Coffee and Provocation

A True Working Dog at Westminster?
An Anatolian Shepherd from Bodega, Sonoma County, California, won best in breed at the Westminster Dog Show. Timaru Tallulah is an 18-month-old female bred and raised by Lesley and John Brabyn who own Salmon Creek Ranch.

Best Headline of the Week
Has to be this one: Hampshire sex aid firm Yes Yes is ‘delighted’ with happy ending at tribunal’s climax.

Fixing Failing Memory
New therapeutic molecules show promise in reversing memory loss linked to depression and aging. "An experiment involving preclinical models of aging, memory declines were rapidly reversed and performance increased to 80 per cent after administration, essentially reaching levels seen in youth or earlier stages of adulthood. This improvement lasted over two months with daily treatment."

Kids Are Expensive
The government of China has relaxed the one child policy, but it hardly matters as most families cannot afford a second child.

Whale Penis for Sale and a Cave Bear Too
It's an old whale penis, it looks like a carrot as big as a man, and it could be yours for the price of a used car. A fully articulated cave bear skeleton was sold for $16,800. That strikes me as a bargain

There's Nothing Wrong With Grain in Dog Food
Over at Slate they note that "the prevalence of grain-free pet foods has been something of a head-scratcher for veterinarians, who largely see the movement as a solution in search of a problem. A 2016 statement from the Clinical Nutrition Center at Tufts University read, 'There is no reliable evidence that suggests that it is harmful to feed grains as a group to dogs or cats.'... Food allergies are rare in cats and dogs to begin with. If they do exist, they’re generally caused by animal proteins like beef or chicken, rather than grain. In other words, unless you have specifically been told otherwise by your vet, there’s no real reason to give your pet grain-free food.”

Will CRISPR Save the Banana?
It looks like the answer may be YES, which is terrific.