First Fridays Science Discussion | Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles

From Jurassic cancer to diseases of civilization, animals and humans face many of the same health challenges. Yet their doctors - physicians and veterinarians - rarely communicate with one another, and they often treat similar conditions in vastly different ways. What does breast cancer in jaguars and beluga whales, for example, tell us about breast cancer in women? How can psychiatrists find new ways to help patients with eating disorders and anxiety by learning about social fear responses in pigs and elk? Waxwing birds, wallabies, and cocker spaniels can abuse intoxicating substances - even stallions can have sexual dysfunction. How would our physical and mental health improve if the two disciplines shared new discoveries and tools? Drawing on the latest in medical and veterinary science - as well as dynamic new findings in evolutionary biology - we'll explore how animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and heal patients of all species.