WEIRD STUFF: Cows letting out too much gas

Cows letting out too much gas

A British company is trying to breed non-flatulent cows in a bid to save the planet.

Genus is launching a genetic test to identify female calves with the least gas in their digestive systems, in the hope that farmers will be able to breed more eco-friendly cows.

The dairy industry is a big contributor to the UK's greenhouse gas emissions, with roughly half coming from the methane produced when cows fart.

Methane is more than 25 times as bad as carbon dioxide for trapping heat in the atmosphere, but the new techniques of genetic testing and selective breeding are promising big reductions in the gas.

Marco Winters, who heads animal genetics at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, said: "The emphasis in breeding has shifted from production to animal health and environmental impact, to look at what kind of cow we need."

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Fish can do maths

Fish are not known for their sharp brains, but a new scientific study has revealed that they can get their heads around sums involving numbers one to five.

They were trained to recognise that yellow symbols represented adding by one, and blue symbols meant subtracting by one.

If the fish were shown three blue shapes they would discover a treat by adding one to three and swimming through a gate displaying four shapes.

The tests -- carried out on freshwater stingrays at the University of Bonn in Germany -- found that they were right between 69 and 94 per cent of the time.

Dr Vera Schluessel told the journal Scientific Reports: "It could help them recognise individual fish by counting their stripes or spots."

Mathematical ability has also been found in other animals, including gorillas, dolphins and elephants.

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Playing the piano could help fight dementia

Scientists have recommended that people in their 60s and 70s should learn how to play the instrument, as it strengthens white matter -- brain tissue that degrades when problems with memory and concentration set in.

The benefits were seen when a person spent six months having weekly lessons on the piano.

Studies have previously claimed that playing a musical instrument can protect against the incurable brain condition, but most have analysed professionals who have been playing since childhood.

The latest study recruited 121 men and women in their 60s and 70s who had never played an instrument, and scans of those involved before and after the sessions revealed no decline in brain function.

Writing in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, the experts said: "These changes do appear to be related to piano training intensity."

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Elvis thought he had mystical powers

Elvis Presley believed he had superpowers and was capable of making clouds "disappear".

A former bodyguard for the late King of Rock and Roll boasted about his "mystical power" of controlling the clouds in the sky.

Writing in his new book The King's Bodyguard, Dave Hebler recalled: "Elvis ordered, 'Be quiet while I concentrate. See that cloud over there?'

"I looked up to see the little, lonesome cloud. Elvis started talking about the power of metaphysics and how, through years of study, he had the power in abundance.

"He told us he was going to make the cloud disappear using the power of his mind."

Hebler added: "I thought, 'Come on, cloud. Move. Do something. for God's sake.' Finally, that little cloud moved slightly.

"If you watch a cloud for any length of time it will move and/or change appearance."