Cows, Sheep, Pigs News

December 20, 2024

Top Headlines

Sugar Solution Fights Infection in Dairy Cows Just as Well as Antibiotics

Dec. 19, 2024 — A concentrated sugar solution could be just as effective as antibiotics at treating a common infection in dairy cows, according to a new ...

Genes Linked to Deadly Parasites' Spread Beyond Africa Identified

Dec. 19, 2024 — Parasites that cause the deadly illness known as sleeping sickness can spread beyond their native Africa as a result of mutations to key genes, a study ...

Flu Virus Remains Infectious in Refrigerated Raw Milk, Study Reveals

Dec. 13, 2024 — Influenza or flu virus remains infectious in refrigerated raw milk for up to five days, according to a new study. The findings come at a time when outbreaks of bird flu -- a different subtype of the same influenza virus -- in dairy cattle have ...

How Chemical Reactions Deplete Nutrients in Plant-Based Drinks

Dec. 13, 2024 — A new study of plant-based drinks reveals a common issue: they are lacking in proteins and essential amino acids compared to cow's milk. The explanation lies in their extensive processing, causing chemical reactions that degrade protein quality in ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:15pm EST

Bighorn Sheep Face Death by Avalanche in Sierra Nevada Range

Dec. 10, 2024 — Snow cover in the Sierra Nevada is expected to shrink overall as the climate warms, but avalanche frequency could remain the same or even increase at high elevations. That's bad news for bighorn ...

Virtual Fences Are a Pollinator-Friendly Option for Ranchlands

Dec. 9, 2024 — Fences are an effective stationary method of corralling livestock, but their sharp borders can create sudden changes in native grassland vegetation and the pollinators and birds that live there. ...

Single Mutation in H5N1 Influenza Surface Protein Could Enable Easier Human Infection

Dec. 6, 2024 — A single modification in the protein found on the surface of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 influenza virus currently circulating ...

Scientists Identify Mutation That Could Facilitate H5N1 'Bird Flu' Virus Infection and Potential Transmission in Humans

Dec. 5, 2024 — Avian influenza viruses typically require several mutations to adapt and spread among humans, but what happens when just one change can increase the ...

Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40%

Dec. 2, 2024 — Scientists find making a seaweed additive more accessible to grazing cattle reduces methane emissions 40% and could make cattle farming more ...

Automated 3D Computer Vision Model Offers a New Tool to Measure and Understand Dairy Cow Behavior and Welfare

Nov. 20, 2024 — Dairy cows typically rest for 10 or more hours a day, so a dry, clean, and comfortable place -- such as a freestall -- to lie down and rest is ...

Elephant Seal Colony Declines One Year After Avian Flu Outbreak

Nov. 11, 2024 — A year after an outbreak of H5N1 killed thousands of elephant seals in Argentina, only about a third of the seals normally expected here returned, scientists ...

Small Reductions to Meat Production in Wealthier Countries May Help Fight Climate Change, New Analysis Concludes

Nov. 4, 2024 — Scientists and environmental activists have consistently called for drastic reductions in meat production as a way to reduce emissions and, in doing ...

H5N1 Virus Isolated from Infected Dairy Worker Is 100% Lethal in Ferrets, but Does Not Appear to Be Circulating in Nature Anymore

Oct. 28, 2024 — A strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus found in a Texas dairy worker who was infected this spring was able to spread among ferrets through the air, ...

Thin Skin Significantly Blunts Injury from Puncture

Oct. 28, 2024 — Thin, stretchy skin -- like that of a pig or human -- significantly lessens the underlying damage that occurs when it's punctured. Pig skin even outperforms synthetic materials that are designed to ...

Lab-Grown Pork Gets Support from Sorghum Grain

Oct. 28, 2024 — Meat grown in a lab isn't science fiction anymore. Cultured meats have existed for over a decade, and as of 2023, you might even find lab-grown chicken in restaurants (in the U.S., at least). ...

Geometric Mechanics Shape the Dog's Nose

Oct. 22, 2024 — The noses of many mammals, such as dogs, ferrets and cows, feature grooves forming a multitude of polygons. A team has analyzed in detail how these patterns form in the embryo using 3D imaging ...

AI Decodes Microbes' Message in Milk Safety Testing Approach

Oct. 17, 2024 — By combining the genetic sequencing and analysis of the microbes in a milk sample with artificial intelligence (AI), researchers were able to detect anomalies in milk production, such as ...

Methane Emissions from Dairy Farms Higher Than Thought -- But Conversion Could Reduce Emissions

Oct. 2, 2024 — New research has found methane emissions from slurry stores on dairy farms may be up to five times greater than official statistics suggest -- and highlights the huge potential for turning them into ...

World's Oldest Cheese Reveals Origins of Kefir

Sep. 25, 2024 — Scientists successfully extracted and analyzed DNA from ancient cheese samples found alongside the Tarim Basin mummies in China, dating back approximately 3,600 years. The research suggests a new ...

Are Cows Pickier Than Goats?

Sep. 19, 2024 — Linnaeus collected 643 different plant species that were then fed to horses, cows, pigs, sheep and goats. The results were carefully compiled but not analyzed until now, 275 years ...

An Unexpected Result: The Mammalian Inner Ear Is a Striking Example of Convergent Evolution

Sep. 17, 2024 — A new study reveals the surprisingly convergent evolution in the inner ear of mammals. An international research team showed that a group of highly divergent mammals known as Afrotheria and distantly ...

Sep. 12, 2024 — Researchers can harvest protein and vitamin B9 from microbes by feeding them nothing much more than hydrogen, oxygen, and CO2. The technology runs on renewable energy to produce a sustainable, ...

Cattle Raised by Maasai Farmers Aren't the Conservation Villains They've Been Made out to Be, Study Finds

Sep. 9, 2024 — A new study has found the pastoral practices of the Indigenous Maasai people of Kenya had almost no discernible positive or negative effect on the ecological well-being of the Maasai Mara National ...

Ancient Sea Cow Attacked by a Crocodile and Sharks Sheds New Light on Prehistoric Food Chains

Aug. 29, 2024 — A new study showing how a prehistoric sea cow was preyed upon by not one, but two different carnivores -- a crocodilian and a shark -- is revealing clues into both the predation tactics of ancient ...

Aoudad, Bighorn Sheep Share Respiratory Pathogens

Aug. 27, 2024 — A team of researchers has discovered that aoudad -- an animal in the sheep and goat family -- can catch and spread many of the same respiratory pathogens that can impact desert bighorn sheep, a ...

How Baleen Whales Have Adapted Over the Past 50 Million Years

Aug. 22, 2024 — The largest dataset of cetacean genes ever collated has helped scientists deep dive 'into the blue' to fathom the 'triumph' of baleen whale evolution. The new study explores the ...

Environmental Laws Failing to Slow Deforestation

Aug. 20, 2024 — Australia's environmental laws are failing to stop high rates of tree clearing to make way for agriculture, development and ...

New Insights on How Bird Flu Crosses the Species Barrier

Aug. 19, 2024 — The avian influenza virus needs to mutate to cross the species barrier and to infect and replicate within mammalian cells. Scientists have now deciphered the structure of the avian influenza ...

Cheese of the Future: Consumers Open to Animal-Free Alternatives

Aug. 1, 2024 — Companies and institutes are currently working on biotechnological processes for the production of 'dairy products' without the use of cows: In so-called precision fermentation, egg and ...

Unraveling a Key Junction Underlying Muscle Contraction

July 31, 2024 — Using powerful new visualization technologies, researchers have captured the first 3-D images of the structure of a key muscle receptor, providing new insights on how muscles develop across the ...

New Study Confirms Mammal-to-Mammal Avian Flu Spread

July 24, 2024 — A new study provides evidence that a spillover of avian influenza from birds to dairy cattle across several U.S. states has now led to mammal-to-mammal transmission -- between cows and from cows to ...

Understanding How a Red Seaweed Reduces Methane Emissions from Cows

July 22, 2024 — New research has implications for addressing a leading contributor to climate warming, ...

Receptors Make Dairy Cows a Prime Target for Influenza

July 15, 2024 — A study helps explain why dairy cows infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza are shedding the virus in their milk. Their findings could help develop biosecurity measures aimed at slowing the ...

Big Boost for New Epigenetics Paradigm: CoRSIVs, First Discovered in Humans, Now Found in Cattle

July 14, 2024 — A study opens new possibilities to improve production efficiency in the cattle industry and potentially animal agriculture more ...