Eating less meat and dairy products in favor of plant-based proteins like those found in grains, legumes and nuts could make a huge difference in how much carbon dioxide reaches the atmosphere. Published Monday in Nature Sustainability, the findings by OSU’s William Ripple and collaborators at New York University, Colorado State University and Harvard University…

Domestic cats that regularly catch wild animals still get most of their nutrition from food provided at home, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists used forensic evidence from cats’ whiskers to see what regular hunters of wildlife had been eating. The results showed that about 96% of their diet came from food provided by…

Thyme and oregano are not only popular herbs for cooking, but also valuable medicinal plants. Their essential oils contain thymol and carvacrol which impart the typical flavors and are medically important. A team has now fully identified how the plants produce these two substances. The results could simplify the breeding process and improve the pharmaceutical…

A high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet like the Keto regimen has its fans, but influenza apparently isn’t one of them. Mice fed a ketogenic diet were better able to combat the flu virus than mice fed food high in carbohydrates, according to a new study. Mice fed a ketogenic diet were better able to combat the flu…

According to a study of couples in the Houston area before and after Hurricane Harvey, natural disasters can actually bring married couples closer together, at least temporarily. This surprised researchers because in previous studies looking at everyday stressors, couples typically experience ‘stress spillover’ in their relationships, which can decrease their satisfaction with their relationships. The…

A landmark study of more than 18,000 Americans and Australians over 70 years of age reveals that 3.5 to 7 average drinks of alcohol a week is more protective against heart disease and in fact all-cause mortality — compared to those who drank no alcohol. Excess alcohol consumption is a leading contributor to the global…

You know your dog gets your gist when you point and say ‘go find the ball’ and he scampers right to it. This knack for understanding human gestures may seem unremarkable, but it’s a complex cognitive ability that is rare in the animal kingdom. New research comparing dog puppies to human-reared wolf pups offers some…

A new study explores in greater depth the effect on infant cognition of drinking fruit juice while pregnant. «Our research followed up on results from the original CHILD Cohort Study, which found that fruit consumption in pregnant mothers influences infant measures of cognition up to one year after birth,» said Claire Scavuzzo, co-lead author of…

Flavor differences in whiskey can be discerned based solely on the environment in which the barley used to make the whiskey is grown, a new study found. This is first scientific study that found the environmental conditions, or terroir, of where the barley is grown impacts the flavor of whiskey, said Dustin Herb, an author…

Scientists have identified a series of molecular candidates for those parts of dog allergens that cause immune reactions in people—the first step in developing a vaccine against most causes of dog allergies. Their findings were published in the Federation of European Biochemical Societies journal on October 26. Being allergic to dogs is a common malady…