Dogs contaminate London ponds with parasite medications
A study on Hampstead Heath shows that ponds where dogs are allowed to swim contain levels of two pesticides harmful to invertebrate life.
These pesticides, imidacloprid and fipronil, are used as parasite treatments for flea and tick infestations in cats and dogs, using ‘spot-on’ formulas and flea collars. This is despite these chemicals being banned for agricultural use in 2018 due to their toxicity to bees and other important insects.
‘Who’s a good boy?’ Humans use dog-specific voices for better canine comprehension
The voice people use to address their dogs isn’t just because of their big puppy eyes. Humans slow their own speech when talking to their dogs, and this slower tempo matches their pets’ receptive abilities, allowing the dogs to better understand their commands, according to a study published October 1st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Eloïse Déaux of the University of Geneva in Switzerland and colleagues.
New tool can assess elderly dogs’ frailty
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a tool that can aid owners and veterinarians in assessing an elderly dog’s frailty. The tool – when coupled with simple assessments of body and muscle condition by the veterinarian – can predict likelihood of short-term (within six months) mortality and provide important data to owners faced with treatment and quality-of-life decisions for their aging dogs.
Cellular Agriculture: The Future of Food, Right in Your Bioreactor
Imagine biting into a real beef juicy burger, but instead of coming from a cow on a farm, it was cultivated in a bioreactor using cutting-edge technology. Sounds futuristic, right? Well, it’s here—or almost here! Cellular agriculture is poised to revolutionize food production, and it’s not as wild as you might think! In fact, if you’ve ever given a diabetic patient recombinant insulin, you’re already using this technology.
Big Changes at Knollwood Hospital for Pets: Meet the New Hometown Veterinary Partners Schaumburg
For over 40 years, Knollwood Hospital for Pets has been a cornerstone of veterinary care in Schaumburg, offering both traditional and integrative therapies under the leadership of Dr. Deborah Mitchell. Now, this beloved practice is beginning a new chapter as it rebrands to Hometown Veterinary Partners Schaumburg, bringing fresh energy while maintaining the continuity of care the community has relied on for decades.
Are cows pickier than goats?
To answer this question, Linnaeus collected 643 different plant species that were then fed to horses, cows, pigs, sheep and goats. The results were carefully compiled but not analysed until now, 275 years later, when they are also published by the Linnean Society in London.
“It may have been the first experiment in what would only later become the subject of ecology in the late 19th century. By today’s standards, it was a huge experiment involving an impressive number of plants,” notes Håkan Rydin, Professor of Plant Ecology at Uppsala University and one of the researchers who carried out the analysis.