Let me be perfectly clear: what you are about to read is not satire. It’s entirely real and it’s all happening in Oklahoma. Oklahoma’s Trump lovin’ Governor Mary Fallin is has proclaimed October 13 as 
With costly healthcare, a stereotype of obesity and a culture of creatively fatty foods, “healthy” probably isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think of the United States.
The political views of doctors may influence the care they provide, a new study suggests—especially when it comes to issues that are politically fraught, like firearms and abortion.
In the new report, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at Yale University linked records of more than 20,000 primary care doctors to a voter registration database in order to obtain the doctors’ political affiliations. They then surveyed a portion of these doctors, about 200 Democrats and Republicans, to see whether there were differences in how the doctors viewed medical cases and offered treatment.
The researchers presented the doctors with different vignettes of patient experiences. Some of the scenarios delved into issues that were more political, like abortion or marijuana use, while others related to conditions like obesity and depression. (One vignette was about a 28-year-old woman who reported having two abortions in the last five years, […]
Pangur Ban pussycat at his post on my desk when I am working[/caption]
Doing research for today's SR I came across this story about pussycats, and looked down at Pangur Ban, my feline companion of the last 18 years. It turns out we owe pussycats a lot. Here's the data. 
Credit: Shutterstock
The bird experts and authors of the book Cat Wars recently called for all free-roaming cats to be euthanised or kept on a lead. They argue that cats’ tendency to kill birds and small mammals has lead to a catastrophic decline in the numbers of these creatures. As humans’ most popular pet, it’s inevitable that cats would have some effect on the environment, but when it comes to cats we have lots to be thankful for.
Anthrozoology, the study of human-animal interaction – which encompasses aspects of medicine, veterinary science, education and social work – has revealed the significant benefit to people and the economy of pets, or “companion animals” to give them their preferred title. As cats are such common pets and their relationship with humans so culturally embedded, it’s not surprising to find that they have been the subject of many studies.
For example, The Cats Protection charity summarises the wealth of scientific findings highlighting the benefit of cats, including reducing childhood allergies and school absenteeism in children, improving […]
