While the gut microbiome has been gaining a lot of attention for its potential role in health and disease, it appears that the butt microbiome is important in feline communication. How many times have you seen cats sniffing each other? Brave researchers at the University of California at Davis explored this hidden side of cat communication and published their findings in Scientific Reports. The researchers identified both the bacterial species […]
If you asked a starfish (aka: sea star) to pick “heads or tails”, and they could understand what you were talking about, they would pick heads every time. In fact, researchers recently discovered that starfish are simply heads without a body: It gets better…starfish do not even have a brain or blood, and they eject their stomach out of their mouth to eat. Terrible table manners. Aside from these extreme […]
The kidneys are remarkable organs responsible for filtering blood and creating urine. To learn more about how they do this, check out this YouTube video: The evolution of glomerular filtration is what allows animals to regulate the disposal of ions such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and sulfate. Some solutes are reabsorbed from the urine and returned to the body with the help of sodium ions, whereas other solutes are […]
Pets infected with Covid rarely make headlines, although the US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory is tracking cases as part of its One Health Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to recognize the connections between people, plants, animals, and the environment they share to promote optimal health. Covid, for example, not only infects humans but has also been detected in cats, dogs, ferrets, wild animals (deer), as […]
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 