Fabulous Friday News

9 hours ago
4 min read

Rounding off the week on an upbeat note with today's global collection of positive news nuggets.

a rectangular mini bee hotel made from cedar, and with a yellow frame — Credit: Meanwhile / Famous Campaigns

Novel Billboards

In parks, gardens, and urban areas scattered throughout Manchester, England, Disney and National Geographic are promoting a new show titled Secrets of Bees. The two are doing so in an unconventional way, however, foregoing typical billboards and instead installing a series of permanent installations specially made for the pollinators. The ads are designed as mini bee hotels, a resting point for solitary bees taking a break from pollination. And since these installations are meant to be permanent, they must be sustainable. The cedar used for these installations comes from sustainably sourced, already felled trees, which is a detail unnoticeable at first glance, but which really represents the level of thought, detail, and meaning in these boxes.

Arthritis Cure?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 53 million U.S. adults have arthritis, and that number is expected to increase as people live longer. This incurable condition affects the joints and the tissues around them. As such, managing symptoms is key to reducing pain and improving the quality of life for patients. One of the latest efforts in the crusade against this condition comes from Stanford University, where scientists found a way to regrow aging cartilage, raising hopes for arthritis treatments. “This is a new way of regenerating adult tissue, and it has significant clinical promise for treating arthritis due to aging or injury,” says Helen Blau, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology. “It’s very exciting.” With some luck, it will become a reliable resource in treating age-related muscle weakness that affects so many people.

Some Good Numbers

2017: Year that global sales of combustion-engine cars peaked.

26: Miles traveled by NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars as it continues to collect data (a marathon!)

the Trifid Nebula, a star-forming region located about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. — Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale

Happy Birthday

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope hits a new milestone: its 36th anniversary. To celebrate, the telescope once again set its sights on the Trifid Nebula, a star-forming region located about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Hubble had captured the area 29 years earlier, in 1997, but its newest photograph of Trifid offers an even more mesmerizing glimpse into the iconic nebula. At the center of the scene is what NASA describes as the “head” and “undulating body” of a cloud of gas and dust. The bulbous form resembles a “marine sea lemon or sea slug” gliding through the cosmos, and is complete with two “horns” that reveal critical information not just about the nebula, but stars as a whole.

Golden Gate Bridge at dawn — Ping! There's a whale

AI WhaleSpotter

A first-of-its-kind AI-powered detection network in San Francisco Bay is helping boats keep their distance from whales, preventing a leading cause of death for one of the big blue’s ecosystem engineers. Aptly named WhaleSpotter, the system scans 24/7 for whale blows and heat signatures up to 2 nautical miles away, even in foggy conditions common in the bay. Trained marine mammal observers then verify the potential sightings and the system alerts ferry operators and vessel traffic controllers, so they know to slow down or reroute. The intel is also posted publicly on the Whale Safe website.

Singer, rapper and actor Bad Bunny wearing a light brown T-shirt — Credit: Spotify

Pizza With Sunglasses

Singer, rapper and actor Bad Bunny is getting a slice of the action in the new Toy Story film, making a cameo as the voice of a forgotten toy known as Pizza With Sunglasses. Disney said the Puerto Rican star will be heard in Toy Story 5 as the "effortlessly cool and mysterious" character who is "a member of a small but mighty community of forgotten toys that live in an abandoned backyard shed". Bad Bunny - whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio and headlined the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show earlier this year - joins a star-studded cast including the returning Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack. For more info about the movie (out on 19 June) and to watch the trailer, click Toy Story 5

"I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse." Florence Nightingale

On This Day

An original bottle of Coca Cola from 1886

29 May 1886: American pharmacist John Pemberton begins advertising his patented medicine, Coca-Cola, in Atlanta, Georgia. The initial newspaper ad invited "thirsty citizens" to try the "new and popular soda fountain drink". Though marketed as a "Delicious and Refreshing Beverage," Pemberton also promoted it as a "brain tonic" and a cure for ailments such as headaches, fatigue, and "nervous prostration". Pemberton’s book keeper, Frank Robinson, suggested the name "Coca-Cola" and designed the signature Spencerian script logo, believing the two "C"s would look striking in advertising.