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‘Puppy dog eyes’ research among most influential studies of 2019
Dr Kaminski's study found that "puppy dog eyes" have evolved from dog's enhanced interaction with humans.

News story published thousands of times by mainstream and social media

A study on the evolution of facial muscle anatomy in dogs has been ranked in the top 100 most influential studies of 2019.

The research, led by Dr Juliane Kaminski from the University of Portsmouth, placed 27th in the 2019 Altmetric Top 100, which tracked mentions of some 2.8 million research papers during the year.


Dr Kaminski’s study found that “puppy dog eyes” have evolved from dogs’ enhanced interaction with humans. The news story on the study was published thousands of times by traditional and social media.

“I was delighted to be able to collaborate with scientists in the US and here, in Portsmouth, who together had extensive expertise in dog and wolf facial anatomy and musculature,” said Dr Kaminski. “That so many people across the world found this interesting is exciting.”

The 2019 Altmetric Top 100 highlights research that has generated the most significant international online attention and discussion. This includes anything from post-publication peer review sites and policy documents to mainstream media, blogs and social media platforms. 


In the past 12 months, Altmetric has documented more than 62.5 million mentions of 2.7 million outputs. These are the most discussed works of 2019 that have truly captured the public imagination.


Artificial intelligence, the climate crisis and vaccines were also among the most discussed and shared scientific works of 2019.

“It is great that our research continues to be globally recognised and provides significant impact on society,” said Professor Bob Nichol, pro-vice-chancellor for research and innovation at Portsmouth. “Juliane’s research is clearly popular exploring our long-term relationship with dogs, and its evolutionary history."

Dr Kaminski’s study was published in June in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

It was co-authored by Professor Bridget Waller (University of Portsmouth), Rui Diogo (Howard University College of Medicine, US) Adam Hartstone-Rose (North Carolina State University, US) and Anne Burrows (Duquesne University, US). 

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Cold-water dip to raise funds for Vetlife

News Story 1
 The veterinary mental health charity Vetlife is inviting the veterinary community to join it for a sponsored cold-water dip.

The event will take place at Walpole Bay, Margate, on 17 May during Mental Health Awareness Week. Participants of all abilities can join in the challenge and are advised to bring a towel, a hot drink, a snack, and warm clothes to get changed into afterwards.

Those taking part are being asked to try to raise £100 each to support the work of the charity.

Details about how to take part can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue low vector period ends

In an update to its bluetongue guidance, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the seasonal low vector period for the disease has ended.

With winter over, Defra is planning for a possible increase in cases as midges become more active. It has warned that farms along the east coast of England from Norfolk to Kent, and along the south coast from Kent to Devon, are at highest risk from infected midges blown over from northern Europe.

Since the virus was detected in England in November 2023, there have been 126 confirmed cases. The most recent case to be confirmed was on 1 March 2024.

Farmers are asked to continue to frequently monitor their livestock and ensure their animals and land are registered with the Animal and Plant Health Agency.