Good morning. Today, Emily Anthes has a story about a boom in research into our furry friends. We’re also covering President Biden, Iran’s election and brain damage in troops.
Pup science
My career as a science journalist began with a story on canine genetics. It was the summer of 2004, and a female boxer named Tasha had just become the first dog in the world to have her complete genome sequenced. It was a major advance for an animal that, though beloved by humans, had been overlooked by many scientists. Over the two decades since, I have seen dogs transform from an academic afterthought to the new “it” animal for scientific research. In the United States alone, tens of thousands of dogs are now enrolled in large, ongoing studies. Canine scientists are investigating topics as varied as cancer, communication, longevity, emotion, retrieving behavior, the gut microbiome, the health effects of pollution and “doggy dementia.” The research has the potential to give dogs happier, healthier and longer lives — and improve human well-being, too, as I report in a story published this morning. In today’s newsletter, I’ll explain why dogs have become such popular scientific subjects. Big dog dataFirst, an important clarification: Dogs have long been the subject of invasive medical experiments, similar to lab rats and monkeys. That’s not the research I’m discussing here. The studies that have exploded in popularity involve pets. They require the enthusiastic participation of owners, who are collecting canine saliva samples, submitting veterinary records and answering survey questions about their furry friends. One reason these studies have become more common: Scientists realized that dogs were interesting and unique subjects. Our canine companions have social skills that even great apes lack, for instance, and they happen to be the most physically diverse mammal species on the planet. (Consider the difference between a Chihuahua and a Great Dane.) Dogs also share our homes and get many of the same diseases that people do, making them good models for human health. “Most of the questions that we have in science are not questions about what happens to animals living in sterile environments,” said Evan MacLean, the director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona. “They’re questions about real organisms in the real world shared with humans. And dogs are a really, really good proxy for that in ways that other animals aren’t.” Several other forces have helped fuel the canine science boom. The first is that research on nonhuman primates, especially great apes, has become increasingly contentious. For many cognitive scientists, dogs are a natural alternative: They’re quick learners. They’re cooperative. And they’re “just so readily accessible,” said Jennifer Vonk, a comparative cognitive psychologist at Oakland University.
Additionally, canine scientists do not need to house their subjects in the lab, which means that the barriers to entry are low. “A budget for an interesting dog experiment can be 20 bucks for a few bags of dog treats,” said Clive Wynne, a canine-behavior expert at Arizona State University. As a result, small colleges and universities that don’t typically get big research grants have embraced canine research. A pet-loving public has become highly motivated to participate in studies. Owners are spending more on their dogs, as well, which has allowed the booming pet industry to conduct and fund its own research. Then there is the media, which is generally happy to cover a good dog study. (Guilty as charged.) “Dog research is very easy to report on and understand,” said Alexandra Horowitz, a canine cognition researcher at Barnard College. Science probably has not yet reached peak pet. Many big canine projects are just starting to produce results, and the data will generate papers — and headlines — for years to come. And some researchers have started setting their sights on another creature companion: “I think growth prospects in dogs are solid,” Dr. Wynne said, “and the upside for cats is immense.”
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This week’s subject for The Interview is Eddie Murphy, who is returning to the character that sent his career into the stratosphere with “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.” I caught him in a reflective mood. We talked about navigating Hollywood in the ’80s; his interactions with Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby and Marlon Brando; and his movie highs (“The Nutty Professor”) and lows (“Pluto Nash”). I always wondered if Elvis was the influence behind some of the onstage stuff you wore when you were doing standup. Elvis had a huge influence on me: the leather suits; in “Raw,” I come out, I have a scarf. I was rolling like Elvis, too. I didn’t have the Memphis Mafia, but I had my little crew of dudes. And the same way you see me dressed in “Delirious” and in “Raw,” I used to dress like that on the streets. I was totally in my Elvis trip. And when I got older, it was like, oh, my God, Elvis wasn’t cool at all. Elvis was going through some [expletive]. Now, Michael Jackson, that whole red jacket thing in “Thriller”: “Thriller” is after “Delirious” when I owned the red suit. I’m not saying he was influenced, but I had on the red jacket before. [Laughs.] Elvis, Michael Jackson, these guys achieved the apex of fame. And there was a period when you were at that level. Yeah, I went through all of that. Those guys all came to tragic ends. Do you understand the pitfalls that present themselves at that level of fame? Those guys are all cautionary tales for me. I don’t drink. I smoked a joint for the first time when I was 30 years old — the extent of drugs is some weed. I remember I was 19, I went to the Blues Bar. It was me, Belushi and Robin Williams. They start doing coke, and I was like, “No, I’m cool.” I wasn’t taking some moral stance. I just wasn’t interested in it. To not have the desire or the curiosity, I’d say that’s providence. God was looking over me in that moment. When you get famous really young, especially a Black artist, it’s like living in a minefield. Any moment something could happen that can undo everything. It was like, all of this stuff is going on, and I’m totally oblivious. Now, at this age, I can look back and be like, “Wow, I came through a minefield for 35 years.” How do you make it through a minefield for 35, 40 years? Something has to be looking over you. Read more of the interview here.
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Best sellers: Emily Henry, author of “Funny Story,” released five consecutive No. 1’s. How did she pull it off? Hoot, howl and sneeze: These children’s picture books maximize read-aloud joy. By the Book: Gabrielle Zevin — author of “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” — loves Edith Wharton, but not “Ethan Frome.” Our editors’ picks: “The Silence of the Choir,” about 72 migrants who settle in a small Sicilian town, and five other books. Times best sellers: Anthony Fauci recounts his six decades of public service in “On Call.” It debuts at No. 1 on the hardcover nonfiction list.
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In this week’s Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter, Emily Weinstein offers a number of remedies for sluggish heat: a salty and smooth gazpacho and, to drink, a very cold nonalcoholic salted-lemon ginger spritz. Emily also suggests making Dòuhuā (silken tofu with ginger syrup), and spicy tuna and avocado tostadas.
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was glandular. Can you put eight historical events — including the first trees, Harry Houdini and “Rosie the Riveter” — in chronological order? Take this week’s Flashback quiz. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com.
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