Neat News - Neat things do happen

A new antiviral drug has been developed against AIDS. It adds to the repertoire of drugs available against AIDS and seems to have the advantage that its effects do not wear off potentially for months, that is, that it may not have to be administered on a daily basis.

Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is one way of generating a carbon neutral energy form. However, there are problems to do this in an economically viable way. Now a new catalyst, consisting of several metals and perchloric acid, has been developed, which may be economically viable.

In an initial study it has been found that vitamin D intake may reduce the risk of obesity. More research is needed.

In a big study it has been found out that doing good makes people feel good independently of whether they do it altruistically or for their own benefit.

The Right Livelihood Awards 2018 were awarded to a number of people: to three men jailed in Saudi Arabia for their unwavering fight for human rights, to a farmer from Burkina Faso and an agronomist from Australia for their exemplary work on reforestation and regeneration of local vegetation, and two people from Guatemala for their successful work of exposing corruption.

Using epidural stimulation, doctors have achieved that four out of four paralyzed people for whom the technique was tried could stand again and two were after a lot of training even able to walk. Signals from the brain are relayed to the legs. More research is needed to understand when the therapy is promising.

Studying different tribes of the Hadza people in Tanzania, scientists found that sharing is contagious. People who live with people who are generous are or become generous themselves.

The Co-op supermarket chain has announced to replace plastic bags by compostable bags, for which the material will break down with 12 weeks (under the right conditions). Initially it will be introduced in 1400 of its 2500 stores.

A forest with a diverse population of trees is more resilient against droughts than a mono-culture. One reason may be the different strategies that different tree species use in a drought.

A fossil found in the North of Russia has been identified as an animal that lived around 558 million years ago. The fossil was so well preserved that a team of researchers could study organic material attached. It is possibly the earliest animal fossil ever found.

Scientists have developed a material that can be wrapped around everyday objects so that they can move like robots. Initial application is by NASA for space exploration.

In a study humans typically showed a high-level of social competence and ability for forgiveness.

There is a network of currently 96 cities that coordinate their efforts to cut CO₂ emissions. 27 cities such as Warsaw, Barcelona, and Sydney managed to decrease the amount of the climate gas emitted. Important steps are reducing waste, providing cleaner and better public transport, and reducing the energy comsumption in buildings.

The need for cooling is very widespread and now a new approach has been developed which is based on magnetic fields and the memory effect that some magnetic materials have. This way it is possible to cool down material without the use of traditional liquids such as chlorofluorocarbons and their replacements.

An anti-inflammatory diet reduces the risk of death with respect to different causes such as heart problems or cancer.

Scientists have developed a method to weaken some dangerous drug resistant bacteria so that they can be treated by the application of antibiotics. This can help patients with cystic fibrosis.

The Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine this year went to researchers who investigated the effect of roller-coaster rides on kidney stones. Following the report by a patient that his kidney stones moved after a ride they reproduced the situation in a model and could show that such a ride can "hasten the passage of kidney stones."

In South Africa, in the Blombos Cave, a 73,000 year old painting has been found. It is more than 30,000 years older than the oldest previously known painting.

Scientists have gained a better understanding of the human ear and have detected three new types of neurons in the human auditory system. This understanding may help in the long run to better understand hearing issues such as tinnitus or hearing loss.

Doing good not only makes people happy but also improves their health and longevity by reducing stress levels. However, in order to have the positive effect the good work must be voluntary.

In experiments with mice, scientists managed to block a protein in their livers and this kept the animals from getting fat and attracting related health problems. It is not clear yet whether the findings will hold for humans as well.

Some mobile phones have pressure sensitive displays and these have become so good that it is possible to use them to measure the blood pressure without any additional hardware tools. A corresponding app has been developed.

India's supreme court has ruled unanimously that the colonial time law that criminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults is discriminatory and in consequence unconstitutional.

Scientists have modelled what would happen if the Sahara were used for the large scale production of wind and solar energy. If 9 million square kilometres were used they predict that the rainfall would double having a significant positive impact on vegetation.

Astronomer Prof Burnell has won the Breakthrough Prize and is donating her GBP 2.3 million prize money in order to support women, students from ethnic minorities, and refugees to become physics researchers.

A new treatment against leukemia, called CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell), is based on taking cancer cells and producing genetically modified immune cells. These personalized immune cells are multiplied outside the body and then given to the patient where they can destroy the cancer cells. It offers a new approach to patients for whom other options have been unsuccessful.

In a study it has been investigated whether the approach of raising a type of tortoises in a protected area and then putting them in the wild is useful. Indeed, it is possible this way to boost their survival rates, since this way the tortoises reach an age at which they are less likely to fall prey to some predators.

In a pilot study, researchers found that when healthy overweight people have their breakfasts 90 minutes later and their suppers 90 minutes earlier then just this change has a positive effect on their dietary intake and their weight. More research is needed. One problem is with it that it is often practically and socially difficult to make such a change.

In winter, airplanes occasionally need de-icing in a wasteful process, either using chemicals or heat. Also other surfaces such as powerlines or wind turbines can have the same problem. A new coating, can make use of sunlight for the de-icing process and this way save resources.

Dealing with the versatility of cancer cells is a difficult matter when treating cancer. Now scientists have developed a machine learning approach to predict the mutations of cancer cells. This may lead to a more effective treatment of the cancer.