New Acquisitions

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0500

June 2008

Laboratory Animals:

Robotic squirrel helps decode animal behavior

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:47:00 -0500

One gray squirrel, its bushy tail twitching, barked a warning as another scrounged for food nearby.

It was an ordinary spring day at Hampshire College, except that the rodent issuing the warning was powered by amps, not acorns.

Dubbed "Rocky" after the cartoon character, the robo-squirrel is working its way into Hampshire's live-squirrel clique, controlled by researchers several yards away with a laptop computer and binoculars.

Rare snow monkey born at Minnesota Zoo

Thu, 01 May 2008 09:33:27 -0500

The Minnesota Zoo today announced the birth of a rare snow monkey.

"Tama" was born Saturday, April 26th, and represents the zoo's fifth snow monkey birth since 2004. The baby's mother's name is Suzi.

Snow monkeys can only be seen at nine other accredited zoos in the United States, and legend has it that the snow monkey is the species depicted in the ancient visual maxim, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

RefWorks Allows Attachments

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:31:52 -0500

RefWorks has activated the attachments option for all University of Minnesota RefWorks accounts. The attachment feature enables users to attach files to their references in their personal database, much like attaching files to an email message. The incorporation of this feature allows users to upload files to existing references stored within their RefWorks database. With the availability of this feature RefWorks users can instantly save and retrieve all forms of data within their database including BMP, TIF, JPG, PNG, GIF, PDF, and much more.

Lisa

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:38:48 -0500

Vet shortage threatens food system

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:32:33 -0600

By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

A shortage of veterinarians who treat farm animals is stressing the nation's food inspection system, prompting the federal government to offer bonuses and moving expenses to fill hundreds of vacancies.

Veterinarians increasingly have chosen to live in metropolitan areas and pursue more lucrative practices specializing in pets.

Companies charged in pet food poisoning

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:17:18 -0600

Two Chinese companies and an American importer have been indicted on charges of intentionally defrauding and misleading American manufacturers about poisonous ingredients used in pet food last year.

Tainted wheat gluten, used as an ingredient in moist pet food, killed at least 16 dogs and cats, sickened thousands of others and led to one of the biggest pet food recalls in U.S. history, involving companies like Procter & Gamble and Menu Foods. It was a prelude to scores of other recalls of Chinese-made products last year, including tires, fish, children's jewelry and toys.

Four walls no more for 4-legged friends

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:59:13 -0600

By MATT McKINNEY, Star Tribune

The ever-worsening story of foreclosures in America now counts among its victims the family dog, the pet cat and even the farmer's horse.

Animal rescue volunteers say they're seeing more animals abandoned or dropped off at shelters as families are forced to move from homes that they can no longer afford.

"I'm getting skinny horses in here that people have walked away from," said Drew Fitzpatrick, director of the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation, based in Zimmerman, Minn.

Dogs chase nightmares of war away

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:25:55 -0600

By Joan Shim

(LifeWire) -- Jo Hanna Schaffer's dog is more than a best friend. The 67-year-old Vietnam veteran, a former Army medic, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and three years ago, she decided to get a service dog, a Chihuahua named Cody. Cody barks if someone is approaching from behind and cuddles with her when she is depressed.

"I never took a pill for PTSD that did as much for me as Cody has done," says the Billerica, Massachusetts, resident, who no longer takes medication for the disorder.

Strange Creature Immune to Pain

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:18:28 -0600

By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience

As vulnerable as naked mole rats seem, researchers now find the hairless, bucktoothed rodents are invulnerable to the pain of acid and the sting of chili peppers.

A better understanding of pain resistance in these sausage-like creatures could lead to new drugs for people with chronic pain, scientists added.

New Author's Rights Tutorial

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:32:55 -0600

Are you publishing a research article anytime soon? If so, you may wish to look at a self-playing presentation on author's rights.
https://umconnect.umn.edu/umauthorsrights/

Recorded by the Libraries' Scholarly Communication Collaborative, it is a 6 minute presentation that educates

U necropsy lab on guard for bird flu

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:16:10 -0600

Atop a brand-new building at the University of Minnesota, a mechanical room hums with huge HEPA filters -- a final safeguard against the escape of any deadly pathogens from the gleaming laboratory below.

This room crowns a $2.44 million project that will help the state immediately respond to outbreaks of diseases that could potentially spread from animals to people -- including the highly lethal form of bird flu, should it ever hit here.

Public Access Mandate Made Law

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:51:18 -0600

Washington, D.C. – December 26, 2007 – President Bush has signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2007 (H.R. 2764), which includes a provision directing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide the public with open online access to findings from its funded research. This is the first time the U.S. government has mandated public access to research funded by a major agency.

RefWorks: New Write-N-Cite Version

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:07:24 -0600

RefWorks has released a new beta version of Write-N-Cite. Write-N-Cite III for Windows (Beta Version) includes MS Vista and Word 2007 compatability (as well as compatability with XP and Word 2003); single document formatting (no more coded and final versions!); and faster formatting for large documents.

Download Write-N-Cite III via the Tools menu in your RefWorks account. More training materials are coming soon. Contact us at medref@umn.edu or 612-626-3260 with any questions in the meantime!

Veterinary Medical Library - Health Information, Fast