Russian Cows Wear VR Glasses to Increase Milk Production

Cows are feeding at Mancebo Holsteins in Tulare, California, US, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Jane Ross
Cows are feeding at Mancebo Holsteins in Tulare, California, US, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Jane Ross
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Russian Cows Wear VR Glasses to Increase Milk Production

Cows are feeding at Mancebo Holsteins in Tulare, California, US, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Jane Ross
Cows are feeding at Mancebo Holsteins in Tulare, California, US, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Jane Ross

As part of its efforts to compete in the global market, the Russian government seeks to increase cow milk production by using various innovative methods such as classical music.

Recently, the animals entered the world of virtual reality (VR), after the agriculture ministry announced plans to use VR glasses on cows to encourage them on producing more milk during winter. Soon, cows will be watching serene pasture scenes that will make them calm and more productive, it said.

The ministry suggested this step "would achieve unprecedented results", and revealed it is actually experimenting a prototype of these glasses in a farm near Moscow.

These glasses used in video games and other fields, allow people to live in virtual environments. For instance, police officers and firefighters wear these glasses to train on practical tasks in simulated emergencies and terrorist attacks.

The Russian agriculture ministry said that special goggles will be designed for cows. The first experiments were successful, and the cows felt less afraid and have become friendlier.

The ministry said more experiments will be carried out on the new technique to assess the benefits of the glasses.

Russia has been boosting investments in the domestic milk industry for several years, after its imports of European milk declined due to European sanctions imposed since the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.

"With these innovations, Russia will keep pace with competition in the global market," the ministry said in a statement.



Art as Therapy: Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museum Visits

A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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Art as Therapy: Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museum Visits

A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Swiss doctors are expanding the range of prescriptions for patients with mental health conditions and chronic illnesses to include strolls in public gardens, art galleries and museums.
The city of Neuchatel, in western Switzerland, launched the pilot project with doctors last month to help struggling residents and to promote physical activity.
"For people who sometimes have difficulties with their mental health, it allows them for a moment to forget their worries, their pain, their illnesses to go and spend a joyful moment of discovery," Patricia Lehmann, a Neuchatel doctor taking part in the program, told Reuters.
"I'm convinced that when we take care of people's emotions, we allow them somehow to perhaps find a path to healing."
Five hundred prescriptions will be handed out for free visits to four sites, including three museums and the city's botanical garden.
One of them went to a 26-year-old woman suffering from burnout whom Reuters met at the Neuchatel Museum of Art and History, which has masterpieces by Claude Monet and Edgar Degas as well as a collection of automated dolls.
"I think it brings a little light into the darkness," she said, asking to remain anonymous.
Authorities say the idea came from a 2019 World Health Organization study exploring the role of the arts in promoting health and dealing with illness.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, museum closures hit people's well-being, said Julie Courcier Delafontaine, head of the city's culture department.
"That was a real trigger and we were really convinced that culture was essential for the well-being of humanity," she said.
The initiative will be tested for a year and could be expanded to other activities such as theater.
"We'd love this project to take off and have enough patients to prove its worth and that one day, why not, health insurance covers culture as a form of therapy," said Courcier Delafontaine.