Neat News - Neat things do happen

Spanish parliament made a law that grants the Mar Menor in Murcia, Spain, the legal status of a person. As a consequence the lagoon has rights like a person and can be easier protected as a vulnerable ecosystem. It is the first ecosystem in Europe with such a status.

related: #lagoon #personhood

In Chile an alerce tree, called Gran Abuelo, has been estimated to be 5484 years old. If confirmed, it would be more than 600 years more than the oldest living tree known so far, Methuselah in California.

related: #oldest_tree

Using ultrasound scans of 100 pregnant women, scientists could see that fetuses showed a pleased facial reaction shortly after their mothers ate carrot and a displeased one after they ate kale. It may be that babies build up food preference even before their births.

related: #taste #smell #baby

Scientists have estimated the number of ants on Earth. With 20,000,000,000,000,000 (20 quadrillion) of them they have together about as much biomass as mammals and birds combined.

related: #ants

Consumers can be nudged in the direction of making more environmentally choices, be it when buying in a supermarket or when choosing an electricity tariff, by showing the organic produce or the renewable tariff at a prominent place.

related: #nudging

Car Free Sunday has taken place in Brussels once a year for two decades. In the current energy crisis, some see it as a way forward and advocate to have every week a Car Free Sunday.

related: #car_free_city

On a construction site in Israel, a 3300 year old Egyptian tomb chamber has been found, containing pots made of clay and arrowheads. The chamber is assumed to be untouched and could give important information about the bronze age.

related: #ancient_tomb

The poles are warming and melting at a frightening speed. Now it has been suggested to inject over the poles some microscopic aerosols into the stratosphere to cool the poles and refreeze them. The project would cost some 11 billion dollars per year.

related: #poles #refreezing

The founder of the Patagonia company has donated his company to a charity that will put any profits that are not reinvested into fighting climate change.

related: #climate #charity

A new study not only confirms the value of doing 10,000 steps a day for physical and mental health but also suggests that the effect is better when people walk fast.

related: #steps #health #physical_activity

Scientists have systematically tested how a mother can bring her crying baby to sleep in 13 minutes. When a child is held while the mother is walking, typically they calm within 30 seconds and fall asleep shortly after that. Rather than putting them to bed immediately when they fall asleep it is better when the mother keeps on walking for another 5 to 8 minutes.

related: #baby #sleep

New research with mice finds that exercising triggers the generation of a hormone, called irisin, that can be found in the blood and reduces levels of a protein related to Parkinson's disease. As a consequence movement problems are reduced.

related: #exercising #Parkinson

There is a better understanding why air pollution causes cancer. Rather than always leading to mutations, at least some damaged cells are reactivated by the air pollution. This new insight may lead to the development of new drugs preventing the cancer from developing.

related: #cancer #pollution

In a new study it has been found that the advice "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper" is wrong on the one hand: When you eat the calories does not affect weight loss or gain. But it is good on the other hand: after a big breakfast people feel less hungry for the rest of the day and eat less later on, making a weight loss more likely.

related: #breakfast #weight

In a cave in Borneo the at leat 31,000 year old remains of a young adult was found who had - probably as a child - the left lower leg and foot amputated and survived for at least 6 to 9 years. In the light that this would even today be a difficult operation it is a very astonishing achievement.

related: #prehistory #operation #surgery

Due to the expansion of solar panels and record sunshine in the EU in the period from May to August 2022, 28 percent more solar electricity has been generated in the EU than in the same period in 2021. In the EU 12 percent of the electricity has been generated by photovoltaic in this period with the Netherlands leading with 23 percent.

related: #solar #photo_voltaic #EU #renewable

In a double-blind trial in Burkina Faso with children aged 5-17 months it was found that a vaccination against malaria has an efficacy of almost 80 percent. This could have significant consequences in the fight against this deadly disease.

related: #malaria #vaccination

In new research it has been found that a dangerous bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, produces a toxin that kills other bacteria by targeting the RNA molecules of these bacteria. Understanding this process in detail may lead to a new type of antibiotics.

related: #toxin #antibiotics

By simple measures such as using air purifiers and reducing traffic around the schools during pick-up and drop-off hours it is possible to reduce classroom pollution by more than 50 percent.

related: #air_pollution #school

Hydrogen is major contestant for the decarbonization of energy, however, storage and transport are problems. Now a silica based powder has been developed that can bind hydrogen. It currently has still the disadvantage that the powder weighs seven times more than the hydrogen it can generate.

related: #hydrogen #powder

The German town of Andernach is to become an 'edible city'. The centre of the 2000 year old town at the river Rhine has organic fruit and vegetable gardens from which everybody can harvest for free. The project started in 2010.

related: #urban_gardening

In tests with rats, it has been found that the insulin from a newly developed tablet goes directly to the liver (rather than the stomach as previous tablets did). This means that after more trials, insulin injections might be replaced by tablets, improving the quality of life for millions of diabetes patients.

related: #diabetes #insulin #tablet

In a new study it has been found that our knowledge changes the perception of objects. For instance, if we recognize an object as a tool, it is perceived faster but with less detail.

related: #perception #knowledge #vision

A group of Afghan women has opened a library in Kabul, Afghanistan, to give access to books for girls who cannot go to school and for women who lost their jobs.

related: #Afghanistan #library