Kick starting the week with an upbeat collction of good news nuggets.
With a mix of shock and indignation, New Yorkers have watched on as an ever-expanding sex scandal has threatened to bring down some of its highest-profile politicians. Enter Maya Wiley, who has positioned herself as an antidote to the "toxic male politics" and hopes the current charged climate will pave the way for the first woman mayor in New York's history when the city goes to the polls in the coming weeks. “I’m unapologetically running as a woman and I’m unapologetically going to say it is our time," she says.
A busy road in the Estonian capital of Tallinn will be closed for the month of April not for construction, but for frogs and toads. Each spring, the area around the road becomes a popular breeding, so the city has closed the road to protect these vulnerable species as they make their journey across the roadway.
Denver bison reparation gift: A conservation project by Denver Parks and Recreation aims to not only restore bison populations but also offer reparations to Native American Tribes negatively impacted by the decline of the species.
An experimental drug could offer ‘gamechanging’ treatment for patients with aggressive brain cancers, a clinical trial has revealed. Two out of 10 patients who received ipatasertib, a new precision drug, in conjunction with the immunotherapy agent atezolizumab, saw their cancer shrink or stop growing. In fact, one of the patient’s tumour disappeared completely. The Institute of Cancer Research, which is leading the research, said it was unusual to see positive responses so early in a trial.
Scientists find brain's hunger switch: Feeling famished all the time regardless of how much you eat is a struggle experienced by many people and can lead to obesity. The discovery of the 'hunger switch' means that targetted drugs can be made; possibly with wider dietary application too.
Raise a glass to Noura Al-Matrooshi, who just became the United Arab Emirates' first female astronaut. She and fellow astronaut Mohammed Al-Mulla were chosen out of 4,000 candidates to join the country's space program, and will train with NASA for future space exploration. "The nation gave me unforgettable moments today," Al-Matrooshi tweeted after she was selected. "I aim to work hard to script historical moments and achievements that will be etched forever in the memory of our people."
Scientists at the Urban Utilities water management plant in Queensland, Australia have grown a superbug from scratch. Its superpower? A remarkably large appetite for sewage. The sewage Plant Manager says: “growing cities mean more wastewater, that means more nutrients and ammonia that we need to remove. Anammox bacteria are so efficient at doing that, that they’ve actually created ten percent extra capacity here.”
Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is known for his spiky bleached hair, a love of barbecue, and doing nice things. When California wildfires hit communities last fall, he went to affected areas to feed thousands of firefighters. And now? He’s helped raise nearly $25 million for restaurant staff facing financial struggles because of the pandemic.
How many T-Rexes roamed the earth? It's probably not a question you've ever turned your mind to, but a team of paleontologists at UC Berkeley decided to try and figure it out. The numbers are extraordinary.
Apple has announced a $200 million investment fund designed to remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere and support sustainable forestry. Called the Restore Fund, the effort aims to remove 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, equivalent to the fuel used by more than 200,000 passenger cars annually. The project could also act as an important model for other corporations by demonstrating the ability to profit from investments in the environment.
When having multiple cubs, pandas will usually only care for one baby and abandon the other, but switching them around might be the key for both twins' survival. That's what care and patience achieved in China.