How the male baboons choose their partners.

The female baboon's big red bottom has an aphrodisiac effect on her mates,though this may repel others. Scientists have long thought that baboon males prefer females with bigger backsides as the sign of a good mother, but recent study proves otherwise. The study in the journal Animal Behavior reveals that the size of a female's swollen rump doesn't matter as much as earlier concluded. Baboons breed throughout the year, and mating occurs during times when a female's behind is swollen -- a sign that she may be ovulating. For ten to 20 days each month, the tissue in a female baboon's hindquarters swells up, reaching peak size when a female is most fertile and then shrinking back to normal. The researchers recorded male courtship behavior during the time when females were swollen and they found that big-bottomed females were no more likely to attract mates than their smaller-bottomed counterparts. The males preferred females that had cycled more times since their last pregnancy,rather than going for bigger backsides. Female baboons are like humans they don't start ovulating again right away after having a baby, return to normal cycles when their infant starts weaning, but until that time they're less likely to get pregnant.The results suggest that baby readiness means more to males than the bigger bottom, because rather than size, it seems that males use the number of postpartum cycles as a cue to gauge their likelihood of making a baby. The male baboons seem to follow this law that lesser butt-size is better than bigger.

Dog's diet and its gut microbiome.

In a new paper, researchers report that the ratio of proteins and carbohydrates in a canine's daily diet have a significant influence on the balance of microbes in its gut. Researchers observed that dogs fed a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet had enriched microbial gene networks associated with weight loss in humans. The paper published in mBio, researchers from Nestle Purina PetCare Company report that the ratio of proteins and carbohydrates in a canine's daily diet have a significant influence on the balance of microbes in its gut. Among other findings, they observed that dogs fed a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet had decreases in the ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes bacteria, as well as enriched microbial gene networks associated with weight loss in humans. These microbial responses were more pronounced in obese and overweight dogs than in dogs of a healthy weight. The study will help identify new microbiology-inspired strategies for managing pet obesity, which is a growing problem.According to the most recent annual survey by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention ,more than half of pet dogs in the United States are overweight or obese. Altering dogs diet to be high in protein and soft on carbohydrates with a blend of fat and supplements will keep dogs in trim and healthy.

Agricultural fires in Brazil harm infant health, a warning for the developing world.

Agricultural fires in Brazil harm infant health, a warning for the developing world. Anew research has shown that exposure to pollution from agricultural fires in the last few months of gestation leads to earlier birth and smaller babies. Researchers at Princeton and Duke universities gathered information from satellites, pollution monitors and birth records to untangle those competing influences and accurately measure the impact of pollution from the fires. They found that exposure to pollution from the fires in the last few months of gestation leads to earlier birth and smaller babies, and they found some evidence of increased fetal mortality. Conditions in early life, including in-utero, have been shown to affect children's long term outcomes, not only in terms of health but also their educational and economic success.

Scientists develop new flu vaccines for dogs.

Scientists develop new flu vaccines for dogs.Scientists at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry have developed, for the first time, two new vaccines for canine influenza.Dogs that have been infected with multiple influenza viruses have the potential to act as "mixing vessels" and generate new flu strains that could infect people. Today, veterinarians use vaccines that include inactivated or killed flu virus, but experts say they provide short-term, limited protection. Scientists created two "live-attenuated" vaccines against H3N8 canine influenza virus, which is currently circulating in dogs in the U.S. Past research shows that live-attenuated vaccines, made from live flu virus that is dampened down so that it doesn't cause the flu, provide better immune responses and longer periods of protection. The study, published in the Journal of Virology, found the live vaccine was safe and able to induce better immune protection against H3N8 canine influenza virus in mice and dog tracheal cells than a commercially available inactivated vaccine.

Restoring the sweet tomato flavor.

Modern tomatoes lack sufficient sugars and volatile chemicals critical to better flavor. Those traits have been lost during the past 50 years because breeders have not had the tools to routinely screen for flavor.The supermarket tomatoes are bigger but they lack the vine flavor that was common some years back from farm fresh products,as the quest to get bigger,juicer faster maturing fruit overshadowed the taste peculiar to tomatoes. The breeding and selection of different strains to achieve bigger fruit has been fingered as the root of the dwindling taste,thus genetic intervention is needed to reverse what was produced years ago. In a study published in the journal Science, Harry Klee, a professor of horticultural sciences with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, identifies the chemical combinations for better tomato flavor. The first step was to find out which of the hundreds of chemicals in a tomato contribute the most to taste,researchers studied "alleles," the versions of DNA in a tomato gene that give it its specific traits. Scientists then identified the locations of the good alleles in the tomato genome,using genome-wide assessment study. The scientists mapped genes that control synthesis of all the important chemicals,and used genetic analysis to replace bad alleles in modern tomato varieties with the good alleles.

The battle over palm oil in Gabon.

There is a battle over palm oil in Gabon presently,the environmental agencies are pitched against the producers and investors sighting logging/deforestation as an issue. Firstly, the new Gabonese operations of agricultural trading company Olam International was heavily criticized by US environmental NGO Mighty Earth in December. Then Dimensional Fund Advisors, a big US investment firm that had previously been criticized for continuing to invest in palm oil companies, decided to divest two of its portfolios of all such assets, including equity in Wilmar International and Olam. The campaign against palm oil could have profound implications for the sector’s development in Africa. Palm oil cultivation has become controversial because ecologically diverse areas of rain forest are often cut down to allow cultivation to take place. Huge areas of forest have been felled in Indonesia and Malaysia, affecting flora and fauna, and producing air pollution caused by forest fires when land is being cleared for palm oil plantation. According to Friends of the Earth and numerous other environmental NGOs, palm oil plantations are the fastest growing cause of rain forest destruction and an increasingly important cause of climate change. Palm oil produces almost quadruple oil yeild compared to sunflower or rapeseed oil, and the majority of the palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia. However, African countries have also been targeted for cultivation more recently. Olam is a major player in the global palm oil sector and a big investor in African agri-business. The company currently sources more than 99% of its palm oil from third-party suppliers. In 2011, it set up a palm oil and rubber cultivation joint venture with the government of Gabon, with equity shared 60:40 in favour of the Singaporean firm. Mighty Earth’s ‘Palm oil’s black box’ report claims that environmentally important forest areas have been cleared and the report is accompanied by video footage of tall trees being felled. A spokesperson for Mighty argued: “These forests are the last place any company should be looking to develop plantation agriculture.” continue

Technological advancement in veterinary medicine.

There are significant technological advances available to practitioners as many practices now have complete in-house diagnostics for blood chemistry and blood counts. Test results can now be obtained within a half hour versus being sent out to an overnight referral laboratory. The diagnostic devices also include computerized ECG and digital radio graphs ,which eliminates x-ray film as all the images are uploaded to a computer. These can be sent anywhere by email if needed for further analysis. Ultrasound technology has also improved, allowing for early detection of pregnancies or even some abdominal diseases, resulting in earlier diagnosis and treatment. surgeons are trading scalpel for surgical laser as it is now used routinely for certain procedures. Kittens can now go home the day after a declaw surgery in much more comfort and with no stitches or bandages. These surgeries can be followed by a separate laser as a form of therapy that reduces postoperative inflammation and facilitates healing. An important part of animal health continues to be dental health. Now with digital dental radio graphs and refined oral surgery instruments, the common dental cleaning can help prevent future disease. Portable dental units have been designed to provide ultrasonic scaling, polishing, and high-speed drilling for oral surgery. It has been proven that bacteria from dental disease can decrease health by attacking internal organs. Mobile apps and devices such as trackers have found a place in practice,drones have been used in certain areas to collect/deliver samples to areas that are not motor able. The digital revolution has taken a new turn as the surgeon can access information at the speed of light and also with the touch of an app monitor clients,check appointments and even examine a patient via the phone. Veterinarians can easily connect with colleagues mile -away,offering tips and updates about a case and then there is the possibility of participating in a surgery iles away from your location without moving,all possible by mobile phones,apps and a data platform.