Mars Petcare acquired Genoscoper Laboratories, a specialist in molecular diagnostics for companion animals. The acquisition will accelerate the pace of discoveries in genetics, to form the basis for future practical applications in enabling precision healthcare for pets.

Pet owners report stronger neighbourhood social connections than non-pet owners according to a newly published study. They were consistently more likely to report social benefits such as helpfulness, friendliness and trust between neighbours. This research adds strength to claims that pet ownership is a valuable and positive feature in community and neighbourhood life.

Today at the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) and Texas A&M University's Veterinary Innovation Summit, Mars Petcare announced the launch of Pet Insight Project, a three-year study of more than 200,000 dogs across the United States to uncover important links between pet activity, behaviour and health.

It’s not unusual to see a child clinging to a parent’s leg and visibly shrinking to avoid someone unfamiliar.

They react in this way because for young children meeting someone new can be relatively stressful. They aren’t yet able to self-help and as a way of coping seek ‘stress buffering’ support from a parent.

‘Stress buffering’ acts to dial down the emotional and physical effects of stress. But why should we care? Well, its effectiveness predicts how we deal with stress during later childhood and as an adult.