Despite almost no research, the pet CBD industry will grow to $1 billion

Veterinarians are concerned. Consumers appear not to be.

Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
  • The pet CBD industry, valued at $8 million in 2017, is expected to grow to $1.16 billion by 2022.
  • Despite the hype, there have been few clinical studies conducted on pets.
  • While there is evidence of its potential therapeutic value, all evidence points to much higher dosages than offered on the consumer market.
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Nom-nom or dinner call? Silverbacks sing as they eat.

Dominant wild silverbacks wax musical with their mouths full.

Image source: Grant Tiffen/Shutterstock
  • Recent recordings of gorillas singing as they eat add the species to a lengthening list of musical eaters in the animal kingdom.
  • Two types of songs have been recorded: a hum, and, well, gorilla improv.
  • It's suspected that spoken language may begin with songs.
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Snakes with hind legs were the old normal

A tiny, perfectly preserved 3D fossil from Argentina tells us more about an early snake.

Illustration: Raúl Gómez
  • It turns out legs, and least back legs, were no passing fancy for some serpents.
  • Hind legs were found on Najash snakes, a bridge species between lizards and snakes.
  • A new study provides several new insights into Najash rionegrina.
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'Squeaky Curtain' divides Europe’s Eastern and Western mice

Two house mouse subspecies meet again in a hybrid zone strangely reminiscent of the Iron Curtain

Image source: Macholán, M., Baird, S.J., Munclinger, P. et al. Genetic conflict outweighs heterogametic incompatibility in the mouse hybrid zone?. BMC Evol Biol 8, 271 (2008) doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-271
  • The house mouse diverged into two subspecies depending on which humans they followed.
  • The Western and Eastern European house mice can interbreed, but the results are, well, mixed.
  • The continent remains divided between Eastern and Western mice except for a narrow contact zone where hybrids eek out a living.
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Trump signs PACT Act, making animal torture a federal crime

"For decades, a national anti-cruelty law was a dream for animal protectionists. Today, it is a reality."

Pixabay
  • All 50 states and local governments have animal cruelty laws, but before this week it was only a federal crime to torture animals in conjunction with so-called "animal crushing" videos.
  • Now, the act of animal torture itself is a federal crime punishable by up to seven years in prison.
  • The bill passed unanimously in the House and the Senate.
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