University of Central Florida researchers helmed a study that found Florida panthers are not particularly susceptible to a potentially transmissible disease that causes cognitive decline leading to death in their prey.

The findings abate concerns that this fatal disease, known as chronic wasting disease, is threatening the species.

Known as Bang’s disease or undulant fever, brucellosis is a highly contagious condition affecting cattle, bison, and swine, leading to infertility, lameness, and loss of young. It can also infect humans, presenting serious health risks. Alarmingly, Brucella abortus is becoming increasingly antibiotic-resistant, making treatment more challenging.

Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) are shedding light on the Y chromosome in horses, providing insights that could guide breeding practices and support efforts to preserve breed diversity.

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 essential for their health, well-being, and production performance. One key factor in whether stalls are comfortable for cows is the ease with which they can get up and down, so it is common on farms for staff to watch for abnormal rising behaviors as part of standard welfare management. In a new study in the Journal of Dairy Science,published by Elsevier, a Swedish team, in collaboration with Sony Nordic, introduced a new automated model that accurately detects posture transitions in dairy cows. This innovative approach using 3-dimensional (3D) pose estimation offers valuable, unbiased insights into animal welfare and could offer a less time-consuming and more consistent assessment tool for researchers and farmers alike.

It’s commonly known in the cattle industry that bovine respiratory disease is the most costly illness affecting cattle in North America.

Despite extensive research and treatment efforts over the years, it continues to lead to high rates of sickness and death among livestock, according to Samantha Howe, a post-doctoral fellow for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station in the animal science department. The experiment station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.