers out of business. Robotic toys have become a driving force … Continued

io9

The First Clip From Star Trek: Picard Stars a Very Good Boy

The dog’s fabulous too, to be fair. Yes, Picard is just a week away from hitting CBS All Access, and after trailers and teasers, we’ve got our first look at an extended clip from the show, courtesy of TV Insider. Don’t expect too much, but perhaps that’s sort of the point: this clip, and Picard … Continued

ScienceBiology

Surprising Experiment Suggests Wolf Puppies Can Play Fetch

Scientists in Sweden have shown that some wolf pups, like dogs, are capable of playing fetch with humans. It’s an unexpected result, one that suggests the ancestors of dogs were primed for domestication. A new study published in iScience presents evidence showing that some wolf pups, with a bit of encouragement, will retrieve a tossed … Continued

Tech News

It’s Time to Stop Using Police Dogs

One overcast day in February 2016, a massive police motorcade coursed through Pittsburgh. Hundreds of officers mourned one of their own—Officer Aren, a five-year-old German Shepherd, a four-year veteran of the city’s Port Authority force. The dog had died from stab wounds. Days earlier, 37-year-old Bruce Kelly, Jr., a Black Baltimore resident, was reportedly drinking … Continued

ScienceHealth

Pet Store Puppies Are Giving People Bloody Diarrhea

Dog lovers beware: Federal health officials are warning that puppies, particularly those found in pet stores, are once again behind an outbreak of a nasty stomach bug that can cause bloody diarrhea. The yucky culprit is a bacteria called Campylobacter jejuni. It’s one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrhea worldwide, often accompanied by … Continued

ScienceBiology

Found Frozen and Almost Perfectly Preserved in Permafrost, this 18,000-Year-Old Puppy Could Be a Huge Deal

The DNA of an exquisitely preserved puppy found in Siberia doesn’t appear to fit the profile of a dog or a wolf, which means the specimen might be something in between. The frozen puppy, found near Yakutsk in eastern Siberia, was just two months old when it died, reports CNN. Scientists from the Centre for … Continued

ScienceHealth

German Man Develops Fatal Infection After Being Licked by His Dog

An unassuming lick from a dog is being blamed for the death of an otherwise healthy German man. It’s a strange medical case involving a normally harmless bacterium, but experts say it’s nothing to worry about and that most of us can continue to let our dogs slobber all over us. Humans have germs in … Continued

ScienceBiology

Good Boy, Bad Driver

A Labrador retriever had a dizzying adventure in a Florida cul-de-sac on Thursday after getting stuck in a car that that spun in circles like a dog chasing it’s own tail. Port St. Lucie police told a NBC local affiliate that the pooch’s owner stepped out of the car but left the engine running. Then … Continued

io9Games

To 15 Years of World of Warcraft, and All the Pups I’ve Loved Before

This coming weekend, on November 23, the Warcraft franchise marks some significant birthdays. Not only is it 25 years since Blizzard’s fantasy series first kicked off with the release of Orcs and Humans, it’s also 15 years to the day since Azeroth became open to all in World of Warcraft, changing video games forever. For … Continued

ScienceBiology

Scientists Need 10,000 Dog Volunteers for Very Important Research

Calling all good boys and girls: This week, researchers debuted a citizen science project that’s hoping to enlist 10,000 furry friends to better study aging in both dogs and people. And they’re asking pet owners across the U.S. to volunteer their pups to participate. The Dog Aging Project, or DAP, is a collaboration between researchers … Continued

ScienceBiology

At Least We Can All Agree That People Who Torture Animals Should Be in Prison

Providing new evidence that the last remaining thing we can all agree on is that animals are good, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass a bill that would make animal cruelty a federal offense, broadening a 2010 law that banned videos of animals being tortured. The original law, the Animal … Continued

io9Trailers

Lady and the Tramp‘s Talking Dogs Are Even More Unsettling in the Latest Trailer

Disney’s Lady and the Tramp isn’t just the studio’s latest live-action adaptation of an animated classic that we could all just stay at home it watch, it’s an unsettling look at the current state of the VFX and animation techniques that are making it possible for animals to talk and emote like humans, which is … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Titans Turned Superboy Into Frankenstein’s Manchild, and It Was Awesome

Titans’ cast of superheroes and villains has gotten so large that the series has largely shifted away from dedicating entire episodes to single characters, but this week’s straightforwardly named “Conner” focused on nothing but the latest live-action incarnation of Superman and Lex Luthor’s genetically-engineered offspring. Superboy’s got two dads, and Titans is very insistent about … Continued

Tech News

Uber’s Making It Easier to Bring Your Pet for the Ride—and Don’t You Dare Ruin This for Me

One of the downsides of being a pet owner without a vehicle at your disposal is that getting around in a pinch typically means you’re at the mercy of someone willing to transport the two of you in good faith. Uber knows this can be tricky, and it’s launching a new pilot, Uber Pet, to … Continued

io9Television

Looks Like Cowboy Bebop’s Live-Action Ein Is an Extremely Good Boy

While everyone knows that cats are fantastic, the live-action Cowboy Bebop’s first production video is a reminder that dogs, too, are good. Great, even. Following the casting news for Cowboy Bebop’s core cast of humans, what wasn’t clear was how the series was going to go about depicting Ein, the group’s trusted corgi pal who’s … Continued

ScienceBiology

Creator of Labradoodles Says He Unleashed ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’

Three decades ago, while working at the Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia, Wally Conron bred a guide dog that could live in a household with a blind woman and her dog-allergic husband. Almost immediately he realized that his creation, the labradoodle, was a monstrosity. Conron, who was a breeding manager, received the request from … Continued

ScienceBiology

Different Dog Breeds Have Different Brains, Scientists Find

As humans have gone, so have their canine companions. But a new study shows the subtle ways our long-lasting partnership has molded the noggins of our dogs. Different breeds have slightly different brains from one another, the study found—differences that seem to be linked not just to the shape and size of the breed, but … Continued

io9Trailers

Star Crossed Puppers Shine in the Adorable First Trailer for Disney’s Live-Action Lady and The Tramp Remake

Disney just gave us our first look at the remake of Lady & The Tramp in action at D23, and be warned: if you’re a dog person, you’re going to start squeeing pretty damn fast. Although there is a little CG enhanced oddities here and there, mainly in the dogs eyes in some shots. But … Continued