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8 Adorable Facts About Cats Backed by Science

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Cat research is our favorite field of science (just after dog facts). We’ve compiled some of our top cat-related facts, so enjoy these 8 purrfect tidbits about our feline friends confirmed by science.

1. You can befriend your cat by blinking slowly

Studies indicate this method is effective for building a bond with your cat.

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth and the University of Sussex discovered that slow blinking mimics what are known as “cat smiles” or “slow links,” which helps foster connections between humans and cats.

“It’s wonderful to explore animal behavior and validate this form of communication between cats and their owners,” said Professor Karen McComb, who led the study at the University of Sussex’s Faculty of Psychology.

Cats blink slowly at their owners ©Getty Images

“Many cat owners have suspected this instinctively, so it’s exciting to find scientific evidence.”

Try softening your gaze with a relaxed smile and gently closing your eyes for a few seconds; you may notice your cat reciprocating and initiating some form of interaction!

The research found that owners were more likely to blink slowly after their cats did, compared to instances where there was no interaction at all.

2. One in ten pet cats suffer from separation anxiety

In a study surveying ten pet cats, it was noted that several displayed behavioral issues when temporarily separated from their owners.

Researchers focused on cats exhibiting signs of anxiety when isolated, and found that many belonged to households predominantly with women or without female residents.

The absence of toys and lack of companion animals in the home were also linked to similar behavioral issues in cats.

Owners provided details about each cat, including interaction patterns, behaviors exhibited during their absence, and the living environment of the cats.

1 in 10 pet cats experience separation anxiety ©Getty Images

The analysis revealed that 13.5% of cats displayed one or more traits associated with separation anxiety, with destructive behavior being the most frequently reported (20 out of 30 cats).

Other observed traits included excessive vocalization (19 cats), inappropriate urination (18 cats), aggression (11 cats), agitation (11 cats), anxious behaviors (11 cats), and inappropriate defecation (7 cats).

Significant signs of depression, such as lethargy and loss of interest, were documented in 16 cats with anxiety-related problems.

3. Your cat truly loves you

While food may be the initial bond between humans and cats, it doesn’t mean they see you merely as a can opener.

Chemical analysis of ancient cat bones from 5,300 years ago in China shows that these felines were rodent hunters in grain storage areas, indicating a mutual relationship as both provided shelter and pest control.

Over time, especially in Western culture, the bond became more affectionate, hinting at something deeper than simple food dependency.

You’re not just an oversized can opener © Dan Bright

Much like dogs, cats also exhibit behaviors that indicate attachment, such as bringing home prey or engaging in playful interactions. These actions go beyond mere survival; they’re expressions of familial affection.

A September 2019 study suggested that cats show “secure attachment” traits similar to those found in dogs, where the presence of human caregivers fosters feelings of security and calm.

Furthermore, studies suggest that when a cat snuggles up to you, the same brain hormones are triggered as when we’re around our loved ones. It seems that cats might just rival dogs for the title of “human’s best friend.”

4. Cats can sense an approaching thunderstorm

Cats, along with many other animals, possess heightened sensitivity to sounds, smells, and changes in atmospheric pressure, allowing them to detect storms before humans do.

Before a storm, a cat’s inner ear can sense drops in atmospheric pressure, and they may associate this with impending rain. They may even hear distant thunder or detect scents of rain or ozone, which is produced by lightning and has a characteristic metallic aroma.

5. Cats love boxes for their comfort

Cats can sleep up to 18 hours a day, making them solitary creatures in need of cozy hiding spaces for rest.

A box not only offers a snug retreat but also shields them from cold surfaces, as cats are most comfortable at around 14°C—much cooler than the human ideal.

6. Pet cats significantly affect local wildlife

Research indicates that domestic cats may kill more prey in certain areas than their wild counterparts.

A March 2020 study revealed that hunting domestic cats can greatly impact wildlife populations, particularly within a 100m radius of their homes.

The study found that pet cats kill 2-10 times more wildlife than animals of comparable size in the wild.

©Roland Kays/North Carolina State University/PA

Lead researcher Roland Kays stated, “Feeding domestic cats reduces their hunting frequency, yet their small home ranges mean any impact on local prey is highly concentrated.”

In addition, some regions experience unnaturally high cat populations, further threatening birds and small mammals.

The findings show that cats kill an average of 14.2 to 38.9 animals per 100 acres or hectares each year, with even greater effects observed in disrupted habitats like urban areas.

7. Cats cannot thrive on a vegan diet

In the wild, cats are strict carnivores, requiring certain essential amino acids like taurine that are only present in meat. These cannot be synthesized or stored, making it crucial for vegan cat diets to be carefully managed according to their age and weight.

Insufficient taurine can lead to serious health issues like blindness and heart disease, while excessive amounts can trigger urinary tract problems. Though carnivorous cats naturally absorb all necessary taurine from their diet, synthetic taurine found in vegan cat food may be metabolized differently, complicating the creation of balanced vegan meals for them.

8. Cats’ whiskers aid in precision hunting

The “whiskers” surrounding a cat’s face, known scientifically as vibrissae, comprise approximately 24 movable hairs and are complemented by additional whiskers located above their eyes, on their chin, and on the back of their paws. These sensitive hairs contain deep-rooted nerves critical for hunting, particularly in low-light conditions.

©istock

The whiskers are tailored to the cat’s body width, enhancing their ability to gauge distances while moving. They also provide sensory feedback on the direction and texture of prey, while monitoring airflow to fine-tune movements. It’s no wonder that your cat is such an elegant predator!

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Important facts about bird flu found in U.S. dairy cows

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dairy farm cows

GH Photo/Alamy

Dairy cows in several US states have reportedly contracted bird flu. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The virus has killed millions of birds around the world, but this is the first time it has been detected in cattle.

How many cows are affected by avian influenza?

As of March 25, milk samples from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas tested positive for the avian influenza subtype called H5N1. new york times. This strain is highly lethal to birds. A cow throat swab taken from a dairy farm in Texas also tested positive. So far, no cows have died from the virus.

On March 22, U.S. authorities announced a diagnosis of avian influenza in bovines after some dairy cows at farms in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico became ill and there were reports of dead wild birds on farm grounds. The inspection has started.

About 10% of the milking cows on the affected farms appear to be sick, most of them elderly. It is unclear whether avian influenza is the cause of all animal illness. U.S. authorities are moving quickly to conduct additional testing.

How did the cow become infected with the virus?

The Department of Agriculture announced that the cows appear to have contracted the virus from infected wild birds. However, it is unclear exactly how the virus was transmitted between species.

Most mammals that contract bird flu are carnivores, such as foxes and seals, who most likely contracted the virus by eating dead or infected birds.Because cows don’t eat birds, it’s difficult to explain the source of infection. Richard Webby at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee. Feces and saliva from wild birds may have contaminated the cows’ water and feed.

“The biggest question that I don’t fully understand is how do you account for transmission across the state with such geographic spread,” Webby said.

The worst-case scenario is that the virus spreads among cattle, but that’s probably unlikely, he said. This is because there is still no evidence that avian influenza can be transmitted between mammals.

Do sick cows increase the risk of avian influenza spreading to humans?

The risk of contracting bird flu remains low for most people. Initial testing of samples taken from infected cows has found no genetic changes that would suggest the virus is more transmissible to humans.

But each time a mammal gets avian influenza, Webby says, it gives the virus a chance to acquire the mutations it needs to spread between mammals. “But to put this into perspective, we still need some answers. Above all, how many cows are showing evidence of being infected with the virus?” If there are very few, the virus is likely to become a dead end again, as it did in foxes, bears, and other previously infected animals.

Is milk safe to drink?

Yes, milk is still safe to drink. The USDA already requires dairy farms to send only milk from healthy cows for processing. Milk from infected cows is also being discarded and kept out of the food supply.

Even if contaminated milk enters the supply chain, pasteurization kills bacteria and viruses, including influenza.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Prepare to be Amazed: 7 Mind-Blowing Mathematical Facts for Pi Day

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There’s a mathematical trick to get out of any maze

Klaus Wedfeld/Digital Vision/Getty Images

It’s almost March 14th, or Pi Day. We celebrate this annual celebration of the great mathematical constants by new scientist Let’s recall some of our favorite recent stories from the world of mathematics. To whet your appetite, we’ve extracted a list of amazing facts from it, but if you want to indulge in Pi Day, click through for the full article. These are normally only available to subscribers, but to respect the circumference and diameter of the world, we have decided to make them free for a limited time.

The world’s best kitchen tiles

There are shapes called “hats” that can completely cover a surface without creating a repeating pattern. For decades, mathematicians have wondered whether a single tile exists that can do such a thing. Roger Penrose discovered a pair of tiles that could do the job in his 1970s, but no one could find a single tile that had the same effect when placed. Things changed last year when this hat was discovered.

why are you so unique

You are an irreplaceable person.Or actually he should be a tenth10^68. Called the doppelgängion by mathematician Antonio Padilla, this number is so large that it’s difficult to wrap your head around it. This is a 1 followed by 100 million trillion zeros, and has to do with the possibility of finding exactly the same person somewhere in the universe. It is so difficult to imagine numbers of this size that the quantum physics required to calculate them seems almost trivial in comparison. There is a finite number of quantum states that can exist in the same size part of the universe. Add them all up and you arrive at Doppelgängion. Padilla also wrote about four other surprising numbers of his. new scientist. We’re all here.

amazing tricks

There is a simple mathematical trick to get out of any maze. That means always turning to the right. This method always works, no matter how complex the maze, no matter how many twists and turns and dead ends there are. I got the trick. Can you see why it always leads to success?

and the next number is

There may be a sequence of numbers that is very difficult to calculate, and the mathematician has just found number 9 in the sequence, and it may be impossible to calculate number 10. These numbers are called Dedekind numbers, after the mathematician Richard Dedekind, and represent the number of ways a set of logical operations can be combined. When a set contains a small number of elements, it is relatively easy to calculate the corresponding Dedekind number, but as the number of elements increases, the Dedekind number grows “at twice the exponential rate.” His number 9 in this series was 42 digits long and took him a month to find.

You can’t see the forest for the trees (3)

There are numbers too large to fit in the universe. TREE(3) comes from a simple math game. The game involves generating a forest of trees using different combinations of seeds according to some simple rules. If there is one type of seed, then the maximum allowed forest can contain one tree. For two types of seeds, the largest forest will have three trees. But for three types of seeds, the largest forest has TREE (3) trees, which is too large a number for the universe.

language of the universe

There is an eight-dimensional number system called the octanion that physicists use to try to describe the universe mathematically. The best way to understand octonions is to first think about taking the square root of -1. Among the real numbers (including all counting numbers, fractions, pi, etc.) there is no such number that is the result of its calculation, so mathematicians add another number called . I. When combined with real numbers, we get a system called complex numbers, which consists of a real part and an “imaginary part,” such as 3+7i. That is, it is two-dimensional. Octonion occurs by continuing to build systems until you reach the 8th dimension. However, this is more than just mathematical fun and games. There is reason to believe that octonions may be a necessary number system for understanding the laws of nature.

so many new solutions

Mathematicians went looking for solutions to the three-body problem and found 12,000 solutions. The three-body problem is a classic astronomical problem that asks how three objects can form stable orbits around each other. Such an arrangement is explained by Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, but finding a solution that is actually acceptable is incredibly difficult. In 2007, mathematicians were able to find his 1,223 new solutions to this problem, but this was significantly surpassed last year when the team discovered more than 12,000 more solutions.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The Important Facts about Testing and Accuracy

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The United States is currently in the midst of an outbreak of the new coronavirus. JN.1 variant That's driving up hospitalizations and deaths across the country. But for most people, the new variant does not seem to cause worsening of symptoms.

That's why many people are wondering whether they should keep swabbing their nasal passages for coronavirus tests at the first sign of nasal congestion or pain. How well do rapid at-home tests work against new variants?

Here's what you need to know:

Do I still need to take a Covid test?

Influenza and some cold viruses are also circulating along with the new coronavirus. So there is good reason to know which virus you have, especially if you are at high risk of becoming seriously ill.

“It's important to know whether you have COVID-19, influenza, or a completely non-viral infection such as strep throat,” said Dr. Abrar Karan, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University. Because they have different treatments.” “There are different treatments for each, and the sooner you receive treatment, the better the results.”

If you're a healthy 25-year-old, there’s still some value in getting tested. For example, if you have someone in your household with a weakened immune system or someone who is battling cancer, it is important to isolate them to see if they have COVID-19.

“Remember that all of these viral and bacterial infections are transmissible differently and get sick differently,” Curran said.

Joseph Petrosino, a professor of molecular biology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, said while there may not be much need for young, healthy people to get tested at home, they should be tested for the coronavirus just in case. He acknowledged that it might be helpful to know. Eventually, the symptoms will persist.

“Some people, even healthy people, runners and people who train, can get a prolonged COVID-19 infection,” he said. “We really don't know. It's difficult to predict based solely on comorbidity factors.”

Otherwise, for people at low risk, a positive coronavirus test does not change treatment much. Whether you have coronavirus, a cold or the flu, get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, and stay away from others.

How will new variants impact testing?

Experts say there is no data showing the JN.1 variant affects the results of rapid home tests.

“We have not seen anything to suggest that the new variant has evaded test detection,” Curran said. “Certainly, similar things have happened in the past with other diagnostics early in the pandemic, but right now tests should be able to detect these mutations.”

Susan Butler Wu, a clinical pathologist at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, said she hasn't seen any data on this particular variant, but if it's similar to other variants, it’s not a problem. Rapid tests actually look for parts of the virus that are less likely to mutate and bypass testing.

“There's always the fear that a mutation will occur and the test won't work, but so far that hasn't really happened,” Butler-Wu said.

When is the best time to test?

An individual's viral load is highest early in a pandemic, when most people first develop symptoms, either after infection or before they have developed any immunity from vaccines.

Now, one researcher says that virus levels may actually be at their highest in the first few days of illness. study It was published last fall in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases by researchers at Harvard Medical School. They found that in people with pre-existing immunity, virus levels peaked around the fourth day after symptoms appeared.

This means that if you are tested in the early stages of the disease, it may turn out to be negative.

“Their symptoms may be caused by an immune response,” Curran said. “That means there's inflammation going on, which is causing the symptoms, and that's preventing the virus from multiplying as quickly. That's why the initial test could be negative.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends getting tested immediately if you think you have been infected with the coronavirus and have symptoms such as a stuffy nose, cough, or body aches.

The CDC says to wait five days if you are infected but have no symptoms.

Butler-Wu says there is a misconception that rapid tests are “one-and-done”.

“If you have symptoms and your first test was negative, you should test again,” she says.

Official guidance from the CDC is to get a rapid test if you have symptoms and then test again 48 hours later if you test negative.

The test result was positive. Does that mean I'm contagious?

A rapid at-home test is a good way to find out if someone is contagious.

Simply put, rapid tests require higher levels of virus to be positive, and higher virus levels usually mean you're more contagious.

However, the test has some limitations.

Curran said they can be a good surrogate for contagiousness in the early stages of the disease, but are not as reliable at the end of the disease.

Rapid tests have shown positive results, but data shows the virus could not be cultured when samples were taken from people. That means those people are less likely to be contagious, Curran said.

2022 study Researchers at Harvard Medical School suggested that only half of people who test positive after five days are actually infectious.

“Even after that period, even if you test positive on a rapid test, there is no guarantee that you are still contagious.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Uncovering the Astonishing Facts about Ancient Bead-Like Fossils

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Paleontologists have determined that a mysterious fruit first discovered in the 1970s is the oldest known frankincense fossil. Scale bar = 2 mm.
Credit: Stephen Manchester

Mysterious fossils discovered in India in the 1970s have been identified as part of the Frankincense family, suggesting a Southern Hemisphere origin and reshaping our understanding of plant evolution. In the early 1970s, paleontologists working on the outskirts of an Indian village discovered tiny bead-like fossils embedded in the gray chert that dotted the surrounding fields. The site was notorious for the discovery of hard-to-identify plant fossils, including the fruits of extinct creatures. The fossils have been named “Enigmocarpon”.

The new fossils proved to be similarly frustratingly unwieldy. More plants were discovered in India in subsequent decades, but scientists were unable to determine which type of plant they belonged to.

A breakthrough in fossil identification: Now, researchers say they have solved the mystery. Stephen Manchester, curator of paleobotany at the Florida Museum of Natural History, used CT scanning technology to create his 3D reconstructions of the original fossil specimens and other specimens collected since then. He showed this to his colleagues and noticed something strange about his five triangular seeds inside.

Before the widespread use of CT scans in paleontology, these small fossils, less than 10 mm in diameter, were particularly difficult to study and identify. “When I showed him the 3-D images, he said, ‘Those aren’t seeds. They’re pyrenes,'” Manchester said with Walter Judd, curator of botany at the Florida Museum. I remembered the conversation. Pyrene is a woody dispersal pod that provides an additional layer of protection to the seeds. Distinguishing between seeds and pyrenes requires close scrutiny, especially when they are the size of a snowflake.

“If we had a specimen that broke in just the right plane, we would have been able to identify it, but we couldn’t identify it with the material we had,” Manchester said. Although they may look like seeds, these woody structures are actually pyrenes, similar to the stones found in peaches and date palms.

Frankincense family connection: Only a few plant groups produce pyrene, and even fewer have fruits containing five seeds arranged in a pentagram. Through a process of elimination, Manchester and Judd determined that the fossils belonged to the frankincense family, an extinct member of the Kansas family. Fossilized trees, leaves, fruits, and flowers of this family have been found elsewhere in India, often sandwiched between thick basalt slabs created by the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth’s history.

Geological background and importance: At that time, India was an island off the southeast coast of Africa. India’s continental plate slowly moved toward Europe and Asia, breaking the seal of a thin layer of Earth’s crust as it passed through Madagascar. The fossils were preserved during a quiet period between eruptions, which makes it the oldest fossil of the Kansidae family ever discovered, and has important implications for the origin of the family. Scientists have a good idea of ​​when this group of plants first evolved, but it’s still unclear where they came from.

Source: scitechdaily.com