YOUTH INNOVATION AIMED AT ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS TEEN TESTS A TINY HOME SOLUTION
In London, Ontario, an 18-year-old is getting ready to spend a year in a tiny house he designed himself. His name is Ribal Zebian, and you might recognize it from the headlines he made for an electric wooden car he built while still in high school. Now, his focus has shifted to a different challenge in his hometown. About 1,800 people in London are currently
experiencing homelessness, and that number continues to rise. Zebian hopes to contribute another tool to the growing list of potential solutions. He has designed a modular home that can be assembled in a single day, is affordable, and offers a protective, aesthetically pleasing design. The current design is built from fiberglass panels with a PET foam core, which also helps insulate and support the roof. Right now, the model is a small 8x8-foot shelter, but he says the same design can be scaled up to create larger units. Inside, the prototype is deliberately basic. It’s a secure, compact space with enough room for a bed and a place to store essentials. Zebian wants it to feel like a room someone could actually live in, not a storage bin with a mattress thrown in. The fiberglass and PET foam used for the walls
and roof help reduce drafts and retain heat during cold Canadian winters.
Beginning this month, Zebian plans to test the design’s effectiveness by staying in the house for a full year. He wants to see how it handles summer heat, wet spring weather, and deep-freeze temperatures. That experience will guide the next version and, he hopes, make the design more sturdy and long-lasting. Zebian knows his tiny house isn’t a solution to homelessness. The long-term answers involve a variety of factors, including more affordable housing and better access to support and mental health services. But what his idea can offer is a safer step between a tent and a permanent home. If cities or nonprofits can quickly place a cluster of these units, it could give people a warm, private place to stay while they work on the rest of their lives.
OZEMPIC FOR CATS? How GLP-1s Could Help Pets Slim Down
Though we love our pets no matter what, sometimes the extra treats lead to extra pounds and a visit to the veterinarian for weight-loss recommendations. Could the latest GLP-1 medications, so popular for humans, officially be “going to the dogs” … and the cats, too? If your furry friend could stand to shed some mass, here’s the latest study worth purring about.
which is a different variety than popular weight loss drugs for humans like Ozempic, which uses semaglutide. Whisker Wellness Kitty obesity is a common problem, with over 50% of household cats in the U.S. being overweight. Just as it does for
humans, weight management can extend our pets’ lives and reduce serious health issues like joint pain and diabetes. Okava believes that GLP-1 could offer benefits, such as better heart health and reduced inflammation, for pets that are even more effective than switching their diet and starting an exercise routine. Timeline Tails So, what does the future hold for pet weight loss medications, and does MEOW- 1 mean you may soon be able to buy GLP-1s for your cat or dog? Okava hopes to seek FDA approval between 2027 and 2028 and is already planning to study dogs next. They hope to make the product available for about $100 per month out of pocket. However, experts say large clinical trials are still needed, and it’s uncertain if the drugs can feasibly come in at a price point pet owners are willing to pay.
Feline Findings San Francisco-based Okava
Pharmaceuticals is currently conducting the first-ever clinical trial of GLP-1 weight- loss therapy for household pets. Named MEOW-1, the study aims to determine whether chunky cats can slim down with a miniature implant under the skin that continuously delivers GLP-1 for six months. They will monitor up to 50 cats with the implant and check their weight at three months. Okava’s GLP-1 is called exenatide,
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