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Imagine coming up with cures for human disease through laboratory testing on companion animals and coming up with a cure for the same disease in the animal while you’re at it? Talk about a win-win. Researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) aren’t quite there, but they’re getting close.

It depends on what you mean by smart. A new study published in Animal Cognition indicates that bigger dogs, who have larger brains than smaller dogs, perform better than smaller dogs on some measures of intelligence. Specifically, bigger dogs with bigger brains do better on a specific type of intelligence called “executive functioning,” which is linked to self-control in both humans and canines.

Things are moving fast in the world of feline pathogens. The authors of a recent review article in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery say “the rate at which novel [or previously unknown] viruses are being discovered now exceeds our understanding of their clinical relevance.” And it’s not just happening to cats: A 2008 paper in Nature described the discovery of 335 infectious diseases in the global human population between 1940 and 2004.

When we think of certain dog breeds, specific characteristics come to mind: Beagles are boisterous. Afghans are aloof. Pembroke Welsh Corgis are sycophantic and suck up to royalty (not really). But it’s well documented that different breeds have different personalities. Are those differences determined by DNA?

Lyme disease in dogs is showing up in places it didn’t used to. And that could mean humans are at increased risk for catching a disease that’s already on the rise in dogs. That’s according to a new study by the Companion Animal Council (CAPC), an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the threat parasites present to pets and family members.

A new study by researchers in Sweden found that children who are exposed to household pets early in life are less likely to develop conditions like asthma, eczema, and hay fever—and the more pets, the better. For the study, the researchers interviewed and sought information on pet ownership from the parents of 249 children (who were 6 to 12 months old at the time).

In the past two years, nearly 28% of households with pets couldn’t provide those pets with the veterinary care they needed. That troubling statistic is among the findings in a new report on access to veterinary care released this week by the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition (AVCC), a partnership of for-profit and nonprofit veterinary service providers, animal welfare and social service professionals, and educators working with the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Social Work. And the overwhelming barrier for all groups of pet owners is financial.

Granted, that’s a pretty loose interpretation of the findings, but a new study by researchers at the University of Liverpool suggests that while dogs may look like their owners, cats act like them. Researchers measured five personality traits in cats known as the “Feline Five”: friendliness, impulsiveness, dominance, neuroticism, and extroversion.

Want your kids to grow to be successful in business? Get them a dog. It’s cheaper than putting them through Harvard Business School. At least, that’s one possible conclusion from a new survey by Banfield Pet Hospital on the relationship between pet ownership and professional success. An astonishing 93% of C-suite executives—people who hold positions like CEO or CFO—who answered the survey grew up with a pet.

Cats are remarkably fussy creatures who spend up to 50% of their waking hours licking and grooming their fur. Imagine how clean your house would be if they applied just a fraction of that energy to licking and grooming your carpets. It’s not that far-fetched: A brush inspired by new research on the unique structure of a cat’s tongue is on the way.