The origin of domestic dog breeds

The scientific roots of doggie diversity

Carly Ameen, University of Exeter and Allowen Evin, Université de Montpellier

Domestic dogs are among the most diverse mammals on the planet. From the tiny chihuahua to the towering Great Dane, the flat-faced pug to the long-muzzled borzoi, the sheer range of canine shapes and sizes is staggering.

We often attribute this diversity to a relatively recent phenomenon: the Victorian kennel clubs that first emerged around 200 years ago. These clubs are usually credited with formalizing the selective breeding that created the hundreds of modern breeds we recognize today.

But our new research, published in Science, shows that this is only the latest chapter in a much older story. Dogs were already remarkably diverse in their skull size and shape more than 10,000 years ago, long before kennel clubs and pedigrees.

This discovery challenges the idea that directed breeding alone created the physical variety we see in dogs today. Instead, our research found that early dogs had already evolved an extraordinary range of forms soon after domestication – a diversity that has been continually shaped by thousands of years of shared history with humans.

Bobby Kennedy Jr. breaks promise to Congress by making the CDC promote vaccine disinformation

After unprecedented autism-vaccine messaging change, scientists, advocates say CDC no longer trustworthy

Liz Szabo, MA

For nearly 80 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was respected around the world for its authoritative, evidence-based leadership in public health.

But the CDC’s stunning reversal Wednesday—stating on its website that “studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”—shows the agency can no longer be trusted, multiple doctors and public health advocates told CIDRAP News.

Until late yesterday, the CDC webpage accurately stated, “Studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). No links have been found between any vaccine ingredients and ASD.”

Today, the CDC website echoes the views of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has claimed without evidence that vaccines cause autism. 

The CDC website now states, “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

A 'tragic day' for public health

Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said Paul Offit, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine. “The CDC is being weaponized to promote RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine point of view. So why should you trust it?”

Many public health experts who spoke to CIDRAP News sounded sorrowful.

“Today is a tragic day for public health, for the US government,” said Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (publisher of CIDRAP News). “Ideology has replaced science as the means for addressing life-saving research and best practices that save lives.”

Many physicians worry that the CDC’s new message will dissuade parents from vaccinating their children.

“This will cause real harm,” said Jake Scott, MD, an infectious disease expert and clinical associate professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

“Parents searching for trustworthy information will find official CDC language that appears to validate concerns that have been thoroughly debunked. Some will delay or skip vaccines. We know what happens next—preventable diseases return to communities with low vaccination rates.”

The CDC also removed scientific reviews of vaccines from its website. The website now rehashes conspiracy theories claiming that government scientists and the medical community have hidden the truth about vaccines, claiming, that “studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.”

Americans are unprepared for the expensive and complex process of aging

Some planning advice

Kahli Zietlow, University of Michigan

Even fame and fortune can't save you from an ugly death
...unless you plan

Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in February 2025. Hackman had been living with Alzheimer’s and depended on Arakawa as his full-time caregiver.

Disturbingly, postmortem data suggests that Arakawa died of complications from pulmonary Hantavirus several days before her husband passed. The discordant times of death point to a grim scenario: Hackman was left alone and helpless, trapped in his home after his wife’s death.

The couple’s story, while shocking, is not unique. It serves as a warning for our rapidly aging society. The U.S. population is aging, but most Americans are not adequately planning to meet the needs of older adulthood.

As a geriatric physician and medical educator, I care for older adults in both inpatient and outpatient settings. My research and clinical work focus on dementia and surrogate decision-making.

In my experience, regardless of race, education or socioeconomic status, there are some universal challenges that all people face with aging and there are steps everyone can take to prepare.

A picture of a presidency that would make sense—in 25 thoughts

If we lived in In a Sane World 

Steven Beschloss

Most days I try to take the daily onslaught of chaos and crazy as practically as I can. That doesn’t mean normalizing it—treating all the mad demolition as if it reflects “reality”—but rather accepting that this is the hand we’ve been dealt and confronting it as soberly as I can.

The more the unfolding stories involve extreme injustice and inequality, violent abuse, hatred and bigotry, the harder I find it to respond cooly and calmly. 

Some things are just deeply immoral and wrong—and I’ll be damned if I’m going to adapt myself to what I know must be grounds for battle.

But, honestly, when I think more deeply about these things, I don’t only try to differentiate true from false and right from wrong, but also to remember what should be obvious in a normal world versus what is happening that is just frankly batshit crazy. 

In an effort to both spotlight the ways in which our beloved country has been turned upside down this year and also hold onto my sanity, what follows are 25 brief reflections on what I think a sane world would include. Here goes!

In a sane world:

1. The voters would never elect a pathological liar, malignant narcissist, sadist and sociopath who hates most of the country’s people—a broken man who is chiefly interested in enriching himself, getting attention, creating havoc, savoring violence and seeking retribution against his perceived enemies.

It's a hoax!

Come and meet our next Charlestown Town Council member ON tUESDAY

Trump EPA’s Rollback of Wetlands Protections Is Latest ‘Gift’ to Polluters, Groups Say

MAGA gifts and grifts our drinking water

Julia Conley

Environmental justice campaigners say the Trump administration’s latest rollback of wetland protections was “a gift to developers and polluters at the expense of communities” and demanded permanent protections for waterways.

“Clean water protections shouldn’t change with each administration,” said Betsy Southerland, former director of the Office of Science and Technology in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water. “Every family deserves the same right to safe water, no matter where they live or who’s in office.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin proposed changes to the rule known as “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), which has been the subject of debate and legal challenges in recent decades. Under the Trump administration, as in President Donald Trump’s first term, the EPA will focus on regulating permanent bodies of water like oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams.

The administration would more closely follow a 2023 Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. EPA, which the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found this year would remove federal protections from 60-95% of wetlands across the nation.

The Zeldin rule would eliminate protections for most wetlands without visible surface water, going even further than Sackett v. EPA in codifying a narrower definition of wetlands that should be protected, said the Environmental Protection Network (EPN). The rule comes after pressure from industry groups that have bristled over past requirements to protect all waterways.

Wetlands provide critical wildlife habitats, replenish groundwater, control flooding, and protect clean water by filtering pollution.

Don’t let food poisoning crash your Thanksgiving dinner

Turkey trots are no fun

Lisa Cuchara, Quinnipiac University

This is NOT an appropriate practice

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends and feasting. However, amid the joy of gathering and indulging in delicious food, it is essential to keep food safety in mind. Foodborne illnesses can quickly put a damper on your celebrations.

As an immunologist and infectious disease specialist, I study how germs spread – and how to prevent them from doing so. In my courses, I teach my students how to reduce microbial risks, including those tied to activities such as hosting a big Thanksgiving gathering, without becoming germophobes.

Foodborne illnesses sicken 48 million Americans – 1 in 6 people – each year. Holiday meals such as Thanksgiving pose special risks because these spreads often involve large quantities, long prep times, buffet-style serving and mingling guests. Such conditions create many opportunities for germs to spread.

This, in turn, invites a slew of microbial guests such as Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens. Most people recover from infections with foodborne bacteria, but each year around 3,000 Americans die from the illnesses they cause. More routinely, these bugs can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea within hours to a couple of days after being consumed – which are no fun at a holiday celebration.

Foods most likely to cause holiday illness

Most foodborne illnesses come from raw or undercooked food and foods left in the so-called danger zone of cooking temperature – 40 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit – in which bacteria multiply rapidly. Large-batch cooking without proper reheating or storage as well as cross contamination of foods during preparation can also cause disease.

Not all dishes pose the same risk. Turkey can harbor Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens. Undercooked turkey remains a leading cause of Thanksgiving-related illness. Raw turkey drippings can also easily spread bacteria onto hands, utensils and counters. And don’t forget the stuffing inside the bird. While the turkey may reach a safe internal temperature, the stuffing often does not, making it a higher-risk dish.

Leftovers stored too long, reheated improperly or cooled slowly also bring hazards. If large pieces of roasted turkey aren’t divided and cooled quickly, any Clostridium perfringens they contain might have time to produce toxins. This increases the risk of getting sick from snacking on leftovers – even reheated leftovers, since these toxins are not killed by heat.

Indeed, each November and December outbreaks involving this bacterium spike, often due to encounters with turkey and roast beef leftovers.

Don’t wash the turkey!

Washing anything makes it cleaner and safer, right? Not necessarily.

What the Trump regime is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic

One way to deal with a health care crisis is to pretend it doesn't exist

By Nat Lash for ProPublica

Nearly a million chickens packed the barns at Howe’s Hens last Christmas Eve when the first of them tested positive for bird flu. The deadly virus spreads so fast that even if only one hen is infected, farmers are legally obligated to kill all of the others. Massive mounds of carcasses soon appeared outside the Ohio egg farm, covered in compost. 

The slaughter wasn’t enough. The virus tore through industrial barns in Darke County and moved on through one of the most poultry-dense regions in America, crossing the state line into Indiana. Rows of raised earth became a familiar sight alongside the roads that crisscrossed the plains. The air stank of death, recalled cafe owner Deborah Mertz: “The smell of every bird in Mercer County, rotting.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture urged farmers to follow a longstanding playbook that assumes that bird flu is spread by wild birds and tracked into barns with lax safety practices. The agency blamed the outbreak on “shared people and equipment.”  

Three years into a brutal wave of the virus, industry leaders raised evidence that bird flu was entering barns differently and evading even the strictest protocols. They suspected it could be airborne and begged officials to deploy a proven weapon against the disease: a vaccine for poultry.

The USDA didn’t do that or explore their theory, and its playbook failed: In just three months, the virus that erupted in a single Ohio farm spread to flocks with over 18 million hens — 5% of America’s egg layers. All were killed to try to stop the contagion, and egg prices hit historic highs, surpassing the previous fall’s spike, which Donald Trump had cited as a massive failure of economic leadership in his successful campaign for the presidency.

After a quiet summer, bird flu is on the move again, and experts say it poses an escalating threat. While the virus doesn’t appear capable of spreading from human to human, it has killed people exposed to sick poultry. This year, the United States saw its first death from bird flu, a Louisiana senior with a flock of backyard chickens.  

Viruses are constantly evolving, and if a person catches bird flu while infected with a seasonal flu, the pathogens could mutate into a variant that infects large numbers of people. “The minute it transmits in humans, it’s done,” warned Erin Sorrell, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. 

Given the stakes — and the government’s limited investigation of this winter’s outbreak — ProPublica set out to examine the USDA’s continuing conviction that the spread of the virus can sufficiently be curbed by its safety practices.

5 Reasons Trump’s Economy Stinks and 10 Things the Dems Should Do About It

Finally, the public seems to get how badly Trump has trashed the economy

Robert Reich in Inequality Media

Donald Trump claimed last week on social media that “Our economy is BOOMING, and Costs are coming way down,” and that “grocery prices are way down.

Rubbish.

How do I know he’s lying? Official government statistics haven’t been issued during the shutdown—presumably to Trump’s relief (the White House said Wednesday that the October jobs and Consumer Price Index reports may never come out).

But we can get good estimates of where the economy is now, based on where the economy was heading before the shutdown and recent reports by private data firms.

First, I want to tell you what we know about Trump’s truly sh*tty economy. Then I’ll suggest 10 things that Democrats should pledge to do about it.

1. Prices Continue to Rise as Real Wages Fall

How Donald Trump punishes child sex trafficker

Trump's picture of a new America

 

How tiny woodpeckers deliver devastating strikes to drill into wood

Pecking with power

Brown University

Photo by Will Collette

It’s one of nature’s mysteries: How can woodpeckers, the smallest of which weigh less than an ounce, drill permanent holes into massive trees using only their tiny heads? New research shows that there’s much more at play, anatomically: When a woodpecker bores into wood, it uses not only its head but its entire body, as well as its breathing.

In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, a team led by biologists at Brown University reveals how woodpeckers combine breathing and whole-body coordination to drill into trees with extraordinary force. 

“These findings expand our understanding of the links between respiration, muscle physiology and behavior to perform extreme motor feats and meet ecological challenges,” said lead author Nicholas Antonson, a postdoctoral research fellow in ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Brown.

Photo by Will Collette

The team studied downy woodpeckers, the smallest species of woodpeckers in North America, which populate forested areas throughout the United States and Canada. Most scientists who investigate woodpecker physiology focus on neck muscles, said study co-author Matthew Fuxjager, a professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Brown who has been studying woodpeckers for over a decade.

“We’re left to wonder, where does all the power come from?” Fuxjager said. “Where does the protection come from? Those questions stimulated our study, which took a more whole-body approach.”

In experiments conducted in Fuxjager’s lab, the scientists offered woodpecker study subjects some of their favorite types of wood and then measured the muscles the birds employed while drilling. The team used high-speed video to observe frame-by-frame, every 4 milliseconds, how the birds’ head positioning coordinated with activation of various muscles. They also measured air pressure and airflow in the birds’ airways.

Rhode Islanders: Protect yourself from COVID-19, Flu, and RSV

Vaccines and precautions can help you and your family avoid dangerous illnesses

Rhode Island Department of Health 

Respiratory Viruses | Department of Health

It’s common to get sick from respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), especially in the fall and winter. Each year, respiratory viruses are responsible for millions of illnesses and thousands of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States.

• Current Rhode Island Respiratory Virus Data trends
• Respiratory Guidance Snapshot Graphic (Spanish)

Respiratory Virus Guidance

Core Prevention Strategies

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all people use core prevention strategies. These are important steps you can take to protect yourself and others from respiratory virus illnesses.

• Stay up to date on your vaccines. Talk to your healthcare professional or pharmacist about current recommendations.
• Get your flu shot. Everyone age 6 months or older should be vaccinated every year.
• Stay up to date on your COVID-19 vaccinations.
• Learn about RSV immunizations for certain populations.
• Find out which fall and winter vaccines are right for you.
• Find a vaccine clinic or program near you.
• Practice good hygiene by covering your coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing your hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
• Take steps for cleaner air to increase ventilation and circulation
• When you may have a respiratory virus:
• Use precautions to prevent spread. Stay home and away from others until your symptoms are getting better for 24 hours and you’re fever free without fever-reducing meds for 24 hours. Then take added precautions for the next 5 days.
• Seek health care right away for testing and/or treatment if you have risk factors for severe illness. Treatment for flu or COVID-19 may help lower your risk of severe illness.

40% of women under 45 want to leave the US

If the 15-year-olds leave, who will he date?

This story was originally reported by Terri Rupar of The 19th. Meet Terri and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy.

Forty percent of American women and girls age 15 to 45 say they want to permanently move to another country — an opinion shared by just 19 percent of boys and men that age.

And being married and having children doesn’t make a huge difference in that desire, even though it has in the past. 

The share of American women and girls age 15 to 44 who would like to move permanently to another country if they had the opportunity: 

• 45 percent of single women
• 41 percent of married women
• 44 percent of those who do not have children 
• 40 percent of those who do

That’s according to new data from Gallup, which has been asking people if they want to relocate since 2008. That year, 17 percent of younger women and 16 percent of younger men said they’d like to live elsewhere.