He patted the animal on the shell, a little sorry to go.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Natives and Exotics'

He works on clams and is building robot versions of them to find out how the shape of an animal's shell affects its chances of survival.

ECONOMIST: Robots

And the way the skinny neck disappeared between the animal's breastplate and shell-a squirming, live thing slipping hidden into dead stony stuff-it seemed suddenly like the Mystery of Mysteries, the very source of Life .

NPR: Excerpt: 'Natives and Exotics'

However, dogs primarily catch the virus while in close quarters with other dogs that are coughing and sneezing, says Steven Shell, head of Merck's U.S. companion animal group.

WSJ: A New Breed of Flu Shot to Avoid Getting Sick as a Dog