Wrapping up the week with some concise, positive news stories from around the world.
Co-operative Hunting
‘Bubble-net’ by Scott Portelli, wins 2024 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. Captured during a sailing expedition to Antarctica last year, bubble-net feeding is a cooperative hunting strategy used by humpback whales. As the whales surround a school of small fish, they make a team effort to disorient and corral the fish into a ‘net’ of bubbles. One whale will sound a call, at which point they’ll all swim up, with opened mouths, to feed on the trapped fish.
BC First Nations
The traditional homelands of the Saulteau and West Moberly Lake First Nations, about 750km northeast of Vancouver, are littered with tens of thousands of old, disused oil and gas wells. The Narwhal reports that a new project run by First Nations, known as Aski Reclamation and funded by the provincial government, is aiming to reclaim and restore all the orphaned sites by 2030.
Africa Landmark Deal
The continent’s foremost intergovernmental body has ruled, after nine years of deliberation, that the government of the DRC should hand back parts of the giant Kahuzi-Biéga National Park to its ancestral owners, the Batwa people. This is a massive deal - not only for the park itself, but because it sets a legal precedent among all member states of the African Union recognizing Indigenous people's crucial role in safeguarding the environment and biodiversity, reports Yale360.
Massive Baby Penguin
At just nine months old, Pesto weighs an impressive 49 pounds - making him the heaviest penguin chick the aquarium has ever seen, and he weighs as much as both his parents combined! Pesto's fame has grown alongside his size, with more than 1.9 billion people worldwide viewing his adorable antics on social media, according to a statement from the aquarium. But is there any concern about his hefty size? Not at all, says Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium education supervisor Jacinta Early. “He’s going to start losing that really adorable baby fluff. It might take him one to two months to really get rid of it. Then he’ll be nice and sleek and streamlined.”
Prostate Cancer Trials
Thousands of men in the UK are set to take part in a major screening trial aimed at revolutionising the treatment of prostate cancer. The £42m research programme - TRANSFORM - aims to find the best way to screen men for prostate cancer. There’s currently no screening programme for the disease, despite it killing 12,000 men each year in the UK alone. Participants will be recruited over the coming months for the trial, which is set to begin in early 2025.
Micronuclear Battery
Researchers have created a nuclear battery with unprecedented efficiency: 8,000 times more efficient. The battery developed by the research team at China’s Soochow University harnesses the energy of radioactive decay, a process associated with nuclear waste. “It makes the micronuclear battery an enduring and reliable power source in scenarios in which conventional batteries prove impractical or challenging to replace.” This development brings us closer to a future where miniature power sources can operate for decades without needing a recharge, says Interesting Engineering.
“Let’s lean into the small joys and absurdities, and officially designate silliness as self-care.” Emily McGowan
On This Day
27 September 2019: A week of international climate change protests - led by youths, notably Swedish activist Greta Thunberg - ended, with millions having participated in the demonstrations.
Today's Articles
'Future of Propulsion': New twisted smart propeller boosts efficiency by 30 percent and is much quieter.
Mood Boosting Video
Venice: Enjoy the sight of graceful cranes flying over La Serenissima.