Mid-week selection of positive news nuggets from around the globe.
Sunken Treasure
Since the Colombian navy discovered the final resting place of the Spanish galleon San José in 2015, its location has remained a state secret, the wreck - and its precious cargo - left deep under the waters of the Caribbean. The San José was traveling to Europe with treasures to fund the war of the Spanish succession when it was sunk by the British off the coast of Colombia in 1708. Efforts to conserve the ship and recover its precious cargo have been caught up in a complicated string of international legal disputes regarding the gold, silver and emeralds onboard thought to be worth as much as $17bn. But eight years after the discovery, officials now say they are pushing politics to one side and could begin lifting artefacts from the “holy grail of shipwrecks” as soon as April.
Making a Difference
An innovative African project is persuading farmers to plant biodiverse forest gardens that feed the family, protect the soil and expand tree cover. Could Trees for the Future be a rare example of a mass reforestation campaign that actually works? The UN Environment Programme certainly thinks so and last month awarded it the status of World Restoration Flagship. Since it was founded in 2015, the programme has planted tens of millions of trees each year in nine countries from Senegal and Mali to Tanzania and Kenya. In less than 10 years, it has reportedly restored a combined area of more than 41,000 hectares (158 square miles).
Problem Solving
Bumblebees can teach each other to solve complex puzzles that are too difficult to learn alone, scientists have found. Experiments have shown the insects are able to learn a complicated puzzle box task from their peers to gain access to a sugar reward. But when there was no help involved, individual bees struggled to complete the puzzle from scratch.
The researchers said their study, published in the journal Nature, shows bees can learn complex tasks through social interaction, challenging the long-held view that this trait is unique to humans.
Flowers Can Hear Bees: A new study shows plants can ‘hear’ the humming of nearby pollinators and increase their sugar content in response. More...
Dark Sky Sanctuary
The Oregon outback is now home to the world’s largest dark sky sanctuary, offering pristine views of the night sky across 2.5 million acres. The Oregon outback international dark sky sanctuary just received its certification, becoming the largest of 19 sites around the world with the same designation. The sanctuary covers Lake County in south-eastern Oregon, and could eventually expand to include more than 11 million acres.
Texas Flyer
High-speed rail is a standard form of transport in most advanced countries - but not America. However, it should be coming to the Lone Star State before long. Texas Central has progressed through the planning stage and settled landowning disputes regarding a high-speed railway line from Dallas to Houston, which usually requires a 2 hour flight, a 4 hour drive, or a 5 hour bus ride. But, at 200 miles per hour, the projected time of the new high-speed train would be a mere 90 minutes, departing every half hour during peak times and every hour off-peak.
Recycling
Like many good things in life, wind turbines don’t last forever. But while 85 percent of an existing turbine is recyclable, disposing of retired turbine blades presents more of a challenge because they’re made of materials that can’t easily be recycled. In order to avoid adding a new waste problem to a sustainable solution, the good news is that the renewable energy industry is getting creative. It turns out that 'end of life' wind turbine blades have lots of potential uses because the very materials that make them hard to recycle also make them durable and strong. Engineers are starting to use them to build bicycle shelters, bridges, power-line poles, reinforce concrete - to name but a handful.
“Wednesdays will always bring smiles for the second half of the week.” Anthony T. Hincks
On This Day
20 March 1999: As they floated past longitude 9°27′ W above Mauretania, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first aviators to circumnavigate the globe nonstop by balloon; they landed the following day in Egypt.
Four years (and 205 million miles) after NASA scooped up asteroid samples, scientists reveal their first findings. Bennu...
Hitching a ride on the back of a pig isn’t really a thing. So where did the term piggyback ride come from? Etymology...
Mood Booster
Is the Lyre Bird the world's best mimic?