Posts by: VetSci
Johne’s disease is a contagious, bacterial disease that is responsible for considerable financial losses in infected livestock.
It isn’t just the financial costs that need to be considered, Johne’s disease also imposes welfare issues on infected animals and there are growing concerns over implications to public health.
Johne’s disease is caused by bacteria that are [...]
Colostrum is a nutrient and immunoglobulin rich fluid that is produced by the ewe shortly before parturition. Besides nutrients and immunoglobulins, colostrum also contains a wide variety of components essential to ensure the survival of a new-born lamb, it is critical to lamb survival – insufficient intake of colostrum is a major cause of neonatal fatalities.
Colostrum requires a lot of investment, energy-wise by the ewe, so if she gives birth to multiple offspring, it can be very demanding to keep up with the amount of colostrum required by her lambs. For maximum efficacy, new born lambs must consume the required amount of colostrum (around 1L) within the first 18 hours of life, putting even more pressure on the ewe.
The symptoms and treatments for copper deficient in cattle. Copper deficiency remains prevalent amongst cattle despite the fact there are many copper supplements
Many of us know copper as the ductile metal, but it is also a vital chemical element for life. Copper (Cu) is vital due to its multiple biological roles in the body, from electron transport to metalloproteins. Because of the imperative role that copper plays, both humans and other mammals (such as cattle) need to consume trace amounts of copper in the diet. Humans, for example, need to consume between 1 to 3mg of copper a day.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) involves the formation of nodules on the prostate that compress the urethral canal. BPH is a natural consequence of aging that affects older dogs. Entire male dogs (i.e. not castrated) over the age of 5 have an 80% chance of suffering from BPH to some extent.
Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI is a medical imaging technique which can be utilised to visualise internal structures with relatively great detail. Magnetic resonance scanners generate strong magnetic fields which pulse and cause individual nuclei of atoms within the body to spin. Gradients in the strength of the magnetic field causes different nuclei to spin at different speeds.
Cognition is defined as; the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. As we age our cognitive ability declines naturally, however some individuals may experience a rate of decline much greater than expected. This is known as cognitive dysfunction.
Cognitive dysfunction is apparent in a number of species, including; humans, dogs and cats. In dogs, canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) can be responsible for alterations in normal behaviour, for example, the dog may be less active or show changes in their social interactions with human family members.
All about canine anxieties and phobias, from what causes them to how to deal with them. Learn about the clinical signs of canine anxiety and how to reduce them. Discover the benefits of each type of treatment, as well as their downfalls. The product which stands out amongst the rest is CALMEX®, to find out more, read on…
Mud fever is a predominant winter/early spring disease of horses. With proper care you can help to prevent mud fever. See this infographic for more information and what products you should be using on your horse. For more information, follow @CarrDayMartin on twitter or on Facebook
The Dance Language of Honeybees is an unusual concept where an apparently simple ‘waggle dance’ can convey a vast amount of information about where a food source is located. Click continue reading to find out how these bees manage to squeeze so much information in to a single dance.
The citric acid cycle, (also known as either the Kreb’s or TCA cycle) is a biological pathway involved in cellular respiration. A series of chemical reactions form energy from pyruvate, in the form of ATP. More importantly, the citric acid cycle produces a large number of electron transporters, which proceed to [...]
With the parasite Neospora caninum contributing to great amounts of cattle deaths worldwide it has become an important target for control. N. caninum infected cattle appear symptom free until pregnancy, at which point the dormant N. caninum reverts to an actively dividing tachyzoite stage, the mechanism of this reactivation remains unknown. It is likely non-homologous or ‘orphan’ genes of N. caninum may be responsible. With no direct means to both store and search potentially involved genes with the flexibility required, both a website and MySQL database were created to support this investigation. The website, ApiBLAST (ApiBLAST.vetsci.co.uk), is an efficient tool to quickly locate, filter and analyse orphan genes. The database stores information on homology, derived from e-values determined by BLAST and subcellular localisation & structure determined by a number of tools maintained by the CBSA, including SignalP, TargetP and TMHMM. Twelve candidate genes were isolated from over 15,000, their functions not currently fully understood and thus possibly of interest for future investigation. ApiBLAST has great potential and flexibility as a bioinformatics tool, which this study has proven by the successful identification of the twelve candidate genes.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition which is observed in both humans and animals. It is a progressive degenerative disorder, typically affecting load bearing joints such as the hips, knees or elbows. Joint structure, function and integrity slowly deteriorate as the condition worsens.
There are many examples of cooperation between species, however, one of the better examples is the relationship observed between marine ‘cleaner’ fish and their ‘clients’. There are many species of cleaner fish such as the wrasse from the genus Labroides, or the gobies from the genus Elacatinus.
Superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance or a false conception of causation. In an ecological sense, superstitious behaviour is the incorrect assignment of cause and effect.
The body consists of many types of specialised cells, from gametes to blood cells, each different cell type having a specific function. In contrast to specialised cells are unspecialised cells, known as stem cells. Because of the unique abilities of stem cells as opposed to a typical somatic cell, they are currently the target of ongoing research. Multiple areas of research are looking into how stem cells can offer new ways of treating disease, such as diabetes or heart disease – a field of medicine known as cell-based therapy or regenerative medicine.
Muscular dystrophy is the term given to a group of hereditary muscular disorders which cause wasting and weakening of the muscles. The disorders typically arise due to defects in muscle proteins which lead to the untimely death of multiple muscle cells causing progressive muscle weakness.
Insulin resistance is a subnormal biological response of the body to insulin, i.e. a reduced reduced response to the presence of insulin. As a result insulin becomes less effective at reducing blood sugar, increased blood sugar levels can have an adverse impact on health.
Phenylketonuria (PKU) became a recognised clinical condition in 1934 when Norwegian physician Ivar Asbjørn Følling identified a link between mental retardation and elevated levels of phenylalanine (hyperphenylalaninemia). The elevated levels of phenylalanine (Phe) was a recognised consequence of a deficiency of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH).
