Collection of uplifting news snippets to get the day off to a positive start.
Good news for astronomers around the world: they will soon get an exciting opportunity to observe the sky like never before when the world’s largest Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) opens up to the global scientific community in April. Located in China, the “Sky Eye” parabolic dish is a 500m (1,600ft) telescope that's used for spotting pulsars and other energetic astronomical targets as well as searching for alien life. It’s currently the only telescope of its kind that can do these specific types of observations.
It's unlikely that you're unaware of the appalling scenes in Washington DC last night. But, amid the mayhem, there was some good news.
Nicola Sturgeon has warned Donald Trump that any visit to Scotland would violate coronavirus rules, after it was reported the president may be planning to flee the US ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration. The First Minister of Scotland said although she hoped and expected “that the immediate travel plan he has is to exit the White House," but that "coming to play golf is not what I would consider an essential purpose (for travel).” Prestwick Airport, near the president’s Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire, is said to have been told to expect the arrival of a US military Boeing 757 aircraft on January 19 - the day before Mr Biden takes over.
Former gang member becomes Teacher of the Year: Man turns his life around and becomes an inspiration for others.
Adidas has announced it’s launching a line of sneakers made from mushroom-based leather. As part of a 2021 sustainability initiative from Europe’s largest sportswear manufacturer, the new Stan Smiths will be entirely vegan, and created using mycelium: that is, the vegetative part of fungi that produces mushrooms. It's part of a drive that will see 60 percent of all Adidas products in 2021 being made with sustainable materials.
Norway leads the world in electric car sales: EVs made up more than half of new cars sold in the country last year. How has it achieved such penetration when the UK is on only just over 6 percent and America on a mere 2 percent?
As Indonesia prepares to begin mass inoculations against Covid-19, its plan to prioritise working age adults over the elderly, aiming to reach herd immunity fast and revive the economy, will be closely watched by other countries.
New medical gun that fires off ‘skin substitute’ is now treating patients. Doctors across Europe and Israel now using the medical gun to help patients recover without the need for painful bandage changes. Dubbed the Skincare system, the device uses a technique called electro-spinning in which electricity is used to create nano-fibers from a solution. Those nano-fibers form a translucent polymer material that is then fired off from the device onto the wound, acting like new skin. Essentially, the Spincare system is a “Spider-man-style medical gun” for the way it spews out the skin substitute.
After the Great Conjunction on 21 December, when Jupiter and Saturn came together in the night’s sky, forming what appeared to be a single bright star above the horizon, it will very shortly be time for Mercury to join the party to create a rare triple conjunction.
A terminally ill cancer patient has been given the all-clear after becoming the first woman in Wales to be given a pioneering treatment. Early this year, Helen, 32, was offered a glimmer of hope when she was told she qualified for the new Chimeric Antigen Receptors Cell Therapy (CAR-T) treatment that had just been approved by the NHS - a treatment that uses the body's own cells to fight cancer. The mother-of-three, from Denbighshire, had the therapy after other treatments failed. "When the doctor said it was clear... we were in tears. Finally, there was no cancer at all," she said.
Cirque du Soleil: Thousand Hand Dance. Extraordinary 6 minute treat to get the day off to an uplifting start.