Tag: animals
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Mammoth Meatball
An Australian company revealed a meatball made of lab-grown cultured meat using the genetic sequence from the long-extinct mammoth. Anthony and Jeff decide whether they'd eat such a thing, and dig into the real purpose behind this headline grabbing stunt - to fire up public debate about sustainability [more]
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Dog Callers and Octopus Rights
A new invention, believed to be the first of its kind, allows dogs to video call their owners. The system, dubbed DogPhone, is the brainchild of University of Glasgow’s Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas and her 10-year-old labrador, Zack. Jeff and Anthony discuss the device, and it's potential to change human-canine relations forever. Then, Octopuses, crabs and lobsters will receive greater welfare protection in the UK as the Animal Welfare Bill is extended to all decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. Anthony and Jeff assess the benefits and potential dangers of defining these creatures as sentient. [more]
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Bird Thieves and Cruising For Climate Change
Birds are criminals. Obviously. But science has found even more proof. Also: climate change is a problem, and cruise ships are a huge part of that problem. BUT WHAT IF WE MADE A CRUISE SHIP TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE? AND filled it with billionaires? Checkmate, thinking people. [more]
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Measuring a Cute Angle (W/ Mica Burton)
PATRONS GET A BONUS EPISODE WITH MICA. LISTEN TO IT HERE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/19007770/ There are roughly (or, if you prefer, ruffly) a billion dogs on the planet. Although dogs and humans have been existing alongside one another for tens of thousands of years, experts say 85 percent of the world’s dogs are feral. When pups are between two and three months old, their mothers will abandon them for any number of reasons. Without mothers, how are these abandoned pups supposed to survive? Science says that if they’re cute enough, puppies can make it by tricking humans into adopting them. Jeff and Anthony consider adopting one billion dogs. [more]
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The Odds in Your Flavor
893.35 quadrillion to one. That’s the likelihood of what’s happened to 20-year-old Dylan McWilliams. He was bitten by a shark, attacked by a bear, and bitten by a rattlesnake—all in just over three years. .He’s one of the unluckiest guys on the planet. How unlucky? Since each event is independent the odds of each are multiplied together, he said, making the odds of this happening 893.35 quadrillion to one. Jeff and Anthony are going to politely decline your camping invitation. [more]
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Sight off the Bat
While hunting for dinner, the big brown bat must hone in on flitting insects and keep track of its surroundings to avoid crashing into them. Now, scientists have taken a peek at what’s going on in these bats’ brains while they swoop and dive. They identified a brain region that helps the animals map where objects are in relation to their own bodies, and saw that individual brain cells changed their behavior while the bats focused their attention on a particular object. The findings could help us understand certain aspects of attention issues in people as well as how bats and animals navigate while on the move. Jeff and Anthony check with their doctors to see if Batterall is right for them. [more]
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Can a Peacock Fly?
Any animal could feasibly provide a human with emotional support, but it doesn't mean that they all should. According to a report by the BBC, the concept artist Ventiko offered to buy a seat for her peacock, Dexter, but was denied by United Airlines because of the bird's large size and weight. It was imperative he be on the flight because, she claimed, he's her emotional support animal. Jeff and Anthony discuss the abuse of support animal laws and ruffle each other's feathers. [more]
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