Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Research confirms what dog lovers know - every pup is truly an individual.
Many of the popular stereotypes about the behaviour of golden retrievers, poodles or schnauzers, for example, aren't supported by science, according to a new study.
“There is a huge amount of behavioural variation in every breed, and at the end of the day, every dog really is an individual,” said study co-author and University of Massachusetts geneticist Elinor Karlsson.
She said pet owners love to talk about their dog's personality, as illustrated by some owners at a New York dog park.
Elizabeth Kelly said her English springer spaniel was “friendly, but she's also kind of the queen bee.” Suly Ortiz described her yellow Lab as “really calm, lazy and shy.”
And Rachel Kim's mixed-breed dog is “a lot of different dogs, personality wise - super independent, really affectionate with me and my husband, but pretty, pretty suspicious of other people, other dogs.”
That kind of enthusiasm from pet owners inspired Karlsson's latest scientific inquiry. She wanted to know to what extent are behavioural patterns inherited - and how much are dog breeds associated with distinctive and predictable behaviours?
The answer: While physical traits such as a greyhound's long legs or a Dalmatian's spots are clearly inherited, breed is not a strong predictor of any individual dog's personality.
The researchers' work, published Thursday in the journal Science, marshals a massive dataset to reach these conclusions - the most ever compiled, said Adam Boyko, a geneticist at Cornell University, who was not involved in the study.
Dogs became humanity's best friend more than 14,000 years ago, as the only animal domesticated before the advent of agriculture.
But the concept of dog breeds is much more recent. Around 160 years ago, people began to selectively breed dogs to have certain consistent physical traits, like coat texture and color and ear shape.
The researchers surveyed more than 18,000 dog owners and analyzed the genomes of about 2,150 of their dogs to look for patterns.
They found that some behaviours - such as howling, pointing and showing friendliness to human strangers -do have at least some genetic basis. But that inheritance isn't strictly passed down along breed lines.
For example, they found golden retrievers that don't retrieve, said co-author Kathryn Lord, who studies animal behaviour with Karlsson.
Some breeds, such as huskies and beagles, may show a greater tendency to howl. But many of these dogs don't, as both the owner survey and genetic data showed.
The researchers could find no genetic basis for aggressive behaviours nor a link to specific breeds.
“The correlation between dog behaviour and dog breed is much lower than most expected,” said Jeff Kidd, a geneticist at the University of Michigan, who had no role in the research.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the U.S. over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.