This is the main category that all Ridgeway News is posted to.
An update on Ridgeway Science and more from Bridgit Muasa’s research in Africa… Ridgeway Science Still Open for Business! We are experiencing unprecedented times at the moment but we would like to assure you that we have measures in place to ensure that there will be no interruption in our services. We continue to be able to send ELISA kits to meet your needs and receive any samples for in house testing. Over the past month we have shipped consignments…
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Working through the COVID-19 chaos, we are still open for business. Ridgeway Research Ltd is operating as usual despite the constraints imposed by the UK’s lockdown response to Covid-19. Over the past month schedules have been rearranged, working patterns changed and up to half of the staff now work part or full time from home. Parasitology Laboratory In the parasitology laboratory the introduction of social distancing coincided with a full schedule, which resulted in a very intense period of planning…
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Consistency amidst change – digital communications and remote working have been thrust upon us; a step in the right direction towards the ‘modern’ workplace? A quick pick me up These photographs of newly turned out dairy cows cheered me last week – a sign of consistency amidst all of the abrupt change that we are encountering at present. I suspect that turnout is also a relief for farmers after a very wet winter with its extensive flooding in this part…
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Calling all students; an insight into an industrial research placement and what the next academic year could bring.. An article from our university placement student this year: “One of the many important reasons I applied for placements during my second year at Aberystwyth University was to gain a greater insight into research and the veterinary industry. Initially, I was unsure what my future career prospects would be after graduating as most students apply for jobs or graduate degrees, but I…
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In the midst of a pandemic, spring has still sprung… What we are doing to combat this Pandemic and remain open? It is about ten days since we sent the following message to our customers: “The current Coronavirus (COVID-19) is creating uncertainty for everyone globally. We are contacting you to keep you informed of steps that we have taken to ensure that Ridgeway can continue to deliver a high level of product and services directly to you. Ridgeway will continue to…
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Dictyocaulus filaria – A potential cause of coughing sheep What is Dicytocaulus filaria? One or two sheep coughing in a flock – particularly a harsh dry cough – could be a sign of Dictyocaulus filaria infection. This is a “lungworm” with the adult worms that measure some 4 – 10cm in length – living in the bronchi and causing bronchitis. Unlike other lungworms in sheep, this lungworm has a direct life cycle with larvae passed in droppings developing into infective larvae on pasture. Other…
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The shifting nature of veterinary pharmaceutical R&D delivery…a new niche opportunity Increasingly, large pharmaceutical companies are evolving their business strategies and are incorporating outsourcing of R&D as a norm. Traditionally, large pharma companies would operate in house R&D activities. Nowadays, a multifaceted approach exists for delivering new technologies incorporating in house R&D activities; use of contract research organisations (CROs); and utilising venture capital funded start-up companies. Why are veterinary pharmaceutical companies moving to favour outsourcing of R&D? Companies are moving…
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International Women’s Day: Female African Dairy Farmers The numbers on a poster on the Health For Animal website marking International Women’s Day on the 8th March, caught my attention: two thirds of the 600 million poorest livestock keepers globally are women. 90% of the income they earn is ploughed back into their family or society. In East Africa, dairy is the biggest industry for female livestock keepers. This is a population of small holder farmers that produce milk for their family and…
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Progesterone profiles in dairy cows: what can they tell us? The previous article in this series from Ridgeway Science reviewed the dairy cow oestrus cycle and we’re following that with a more detailed look at the progesterone-dominated luteal phase of the cycle, reported by Blavy and colleagues in 2016. What is Progesterone? Progesterone is a steroid hormone and is produced by the corpus luteum in the ovary after ovulation. If a cow becomes pregnant, the corpus luteum will be maintained…
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A quick introduction to Capillaria and its effects in chickens.
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