How did selective breeding by ancient humans change the timid, rainforest-dwelling junglefowl into today’s domesticated chicken? In a recent study, researchers from Linköping University in Sweden bred wild junglefowl with the least fear of humans for ten generations, ending up with smaller-brained birds more tolerant of potentially frightening stimuli. The results show how the process of domestication may shape the brains and behavior of chickens and other animals that live among humans.

Read my latest Animal Minds blog post: Domestication Made Smaller-Brained, Less Fearful Chickens.

When talking to infants, people tend to change the speed, pitch and timbre of their voice in a phenomenon known as motherese or baby talk. According to new research, this may not be unique to humans: Some bat moms use their own version of 'baby talk' to communicate with their pups.

Read my latest Animal Minds post: Bat Moms ‘Baby Talk’ to their Pups.

In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a gene replacement therapy for the inherited, progressive neuromuscular disease 5q-linked spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Approval included all children with SMA under the age of two years; however, the gene therapy had only been studied in children aged up to 8 months. Now, a new study discusses safety and early outcomes in a large cohort of SMA patients under the age of two years who were treated with gene therapy.

Read more at Pediatrics Nationwide: A Multicenter Look at Gene Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. The return not only reestablished these apex predators in part of their historic range, it has provided a unique opportunity to study the details of wolf behavior.

Researchers studying Yellowstone National Park’s wolves are learning intimate details of these predators’ lives – and finding out wolf families are a lot like our own.

Read my latest Animal Minds post: Wolf Leader Pairs Stay Together for Life.

Thousands of years of selective breeding by humans has resulted in an extraordinary degree of diversity in domestic dogs. Currently, more than 400 dog breeds are recognized internationally, running the gamut from 150-pound guard dogs to 5-pound toy companions.

Recently, genomic sequencing studies have begun to elucidate the genes behind dogs’ varied sizes and shapes. But much less is known about genetic differences in the ways dogs think and behave. Now, in a pair of new studies, researchers combine citizen science and big genomic data to examine whether there are genetically based breed differences in cognitive and behavioral traits.

Read the rest at my Animal Minds blog: Do Dog Breeds Differ in Cognitive Traits?