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October 9, 2025—Do pets improve our health? Plus, how birds responded to the 2024 total solar eclipse, and the latest COVID vaccine is effective for all age groups. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | A greater noctule bat caught in a mist net with a passerine feather and blood in its mouth. Jorge Sereno | | Does owning a pet improve health? Many recent studies have found that yes, pets have a positive influence on our lives. In one study, 43 dog owners performed stressful tasks (like public speaking) with and without their pets. Those who had dogs accompany them showed lower spikes of cortisol, a hormone that rises under stress. In another study of 90 older adults, about half were given five crickets to care for. Adults who cared for the insects made improvements in mental and cognitive health, while the other half didn't. Why this is interesting: For the older adults who looked after the crickets, having a pet may have added a sense of purpose, says Jessica Bibbo, a gerontologist who studies human-animal interactions. On top of this, there are several consistent positive effects in owning a pet: owning a dog, for instance, is associated with increased physical activity (a great health boost). However, not all studies find a strong link between pet ownership and better health. The quality of the relationship between humans and their animals might be a better predictor of positive outcomes than just the fact that pets are in the home. What the experts say: "Pets are not a medical intervention; they're a relationship," says Jessica Bibbo, a gerontologist who studies human-animal interactions. Even therapy animals are there to facilitate, not to fix, Bibbo says. People emphatically believe pets improve our quality of life, and that belief can affect health, even if indirectly. —Andrea Tamayo, Newsletter Writer | | During the April 2024 total solar eclipse, bird behavior shifted dramatically in the four minutes of darkness. Using data provided by nearly hundreds of community scientists and AI analysis of about 100,000 recorded bird calls during the eclipse, researchers discovered that some species' vocalizations spiked during totality while activities like flying and feeding dropped. In total, 29 of the 52 species analyzed showed changes in their singing in at least one of the three time periods—before, during or after the eclipse—suggesting a widespread but species-specific sensitivity to light. Once sunlight returned, many species began singing again as if it were dawn. Why this is interesting: Animal behavior is tied to natural light cycles, and the study shows that even brief disruptions can affect their biological rhythms. The results could help identify species most vulnerable to artificial light pollution. The eclipse also offered a chance to join professional and amateur bird observers in a huge natural experiment. What the experts say: This new study provides a "rich and unique new dataset" to challenge what scientists think they know about how birds of different species respond to radical changes in light, says ornithologist Andrew Farnsworth of Cornell University. "There might be additional kinds of behaviors that are probably buried in their recordings and that the authors are going to be able to analyze further." —Humberto Basilio, News Intern | | | | |
- In July, the FDA convened a panel on the use of the class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy. "The FDA panel tried to discredit the past years of research on SSRIs, the most studied category of medications in pregnancy, stoking fear over these drugs," writes Catherine Birndorf, a reproductive psychiatrist and associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. "Untreated depression and anxiety during pregnancy are far more dangerous—to both parent and baby—than carefully managed antidepressant treatment," she says. | 5 min read
| | - Biologist Carmen García-Chávez is the co-founder of a charity that works to recover the population of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), which had been hunted to near-extinction by the 1980s. Her work involves outreach to local landowners and communities to discuss benefits that can come from reintroducing the species. "I've watched children explain to their parents why 'the wolf is not the bad guy,' but a valuable animal that helps maintain the balance of the ecosystem," she says. Nature | 3 min read
| | I think most people would quickly agree that their pets improve their health. Some studies have found that listening to a cat's purr can lower blood pressure, and the companionship of animals can give people hope and purpose, not to mention the life-saving benefit of alert dogs for certain illnesses like epilepsy and type I diabetes. Even without the data, the loss of a beloved friend reveals how much they imbue our lives with meaning. | | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor
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