Pigs are not just a source of meat. People suffering kidney failure who need a replacement organ to survive have received experimental kidneys from genetically modified pigs to extend their lives.

Tim Andrews, 67, of New Hampshire, USA, received a pig’s kidney transplanted by doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital in January. He is currently the only person living with the animal organ.

Three patients who received pig kidneys earlier were not so fortunate. Richard Slayman, the first person in the world to get a genetically modified pig kidney, died two months after the transplant surgery in March 2024 but his death was not related to the transplanted organ, CNN reports.

The pig kidney transplanted to Lisa Pisano in April 2024 had to be removed the following month for not working properly. She died in July.

In November 2024, New York University surgeons transplanted a pig kidney to 53-year-old Towana Looney, but it functioned only for four months before the organ was removed in April, when her immune system started to reject it.

Still on the subject of animals, a cat that strayed into a Costa Rica jail became the center of attention by its staff.

The feline’s grey patches intrigued wardens at the Pococi Penitentiary, so they captured it on 6 May for a closer look.

The patches turned out to be bags filled with 236 grams of marijuana, and others containing 86 grams of crack cocaine, Daily Mail reports.

Authorities took a video of the removal of the illegal substances from the cat’s body before it was turned over to the National Animal Health service for evaluation, according to Daily Mail.

Local media reported that cats are used to smuggle illegal drugs into prisons, with prisoners enticing them with food to get at the narcotics they are carrying.