Cats prefer ‘baby talk’ from their owners

Experts say that talking to your cat in a baby voice helps you to bond and communicate. When cats heard their owner talking normally, the study found they “barely twitched a whisker”, said The Times, but when their owner used cute, baby talk they “pricked up their ears and responded”. Although cats are often considered as “independent and ungrateful creatures”, they are in fact “very well capable of creating and fostering attachment bonds with humans,” wrote the scientists.

Dr Doom says NYC is doomed

A professor known as Dr Doom says he wants to move out of New York because he thinks it could be destroyed by nuclear weapons. As tensions escalate between Russia and the West, the veteran economics professor said it’s “not safe” to be in the US city. “The first nuclear weapon is gonna go to New York,” he said. The New York Post said Nouriel Roubini has a “supervillain sheen”.

NHS to prescribe surfing and rollerskating

Young people will be prescribed surfing, rollerskating and gardening to “see whether the activities will make them less anxious and depressed”, said The Guardian. NHS mental health trusts is taking the step as part of a study into whether “social prescribing” helps improve mental wellbeing. Amid long waits for treatment, social prescribing “has the potential to support young people”, said Dr Daisy Fancourt, the UCL mental health expert running the trial.

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