Some tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news to perk up the day.
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to a pair of scientists who developed the technology that led to the mRNA Covid vaccines. Prof Katalin Kariko and Prof Drew Weissman will share the prize. The technology was experimental before the pandemic, but has now been given to millions of people around the world. The same mRNA technology is now being researched for other diseases, including cancer. The Nobel Prize Committee said: "The laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times." Staying on the theme of vaccines...
New Malaria Vaccine
A highly effective malaria vaccine has been approved for widespread use by the World Health Organization. The R21/Matrix-M vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford, is only the second malaria vaccine to be recommended by the WHO. It is the first to meet the WHO’s target of 75 percent efficacy. Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, claims half a million lives every year and mostly affects children under the age of five, and pregnant women. “As a malaria researcher, I used to dream of the day we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria. Now we have two,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.
Perfect 50
A round of applause for Nepal’s batsman Dipendra Singh Airee, who hit a record-breaking "perfect 50" during the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The cricketer reached his half-century, which included six successive sixes, in just nine balls in the match against Mongolia.
Worth Smiling About
Toregem Biopharma, a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, is set to start clinical trials next summer on the world's first drug to regrow teeth, Global News reported. Researchers are hopeful that within the next decade, "tooth-regrowth medicine is a third choice alongside dentures and implants," Takahashi told the Japanese news website Mainichi.
World's First
The world's first autonomous water taxi service has commenced operations in Finland. Callboats offers autonomous water taxi rides between Helsinki and a nearby archipelago. These solar-charged electric boats aim to drastically cut prices, emissions and address a captain shortage. "Up to 70 percent of the costs of archipelago transportation come from paying captains," says CEO Peter Ostberg. With autonomy, one captain could keep a watchful eye on five water taxis remotely, resulting in more profitable margins during short seasons and lower prices for consumers.
Pokémon Gogh
Here's a collaboration we never knew we needed. Pokémon is partnering with the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to teach youngsters about the work of one of the Netherlands’ most famous artists. A number of Pokémon-themed exhibits will run at the Van Gogh Museum as part of the museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations. And yes, they include various Pokémon characters rendered in van Gogh's post-impressionist style. Van Gogh was himself a great admirer of Japanese art. In a letter to his brother, he once wrote: "We wouldn’t be able to study Japanese art, it seems to me, without becoming much happier and more cheerful, and it makes us return to nature, despite our education and our work in a world of convention."
The Delete Act
Lawmakers in California just passed a bill to make it easier for consumers to delete their online personal data, reports the LA Times. The Delete Act allows consumers to have every data broker delete their personal information, like address and spending habits, in just a single request.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Albert Einstein
On this Day
3 October 1990: After four decades of Cold War division and with pressure from the German chancellor Helmut Kohl, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to a unified Germany within NATO, leading to Germany's reunification this day in 1990.
There’s been rampant nepotism and plenty of vote buying in the town of Idyllwild, California. New mayor...
Woman walking miles to work each day because she couldn't afford a car finds $14,000 beside the road and hands it in to the police. Honesty rewarded...
Mood Booster
The World's Longest Beak: The sword-billed hummingbird has exclusive access to food that other birds simply cannot reach, but having such a long bill does have its drawbacks.
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