The last week before Christmas deserves to start with a festive fix of positive news.
Space From Space
NASA astronaut Don Pettit has done it again: captured a breathtaking image from aboard the International Space Station that makes viewers on Earth feel a bit closer to space. The image displays two cloudy galaxies above the orange glow of Earth’s atmosphere on a brilliant stellar backdrop. Those celestial bodies at centre stage are the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, a pair of dwarf galaxies. Pettit captured the long-exposure photograph from the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked at the ISS.
Memory Booster
Those who regularly break a sweat may attest to feeling sharper for the rest of the day. Now, research suggests that moderate exercise boosts brain function well into the following day. Researchers at University College London, England, found that people aged 50 to 83 who did moderate to vigorous exercise on a given day performed better in memory tests the day after.
Smaller Seams
Archaeologists in Wyoming have uncovered needle fragments at La Prele made out of animal bone, which provide new insight into how early North Americans survived the last ice age. According to their study, the researchers unearthed 32 bone needle fragments linked to the early Paleoindian period (between roughly 13,500 and 12,000 years ago). The researchers say that delicate needles made from smaller animal bones were important for survival during the last ice age because they helped humans sew tailored garments with smaller seams that insulated the body from the cold.
Monarch Protections
Environmentalists are celebrating after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its plans to add Monarch butterflies to the threatened species list, giving it extensive protection. Notably, people would be prohibited from making changes to a landscape that render it permanently unusable for the species. It will also designate 4,395 acres in seven California counties as critical monarch habitats, as it’s where they migrate for the winter. Why is this good news? Monarch butterflies are critical pollinators in the U.S. These protections will ensure that no changes to land or a landscape can occur without first considering and minimizing the impact on a key part of the ecosystems that plant, animal, and human life depend on.
Urine Cancer Test
Scientists have created a first-of-its-kind urine test which they say catches lung cancer early, potentially improving outcomes for the millions of people who will go on to develop the disease. Created by the University of Cambridge, England, the test identifies ‘zombie’ cell proteins in urine. These proteins can be markers of tissue changes that occur long before lung cancer becomes visible through scans or physical symptoms. “We urgently need affordable, simple methods to detect cancer early, particularly for high-risk groups,” said the university’s Prof Ljiljana Fruk. “This test could be a game-changer for detecting lung cancer, and we’re already exploring how it could be adapted for other cancers.”
Reasons For Optimism in The Fight Against Cancer: mRNA technology and artificial intelligence are set to make a huge difference.
Rogfast Tunnel
Norway is to build the longest and deepest tunnel in the world, costing $46 billion and slashing 21-hour trips in half. Dubbed as the Rogfast tunnel, the 16 mile tunnel is projected to take seven years to build and will connect the country's archipelago that's currently separated by fjords and ocean. The stretches of ocean are exceptionally deep, with most fjords 400m deep. The 'floating' tunnel will connect the city of Stavanger in the south, to the northern city of Bergen. Currently, residents have to take multiple ferries in waterways busy with shipping vessels and cruise liners - at seven points along the coast.
"Just knowing you don't have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn - and those are all good things." Dick Van Dyke
On This Day
16 December 1773: On this day, in what is known as the Boston Tea Party, American colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians threw 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company into Boston Harbor to protest a tax on tea.
Today's Articles
Observed For First Time: Wild orangutan uses a medicinal plant to successfully treat his facial wound.
Mood Boosting Video
Notre Dame: Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah performed at the re-opening.