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Vet students get creative for science bake off
Heartworm bake wins ‘grossest cake’ accolade

A university cake off that went viral last year has seen a new round of impressive creations, with veterinary and biosciences students using their bakes to raise awareness of serious global issues.

The annual cake off was held last week at the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington campus. Students raised £880 for Vets in the Community and the Terence Higgins Trust.

This year’s ‘grossest cake’ was a gruesome representation of a dog’s heart infected with the parasite Dirofilaria immitis. It was made by vet students Anna Burrows, Caitlin Glover, Chloe Tredinnick and Liberty Daly.



“We chose to bake this cake as we wanted to make something that we could make look as realistic as possible and as gruesome,” they explained. “Our parasitology lecturer, Hany, inspired us to use the D. Immitis parasite as our theme to promote the message of how detrimental and possibly fatal some animal parasites can be!

“We had a great time baking it and enjoyed the looks of disgust that people who saw it gave. We promise it tastes better than it looks! Our key message to everyone is to PLEASE WORM YOUR PETS!”

The best overall winner was a stunningly detailed cake depicting planet earth with a giant polar bear and its cub clinging to an iceberg.



Baker Hannah Cherry said: “I wanted to raise awareness of the impact that global warming is having on the ice caps and in turn the survival of polar bears. I love bears and really don't want to see these beautiful creatures disappear from the face of the earth, hence why my polar bear is trying to rescue her cub from the edge of a melting earth.

“I really enjoyed making this cake, I find working with sugar paste and fondant very therapeutic. It probably took me about 10 hours to make all in all.”

Other creations showed avian influenza H5N1, a turtle entangled in litter, Nemo and Dory alongside a plea to save marine life and a David Attenborough cake.

One of the judges, associate professor Dr Wendela Wapenaar, commented: “It’s been another great year for the Sutton Bonington Bakeoff. It was impressive to see how some bakers took on the challenging topics for this year; winning cakes were covering topics such as global warming, environmental pollution in addition to the more gory aspects of veterinary medicine.

“I wonder what Sir David Attenborough would have thought of his representation in 'Don't ignore Sir David's story...Help save Nemo and Dory'! We had better make sure we invite him next year!”
 
Image © University of Nottingham

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.