Ian Sample reports, in The Guardian, a new discovery by Ig Nobel Prize winners, about wombat poo shape: Scientists unravel secret of cube-shaped wombat faeces Researchers investigate why excrement emerges in awkward-shaped blocks … “My curiosity got triggered when I realised that cubical feces exist,” said Patricia Yang pictured below], a postdoctoral fellow in mechanical engineering […]
Tag: cat
“Cat Typing” – towards a possible remedy
Opportunities for Animal Computer Interactions (ACI) are, it seems, in ascendance : “Take, for instance, the phenomenon where a cat walks on a keyboard when its owner is trying to work. This is called “cat typing”, and it results when the cat wants to be near the owner, and is attracted to the typing motions […]
The campaign to honor the first cat in outer space
A cat named Félicette gets ever-widening recognition as being the first cat intentionally (and probably otherwise, too) launched into outer space. Félicette has many admirers, and has admired research into the history of the thing, and inspired artists, too. (Thanks to Brent Freeze for bringing this to our attention.) NOTE: The saga of Félicette should […]
The Case of the Neighbor’s Cat Causing Complications
Medical detectives must keep in mind, always, the possibility that a cat entered into the chain of events that brought a human patient to seek treatment. This newly published case hints strongly at that principle: “The Case of the Neighbour’s Cat Causing a Symptomatic (Mycotic) Aortic Aneurysm and an Infected Endograft,” Ahmed Shalan, Nicky Wilson, […]
“Dead Cat Bounce” (an elucidation)
If you’re not sure what the phrase “Dead Cat Bounce” might mean, then the online pages of the journal Medical Economics are at hand for assistance. The publication informs, with regard to Dead Cat Bounce : “That term refers to a stock that’s had a rapid, steep decline, followed by a brief rally. Like a […]
The President’s Father and the Sneezing of Cats
Jean-Michel Macron is a neurologist who has published several studies about the sneezing of cats. His son is the current president of France. Among Macron’s cat-sneeze studies: Macron on Cat Sneezing (1991) — “Trigeminal afferences implied in the triggering or inhibition of sneezing in cats,” Fabrice Wallois, Jean Michel Macron, Vincent Jounieaux, and Bernard Duron, Neuroscience […]
The RAT Trace, the CAT Trace, and the MAN Trace
Say “rat”, say “cat”, and say “man”. Then read this study, if you want to: “Phonological similarity and trace degradation in the serial recall task: when CAT helps RAT, but not MAN,” Anthony B. Fallon, Kim Groves, and, Gerald Tehan, International Journal of Psychology, vol. 34, nos. 5/6, 1999, pp. 301-307. The photo, warped though it […]
Identifying one’s pet(s) by how they smell
It’s (more or less) a given that dogs can reliably identify individual humans by their smell. But what about the other way around? To find out, Dr Deborah Wells and Professor Peter Hepper of the Canine Behaviour Centre, School of Psychology, at Queen’s University Belfast, UK, conducted a set of experiments. A 1m square blue […]
Flea distributions on stray cats (updated)
“Osbrink and Rust (1985) reported that there was no significant difference in the mean number of fleas collected from any particular area of the cat.” Ref. Osbrink, W.L.A., and M. K. Rust. 1985. Seasonal abundance of adult cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) on domestic cats in southern California. Bull Soc Vector Ecol. 1985, 10, […]
Olly the Cat (r.i.p.) and feline politics in organization
“[…] a ginger mackerel tabby cat is sat on a mat at the foot of the marble entrance. It is sat outside the entrance to its own rather imposing mini ‘Berkshire-style’ wooden townhouse that abuts the tinted windows of the concrete and glass steel tower of Olympic House.” [a building at Manchester Airport, UK]. The […]