How to Make Snake Venom Without Any Snakes
Lab-grown glands can now produce realistic cocktails of toxins, which could help address one of the world’s biggest and most neglected health crises.
23/01/2020 The Atlantic
2020
Best News of 2020
Despite the ongoing pandemic good things happen every month. Hence in the tradition of the year in review we like to remind you of three randomly selected news articles of each month.
January
February
The suicide prevention message from the rugby scrum
Boys told "open up" don't "man up" by top rugby players, in a suicide prevention scheme.
22/02/2020 BBC
March
UK's lost sea meadows to be resurrected in climate fight
“We think this whole bay was once carpeted with seagrass,” says Evie Furness, waving across the sparkling, sunlit waters of Dale Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The underwater meadow is long gone though, a victim of past pollution and shipping.
10/03/2020 The Guardian
April
The Power Plant of the Future Is Right in Your Home
If we want more renewable energy, our grids will have to manage themselves. A small experiment in Colorado is lighting the way.
07/04/2020 Wired
Oxford University bans investment in fossil fuels after student campaigns
Decision comes after high-profile protests that saw campaigners occupy St John's College
22/04/2020 The Independent
Norway and the A-ha moment that made electric cars the answer
In 1995, the lead singer of the 1980s band A-ha and the head of the Norwegian environmental group Bellona climbed improbably into a converted electric Fiat Panda they had imported from Switzerland and set off on a road trip.
19/04/2020 The Guardian
May
Farms of the future: the chicken farm run by a vegetarian
Chicken farming has an appalling reputation but can it ever be done ethically? This vegetarian farmer is hoping to prove it can be
21/05/2020 Positive News
June
'My land is now owned by lions': Maasai farmers offer Kenya's wildlife a lifeline
Parsaloi Kupai’s home, situated on the edge of Ol Kinyei conservancy near the Maasai Mara game reserve, is no different from any other Maasai homestead – oval-shaped huts with an almost flat roof and walls plastered with a mixture of water, mud…
24/06/2020 The Guardian
'Food will be a by-product': the Irish farmers creating nature-friendly fields
Michael Davoren shudders when he thinks of the 1990s. He’d been in charge of his 80-hectare farm in the Burren, Co Clare, since the 1970s, and the place was in his blood. The Davorens had worked these hills for 400 years.
06/06/2020 The Guardian
July
Sustainability goals and serendipity: the recipe for responsible leadership
What does it mean to be a responsible leader? From hackathons to fuckup nights, we explore some unlikely examples
07/07/2020 Positive News
August
This Cobalt-Free Battery Is Good for the Planet—and It Actually Works
Reducing the cobalt content in lithium-ion batteries is good for the environment, human rights, and maybe even the performance of the battery itself.
17/08/2020 Wired
September
Scientists find 'secret molecule' that allows soil microbes to exhale electricity
Scientists found the 'secret molecule' that allows Geobacter microbes to exhale electrons over vast distances underground
18/09/2020 LiveScience
October
‘Do Not Track’ Is Back, and This Time It Might Work
California’s privacy law says businesses must respect universal opt-outs. Now the technology finally exists to put that to the test.
07/10/2020 Wired
November
Hydrogen-powered trains could replace diesel engines in Germany
Siemens and Germany's rail operator Deutsche Bahn have announced plans to test a hydrogen-powered train with a range of more than 370 miles, technology that promises to reduce CO2 emissions and help make 1,300 diesel units obsolete.
23/11/2020 CNN
It's only fake-believe: how to deal with a conspiracy theorist
Unless you’ve been on a silent retreat for the past year, you will have almost certainly heard the rumours – that the pandemic is an elaborate hoax, or that the virus was created as a Chinese weapon, or that dangerous elites are trying to kill off…
29/11/2020 The Guardian
Breakthrough COVID vaccine tech could help defeat other diseases
Breakthrough technology that transforms the body into a virus-zapping vaccine factory is poised to revolutionise the fight against COVID-19 but future pandemics and even cancer could be next, scientists say. The initial success of so-called…
16/11/2020 Reuters
December
Global sustainable fishing initiative agreed by 14 countries
Governments responsible for 40% of the world’s coastlines have pledged to end overfishing, restore dwindling fish populations and stop the flow of plastic pollution into the seas in the next 10 years.
02/12/2020 The Guardian
Virginia woman does 53 acts of kindness for 53rd birthday
The pandemic didn’t allow Debra Ferrell to gather with her whole family for her birthday. So instead, she celebrated the day by giving back — with 53 gifts from her heart.
14/12/2020 The Independent
Experimental brain implants in monkeys offer hope for restoring vision in blind people
Scientists are a step closer to restoring the sight of blind people using brain implants, researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience said, after a series of successful experiments on monkeys.
03/12/2020 CNN