Veterinarians are working to understand how distemper — a virus afflicting domestic dogs and many wildlife species — may be a growing threat to Siberian tigers.

When a species recovers enough to be removed from the federal endangered species list, the public trust doctrine — the principle that government must conserve natural resources for the public good — should guide state management of wildlife, scientists say.

A recent, large-scale study on cat intestinal cancer has provided new insight into a common pet disease and its causes; the findings could ultimately benefit humans.

Diabetes affects not only humans but also animals. While humans generally show some willingness to modify their behavior to help their treatment, pet owners face additional problems in that animals generally do not understand the need for intervention. Treatment plans should be based on an understanding of natural fluctuations in blood glucose levels but these are very hard to determine. Researchers have now shown that a commercially available system for continuous glucose monitoring can be applied to dogs without requiring the animals to be kept in a clinic. The resulting information can give valuable guidance to veterinarians to improve the dogs’ treatment.

Birds may have a more highly developed sense of smell than researchers previously thought, contend scholars who have found that penguins may use smell to determine if they are related to a potential mate. Smell may help guide them to their homes as well as avoid inbreeding, they say.

After more than three decades of research, veterinarians and vision-research scientists have identified a gene responsible for a blindness-inducing disease that afflicts dogs. In the process, the scientists may have discovered clues about how retinal cells, and perhaps even neurons, can be regenerated.

The “white-coat effect” is not reserved for only the human patients who see their blood pressure rise in response to the stress of a doctor visit. In a new study, researchers have determined that anxiety associated with being in a veterinary hospital elevates the blood pressure in retired racing greyhounds — a breed known for having higher-than-average blood pressure in the first place.