DNA Testing Saves a Dog from Death Row.

A young Belgian Malinois from Detroit already had an incredible story when he went from homeless pup to service dog. But just months after his rescue, a misunderstanding threatened his new life. It would take a test usually reserved for humans to prove his innocence. Jeb was barely a year old when he was found chained inside a shed last January. His owner had passed away and no one else in the family wanted him. When Jeb was taken in by a local dog rescue, volunteer Kandie Morrison thought he’d make the perfect service dog for her father, Kenneth Job. Kenneth, a 79-year old Air Force veteran struggling with a neurodegenerative disease, took an instant liking to Jeb. So neighbor and veterinarian Dr. Karen Pidick trained Jeb to help Kenneth stay steady and assist in helping him get up if he fell. Kenneth and Jeb came to rely on each other, but eight months later everything changed in an instant. One August morning, the Jobs’ neighbor of 30 years, Christopher Sawa, looked out his kitchen window and saw Jeb standing over the lifeless body of his Pomeranian, Vlad. Christopher ran outside and tried to give Vlad mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but it was too late. With 90-pound Jeb towering over 14-pound Sawa, you can see why Christopher might blame Kenneth’s dog. Animal control took Jeb into custody and the case went to trial. The Jobs were horrified. Jeb lived peacefully with their three other dogs, seven cats, and a coopful of chickens. "We've never had any children," Kenneth would later testify. "The dog was like a child to us." Kenneth had been outside with his dogs that morning when all four pups ran off toward a favorite swimming hole. Despite the fact there was a lack of physical evidence linking Jeb to Vlad’s death, and there were reports of other possible culprits, the judge ruled that Jeb met the legal definition of a dangerous animal. Jeb would have to be euthanized. The Jobs were desperate and came up with the idea to have testing done to compare the DNA in Vlad’s wound with Jeb’s DNA. Samples were taken and sent to the Maples Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida. They determined that the DNA did not match, proving Jeb wasn’t the dog that killed Vlad. After the test, Jeb was allowed to go home, but nine weeks in animal control turned him in a different dog. Jeb lost 15 pounds and his social skills. He was also afraid to go outside. Nonetheless, the family was relieved to have Jeb back home. However, the Jobs wondered why they had to come up with the idea of DNA analysis. Why didn’t the court do it before sentencing Jeb to death? The test was under $500, but canine cases are handled differently in our judicial system. "In a criminal prosecution, where you're putting a person in jail, we have the highest level of protection," explains law professor David Favre. "Dogs have no rights. They're property.” I don’t think courts will make DNA analysis automatic anytime soon, but the Jobs hope their story will make more people aware that this tool can save lives. source

First detection of Salmonella enterica serovar Napoli in kennel dogs in Italy.

IN the last two decades, reports of human infections due to Salmonella enterica serovar Napoli have notably increased especially in France, Italy and Switzerland (Fisher and others, 2009; Graziani and others, 2013). Although relatively uncommon in Europe, S Napoli is the 15th most prevalent serovar isolated from human salmonellosis with 333 confirmed cases in 2014 (EFSA and ECDC, 2015). In Italy this serotype seems to be endemic, in the Northern Regions especially. It is among the five main serovars isolated from human infections in the last years (Fisher and others, 2009; Graziani and others, 2013). Although several epidemiological studies have been carried out on human cases and on the correlate isolates, no common point-source of infections has been recognised to date. While foodborne transmission is the most common route for Salmonella infections, this does not appear to be the case for the increase of this serovar. Recent studies showed that exposure to surface water such as swimming and other recreational activities seems to be a risk factor for S Napoli infection (Oggioni and others 2010). These findings, together with the recent detection of S Napoli in wild boars and wild birds hunted or captured in Northern and Central Italy and in fresh vegetables produced in the same Country, suggest a common environmental source of this serovar (Graziani and others 2011; Zottola continue

10 Disruptive Technologies That Will Transform Pharma.

Augmented reality and virtual reality with devices such as Google’s digital contact lenses or Oculus Rift give us a new view of the world through digital information. If you have ever had a chance to use a virtual reality device, you can compare the attractiveness of information on a website with seeing how a drug works in 3D and realize the potential that virtual reality holds for pharma. The experience is to strong you will surely not forget it anytime soon. And isn’t that what we need to do to keep on top in a world overloaded with information? The 3D printing revolution that can manufacture medical prostheses, equipment, and pharmaceuticals. A Scottish group has been working on printing out drugs in 3D with a printer. The first drug printed out with a 3D printer was approved by the FDA in 2015. Imagine getting a blueprint of a customized drug in a customized dosage related to your genomic background and that a local pharmacy could print it out for you, all without the participation of big pharma. Nanorobots in blood could make early diagnoses by constantly measuring any health parameters. If the technology of transporting drugs to the actual cellular targets in nanocages becomes viable, the pharma industry will have to start producing different end products to make sure they are compatible with nanotechnology. This requires a new approach to medication, without which the transformation of pharma could be a hard and rocky one. This is the most futuristic example, but it’s never early enough to start preparing for a new revolution. more

How to talk to your dog

Dogs are special. Every dog owner knows that. And most dog owners feel their dog understands every word they say and every move they make. Research over the last two decades shows dogs really can understand human communication in ways no other species can. But a new study confirms that if you want to train your new puppy, you should be speaking to it in a certain way to maximise the chances that it follows what you’re saying. There is already quite a lot of research evidence showing that the way we communicate to dogs is different from the way we communicate to other humans. When we talk to dogs, we use what is called “dog directed speech”. This means we change the structure of our sentences, shortening and simplifying them. We also tend to speak with a higher pitch in our voices. We also do this when we are not sure we are understood or when talking to very young infants. A new study has shown we use an even higher pitch when talking to puppies, and that this tactic really does help the animals to pay attention more. The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, showed that talking to puppies using dog-directed speech makes them react and attend more to their human instructor than regular speech. continue

IBB university begins production of cashew juice .

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida(IBB) University, Lapai in Niger State has commenced production of Cashew Juice. The university ventured into production because of the abundance of fruit there and during the harvest season about 60 percent of the fruit gets rotten and waste away. The university decided to curb waste by production which is handled by the Department of Food Science and Technology. Prof. Mohammed Yakubu, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the institution,added that the university plans to commercialize the cashew juice through markets in Abuja, Minna, Kano, Kogi and Nasarawa. The deputy vice chancellor believed that the initiative would raise the university’s revenue, and help engage youths in the juice processing. see Enter the millionaire league with cashew nut see

Birth Attendants who cut the Umbilical Cord with Broken Bottles .

According to the National Demographic Health Survey, 2008, Ondo state had a maternal mortality ratio of 742 per 100,000 live births with worse indices at the facility level. Nigeria records one of the world’s highest rates of maternal deaths, with the country being the largest contributor of maternal deaths globally and second largest of under – five deaths with India being the first. Most families especially those in rural communities – characteristically uneducated and economically disadvantaged - are at the mercies of spiritualists, and unskilled traditional birth attendants that they consult to deliver their babies. “We trust the outcome will be divine, we never trusted government hospitals” explains 60 year- old Taye Idowu in Yoruba. Taye is part of a corp of maternal health evangelists, mostly reformed traditional birth healers under the Ondo state government's 'Agbebiye' programme – an incentive based referral programme. The TBAs are encouraged to refer their ‘patients’ to the orthodox clinics and earn money. She and others in the 18 local governments of Ondo State are part of the Agbebiye Initiative – a community – based approach and a primary health care model aimed to further improve community ownership to reduce maternal health to zero. Taye and her colleagues were part of the trade of traditional birth healers they use broken bottles to cut the umbilical cord immediately the women deliver their babies, some get home and die from infection. more

Forty households gets 4 goats, 4 sheep to improve economic status .

The Fadama lll additional financing project in Yobe has distributed goats, sheep's and assorted food items to 40 households affected by Boko haram insurgency in Malam Mattari village, Yobe State. The state Fadama lll coordinator, Musa A. Garba, said after launching the distribution that every household received a set of three sheep and a ram or three female goats and a male goat to improve their economic status. The 40 benefiting households were provided with an option goats and sheep for animal husbandry, while assorted grains, oil and condiments are for food support .The coordinator said that a total of 5,320 households in 20 communities from 14 local government areas in the state would benefit from the programme. Alhaji Mustapha Gajerema, Yobe commissioner for agriculture who flagged off the distribution described as a way of supporting the insurgency victims to improve their livelihoods He said the state government was quick to settled its N20 million counterpart fund to benefit from the N274 million World Bank grant, so as improve the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. see