Health News: Washing Your Dog’s Bowl Can Affect Your Health, US Life Expectancy is Declining, and More | health

How we feed our pets, store their food and wash their dishes can have negative health consequences if not done right – for both humans and animals.

There have been several human outbreaks following exposure to E. coli and Salmonella contaminated dog food, which was more likely with commercial and home-cooked raw food. These dieters typically have to prepare pet food in the kitchen, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE.

Rhesus monkeys have a sense of when their own heart is beating, new research finds.

The detection of one’s own physiological states – such as heartbeat, breathing or reddening of the cheeks – is called interoception. Some previous research has shown that animals can be trained for tasks that demonstrate this ability. Decades ago, a team of scientists showed that rhesus monkeys could be trained to increase and decrease their heart rate. However, an open question has been whether monkeys have an unlearned ability to perceive their body cues rather than being taught to do so.

A new study found that certain personality traits may be a key factor in whether people develop mild cognitive impairment later in life.

Being more conscientious and extroverted keeps mild cognitive impairment at bay for longer, while higher levels of neuroticism increase the likelihood of cognitive decline, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

“Personality traits reflect relatively persistent thought and behavior patterns that can cumulatively affect engagement in healthy and unhealthy behavior and thought patterns across the lifespan,” said lead author Tomiko Yoneda.

Life expectancy in the United States suffered another slump in 2021, fueling a dramatic decline from 2020 that was the largest since World War II, according to a new report.

The study – which was published on Thursday on preprint server medRxiv, meaning it was not peer-reviewed – found that life expectancy in the US increased by almost 1.9 years in 2020 in 2020 dropped another 0.4 years while Covid-19 continued to spread.