Latest news with #Pebbles
Newsweek
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Cane Corso With Strict Swim Routine Wins Pet of the Week
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. From the heartwarming moment a blind dachshund sensed his owner was home to a dog's adorable daycare photos, pet stories have been bringing delight this week. But we also like to showcase our readers' pets in our weekly Newsweek Pet of the Week. For your pet to be featured next week, follow the instructions at the end of this story to get involved. Winner Lucia the dog, enjoying her much-loved pool time. Lucia the dog, enjoying her much-loved pool time. Keith Bauer This week's Pet of the Week is Lucia, a spirited puppy with a serious love of the water. Born in January 2025, the Cane Corso quickly developed a serious swimming pool routine. "We spend an hour or two in the pool everyday and playing with our bubblers and retrieving in our pool are her favorite things to do," Lucia's owner Keith Bauer told Newsweek. When she's not perfecting her pool skills, Lucia enjoys socializing at Bass Pro in Fort Myers, Florida. The busy store provides endless opportunities to meet new people—from curious children to friendly retirees—and Lucia thrives on the attention and affection. Finalists Retired greyhound Scooby Doo living his best life. Retired greyhound Scooby Doo living his best life. Sarah Jo Robinson Our first finalist this week is Scooby Doo, a 6-year-old retired racing greyhound with a heart as big as his personality. Blind since the age of 2, Scooby hasn't let it slow him down one bit. Adopted by owner Sarah Jo Robinson from Hounds of GRACE, a nonprofit that helps retired greyhounds find homes in Michigan and Ohio, Scooby quickly became a beloved member of the family. "He loves his walks, runs races in his enclosed yard, and plays with the cat between naps," Robinson told Newsweek. "He's fearless, considers everyone he meets as a new friend, and is very affectionate." Pebbles the dog, curled up under blankets. Pebbles the dog, curled up under blankets. Deborah Jackson Next up this week is Pebbles, a lovable 7-year-old Yorkie-Maltese mix who brings joy and laughter to her family every day. She shares her home with brother BamBam, and while they're siblings, each have very different personalities. "I am sharing a funny and sweet picture of Pebbles as soon as I finish making our bed," owner Deborah Jackson told Newsweek. Barn cat Jalapeño, also affectionately known as Spicy. Barn cat Jalapeño, also affectionately known as Spicy. Eva H. Last but not least is Jalapeño—affectionately known as Spicy—a striking barn cat with a heartwarming origin story. Owner Eva H. and her family discovered him nestled in a lilac bush near their home when he was just 4 to 5 weeks old. At the time, they had been hoping for a sign that it was the right moment to adopt a barn cat—and there he was. "He was so tiny, we kept him in a live trap with an old can of cat food that we managed to scrounge up," Eva told Newsweek. "From there, he matured and grew into a beautiful young male that loves having little photoshoots." Today, Spicy rules his five-acre kingdom, chasing rodents, exploring high places and striking poses for the camera. His favorite place though? Being snuggled up with this humans for cuddles. "He's my gorgeous boy," Eva said. If you think your pet could be next week's Newsweek "Pet of the Week," send us your funny and heartwarming videos and pictures of your pet, along with a bit about them to life@ and they could appear in our "Pet of the Week" lineup.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Time of India
Cops raid illegal hookah bar, arrest two
Lucknow: In a late-night crackdown, Gomtinagar police raided a restaurant near Jaipuria School and busted an illegal hookah bar being operated in violation of health and safety laws . Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by sub inspector Gurpreet Kaur, along with SI Deepak Kumar Yadav and SI Shyam Singh, raided the premises around 12.30 am. Police found three operational hookahs placed on a table inside the restaurant and another broken hookah with a pipe underneath. Eight containers of flavoured tobacco were also recovered. Two individuals, identified as Satyendra Kumar (resident of Vinay Khand, Gomtinagar; native of Dhakwa, Malihabad) and Anuj Kumar (resident of Vineet Khand, Gomtinagar), were caught while attempting to flee. Satyendra Kumar identified himself as the manager of Pebbles restaurant and stated that the establishment was owned by a man named Manish. Anuj Kumar admitted that he worked there as a hookah server. Neither of them could produce a licence for running a hookah bar. The accused were booked under Sections 223, 271, and 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 13(k) of the COTPA Act.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Social Rundown: $20K BK Foundation scholarship, talks beyond the skies, new Fruity Pebbles cereal
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Welcome back to the Social Rundown, where you can learn about the online trends happening globally and in Texoma, too! Want to get the latest tea or news on what's trending on social media? Tune in daily! Burger King Foundation Scholarship On Thursday, April 17, Cameron Whitaker, a student and a shift lead at a Burger King in Arkansas, received a gift that changed her life. Whitaker became the first recipient of a $20,000 scholarship through the Burger King Foundation. Through hard work, dedication, and support, dreams can become a reality. She now plans to continue pursuing her dreams of being a NICU nurse. Some lucky Florida students got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to talk to astronauts live in space. Magnet Innovation has been trying to connect students here on Earth with astronauts in space in the International Space Station. Although there were connectivity issues, the students were grateful for the eye-opening experience and the motivation it provided for their futures. New Fruity Pebbles cereal Hitting the shelves this month, Pebbles has their new Strawberries and Cream cereal that is deeeeeelicious! Run to your nearest supermarket for this limited-time box of flavor. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Don't get rid of your starting horse in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2—there's a secret perk that makes her the best in the game
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. My many years of experience have taught me: you should only stay with someone because of who they are, not who you think they could be. The last two weeks have taught me: unless they are a horse. Because it turns out that, if you stick with the worst nags in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 long enough, they'll eventually blossom into strong, valiant steeds. If you've gotten to Semine in KCD2—a process which could take 30 minutes or 100 hours, depending on how sidequest-happy you are—you'll know the game does you the favour of giving you a free horse: Pebbles, Henry's dowdy old mare from the first game. She's terrible. She's slow, scared, and weak, and you'll probably make it your first order of business to buy or steal something better as soon as you can. But you shouldn't. Because it turns out that, if you ride old Pebbles for 35 kilometres or so, you'll eventually unlock a secret perk that makes her one of the best horses in the game. It's called Good Old Pebbles, and it sends her stats skyrocketing. Here's a quick comparison. Which is, frankly, nuts. This makes her one of the speediest and strongest horses in the game, meaning you might finally be able to beat the Voivode's son at that bloody race. The only downside is her static courage (I'm half-convinced it's a bug, but perhaps not), but I reckon it's a very worthwhile trade-off when it comes to getting such an incredible horse for free. Also, townsfolks will stop insulting her, which should make you feel a bit better about yourself. Pebbles actually isn't the only horse you can do this with. There's a similar secret perk for Herring, the free horse that you'll get as part of your adventures around Trosky castle. If you ride ol' Herring around for 50 (count 'em, 50) kilometres, you'll unlock the Red Herring perk. Here's his before-and-after (though a quick note: I never got this perk myself, so I'm using stats from the community, and it looks like these ones factor in your horse's basic gear, which Pebbles' upgraded stats above do not). Which one you prefer is, of course, up to you, but I'm such a hoarder that Pebbles' extra carrying capacity makes her an obvious choice for me. Also, she's been with you since the first game, are you gonna just abandon her in some podunk village outside Kuttenberg? Not very chivalrous of you, Henry. KCD2 console commands: How to use cheatsKCD2 treasure maps: Every loot locationKCD2 horse: How to get a free mountKCD2 Saviour Schnapps: Save your game lotsKCD2 romance options: Bohemian romantasy
New York Times
16-02-2025
- Health
- New York Times
On a Mission to Heal Gila Monsters
By any measure, the diabetes drug Ozempic has been a blockbuster, racking up billions of dollars in annual sales. In the United States alone, pharmacies fill millions of prescriptions for Ozempic and related drugs, which have become popular for their weight-loss effects, every month. But in the beginning, before the celebrity endorsements and the think pieces and the global supply crunch, there was just a strange, venomous lizard with a flair for intermittent fasting. The Gila monster, which is native to the deserts of North America, can survive on just a few meals a year, thanks to a digestion-slowing hormone in its venom. The discovery of this hormone paved the way for Ozempic, making the Gila monster an enormously profitable gift to modern medicine. And last summer one particular Gila monster, a former pet named Pebbles, needed medicine in return. Pebbles, a resident at the Creature Conservancy, a wildlife education organization in Ann Arbor, Mich., had been infected with a parasite called Cryptosporidium. Hard to kill, the parasite colonizes the digestive tract and is typically a death sentence for reptiles. A veterinarian had recommended that Pebbles be humanely euthanized. But the Creature Conservancy wasn't ready to accept that fate for Pebbles, who had at least another decade of life potentially ahead of her. 'If we can fix her,' said Steve Marsh, the founder of the Creature Conservancy, one afternoon last July. He corrected himself: 'If he can fix her,' he said. He nodded toward a sharply dressed man who was cradling Pebbles in his gloved hands: Tim Cernak, a pharmaceutical chemist at the University of Michigan. A few minutes later, a veterinarian inserted a tube into the lizard's throat, collecting liquid from her stomach. Later, Dr. Cernak would study this sample in his lab, hoping to isolate the parasite and find a drug that could vanquish it. Pebbles was not the patient Dr. Cernak had in mind when he began his career. Until 2018, he had worked at the pharmaceutical giant Merck, developing drugs for people with cancer, H.I.V., diabetes and other conditions. Along the way, he had helped develop cutting-edge approaches, involving robots and artificial intelligence, to speed up the invention of new human drugs. A few years ago, however, Dr. Cernak decided that he wanted to use those tools to make medicines for ailing plants and animals, forging a new field he called 'conservation chemistry.' Gila monsters weren't the only species that had inspired human drugs. There were antibiotics derived from fungi, anticancer drugs from plants and painkillers from animal venom. Dr. Cernak thought it was time for pharmaceutical chemists to give back. 'To me it's this full circle thing,' he said. 'We're attempting to solve the ultimate health inequity.' Conservation chemistry Dr. Cernak, a native Canadian, had grown up catching leopard frogs and crayfish at his grandparents' lakeside cottage in Quebec. When he left his job at Merck, he wanted to use his chemical expertise for a greater environmental good. 'Pharma's rad,' said Dr. Cernak, who has a youthful face and the upbeat energy to match. 'But I wanted to apply my talents to a love of nature.' Initially, he thought he might do research on methane, a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. But after Covid-19 hit, he began to think more about the existential, population-level risks posed by disease. A fungal disease called chytridiomycosis, or chytrid, was driving frogs to extinction. Bald eagles and elephant seals were succumbing to bird flu. And sea turtles were washing ashore with a contagious form of cancer. Treatment options left much to be desired. There were human medicines that could help some sick frogs and sea turtles, but they could cause severe side effects and were suitable only for certain animal patients. Dr. Cernak had experience developing targeted anticancer drugs, which were designed to destroy cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy ones. Would it really be such a stretch to do the same thing for a tumor-riddled sea turtle? 'Precision oncology for a sea turtle — that could totally be done,' he thought. The same idea could be extended to ecosystems. In some ways, the invasive, sap-sucking insects that were spreading through America's hemlock groves could be considered a cancer of the forest. Perhaps the tools of pharmaceutical chemistry could help him design a precision pesticide that would wipe out the invasive insects while sparing native ones. Dr. Cernak had a knack for seeing opportunities everywhere and a reluctance to do anything halfway. He began traipsing around hemlock groves at the university's arboretum and asking sea turtle hospitals for samples of tumor tissue. He puzzled over how to get antimalarial drugs to rare birds in Hawaii and wondered, as 'just kind of a fun thought experiment,' whether he could design monoclonal antibodies that selectively ferried poison to different species of invasive fish. And on a trip to the Creature Conservancy in December 2023, he learned about the plight of Pebbles. Robo drug discovery Drug development is a famously failure-prone pursuit. Dr. Cernak has ratcheted up the degree of difficulty by focusing on pathogens and patients that are poorly understood. 'People haven't chosen to look inside of the Gila monster too much,' he said. But that's exactly what his team was doing one day last July, in a chemistry lab on the University of Michigan's leafy campus. There are many species of Cryptosporidium, which can infect a wide range of mammals, birds and reptiles. All of them are understudied, Dr. Cernak said, but the reptile pathogens are a particular mystery. And when the scientists put a sample from Pebbles under the microscope, they were startled by what they saw: a single-celled parasite wrapped in a thick, jellylike coating, an unexpected extra layer of cellular protection. 'It's like this citadel,' Dr. Cernak said. Soon, they would begin looking for a drug to breach this line of defense. On another lab bench, however, the hunt for a better cure for chytrid, the amphibian fungal disease, was already underway. A modular robot in a transparent box glided back and forth, preparing to dispense minute doses of antifungal drugs into a grid of shallow wells. The short-term goal was to identify an existing drug that would be more effective and less toxic than one common chytrid treatment. The robots — the largest of which could run more than 1,500 chemical reactions at once — could quickly test a pharmacy's worth of possibilities on lab-grown chytrid cells. Over the months that followed, the team identified a compound, which Dr. Cernak declined to disclose, that proved promising in both the cells and in the African dwarf frogs that were paddling around in a nearby biology lab. The next step is to test it in additional species. 'The fact that Tim is moving into this from a field of human medicine is really awesome,' said Brian Gratwicke, who leads the amphibian conservation programs at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and is collaborating with Dr. Cernak. 'Because that's one of the things that has been missing — that kind of focus, that kind of methodology and the rigor that is being applied to humans.' Into the wild Over the longer term, Dr. Cernak is trying to engineer a new drug specifically for chytrid. He is using several A.I.-powered tools — including Google's Nobel-winning software AlphaFold — to visualize the three-dimensional structure of a critical fungal protein and design a drug that binds to it . (He is using the same basic approach in his search for new drugs for bird flu and sea turtle cancer.) A drug that is sufficiently precise, binding only to that chytrid protein, could potentially be dispensed directly into frog ponds. 'I kind of imagine those pucks that you put in the back of a toilet,' Dr. Cernak said. 'A slow-release type thing.' It's a vision he shares with some reluctance. 'I just really don't want to appear to be the mad chemist who's sprinkling chemicals all over,' he said. 'Particularly just because I think chemists are so easy to villainize in conservation. And so we're really trying to find the right way to get it to our patient with having the absolute minimal impact on the ecosystem.' Indeed, the idea of deliberately releasing drugs into the environment is likely to make some conservationists uneasy. 'Pharmaceuticals were never designed to just be sort of broadcast out there,' said Kathryn Arnold, an ecologist at the University of York in Britain. Human pharmaceuticals, which regularly turn up in the world's waterways, are known pollutants. They can imperil aquatic organisms and fuel the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens. Even dosing animals individually wouldn't eliminate the risk, said Tomas Brodin, an ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Medicated animals could excrete drugs into the environment, he said, or unwittingly poison predators. In India, vultures were nearly driven to extinction after scavenging on the carcasses of cows that had been given a common painkiller. Dr. Brodin praised Dr. Cernak's optimism. 'His heart is in the right place,' he said. 'But even in drugs in humans, we've seen how hard it is to design drugs that are very specific.' There are likely to be regulatory and economic hurdles, too: Who, exactly, is going to pay for a precision cancer drug for sea turtles? And while novel drugs can help buy time for critically endangered species, protecting biodiversity will require addressing larger problems, including climate change and habitat loss. 'A lot of these diseases we're seeing are a consequence of changes in the environment, animals' being stressed or their habitats' being degraded,' said David Duffy, a cancer biologist at the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, who is also working on cancer treatments for sea turtles. 'What chemists and oncologists can do,' he added, 'is mostly treating the consequences.' Pills for Pebbles Dr. Cernak is cleareyed about these challenges. He has been waiting for more than a year for the federal permits he needs to receive sea turtle tissue. And he has not been able to attract funding for the Pebbles project, even after approaching a drug company profiting from Gila-monster-inspired drugs. 'We have kept the work alive on fumes,' he said. Without funding, he could not culture Pebbles's parasite in the lab, which he needed to do before he could unleash the robotic drug testers. So his team used A.I.-based tools to scour the scientific literature on Cryptosporidium, looking for potential treatments safe enough to try without extensive laboratory trials. 'My biggest fear was that I would overdose and poison Pebbles,' Dr. Cernak said. He homed in on a drug that can cure Cryptosporidium infections in livestock but has yielded mixed results in reptiles. In December and January, Pebbles gobbled down seven doses of the drug, which had been secreted inside dead mice and quail. So far, she has shown no ill effects. But because her digestive system moves so slowly, it could be months before the scientists know whether the drug worked. Dr. Cernak is bracing himself for the possibility that it won't. And then what? 'We'll try again,' he said.
