Category Archives: Medicinal News

Giant flightless birds were nocturnal and possibly blind

If you encountered an elephant bird today, it would be hard to miss. Measuring in at over 10 feet tall, the extinct avian is the largest bird known to science. However, while you looked up in awe, it's likely that the big bird would not be looking back.

According to brain reconstruction research led by The...

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Widely used mosquito repellent proves lethal to larval salamanders

Insect repellents containing picaridin can be lethal to salamanders. So reports a new study published today in Biology Letters that investigated how exposure to two common insect repellents influenced the survival of aquatic salamander and mosquito larvae.

Insect repellents are a defense against mosquito bites and mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and West Nile virus....

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Karate kicks keep cockroaches from becoming zombies, wasp chow

Rick Grimes has nothing on the humble American cockroach when it comes to avoiding zombification.

Far from being a weak-willed sap easily paralyzed by the emerald jewel wasp's sting to the brain -- followed by becoming a placid egg carrier and then larvae chow -- the cockroach can deliver a stunning karate kick that saves its...

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Lifespan and sexual maturity depends on your brain more than your body

New Vanderbilt research finds how long humans and other warm-blooded animals live -- and when they reach sexual maturity -- may have more to do with their brain than their body. More specifically, it is not animals with larger bodies or slower metabolic rates that live longer; it is animals with more neurons in the...

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How to feed a cat: Consensus statement to the veterinary community

The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) today released the AAFP Consensus Statement, "Feline Feeding Programs: Addressing Behavioral Needs to Improve Feline Health and Wellbeing" and accompanying client brochure to the veterinary community. The Consensus Statement, published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, explores the medical, social, and emotional problems that can result...

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Hidden costs of disease to greater Yellowstone elk

For decades researchers have known that a bacterial disease in elk, bison and cattle in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem causes periodic abortions in these animals and chronic illness in humans drinking infected cow's milk. The disease, called brucellosis, poses a financial concern for dairy producers and cattle ranchers, but its effects on the wild elk...

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