Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy are progressive neuromuscular diseases caused by mutations in the DMD gene, which encodes the protein dystrophin. About two-thirds of patients (nearly all boys) inherit the mutation in an X-linked recessive pattern from their mothers. It was thought that female carriers of this mutation would be protected from expressing the disease due to the normal copy of the DMD gene on their second X chromosome. But a new study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital reports about half of women who carry the genetic defect responsible for muscular dystrophy show evidence of cardiac fibrosis.

Read the whole report here: Cardiomyopathy in Mothers of Boys with Muscular Dystrophy.

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.