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- 07 24, 2024
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PUPPIES CAN be taught. So can human children, though not for the first couple of years. Now, in the hope of fighting climate change, Dr Jan Langbein, of the Fredrich-Loweffler-Institut in Germany, and his colleagues hope they can train cows to use the toilet, too.Cow urine contains urea, a nitrogen-rich compound that, when broken down by enzymes in cow faeces, is converted into ammonia. Bacteria in the soil, in turn, convert that ammonia into nitrous oxide. Best known as a dental anaesthetic, the stuff is also a potent greenhouse gas. And agriculture is a big source of it. In the European Union, livestock farming accounts for around 70% of ammonia emissions.