Neat News - Neat things do happen

A new drug, Aducanumab, is in early stages of development. It shows great promise to reduce the characteristic protein plaques that can be found in the brains of Alzheimer patients. In a study that needs to be backed up by a bigger study it has been found that the new drug is safe and may halt memory decline.

A tidal turbine has been connected to the grid on the Shetland islands. The turbine produces renewable energy for 30 homes and is a prototype for the production of reliable and carbon neutral electricity.

The price for the installation of solar panels has come down by another 5-12% in 2015 (depending on whether it is about house roof installations or solar farms). This brings the cost in line with traditional ways of producing electricity. And further price reductions can be expected.

The Juno probe by NASA has completed its first of 36 flybys of Jupiter and took new pictures of Jupiter only about 4200km above Jupiter's clouds.

US president Barak Obama has quadrupled the size of the Hawaiian Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to 1.5 million square kilometres, more than twice the size of Texas. It is now the world largest national park. In the marine reserve commercial fishing and new mining is banned. It means the protection of an ecologically important area.

The Colombian government and the FARC rebel group have signed a peace agreement in Havana, Cuba. The agreement will end a 52 year long conflict in which an estimated 260000 people were killed and millions of people left their homes.

In a new view on depression, connections of the illness with other autoimmune illnesses are investigated and there is the possibility that often the cause for depresssion could be an immune system that attacks the brain. If confirmed, this could change our view of depression and potentially lead to new ways of treating it.

Perfumes may be transferred between persons who were in physical contact. While most components vanish relatively quickly, some stay for days. This may be used as evidence in crime cases. The pilot research is important since a majority of people use perfumes.

Zebra finches can sing to their chicks still in the egg in order to change their development. This was noticed and reproduced in a 'heat' song which can slow the development and increase the survival prospects at particularly hot times.

Scientists give views on 20 questions about the future of humanity, e.g., whether humankind will survive, whether it will colonize space, whether there ever will be adequate health care for everybody, and whether the nature of consciousness will ever be understood.

The highest and longest glass bridge (430m long and 300m high) has opened in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in central China. Europeans have a closer alternative (albeit without glass floor) in the Geyerlay bridge in Germany (which is 360m long and 100m high).

Up to now it has been difficult to diagnose Parkinson's disease, in particular, in early stages when there are no or no clearly visible symptoms. A new test is now under development which is based on changes in the eye. If successful it would be cheap and non-invasive.

The National Trust releases 100 water voles in the wild after there has been a serious decline in the UK (due to a mink invasion). The trial will done in the Malham Tarn area. If successful it will also be tried in other regions.

19 species have recovered in the United States and could be taken off the list of endangered species in the past seven years. That are more than ever before in a comparable time span. It is speculated that it is a result of the 43-year old Endangered Species Act.

Many of the powerful painkillers either work by releasing the pleasure producing chemical dopamine and lead to addiction, or may reduce the sensitivity of the receptors that control breathing, which may kill a patient when an overdose is taken. A new painkiller, which does not suffer from these problems, has just been tested on mice.

Stephen Hawking predicted that black holes can lose energy/mass by radiation related to quantum phenomena. In simulations with super-cooled matter this theory has now received some experimental support.

Our neighbouring star Proxima Centauri is "only" 4.24 light years away from us and - as reportedly detected now from the ESA observatory - has a planet that was unknown up to now. Its distance suggests that it may have liquid water and may offer conditions suitable for earth-like life.

In Montreal many people met in order to discuss how to achieve a sustainable and inclusive world. It was the 12th meeting of this type and took place for the first time in Canada. Important aspects are ecology, accessibility, and inclusiveness.

"Mens sana in corpore sano" the Romans said and they were right. In a study running since 1985 it was found out that people who were fitter at that time showed a higher cognitive performance even 20 years later.

Currently there is an annual meteor shower which is more active than in previous years. Normally there are up to 100 meteors per hour, which could be doubled this year.

In order to understand better the brain and its illnesses - such as depression or Alzheimer's disease - scientists try to gain a better understanding of the way how the brain switches on or off certain genes in it. The new technique works with radioactively tagged molecules which can slip through the blood-brain barrier and show areas of activity in the brain.

in 2002, Betty, a New Caledonian crow, surprised scientists by her tool usage. She bent a piece of wire to form a hook and used this to get access to food. In new research it has been established that bending material is more widespread in crows than anticipated.

A new type of battery has been built that is self-destructing and as a consequence does not need to be disposed. Variants could be used in medical applications so that implanted batteries would not need to be removed.

The Yao people of Mozambique cooperate with honeyguide birds to find bee hives and get the honey. The birds show the people where the hives are and the people share the honey with the birds in return.

A very old print by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) went missing after World War II and has been found again on a fleamarket. The finder donated it to the museum from which it went missing.

A huge megadam originally planned for the central Amazon area has been cancelled by the Brazilian government. The dam would have had severe impacts on the ecological and social situation in the region.

Researchers have studied the behaviour of sport competitors after the competition towards each other and found that males are more predisposed to repair conflicts than females. The findings are similar across different cultures.

The brain of a mouse anticipates thirst after eating so that they feel thirsty before a change in the blood volume or the homeostatic imbalance arises. While the full mechanism is still to be understood, certain neurons in the so-called subfornical organ play a role in this anticipatory regulation of thirst in mice.

Communal inner city gardens may not only be good for social contacts, but may also deliver food and nutrition security and support biodiversity.

The lynx is to be re-introduced to the German region of Palatinate. The large cats are quite delicate and there are only around 70 in Germany in total.

Greenpeace reports how the 10 year old soy moratorium is stopping the destruction of the Amazon, not least since it shows that the conservation is economically sensible.