Exploring Science

     Masks have been a staple in human lives across the United States for quite some time now. When COVID was first becoming an issue all of the states created laws about when you should wear a mask and when it's safe to take them off. Now, many people are sick of wearing masks and since vaccines came out there is a pretense that COVID cases are going down. On the contrary COVID cases are at a high, with an average of about 20,000 deaths per day (over a period of 46 days in 2022). Many people choose to ignore these facts believing that they are invincible because of their vaccinations and occasional mask wearing.  Not only has COVID been affecting us, but us not wearing masks has actually been affecting animals. There are dozens of animals in the zoo, lab, and few companion animals  that have caught COVID. On the other hand, in the wild, “white-tailed deer and mink are the only two species that have been found harboring the virus in the woods,” ( Which animals ...

              Humans have a system put in place for when an injury occurs, if you get hurt you're only a short drive away from a hospital. For wild animals there is no immediate medical care for if they get hurt. So, what do they do? Many animals are on their own when dealing with cuts or sores, but some animals like chimpanzees, rely on their “community” for help.       Chimpanzees among other primates are known for grooming each other. They pick off dirt, tangled fur, dead skin, and most of all insects. But, what if I told you that sometimes they actually use these insects for other reasons, medical ones. A video caught by Alessandra Mascaro who was part of a team who studied these habits in Chimpanzees shows them using some sort of insect to treat wounds. In the video it shows a chimp named Suzee take an insect and apply it to a wound on Sia, her son.       This was not the first, or last time they ...