Development and Human-Animal Interaction

Human-animal interaction and older adults.

“ can be a wonderful motivator,” said my friend as I entered the tiny cramped room. My friend Betty (pseudonym) is usually optimistic and cheerful, so I knew there was a problem. Tucked away in the corner was the wheelchair she had grudgingly accepted for use a few weeks earlier, and her walker was back at her chair. A respiratory infection had weakened my 82-year-old friend, who already was ch...

Ancient DNA from Human and Animal

Research on ancient DNA (aDNA) has the potential to enable molecular biologists and archeologists to decipher certain aspects of history by direct looking into the past. However, several major problems in this field limit the applicability of aDNA studies, most importantly contamination with modern DNA and postmortem DNA degradation. In this study we extracted and analyzed aDNA obtained from ~3...

Human–Animal Interaction and Older Adults: An Overview

Both pet ownership and animal-assisted therapy are becoming increasingly popular in the United States, and the science of human-animal interaction (HAI) seeks to explore how these relationships with animals can impact health and well-being. In particular, one burgeoning area of research is the role of HAI in healthy aging, given the potential for HAI as an important feature of health and well-b...

Interaction between animal personality and animal cognition

The study of animal personality has attracted considerable attention, as it has revealed a number of similarities in personality between humans and several nonhuman species. At the same time the adaptive value and evolutionary maintenance of different personalities are the subject of debate. Since Pavlov’s work on dogs, students of comparative cognition have been aware that animals display vast...

Human, Environment and Sustainable Development