Good dog: Survival of the friendliest
There's no denying the bond people feel and the attachment dogs have for their humans, but if we put that beautiful relationship under scientific scrutiny, does it hold up?
Can any dog go 'full Lassie' if you (or Timmy) gets stuck down a well? Will your dog save you?
Featuring:
Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University
Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne
Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne Professor Chris Johnson, the University of Tasmania
Professor Chris Johnson, the University of Tasmania
Dr. Annika Bremhorst, founder of Dogs and Science, and canine scientist at the University of Bern
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Heavily pregnant woman's video proves the US is totally cooked
People are losing their minds over a viral video showing a heavily pregnant woman preparing to work a gruelling overnight shift as a nurse in the US. At 38 weeks pregnant, most women are slowing down, washing tiny onesies and waiting for labour to begin. In Australia, many would already be on paid maternity leave, with weeks – and soon months – of guaranteed paid time to recover and spend time with their newborn. In the United States, it's an entirely different story. A US woman has gone viral after filming herself preparing for an overnight shift as a nurse, while she suffers from contractions just days away from her due date. The clip, which has amassed over 3.2 million views, begins with soon-to-be mum Caitlin, telling her viewers that she thinks she will have her baby this week. 'I can't believe I'm even saying this, but get ready to work another night shift with me at 38 weeks and two days pregnant,' she begins. 'My body just really hurts and I'm exhausted, and going to work nightshift as a nurse when I'm this pregnant is not easy. 'At my last check I was two centimetres dilated and 50 per cent effaced,' she added. Thousands weighed in on the clip, with many branding it 'inhumane' and 'cruel' treatment. 'I feel so sad for you. it is inhumane, your country has failed women,' wrote one viewer. 'This feels absolutely illegal,' said another. 'You're two centimetres dilated and still going to work? America is bizarre,' said a third. 'America is crying about the drop of birthrates but then treat their pregnant women like this,' wrote a fourth. In a follow-up clip, the mother-to-be revealed she had 'barely survived' her night shift and explained why she's still working. 'My body is hurting so much but I cant afford to take off before my baby is born. I only get 12 weeks leave at less than 50 per cent of my pay, so I want as much time with my baby as I can get.' Dr Justin Tucker, Sydney-based Obstetrician and fertility specialist, told that working night-shifts at that stage of pregnancy is 'pretty brutal', and could have effects on the pregnancy. 'You want to be going into delivery feeling rested as the energy sets you up for success in the next phase,' said Dr Tucker. He recommends women stop working at 36 – 37 weeks, before putting 'all tools down' at 38 weeks. 'You can't go in depleted otherwise you could experience milk supply issues, bonding issues or adjustment issues. 'If you feel like you have no choice but to work and you're spreading yourself thin then; something has to give eventually.' Under federal law American parents are entitled to just 12 weeks off – unpaid. Depending on their employer they may be paid 50 per cent or less of their usual wage, during this time. That's if they even qualify, with eligibility depending on whether a company has 50 or more employees or whether the employee has completed at least 1250 hours of work in the last year. For millions of workers, particularly in low-wage and shift-based jobs, that protection doesn't apply. Even if it does, very few families can afford three months without a pay cheque. So they keep working – even as their due date looms. In Australia, as of July this year, parents are permitted up to 120 days or 24 weeks of paid parental leave. Parents may also take 12 months of unpaid leave, with the option to request an additional 12 months from their employer.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Meet the Worimi doctor fighting high rates of cervical cancer among First Nations women
For most women, cervical screening can be an awkward but necessary test. Yet for First Nations women, additional barriers, such as a lack of access to culturally safe care and stigma, are leading to lower screening rates, putting them at a higher risk of developing cervical cancer. For the past 20 years Dr Marilyn Clarke has worked on Gumbaynggirr Country as an obstetrician and gynaecologist. She's seen the impacts of low screening rates firsthand. "It can be an entirely preventable disease with good screening and treatment pathways," Dr Clarke told NITV. "Australia is one of the world leaders in the area ... but unfortunately for First Nations women, we are not seeing the same result," she said. Mortality rates nearly four times higher The rate of cervical cancer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australia is more than double the rate among non-Indigenous women. The mortality rate for First Nations women is nearly four times higher. Cultural barriers, lack of awareness, logistical challenges, and historical and systemic issues contribute to under-screening and late detection of pre-cancerous lesions, representing a system failure for Aboriginal women. Additional barriers include remoteness, socioeconomic disadvantage, and the need for culturally safe healthcare services. New initiative to tackle disparity Dr Marilyn Clarke hopes to see those statistics change for the better. SISTASCREEN is a co-designed strategy being developed which aims to increase cervical screening rates by offering the test during routine antenatal checkups at Aboriginal-led health services. 'Antenatal visits at their local Aboriginal community-controlled health service is an opportune time to engage First Nations women in cervical screening in a way which ensures culturally safety and empowerment," Dr Clarke said. The project is set to be led by Southern Cross University in partnership with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), with $2.4 million in funding over three-years from the federal government through Cancer Australia. "It's really important that any healthcare intervention, or strategy or screening program, involves First Nations people from the ground up," Dr Clarke said. The project will see six "early adopter" sites established from the outset: the first is the Bullinah Aboriginal Health Service in Ballina on the New South Wales Coast. Its goal is to establish 50 sites at Aboriginal community controlled health organisations across the country over the next three years. A welcomed step forward NACCHO CEO Pat Turner AM has welcomed the partnership. 'For too long, our women have faced barriers to lifesaving screening and care, barriers rooted in systems that weren't designed for us, by us," Ms Turner said. "We cannot eliminate cervical cancer in Australia while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women continue to be left behind." Arrernte and Gurdanji woman Pat Turner is the CEO of NACCHO and the Lead Convener of the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations. Source: AAP Ms Turner said the co-designed strategy provides critical care that is culturally safe and empowering. 'SISTASCREEN is about more than closing a gap in statistics,' Ms Turner said. "It's about putting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women at the centre of solutions, embedding screening and care within our own health services, led by our own workforce, in a way that is culturally safe and empowering. 'This project gives us the chance to reach women at a critical moment in their lives, while they are pregnant and engaging with antenatal care, so that we can support their health and well-being, now and into the future."
9 News
4 hours ago
- 9 News
Tassie tigers and toad war: De-extinction giant's Aussie projects
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Once-extinct alpha predators prowl their old Tasmanian bushland haunts again. Others blithely munch on hapless cane toads without so much as a stomach-ache to show for it, thanks to a DNA tweak. The toads themselves are dwindling, along with other invasive pests - new genetics introduced into wild populations are curbing their breeding. It's a future that's not quite here yet, but the shadow of it is looming, as one of the world's biggest names in de-extinction turns its eyes to Australia in a major way. Colossal Biosciences, most famed for their projects to resurrect the woolly mammoth, and recreating the "dire wolves" made famous in Game of Thrones , have announced the establishment of Colossal Australia, expanding a long-standing partnership with the University of Melbourne. Colossal Australia is working to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger. (Nine) And joining the company full-time is Australian Professor Andrew Pask, who will step into the international role of chief biology officer, as well as overseeing Colossal Australia. Pask said a greater focus on de-extinction in Australia, along with other environmental preservation techniques, was of particular importance. "We have the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world," he told Colossal co-founder Ben Lamm with Professor Andrew Pask. (Colossal) Pask, a long-time leader in the de-extinction field, currently leads the Thylacine Integrated Genomic Restoration Research Lab (TIGGR) at the University of Melbourne. Colossal has previously been a partial funder of the lab, but now, TIGGR will become part of Colossal Australia. Among other things, it's at the heart of the company's plan to resurrect the thylacine - the Tasmanian tiger - which died out in 1936. Colossal made headlines when it revealed it had recreated the "direwolf". (Supplied) "We're currently in the (gene) editing phase for the Tasmanian tiger," Pask said. He forecast it would be about six to eight years before that phase of the project was completed. Concurrently, the lab is also developing breeding technology, from artificial wombs to ways to induce a "heat" phase in a prospective surrogate animal, which can be used for conservation projects around the country. "We work with a lot of other organisations and we share a lot of our technology with them," Pask said. Colossal is also working on a solution to the seemingly unstoppable menace of the cane toad, a species introduced to Australia in the 1930s. Cane toads were introduced to Australia in the 1930s. (Jodi Rowley/Australian Museum) Cane toads produce a toxin which is extremely poisonous and routinely kills animals who eat them, including native mammals and reptiles. One of these would-be predators could soon have the upper hand. The northern quoll was forecast to be extinct within 10 years, in part because too many are dying from eating toads. Looking to the toad's native predators in South America for answers, Pask said they spotted a tiny difference in a single part of their DNA that could be mimicked by gene editing in Australian animals. "One single nucleotide in a three-billion-letter DNA code, that's all you have to change," he said. The northern quoll is facing extinction. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) Colossal is currently working with regulatory bodies on the conditions of releasing the gene-modified quolls into the wild, which would be a world first. "It hasn't been done before, so there's a lot to work through. With the gene change, the quolls are considered GMOs (genetically modified organisms), which means you can let them go but you can't eat them," he said. Australia's Gene Technology Regulator offers licences for releasing GMO animals into the environment. But there are other issues to work through - for example, as GMOs, the new quolls don't technically benefit from the environmental protections and conservation status of their natural-born cousins. "It's such a beautiful example of how we can use these de-extinction technologies to confront these issues," he said. "The quolls aren't just protected from the toads, they're then helping getting rid of the pest animal." Other project priorities for Colossal Australia include pushing ahead on bird genomics, which Pask said was "really far behind" compared to mammals, and which would have obvious applications for Australia's dwindling rare birds. And Pask also suggested gene modification could be used to curb invasive pest species such as rabbits, by introducing animals that spread infertility genes. "I'm thrilled to help lead this team at the forefront of de-extinction research, not just to bring back lost species, but to apply those technologies in real-time to save those still with us," he said. science environment animals wildlife Australia national World CONTACT US Auto news: Honda here to stay in Australia, announces growth plans.
