Neat News - Neat things do happen

While globally the amount of vaccination doses remains scarce, the WHO's Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access programme, COVAX for short, has started by a shipment of vaccines to Ghana, one of 92 low and medium income countries to benefit from the programme.

related: #COVAX #vaccination

Sleep seems to play an important role in consolidating the learning of connections between previous experiences. In a study it was found that sleep disruption prevents the mind from making connections between feeling fear and its cause.

related: #sleep #memory

In order to overcome the plastic waste crisis, different forms of biodegradable plastic is being developed. One of these is to use seafood shell waste to produce a thin plastic-like film.

related: #plastic_ban #biodegradable

As the Israeli health ministry announced, two jabs of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduce the infection risk with Covid-19 by 95.8 percent. Severe illness resulting in hospitalization and death is reduced even by 98.9 percent.

related: #Covid19 #vaccination

New research indicates that there may be a blood test that can predict Alzheimer's disease decades before the first symptoms by measuring an increased presence of a certain protein, the so-called glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).

related: #Alzheimer #diagnosis

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has safely landed on Mars and sent a first picture. It is to search for signs of past (microbial) life on Mars.

related: #NASA #Mars #rover

Up to three years ago 18 different forms of ice were known, then a 19th form was detected. Now the structure of ice XIX has been determined using neutron diffraction

related: #ice #ice_XIX

A new study found that an answer is less believed if people pause before answering. The longer the hesitation the less sincere the response is perceived.

related: #belief #sincere #hesitation

Cancer cells and immune cells may compete for the sugar available. Trying to shift access to sugar away from cancer cells may be a good approach to supplement immunotherapy, a new study finds.

related: #immunotherapy #sugar

New research has found that observing others how they come to decisions helps people to reduce bias and to improve their own decision making.

related: #learning #cognition

Trees in a forest produce so-called terpenoids which stimulate the human immune system. As scientists have found, this is one reason why spending time in the woods is good for human health.

related: #terpenoid #forest #immune_system

US President Joe Biden tries to shut the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay before the end of his term, ending the legal limbo of 40 prisoners still there, including 5 prisoners who were cleared for release during Obama's presidency.

related: #Guantanamo #prison

Singing in a choir has potential cognitive benefits. In a study it has been found that the benefits are similar to playing an instrument. For instance, the verbal flexibility of elderly choir singers was better than that of a control group.

related: #singing #cognition #ageing

Originally when a 17,000 year old seashell was discovered in a hunter-gatherer cave in southern France some 80 years ago, it was thought to be a ceremonial drinking cup. Now markings have been discovered on the shell and the cave walls, establishing that it is actually an ancient music instrument, the oldest known of its kind.

related: #seashell #music_instrument

In Marburg, Germany, a new factory has taken up Covid-19 vaccine production. In the first half of 2021 up to 250 million doses are to be produced there.

related: #Covid19 #vaccine

According to an analysis of three studies, caffeinated coffee is linked to a decreased risk of heart failure. The opposite seems to be the case for decaffeinated coffee. More research is needed to see whether the effect is comparable to exercising, losing weight, or stopping smoking.

related: #coffee #heart

A new wearable sensor has been developed that can detect the stress hormone cortisol in human sweat. This way it is easier to detect and treat stress-related conditions such as burnout.

related: #stress #cortisol

In northern Sweden, a dozen of reindeer bridges, so-called renoducts, will be built so that the reindeer can cross busy roads and railways safely without endangering themselves or people.

related: #reindeer #bridge

IKEA's holding company has bought a big piece of wood with a size of some 45 square kilometres in Georgia, USA. It is to protect more than 350 plant and animal species. The forest is to be used in a sustainable way, that is, more trees will be planted than harvested.

related: #forest #sustainability

In Madagascar the smallest reptile, a so-called Brookesia nana or nano-chameleon, has been discovered. It is only 13.5 mm long.

related: #reptile #chameleon

In experiments with mice, it has been found that what children eat has an important influence on the composition of their gut bacteria, even at a time much later in life when they may have gone to a healthier diet. For this reason, a healthy diet is particularly important for children.

related: #diet #gut_bacteria #health

After Russia, the USA has signed an extension of New START, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, until 5 February 2026. The treaty limits the number of nuclear warheads of the two biggest nuclear powers, the USA and Russia, to 1550 each.

related: #New_START #nuclear_war #arms_control

Meat-based food has a big carbon footprint. Microalgae could be an environmentally friendly and protein rich alternative as a new study finds.

related: #algae #environmentally_friendly #protein

Two fishing sites of the UK, Dogger Bank and South Dorset, are to be protected against bottom trawling, a particularly destructive type of fishing that involves dragging nets across the sea floor.

related: #fish #marineProtection