Neat News - Neat things do happen

The EU has ordered for EUR 445 million a satellite network to monitor CO₂ emissions. The satellite launches will start in 2025. Data will be available by 2028.

A blood test, called p-tau217, has been developed that shows in tests great promise to detect Alzheimer's disease as early as 20 years before symptoms are visible. More tests are planned in order to make it generally usable.

In 2022 a small herd of wild bisons is to be released in Kent so that the animals for the first time in 6000 years return to Britain.

In order to guarantee that clothes are produced in an ethical, fair, and sustainable way, the startup company Threadcounts records and guarantees the provenance of clothes using blockchain technology. The product will have a QR-code that contains its complete information with a blockchain guaranteed digital certificate.

Students of a German school have founded a company, called Quite Interesting Technologies, to produce per day 300 visors from recycled plastic as protection against the Covid-19 virus. Their starting material are tops of plastic bottles.

The smallest dinosaur ever found has a skull of less than 2cm. It was trapped in a piece of amber some 100 million years ago.

A first clinical trail treating Covid-19 patients with an inhaled interferon called SNG001 shows that the risk of developing a serious form is reduced by 79 percent. The approach works by restoring the lung's capacity to fight the virus.

Noise cancellation speakers cancel noise before it comes to the ear. Now a corresponding device has been developed that can be put in front of a window so that fresh air can come in but the noise not.

A recent find in the Chiquihuite Cave in Mexico suggests that humans were there some 33,000 years ago and used the cave for some 20,000 years. This means that humans have been in the Americas for at least double the time previously thought.

Greta Thunberg has won the Glubenkian Prize for Humanity worth one million euros. She has announced that she will donate the money to projects combating "the climate and ecological crisis."

A large 3D map of the universe has been published by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with more than 2 million galaxies and stars 11 billion light years away. It is also used to better understand the expansion of the universe.

Two vaccination approaches against the Covid-19 virus that are under development in Oxford, UK, and in Mainz, Germany, have proved to trigger immune responses in trials with 1077 and 45 subjects, respectively. This gives justified hope that by the end of 2020 or early 2021 a vaccination against the Covid-19 virus will be available. Next more tests will be done.

In the Mbe Mountains of Nigeria, very rare photos of a group of Cross River gorillas have been taken. Seeing the group with a number of infants gives hope that the population is increasing and moving away from the brink of extinction.

Using Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in Chile, scientists have looked for the oldest light that can be found in the Universe and confirmed the age of the Universe at 13.8 billion years.

Using an experimental game, scientists have established the importance of communication in cooperation. People typically come with pre-existing goodwill and communicating (e.g., satisfaction and aspirations) prevents misunderstandings and can lead to better outcomes.

There is further evidence of the efficacy of face masks in the prevention of the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Two hair stylists wearing face masks while infected did not pass the virus to their customers. None of their 139 clients developed symptoms in the following two weeks and none of the 67 tested was found Covid-19 positive.

In a recent study, it is stated that due to women's education and independence the number of babies born by a woman on average has dropped from 4.7 in 1950 to 2.4 in 2017 and is predicted to drop to 1.7 by 2100. While this creates problems of its own it means that overpopulation can be tackled. The peak is expected for 2064 with 9.7 billion people.

A link of an infection with the human papillomavirus and cervical cancer has been known for a while and led to programmes to vaccinate girls early, for instance, at an age of 12 or 13. In a new study a potential link between infections with human papillomavirus and prostate cancer has been found. This strengthens the case for vaccinating boys early on too.

Currently the comet Neowise can be seen at night in the northern hemisphere with the naked eye. On 23 July it will be closest to Earth at a bit more than 100 million km.

In a study it has been found that beluga whales form friendships beyond kinship. It is hoped that the study contributes to an understanding why certain species are social.

In Sudan a law has been ratified to criminalize the wide spread practice of female genital mutilation. The justice ministry accepts that the practice "degrades the dignity of women."

In some line of maize there are flavonoids which have a protective effect on the guts of mice against inflammatory bowel disease. Whether the effect can also be observed in humans needs still to be studied.

In order to maintain vision in old age it helps to stare into deep red light for three minutes a day. A study found that doing so stimulates the mitochondria in the cells of the retina.

There is some evidence that a 10 centimetre high reptile, called Kongonaphon kely, that lived in Madagascar some 237 million years ago was the ancestor of the huge dinosaurs.

In experiments with mice, scientists found a way to boost the immune system of old mice by injecting them white blood cells, so-called eosinophils, from young mice. This way they also reduced low levels of inflammation in old mice, which accelerate the ageing of cells.

Studying cows, sheep, and dogs over several months in Northern Italy, where there are many earthquakes, scientists found that the animals were unusually restless in the hours before the earthquakes. That is, the animals might be used to make short term predictions of earthquakes and warn people to minimize the danger for people.

When the water level was lower than today Aboriginal Australians lived in lands that are now under water. Archaeologist have found now a site off Northwest of Australia with 269 artefacts that are more than 7000 years old.

A 12000 year old prehistoric mine, which has been under water for some 8000 years, has been discovered beneath the Mexican Yucatan peninsula. It contains pristine artefacts. It served people also as a source for iron ochre, which was used in ancient paintings.

Stretching legs and arms seems to improve blood circulation and may help in preventing heart disease and even diabetes.

Aboriginals defend the ancient Nambucca State Forest in New South Wales, Australia, against logging. They do vigils and take legal action.

Rituals help us to overcome anxiety. It is assumed that by the repetitive and predictable character of rituals, the brain gets a sense of control and structure that reduces stress.