Clean up after your dog for community health

+ how to read a blood test; AI and software programming US Edition - Today's top story: Perils of pet poop – so much more than just unsightly and smelly, it can spread disease [View in browser]( US Edition | 7 February 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( One of the fun things about working at The Conversation is being able to ask experts questions that come up in daily life. This happened recently when a colleague who has a side gig as a dog walker wanted to know what diseases could be spread from dog waste. Her curiosity led to a story on the “perils of pet poop” by Julia Wuerz, a small-animal primary care veterinarian at the University of Florida. In it, Wuerz explains the multiple ways pet waste can [spread disease to humans, other cats and dogs, and wild animals](. “Signs that remind you to pick up after your pet are not just trying to keep public spaces clean; they’re urging you to help safeguard your community’s health,” she writes, offering tips on good practices for pet owners. It’s no secret that political polarization is high in the U.S. right now, but a group of researchers from the University of Tennessee took a scientific approach to try to understand why. The key, they found, is that [political partisans increasingly view each other as immoral](. That’s a worrying shift from decades past when people could still cooperate even though they disagreed on the issues. When political polarization is based on moral convictions, there is potential for political violence, writes experimental psychologist Phillip McGarry, who was one of the researchers of the study. There is a growing problem of boys using fitness supplements such as protein powder and creatine products, which supply energy to the muscles. Emily Hemendinger, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in treating anxiety disorders and eating disorders at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and biomedical research director Katie Suleta from George Washington University [offer a warning on dietary supplements](, which often do not live up to manufacturers’ claims. To manage weight, children would do better to get nutrients from whole foods and focus on healthy practices, such as getting good sleep and exercise. Also in this week’s science news: - [Developing a battery electrolyte that won’t start a fire]( - [Exoplanets whose orbits synchronize]( - [Synthetic human embryos for research]( If there’s a subject you’d like our team of science editors to investigate, please reply to this email. Martin LaMonica Director of Editorial Projects and Newsletters Responsible pet owners are on diligent poop patrol. Hannah Sussman [Perils of pet poop – so much more than just unsightly and smelly, it can spread disease]( Julia Wuerz, University of Florida The signs that remind you to pick up after your pet are not just trying to keep public spaces clean; they’re urging you to help safeguard your community’s health. How a political opponent acted didn’t change participants’ harsh moral judgments. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images [Republicans and Democrats consider each other immoral – even when treated fairly and kindly by the opposition]( Phillip McGarry, University of Tennessee With growing polarization, political attitudes have begun to coincide with moral convictions. Partisans increasingly view each other as immoral. New research reveals the depth of that conviction. Dietary supplement labels can be misleading. Charday Penn/iStock via Getty Images [Dietary supplements and protein powders fall under a ‘wild west’ of unregulated products that necessitate caveats and caution]( Emily Hemendinger, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Katie Suleta, George Washington University Although most Americans believe dietary supplements are safe, these products often make health claims that are unproven or downright false. [What do your blood test results mean? A toxicologist explains the basics of how to interpret them]( Brad Reisfeld, Colorado State University Your blood contains a wealth of information about the state of your health. Analyzing the levels of each component is an important part of diagnosis. [How can I get ice off my car? An engineer who studies airborne particles shares some quick and easy techniques]( Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University When you’re running late in the winter, you don’t want to have to spend time scraping frost off your windshield. Try some expert-recommended techniques instead. [AI helps students skip right to the good stuff in this intro programming course]( Leo Porter, University of California, San Diego; Daniel Zingaro, University of Toronto Learning to program requires mastering the nitty-gritty of code syntax. Generative AI turns out to be good at that. Adding AI to intro programming courses frees students to focus on problem-solving. [Why do people and animals need to breathe? A biologist explains why you need a constant source of oxygen]( Christina S. Baer, Binghamton University, State University of New York Inhaling air is how you get the oxygen your body needs to turn your food into energy. Other living things use different strategies. - [Suicide has reached epidemic proportions in the US − yet medical students still don’t receive adequate training to treat suicidal patients]( Rodolfo Bonnin, Florida International University; Leonard M. Gralnik, Florida International University; Nathaly Shoua-Desmarais, Florida International University Close to half of those who die by suicide saw a primary care doctor within a month of their death. - [Lunar science is entering a new active phase, with commercial launches of landers that will study solar wind and peer into the universe’s dark ages]( Jack Burns, University of Colorado Boulder Projects under NASA’s CLPS program will probe unexplored questions about the universe’s formation. - [From throwing soup to suing governments, there’s strategy to climate activism’s seeming chaos − here’s where it’s headed next]( Shannon Gibson, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences With international climate talks failing to make progress fast enough, activists are radically rethinking how to be most effective in the streets, political arenas and courtrooms. - [Biden’s ‘hard look’ at liquefied natural gas exports raises a critical question: How does natural gas fit with US climate goals?]( Emily Grubert, University of Notre Dame The US, a minor liquefied natural gas supplier a decade ago, now is the world’s top source. That’s good for energy security, but bad for Earth’s climate. An energy scholar explains the trade-offs. - [‘Jaws’ portrayed sharks as monsters 50 years ago, but it also inspired a generation of shark scientists]( - [Power outages leave poor communities in the dark longer: Evidence from 15M outages raises questions about recovery times]( - [Orbital resonance − the striking gravitational dance done by planets with aligning orbits]( - [Synthetic human embryos let researchers study early development while sidestepping ethical and logistical hurdles]( - [Self-extinguishing batteries could reduce the risk of deadly and costly battery fires]( - Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly emails: [Politics Weekly]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Global Economy & Business]( - - About The Conversation: We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. 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