Pets are popular. They're good listeners, they encourage us to exercise, and they're always on our side when we argue with others. They can bring people comfort and pleasure.

But it is important to keep in mind that pets can carry diseases that can make you sick. Washing your hands often - especially after you touch, feed, or clean up a pet - is the best way to keep yourself healthy and prevent the spread of disease. Be sure to clean your fingernails carefully every time you wash. You also can protect your health by wearing gloves while cleaning animal cages or cat litter boxes. Avoid washing your pet in the bathtub (浴缸) , but if you do, always disinfect(消毒) the tub immediately afterward.

Be sure to bring your pet to the hospital for examinations every two weeks or a month and whenever your pet is sick or injured.

You can do a few other things to keep yourself and your pet healthy. Only give your pet food that has been planned ahead for them. It's not a good idea to share your food with your pet. Human food (like chocolate) can make animals sick. Never feed your pet raw(生的) meat because it can carry germs(细菌) that cause serious illness.

And funny as it can be to see your dog or cat drinking from the toilet, don't let pets do this. It's bad for your pet's health! Give them clean, fresh water to drink at all times.

Never give milk to cats. The only milk an animal should drink is from its mother. Cow's milk is not for pets, especially for cats, as it makes them sick.

Finally, some animals aren't pets. Don't take in a wild or abandoned(被抛弃的) animal as a pet because it may have diseases that could make you or your family sick. Instead, turn to an animal rescue group that is trained in helping sick or abandoned animals.

Widespread descriptions of animals in pop culture could actually be hurting the animals’ survival chances in the wild, a new research suggests.

Franck Courchamp of the University of Paris-Sud was interested in the idea of “appeal” (吸引力) in animals. He wanted to know: What species do people consider appealing? And what are the influences of being appealing on populations of animals in the wild?

In a research published this month, Courchamp and other researchers list the top 20 appealing species. Most of the animals identified as appealing are large mammals living on land. Coming in first place are tigers, followed by lions, elephants, giraffes, panthers, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, wolves, and gorillas. However, at least half of the interviewees didn’t realize that five of the top ten most appealing species are threatened. It is strange that we do not protect the species we care about the most.

The study also finds that we are flooded with images of these creatures, even as they are becoming fewer in the wild. The study suggests that too much imagination might be creating a “virtual population” of the animals in peoples’ minds, making them believe there are far more individuals in the wild than is exact.

The study authors suggest that companies who benefit from the use of these images should set aside a small percentage of their profits for protection efforts and informational campaigns. “That would be not only something fair, but something that could bring a win-win situation for them,” Courchamp says. It could bring them positive public relation, for example. Besides, if a company’s mascot (吉祥物) goes extinct, that could hurt them from a marketing point, Courchamp says. But not enough companies are “truly concerned about the protection of the species that they work on,” he adds.

The scientists are digging for fossils（化石）. Fossilized bones tell the story of dinosaurs and animals that were once living creatures and appeared on Earth some 225 million years ago. Dinosaurs dominated the planet for 150 million years, much longer than people have existed.

Dinosaurs came in many shapes and sizes. The smallest dinosaur was less than 3 feet long. The largest were plant eating giants called Sauropods longer than a city bus.

Their weight closes to 50,000 pounds. To sustain its enormous body, it would endlessly grab branches and leaves and swallow them down a 20-foot throat. That is a neck as high as a two-storey house. With each step a weight greater than an eight ton ball would hit the earth. Despite their large size dinosaurs' share some characteristics with modern animals. Like today's reptiles（爬行动物）most, not all dinosaurs laid eggs. Its mate probably brought food to the nest like birds do. The mother tended her eggs and like a bird she placed them into a circle. Many plant eating dinosaurs lived in groups probably to defend themselves against the meat-eating or the dinosaurs who hunted them.

But 65 million years ago something happened that brought a sudden end to the dinosaur age. No one knows exactly why the dinosaurs suddenly disappeared. Most scientists think the killer came from outer space. A large object from outer space hit the earth causing a lot of dust in the atmosphere. The earth became dark and the dinosaurs died off. But scientists believe their descendents（后代）may live on. The skeletons（骨骼）of some dinosaurs are similar to modern birds. The common ancestor of these birds was probably a small two-legged meat-eating dinosaur. As the digging and research continues, each new find may help prove the dinosaurs did not really disappear after all. The birds are in fact living, breathing and flying dinosaurs.