Researchers from The Ohio State University are studying the oldest ice core ever drilled outside of the North and South Poles, thanks to an international collaboration co-led by Lonnie Thompson, Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences. The ice core — drilled from the Guliya Ice Cap in Tibet — may include ice that formed more than 600,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest ice samples ever recovered. The ancient ice contains valuable information about past climate conditions on Earth, which scientists can compare with modern climate models to make predictions about the future. What researchers have found so far “provides dramatic evidence of a recent and rapid…

Dr. Adam Rudinsky joined The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine last summer as instructor-practice in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, specializing in small animal internal medicine. An alumnus of the college and former resident at the Veterinary Medical Center, Rudinsky is currently in the process of finishing his PhD, which focuses on gastrointestinal disorders and immunology. He recently completed a master’s in gastrointestinal endocrine disease. Much of Rudinsky’s latest research centers on various gastrointestinal topics in dogs and cats as well as a novel endoscopy tool that the VMC adopted in June 2015, thanks to a grateful client donation. By utilizing a 1 ½ cm pill that…

Twice a month, fourth-year students at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine help provide care to pets owned by homeless and low-income individuals in the Columbus, Ohio, area, in partnership with non-profit organization Faithful Forgotten Best Friends. Faithful Forgotten Best Friends has supplied free pet food and veterinary care to these animals since the organization began five years ago. “Our alliance with OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine gives vet students a chance to interact with demographics that they perhaps wouldn’t typically see in their future practice, and they get a lot of hands-on experience,” said FFBF co-founder Constance Swackhammer.  “Most of these animals would not be able to…

While we’re often concerned with the population decline of certain species, there are some animals that thrive a little too well, such as the wild horse and burro (a small donkey). Wild horses and burros (WH&B) can be found roaming free in many western states. The animals have been federally protected since 1971 as part of the Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which declares the animals “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the west.” In 1971, there were 25,000 WH&B on U.S. lands. But over the past few decades, the WH&B population has surged to an unprecedented 67,000, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of the…