Pet-owners

The biggest tragedy of pet ownership is that they just don’t live long enough. Thankfully scientists are working on that, with a new cancer vaccine for dogs that almost doubles their survival rates in the face of certain types of the disease.

Getting your cat spayed is a normal part of pet ownership, but it can be expensive, invasive and not very practical on strays. Now scientists have tested a new method that renders female cats permanently sterile with a single gene therapy injection.

A single protein called Fel d 1 is responsible for the lion's share of human cat allergies, but a company called InBio says its initial research indicates a promising possibility that this protein can be eliminated safely using CRISPR gene editing.

A new survey has found owning a pet is associated with better mental health during COVID-19 lockdowns. The survey also linked pet ownership to lower levels of loneliness, and both positive associations were detected regardless of species.