Neat News - Neat things do happen

There is a project in Panama in which women grow cocoa not in a mono-culture but in the forest respecting its biodiversity. The high quality of the cocoa results in a fair price for the raw cocoa.

A device has been developed that used like a glove can translate American sign language in real time via a smartphone app into spoken English.

In experiments with mice, researchers have used low frequency ultrasound waves to create bubbles that partly destroy cancer cells directly and partly damage the cells' membranes so that immunotherapy has a better opportunity to destroy them.

A Viking ship in Norway is to be excavated. It is only the fourth such ship ever discovered in Norway and the first in more than 100 years.

With a single treatment by gene therapy, cells of the brains of mice with Parkinson's disease were turned into neurons that produce dopamine. This way the symptoms of Parkinson's disease were eliminated.

The price for producing solar energy is falling at a rate that within 10 years it will be cheaper to produce electricity with solar panels than from coal.

In some countries too much sugar is consumed, tax on sugary drinks can reduce the consumption and offset some of the cost created by illnesses following from high sugar consumption. A tax system that depends on the percentage of sugar in drinks seems to be very appropriate for this.

In a new study, scientists want to find out the impact of the Corona virus shutdown on other species in order to learn lessons how best to "share our increasingly crowded planet".

In an area that is very well explored, close to the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, now a ring of some 20 large shafts has been discovered, which are likely connected to Stonehenge. They form together the largest prehistoric monument ever found in Britain.

A new molecule, LIH383, has been developed that blocks a previously unknown opioid receptor in the brain. This way naturally produced opioids may be more effective in suppressing pain.

In experiments it was shown that diluting blood plasma can trigger processes that rejuvenate muscle, brain, and liver tissue in old mice.

In a new study it was found that the two best investments towards successful ageing are not smoking and being socially active (by visiting friends, volunteering, or attending social events such as concerts).

In a study looking at the conditions of more than 140,000 people in Washington State at the time of their death, scientists conclude that living in a neighbourhood with walkability, higher socioeconomic status, and age diversity is positively correlated to reaching the age of 100.

Evaluating data from the Kepler mission, there is a new estimate that around 18 percent of the sun-like stars have Earth-like planets (roughly Earth-sized and at the right distance). With 400 billion stars of which about seven percent are Sun-like this gives us an estimate of five billion Earth-like planets in the Galaxy.

A new study found evidence that an existing drug, Dexamethasone, can cut the risk of death for those COVID-19 patients on ventilators by a third, for those on oxygen by a fifth. It seems to work by preventing the immune system of the patient going into overdrive.

Human eyes have three types of colour cones in the retina to distinguish red, green, and blue light. Hummingbirds have an additional type that can detect ultraviolet light.

A new study found that wearing face masks is for the protection of people from the COVID-19 virus very important. Face masks not only keep back droplets from infected people but also protect uninfected people by filtering contaminated air. While social distancing and washing hands are important airborne virus transmission is dominant in the spread of the virus and can be reduced by face masks.

By making roads stiffer so that cars do not ever so slightly sink in when driving over them can reduce the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by about half a percent without almost any extra cost.

In a study looking at adults over 50 it was found that those who do at least two hours of voluntary work per week have a substantially reduced risk of mortality and an improved sense of well-being later on compared to people who do not volunteer.

Cancer cells survive by disabling the self-destruct gene that lets them die. Organic chemists have now synthesized a fungal molecule that can reactivate this self-destruct gene in aggressive cancer cells.

To have a sufficient level of vitamin D seems to reduce the risk of contracting colon cancer, blood cancers, and other cancers, a new review finds.

The German city of Jena introduced the duty of wearing face masks in shops and public transport two to three weeks before the rest of Germany. By comparing the development of the Corona infection numbers in Jena and other cities researchers conclude that face masks reduce the risk of transmission by three quarters.

The last Covid 19 patient in New Zealand recovered and the state has now been declared Covid 19-free. All related restrictions within New Zealand have been terminated.

In many countries of the world, hundreds of thousands of people of all races protest for racial equality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

Researchers managed to use isotopic analysis to find out that people in the Americas used maize as key part of their diet for thousands of years.

A new antibiotic attacks bacteria like a poisoned arrow by first penetrating the bacterial wall and then destroying it from the inside. It could be used on bacteria that are resistant against other drugs.

Although counter-intuitive, people are overwhelmingly generous to others. A study found that this has four different reasons: they are more likely to receive generosity in return, or by a third person, or by their network, or they repay generosity they received.

New catalysts using rhodium, chromium, and cobalt have been developed that allow to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using sun light in a highly efficient way.

For the first time ever, last month was so sunny that so much electricity was generated from solar and wind plants that no electricity was generated from coal in the UK for all of May.

A prototype for a floating platform is under development that can generate electricity from a combination of waves, wind, and sunlight.