Weird News

Seabirds poo every four minutes

A team from the University of Tokyo has discovered that seabirds relieve themselves every four to 10 minutes, and almost always answer calls of nature when they are in the air.

The experts made the findings accidentally, as they had initially set out to study how the seabirds run along the surface of the water during take-off.

Leo Uesaka, the lead author of the research, said: "While watching the video, I was surprised to see that they dropped faeces very frequently.

"I thought it was funny at first, but it turned out to be more interesting and important for marine ecology. We don't know why they keep this excretion rhythm, but there must be a reason."

The team strapped small backward-facing cameras to the stomachs of 15 streaked shearwater birds and recorded almost 200 'defecation events'. They found that the birds nearly always relieved themselves during flight, and that the animals sometimes only took off for a toilet break before returning to the water.

The experts suspect that the habit spares the birds from dirtying their feathers and is easier than trying to defecate in a floating position.

Hearing aids can stave off dementia

A new study has found that people in their 60s who wear hearing aids reduce their risk of developing dementia by 61 per cent, compared to those who do nothing to act on the initial stages of hearing loss.

There is mounting evidence that hearing loss plays a key role in dementia cases, as the "cognitive load" on the brain is increased as people strain to hear what others are saying. Researchers from the University of Texas and the University of Pittsburgh in the US followed patients with hearing aids over the course of 20 years and discovered that the devices significantly reduced the chance of suffering from the cognitive condition - which can cause memory loss and changes to mood and behaviour.

The experts concluded: "Other studies, including a randomised clinical trial and a comprehensive meta-analysis, have suggested that hearing aids have a protective benefit against the development of dementia.

"To our knowledge, this observational study was the first to identify that reduced risk depends on early intervention for hearing loss."

Cats and dogs may get weight-loss injections

Weight-loss jabs could soon be administered to cats and dogs.

Veterinary equivalents of drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are being developed and tested by boffins and could be delivered to canines and felines via implants. Early clinical trials in cats have revealed that small doses of the drug exenatide - which works similarly to the anti-obesity medication semaglutide - are effective when it comes to reducing the calorie intake and body weight of animals.

A trial last year fitted five moggies with an experimental implant known as OKV-119, which released the chemical into the animal's blood for 84 days. Analysis revealed that four of five cats had a reduction in body mass of at least five per cent. The trial is now being extended to dogs in a partnership with drug companies Okava and Vivani, and the medication could be available as early as 2028, should it be successful.

Michael Klotsman, the chief executive of Okava, told The Guardian newspaper: "What owners should expect to see is their pet eating appropriate portions without the previous food obsession. They'll still eat regularly and show interest in meals, just without the excess begging, scavenging or gulping behaviour."