Tag: Animals

A ring can control light switches and air-conditioning units. Now for people who rely on working dogs comes a British research team’s wireless control for household devices. Born out of the team’s extensive experience of working with charities and dogs, the blue auxiliary device is easy for owners’ canine companions to recognise. They can be trained to switch it...

Rapidly spreading algae makes construction materials more sustainable. High numbers of shore crabs likewise disrupt the maritime ecosystem. Which is why a Danish startup is collecting the invasive beach- and ocean-dwellers using crab baskets or passive fishing nets. Once caught, crab flesh and shell are processed separately into flour and used as animal- or fish-feed supplements. Crab meal powder...

A venture capital firm is specifically backing LGBTQ+ teams, while an app focuses on the community’s mental health. For some time, a German non-profit organisation has been using wool from gay rams to promote its pro-LGBTQ+ message. A message that was recently given a global platform with financial help from a queer dating app: special wool pieces, whose designer...

Fleas help protect implants from bacterial settlement. Now a Japanese research team has discovered that frogs could assist in combating colorectal cancer. They tested 45 bacterial strains from the intestines of Japanese tree frogs, fire belly newts and grass lizards and found one particular strain from the tree frog to be most effective. It killed all tumour cells without...

The farming industry could greatly reduce its pesticide use. But using natural solutions such as messengers released by female insects is better still. The Nobel prize-winning founder of a California-based startup has developed a process to produce these messengers, or pheromones, from raw materials and bio-catalysts. When sprayed on plants, these mask the pheromones naturally produced by female insects,...

An armband concept detects and prevents hot flushes. Meanwhile, an Irish startup is focused on females of other species. The team’s sensor recognises the start of contractions in pregnant cows and heifers, denoted by specific movements of the tail. The sensor is registered in an app and connected with two telephone numbers. 3-4 days before calving it’s attached to...

Lions and farm animals can co-exist peacefully. Now, an autonomous system developed in Sweden is protecting wildlife and infrastructure alike. The startup’s battery- or solar-powered device identifies species and creates acoustic noises accordingly in real time. On hearing these unexpected sounds, wild animals move away from airports, railway lines and agricultural areas. The system comprises a night-vision camera, motion...

Implants can be nourished by the body’s store of glucose. Sea cucumbers, meanwhile, contain unique structures not found in other terrestrial organisms. Among them, as a Mississippi-based research team recently discovered, is a special sugar compound which could help beat cancer. Healthy body cells communicate with one another through tiny ‘antennae’, identifying pathogens and preparing themselves accordingly. Cancer cells...