Gene therapy: 'Now I can see my own face again'
Jake Ternent was the first UK NHS patient to undergo revolutionary gene therapy to improve his sight.
29/04/2021 BBC
April
April 2021
Barcelona installs Spain’s first solar energy pavement
Barcelona city council has installed Spain’s first photovoltaic pavement as part of the city’s drive to become carbon neutral by 2050.
29/04/2021 The Guardian
‘A disruptive solution to pollution’: introducing edible packaging
An alternative to plastic that can be composted (and even eaten) has won an award for innovation
28/04/2021 Positive News
Bee population steady in Dutch cities thanks to pollinator strategy
Bee hotels, bee stops and a honey highway are some of the components of a national pollinator strategy that the Dutch are crediting with keeping their urban bee population steady in recent years, after a period of worrying decline.
27/04/2021 The Guardian
The city that gave its citizens free money – and what we can learn from it
A citizen's basic income experiment in Stockton, California has concluded – and the preliminary results are in
26/04/2021 Positive News
What unconscious bias training gets wrong… and how to fix it
Here’s a fact that cannot be disputed: if your name is James or Emily, you will find it easier to get a job than someone called Tariq or Adeola.
25/04/2021 The Guardian
It’s inspiring hope and change – but what is the IUCN’s green list?
When Kawésqar national park was formed in the Chilean part of Patagonia in 2019, just one ranger was responsible for an expanse the size of Belgium.
25/04/2021 The Guardian
‘Insanely cheap energy’: how solar power continues to shock the world
In the year 2000, the International Energy Agency (IEA) made a prediction that would come back to haunt it: by 2020, the world would have installed a grand total of 18 gigawatts of photovoltaic solar capacity.
24/04/2021 The Guardian
‘Blue Carbon’ Credits Could Help Restore Ecosystems
Seagrasses, mangrove forests, and wetlands store tons of carbon. But can a market based on regrowing them avoid the pitfalls that plague land-based programs?
24/04/2021 Wired
New Oxford vaccine 77% effective against malaria, trial results show
This is the first jab to surpass the 75 per cent efficacy goal set by World Health, with scientists and experts more hopeful than ever that the deadly disease can one day be brought under control
23/04/2021 The Independent
‘Teeming with biodiversity’: green groups buy Belize forest to protect it ‘in perpetuity’
“These logs are historic,” says Elma Kay, standing in Belize Maya Forest, where she has been doing an inventory of felled trees.
22/04/2021 The Guardian
The Gambia becomes second African state to end trachoma
The Gambia has become the second country in Africa to eliminate trachoma, one of the leading causes of blindness.
22/04/2021 The Guardian
New Jersey adds 'X' gender marker on driver's licenses and other state identification
New Jersey is now joining at least 19 states and Washington, DC, in allowing an "X" gender identifier on driver's licenses and other identification.
20/04/2021 CNN
The US electric power sector is halfway to zero carbon emissions
Fifteen years ago electric power generation was the largest source of US greenhouse gas emissions. Now the power sector is leading the shift to a clean energy economy.
20/04/2021 The Conversation
Green construction: Creating emissions-free building sites
Building sites produce emissions and air pollution. Cities, developers and construction machinery manufacturers are looking for ways to clean them up.
20/04/2021 Deutsche Welle
Redonda: The Caribbean island transformed into an eco haven
There are no resorts, no beaches, no amenities, and its contribution to the national GDP is practically zero. Yet the mile-long rocky isle of Redonda in the Caribbean Sea is deemed one of the most valuable spots in the region.
19/04/2021 BBC
Vodka, toothpaste, yoga mats … the new technology making items out of thin air
Tackling climate change may bring unexpected benefits, London’s Science Museum will reveal next month.
18/04/2021 The Guardian
In Canada, psychedelics re-emerge in treatment of depression
When it comes to using psychedelics for therapeutic reasons, there is mounting interest from researchers and investors, as well as a public push to reconsider ...
18/04/2021 The Japan Times
Scientists create ‘whitest paint ever’ to help reduce reliance on air conditioning
Scientists have developed what they claim is the whitest ever paint as a way to tackle global warming by reducing the need for air conditioning. Engineers at Purdue University say said it reflects up to 98.1 per cent of sunlight – up from 95.
15/04/2021 The Independent
Exclusive: New zinc-fortified wheat set for global expansion to combat malnutrition
Scientists at a leading global grains research institute expect to sharply ramp up new wheat varieties enriched with zinc that can boost the essential mineral for millions of poor people with deficient diets, the institute's head told Reuters.
15/04/2021 Reuters
Teens slept 45 minutes more a night when their school district tried a new scheduling strategy
Changing middle and high school schedules can lead to significantly improved shut-eye for students, a new study found.
15/04/2021 CNN
If you want to build back greener, take a leaf out of Indonesia’s book
The country’s efforts to reduce the loss of tropical forests will have an impact not just domestically but for the whole world
14/04/2021 The Independent
Lose the gluten, keep the taste: Israeli firm Ukko is reinventing wheat
Israeli startup Ukko is redesigning wheat so it doesn’t hurt celiac patients, and may even be able to solve ‘the holy grail’ of allergies - peanuts
14/04/2021 Haaretz
Eat, roam, repeat: Can the bison’s big appetite stop Spain’s forest fires?
As the temperatures begin to rise, Spain is braced for another summer of the forest fires that over the past 10 years have destroyed about 741,000 hectares (1.8m acres) of forest.
14/04/2021 The Guardian
How the world’s biggest wind farm may help South Korea’s net-zero dream
The end of generations of fishermen off the coast of South Korea could be contentious but many are coming to terms with it, knowing carbon neutrality is absolutely necessary, writes Heesu Lee and Will Mathis
09/04/2021 The Independent
How would a global minimum tax work and why is it needed?
Tax systems around the world have been increasingly left behind in recent years by the rise of globalisation and digital media companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook.
09/04/2021 The Guardian
Woman receives first trachea transplant
After years of struggling to breathe and fearing she might suffocate in her sleep, Sonia Sein says she feels well enough to dance around with her grandchildren after undergoing the first-ever human trachea transplant at Mount Sinai in New York.
07/04/2021 CNN
The 'elite controllers' who can naturally suppress HIV
The year was 1998 when Joel Blankson encountered a patient he would never forget. Blankson was working in the HIV clinic at John Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, when an HIV-positive woman in her mid-40s arrived for some routine tests.
04/04/2021 The Guardian
Does Wealth Rob the Brain of Compassion?
Paul Piff just landed on Park Place. I own it. “Shit,” he says. I also own three railroads, a couple of high-rent monopolies, and a smattering of random properties. Piff is low on cash. He’s toast. We’re playing Monopoly on a sunny pre-pandemic…
04/04/2021 The Atlantic
‘Raise my taxes – now!’: the millionaires who want to give it all away
Abigail Disney has always been very, very rich, or, as she describes it, “too rich”. The money came with her name: she is the granddaughter of Roy Disney who, with his brother Walt, founded the Walt Disney Company in 1923.
03/04/2021 The Guardian
The deforestation solution that not enough people are talking about
Giving indigenous communities legal title to their land can be more effective at protecting forests than declaring them national parks
01/04/2021 Positive News
Google's union of activists highlights the need for ethical engineering
The new Alphabet Workers Union is making clear that changes must be put in place, both in education and on the job, to allow engineers to start taking responsibility for the social impact of their work.
01/04/2021 The Conversation
