Many people view their dog as a family member, friend, or kid, but does the relationship with them really resemble these human relationships? Researchers from ELTE Eötvös Loránd University now set out to explore the precise role dogs play in human social networks by comparing human-dog relationships with human-human relationships using 13 relationship scales. Their study revealed that the owner-dog relationship can be interpreted as a mix of child and best friend relationships, combining positive aspects of the child relationship with the lack of negative aspects of friendship, blended with a high level of control over the dog.  Interestingly, while owners often rate their relationship with their dog as superior to any human bond, the study also found that more support in human relationships correlates with more support in dog-owner bonds, suggesting that dogs complement human relationships rather than compensate for their deficiencies.

In a new study, researchers used more than 5 million measurements from individual trees across much of eastern North America and showed the rate at which introduced species are spreading has increased over the last two decades. Additionally, native tree diversity is on the decline in areas where exotic species originally introduced by humans have encroached.

If there was a contest for biggest female bullies of the animal world, lemurs would be near the top of the list. It’s the ladies who get their way and keep males in line. In one branch of the lemur family tree, however, some species have evolved to have a more harmonious relationship between the sexes. New findings suggest that this amiable shift was driven by changes in the “love hormone” oxytocin inside their brains.