Today's global round up of good news nuggets to get the day off to a sunny start.
Rarest of the Rare
A new protected area in British Columbia will permanently safeguard the ‘rarest of the rare’ species including lichens, grizzly bears, wolverines and old-growth cedars and hemlock trees, reports Narwhal. The 58,000 hectare conservancy in the Incomappleux Valley is one of Canada’s last remaining temperate rainforests.
Chemo Timing
Researchers in the UK have figured out a way to reduce the risk of colon cancer recurrence by 28 percent, just by changing the timing of patients’ chemotherapy. The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t require any additional treatment or new medication. "Doctors around the world will now be able to put these findings into clinical practice, saving many thousands of lives," reports FreeThink.
Medieval Synagogue
Archaeologists in the Andalucían city of Utrera have rediscovered a staggeringly rare Spanish medieval synagogue, which was later used over the course of seven centuries as everything from a hospital and a home for abandoned children to a restaurant and disco-pub. The find, announced on Tuesday, makes the 14th-century building one of a precious handful of medieval synagogues to have survived the aftermath of the expulsion of Spain’s Jews in 1492.
Healing
Rewilding charity Heal has bought 460 acres of land in Somerset to kickstart an effort to create nature reserves spanning 48 English counties by 2050. The Somerset site will become a blueprint for the project and will include food growing areas, community meeting spaces and rare-breed cattle, pigs, and ponies to graze land in a natural way.
Nature Recovery
For over 200 years, Phillip Island, off the coast of Melbourne in southern Australia, was overrun by feral pigs, goats and rabbits introduced during European settlement. The result was devastating, completely destroying the island's vegetation. In 1979 an eradication program begun and by 1988 non-native species were successfully eliminated from the island. The change is astonishing. Nature will recover - if we let it.
German Coal
Germany is in the midst of a debate about when it will stop using coal. While the current coalition government under Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to phase out the highly polluting fossil fuel by 2030, states in the country’s east want to maintain an earlier, less ambitious target of 2038. Now, a report from the Federal Network Agency finds that Germany can meet both the 2030 deadline and its energy needs. “The report... shows that electricity demand can be reliably met at any time between 2025 and 2031,” said Economy Minister Robert Habeck. “This also applies if electricity consumption increases significantly due to new consumers such as electric vehicles and heat pumps and the phase-out of coal takes place by 2030.”
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
On this Day
8 February 1978: Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
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Mood Booster
Ever wondered what the world record is for most dogs in a Conga Line? Well, here's the answer.