Quick summary of last week's most important good news stories.
Stonehenge Discovery: The six-tonne Altar Stone at the heart of Stonehenge came from the far north of Scotland - about 700km (434 miles).away - rather than south-west Wales as previously thought, new analysis has found. The findings suggest Neolithic Britain was a far more connected and advanced society than earlier evidence indicated.
Children in Education: The number of children not attending school globally has declined by nearly 40 percent since 2000 according to the most recent data from UNESCO. Additionally, the global population of children has gone up in that same time period, so this decline is even more encouraging and significant.
No Trees Cut Down: Releaf Paper takes fallen dead leaves from city streets and parks and turns them into paper for bags, office supplies, and more. The Paris based company already produces 3 million paper carrier bags per year from 5,000 metric tons of leaves - supplying numerous big businesses like LVMH, BNP Paribas, Logitech and Samsung.
Type 2 Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes is wiped out in a third of patients who stick to NHS England’s ‘soup and shake’ diet, according to a review of the treatment published in the Lancet. The initiative is a joint effort with the charity Diabetes UK and involves an 800-calorie-a-day diet of soups, milkshakes and snack bars, which triggers rapid weight loss.
‘Smart’ Insulin: Scientists are developing a new generation of ‘smart’ insulins that could transform the way people with type 1 diabetes manage their condition. The breakthrough treatments mimic the body’s response to changing blood sugar levels in real-time, reducing the need for frequent injections to just once a week.
Powered Bandages: Newly developed battery-powered electric bandages could help wounds heal more quickly. Wounds treated with electric bandages healed 30 percent faster than wounds treated with conventional bandages, researchers reported in the journal Science Advances.
Gluten Trigger Found: Scientists have made a breakthrough that could lead to new treatment options for celiac patients. The team identified how and where the gluten response begins, with certain cells playing a bigger role than thought. The researchers say that the discovery could provide new targets for developing drugs that potentially treat or prevent celiac disease.
Drought Resistant Grass: There’s good news for proponents of more eco-friendly lawns after Utah legalized a drought-resistant grass species that delivers the look and feel of a lawn, without some of the environmental and financial downsides.
Moor Power: The world’s first wind-powered electric ship-charging station just debuted in the Belgian North Sea.
First Rocks: For the first time, an international team of scientists recovered a long section of rocks that originated in the Earth’s mantle. These cylindrical samples of rock, sand, and other sediment from the ocean floor are like a timeline of our planet’s history.
Spillover Benefits: The first global assessment of the benefits of Marine Protected Areas has discovered a positive spillover effect, with areas just outside the protected zones producing larger fish. The study University of Hawaiʻi also reveals that these spillover effects accumulate over time and that within a decade of creation, MPAs help support local livelihoods, 'resulting in a win-win situation for nature and people alike.'
Royal Mint: The UK’s coin maker to process 4,000 tonnes annually of e-waste at its new precious metals recovery plant - extracting gold embedded in old circuit boards gleaned from phones, laptops and TVs.
Frozen Food Warms Up: Research shows that raising freezer temperatures from the UK industry standard -18C across the global supply chain would reduce their energy demand by 10 percent, saving emissions equivalent to taking 3.8m cars off the road. Three major players in the UK have now joined the Move to -15C coalition.
End of Solar Panels? Scientists at Oxford University have developed a revolutionary approach which could generate solar generated electricity without the need for solar panels. The new approach involves coating a new power-generating material onto the surfaces of everyday objects. In fact, almost anything.
Australia’s EPA: A multi-billion-dollar gas drilling plan off Western Australia has been deemed 'unacceptable' by the state’s Environment Protection Authority due to its impact on marine life. Scientists flagged risks to migrating whales and a beach where endangered turtles make nests, as well as the potential of an oil spill destroying a pristine environment.
Insecticide Ban: Environmental activists have won a lawsuit preventing the US federal government from spraying insecticide on millions of acres in 17 western states to kill native grasshoppers and crickets.
World's Fastest: Chinese car maker Zeekr says its new electric vehicle (EV) batteries charge faster than any of its rivals, including industry leaders Tesla and BYD. The firm claims its upgraded batteries can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent capacity in 10 and a half minutes
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Today's Articles
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