The Headlines

Betty White's animal activism

On Dec. 31, just weeks before her 100th birthday, the world mourned the news of the passing of iconic actress Betty White. As a pioneer of early television, White left a lasting legacy on the world of television and comedy, but it was her work away from cameras that we'd like to shed a light on. 

After her passing, stories of White's commitment to animal activism started to flood our timelines and news sources. Here are a few of our favorite stories that exemplify her commitment to animal welfare: 

• She once turned down a role in the 1997 film, As Good As It Gets in protest ofa scene where Jack Nicholson's character throws a puppy down a garbage chute. In her words: "As long as that scene was in the film, I wouldn’t do it.” 

• In the 1970s, Betty created a TV series called “The Pet Set” where she welcomed pets and their celebrity owners for a modified talk show. She began each episode by introducing a pet as the lead guest, followed by their celebrity owner. 

• After Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Betty paid for a private plane to relocate the otters and penguins at Audubon Aquarium to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She kept her donation a secret until after the trip was completed.

• There are multiple videos of Betty White at the Los Angeles zoo, including this video where she discussed gorilla watching - "you learn so much if you just sit still and watch for a little while." However, the real treat is the behind the scenes footage from when Access Hollywood and Betty visited the Los Angeles Zoo in 2006. If you've never seen Betty White feed giraffes and sea lions, it's worth a watch.

#BettyWhiteChallenge

Betty's animal activism has spurred one of the more wholesome internet challenges that we are 100% behind. On January 17th, in recognition of what would have been Betty's 100th birthday, the #BettyWhiteChallenge is encouraging people to donate money to animal rights organizations.

Trivia

What animal's pupil is shaped like a W?

And why? As always - the answer is at the bottom of this email.

Your weekly dopamine 

Good news from 2021

To cap off the year, Future Crunch released an incredible run down of 99 good news stories that you may have missed from 2021. From vaccines to deworming children in sub-saharan Africa to single-use plastic bans, one of the most challenging years in our lifetimes has a huge amount of good news that deserves to be recognized. The stories of progress, innovation and human ingenuity brought us some much needed relief and hope - and we hope it will do the same for you.

Check it out here.

Here a our favorite animal-related ones to get that dopamine flowing:

• Animal rights activists in the UK and Spain won major victories with reforms that legally recognize animals as ‘sentient beings'

• Consumption of wild animals was reported to have dropped by almost 30% across China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the USA

• An undercover investigation forced South Korea’s largest dog meat auction house to close

• Animal rights activists in China successfully rescued 101 moon bears from a bile extraction facility and transported them to a rehab center.

• Also in China the number of wild animals protected under its conservation rules doubled

#LearnWithObi

This week on Obi, we launched our latest free resource, qrsTV! This bi-weekly show hosted by Professor of Cardiology at the Atlantic Veterinary College Dr. Lynne O'Sullivan (DVM DACVIM-Cardiology). In quick digestible lessons, Dr. O'Sullivan will be exploring everything you need to know to read ECGs and improve your clinical practice. 

New episodes will released biweekly on social media, YouTube and on the qrsTV page.The first episode was released this week and covers the basics of ECG interpretation. Check it out below:

Click the video above to view qrsTV on YouTube, or visit the 

qrsTV page.

Looking to get organized this year?

Check out Dr. Christopher Pinard's

guide to using Notion on Orthogonal Projections - Obi Veterinary Education's blog

.  Notion is an all-in-one organization platform with incredibly powerful features which is used by learners, professionals and businesses across the world.  As a digital organization tool it is worth a look and Dr. Pinard explains some of the most powerful features that you can use as a veterinary professional.

Trivia Answer

The 'W' shaped pupil can be found on

cuttlefish

. Scientists have determined that the shape of their pupil helps them balance a vertically uneven field of light - something common in their natural habitat. But that's just the tip of the iceberg for this complex vision system.

Although cuttlefish only have one type of photoreceptor, meaning they can only see in monochrome, it is believed that their oddly shaped pupils help to funnel light through chromatic abberation. The wide pupils of cuttlefish, and other and other cephalopods, allow plenty of light in and create a blurred image of color. This may also explain how an ostensibly color-blind animal can change their coloring to camouflage within their environment.

Let us know what you'd like to see in future editions of Weekend Rounds by replying to this email.