Turtles and Salmonella

Turtles can be great, low-maintenance pets, but there’s an added risk: Salmonella.  Salmonella is a type of bacteria.  You can’t see it without a microscope, but it can make people very sick.

But all is not lost.  Turtles are still great pets, but you should take precautions to protect your family.  Good hygiene, such as washing your hands after handling a turtle, is very important.  Make sure you get your pet turtle from a reputable source, and talk to your veterinarian about taking care of your pet turtle and preventing disease.

Read more about turtles and Salmonella on CBS News online.

Pooportunity knocks

In Greeley, Colorado, what used to be an annoying odor may become the sweet smell of success.  A new plan for a “clean energy park” includes using new technology that converts methane gas from cow poop into power to run the town’s businesses.  Not only will they be cutting down on waste and providing alternate energy sources, but they’ll be decreasing greenhouse gases as well.

Read the story in the Huffington Post.

It was a veterinary pathologist who first figured out that the deaths of crows in New York and the illnesses in people were related and were due to infection with the West Nile Virus.

Of bats and bridges

Just when we think we’ve got things figured out, we learn that we have much more to learn.  Scientists recently learned that some species of bats might actually do better living under concrete bridges than in bat caves. The University of Boston team found that bats living under bridges were larger and grew faster than bats in a cave.  Although it’s not perfectly clear why these bats were doing so well, it might be because the area under the bridges is warmer and closer to good feeding grounds.

Read the story in the BBC News.

What if we could make the three blind mice see again?

Maybe the nursery rhyme wouldn’t be accurate anymore, but we bet the mice would be happier.  The retina is the membrane in the back of the eye that serves the extremely important functions of processing the light that comes into the eye and then sending the signal through the optic nerve to your brain so you see that beautiful sunset or that smiling, happy face or that wagging tail.

Unfortunately for many people in this world, retinal problems are a common cause of blindness.  What’s worse is that treatment for retinal problems hasn’t been very successful in the past. Well, that may be about to change.  Researchers have been able to delay the onset of blindness in mice with retinal degeneration by treating them with nerve stem cells.  Thanks to this research, there may be a promising new treatment on the horizon for people with retinal problems.

Read the full Reuters article.

Could you keep it down, please? We’re trying to live here.

Take a few seconds and just listen to what’s going on around you.  We’ve learned to ignore traffic noise, music, talking and other constant ‘white noise’ around us.  But the wild animals around us haven’t, and it’s affecting how they communicate, live, mate and hunt.  These animals developed very sensitive hearing as they evolved; although their incredible hearing has served them well over the years, it also makes it more difficult for them to filter out the noises we humans have learned to ignore. By making some changes in the things we do and showing respect for these animals’ needs for more quiet surroundings, we can help improve their lives.  Silence really is golden.

Read the full story in the BBC Earth News.

Like human, like dog

Dogs share our lives and they also share some of our diseases…like cancer.   According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, almost one million dogs develop cancer each year.  Many of these dogs are treated with the same medications or procedures that may be used to treat people with cancer. Comparative oncologists study cancer in animals and humans so we can all benefit from what they learn.

Read more in the U.S. News & World Report.

Serving their country and their fellow veterans

If you’ve seen a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, either in person or on TV, you’ve seen the caisson horses leading the funeral procession with dignity and grace.  But what you may not know about these horses is that they lead double lives.  When they’re not honoring our fallen heroes in a solemn procession, these horses are helping injured veterans regain their strength and confidence through a therapeutic riding program.

See the video report on ABC News and watch our video about the veterinarians and caisson horses at Fort Myer on AVMAtv.

Country frogs and city frogs

Have you ever been in a crowd and had to yell just so your friends could hear you?  Weren’t you glad when you left that place and could finally talk in a normal voice?  Well, Australia’s brown tree frogs haven’t been able to escape the constant, loud noises of human civilization and it’s not as easy as walking out of the noisy room.  Because they can’t escape the noise, the male frogs have actually changed their mating calls so the females can hear them better.  Whether or not it’s working remains to be seen. The next time you can enjoy some silence, enjoy it and think of the frogs.

Read the full story on NPR’s Web site.