Neat News - Neat things do happen

Proton beam therapy is as effective in the treatment of some brain tumours as traditional radiation with gamma rays. However due to the nature of protons it can be used in a more focused way than gamma rays and as a consequence side effects can be reduced considerably.

Four miners who were trapped by a cave-in at a gypsum mine in the Chinese province of Shandong on 25 December 2015 were rescued after 36 days underground.

Polecats were in serious decline in Britain and in 1915 there were only few areas in Wales and Scotland where they could be found. Now they can be found in most of Wales and England. It is a remarkable comeback.

Although felt corruption levels are worldwide still very high, they have been falling in more countries than they have risen in others in 2015 according to a report by Transparency International.

Ali Bin Thalith has produced beautiful pictures in the oceans showing animals such a elephants, sharks, and seahorses.

The British Government and Bill Gates have announced to put £ 3bn in funding against malaria over the next five years.

A frog living in trees in India, which was thought to be extinct for more than 100 years, has been rediscovered.

Late Mr Douglas Tompkins and his wife Mrs Kristine McDivitt Tompkins bought a huge area of Patagonia to make it a nature reserve in southern Chile. Mrs McDivitt Tompkins is in negotiations with the Chilean government to convert the area to national parks.

Applying methods from biology, scientists analysed the speech in fairy tales in different languages and concluded that they are probably much older than thought, possibly dating back to the Bronze age.

After the discovery of Pluto in 1930 it was considered the 9th planet in our solar system. However, it was demoted to dwarf planet in 2005 and we were back to 8 planets. Now evidence has been discovered that there may be an object in our solar system that is even further away than Pluto and has about 10 times the mass of the earth.

There are infinitely many prime numbers. 2^74207281 - 1 is the biggest known prime number of the day. It has only recently discovered as the 49th known Mersenne prime number and has more than 22 million digits.

The global warming has many negative effects, according to a scientific study there is also the positive effect that the next ice age is postponed by another 50,000 years.

The UK government has designated 23 new marine conservation zones so that now an area of 8000 square miles of UK waters have environmental protection.

Bone marrow transplants have been used as treatment against multiple sclerosis. The initial findings are very encouraging, however, need longer term confirmation in randomized trials.

The Cuban healthcare system is exemplary in many ways and receives praise from the Director of the World Health Organization. With an excellent ratio of 8 doctors per 1000 citizens (more than double as in the US and the UK) and with a system that focuses on prevention the country achieves an infant mortality rate lower than that of the US and a similar life expectancy.

As the BBC states "tough new US regulations on the importation of lion trophies will come into force on 22 January". In a separate development also "African lions are now listed under Appendix II of the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), meaning that trade in the creatures is regulated by permit."

After the WHO declared Guinea Ebola free at the end of 2015, now it also declares Liberia Ebola free. Thereby the Ebola epidemic in West Africa is mainly over (although there is still the expectation that there will be some setbacks).

Archeologists are uncovering a Bronze Age settlement that dates back to about 1000-800 BC. The find is particularly significant since the settlement and its contents are well preserved.

Scientists have found a way to transform heat in lightbulbs into light with the potential of making traditional lightbulbs more efficient.

Seals seem to get used to humans and breed in areas which they previously avoided. The population size at a beach in Norfolk grew to more than 1000 animals.

New research has revealed that Alzheimer is linked to brain inflammation. These findings were used to apply a drug which had a positive effect in in tests with mice. This could lead in the long run to new medication that could be used to tackle the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

In the last twenty years the electricity produced by solar photovolatics shows an exponential growth. By 2014, in Germany Photovoltaics contributes already almost 6% towards the national electricity demands.

By planting trees on "spare lands" farmers can cut the currently 9% contribution of agriculture to greenhouse gas emissions in the UK considerably. Combined with other measures this can lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the farming sector by 80% by 2050.

The British government plans to make Ascension Island, a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean, a marine reserve almost as big as Great Britain itself.

One of the biggest problems in the conversion to the post-carbon period of energy creation is the storage of energy. The Siemens corporation has developed a facility to produce hydrogen using the Proton Exchange Membrane electrolysis. If this scales up then surplus energy such as that from wind-generated electricity at times of high winds and low energy consumption can be stored in form of hydrogen.

Volunteers have collected rubbish on New Year's day all over Germany, also in the city of Stuttgart. Obviously there are many more such positive stories around the world. This one is especially positive as it helps building the community between Muslims and non-Muslims. The rubbish collectors are from a Muslim community and include a group of refugees.

In 2015, campaigns by Greenpeace helped in projects for a brighter tomorrow. For instance, they made progress on ending the usage of coal, on saving the Reef, and on protecting the orangutans.

The Ebola outbreak in Guinea has been declared over after two years. "Forty-two days have passed since the last person confirmed to have Ebola virus disease tested negative for the second time." (WHO, 2015-12-29)

The growth curve of generated wind power over the last 20 years is exponential. By 2014 it has reached 4% of worldwide electricity usage, in Denmark 39% of the electricity produced comes from wind.

Amnesty International has successfully campaigned in 2015. They present 50 examples of good news on human rights successes from across the world such as political prisoners being released.

Reforestation works, certainly down under underwater. Scientists have started to plant crayweed near Sydney, Australia. The plants regenerate.