For Earth, bleak times lay ahead. TheCOVID-19 diseaseis known to cause respiratory illness and fever, but some extra symptoms sweeping across the globe right now seem to be stress, fear, and anxiety. To provide some light relief in these dark times, weve collated 15 of our favorite good news stories to remind you that not everything is awful. Hold tight everybody, 2021 will come eventually.
The Super Pink Moon is comingYou might be stuck at home as part of your self-isolation, but luckily the night sky is about to put on quite a show as April sees the return of the Super Pink Moon. Full moons happen every month and were given different names by the Native Americans to map out the year based on significant events that ran in tandem with the occurrence of a full Moon. Aprils is known as the pink moon because it appeared at the same time as pink spring flowers. This Aprils will be a Super Pink Moon as it is the second supermoon of the year, a term used to describe the slightly enlarged appearance of the Moon as its fully illuminated by the Sun due to Earths position between the two. Quarantine or no, if you've got access to a window you should be able to catch sight of this beauty on April 7 and when you do, think of all the other people looking up at the same moon. Self isolation doesn't mean you're alone.
Mice have been cured of diabetesAn astonishing discovery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has revealed that human stem cells could be successfully engineered to cure diabetes in mice, offering an avenue of hope for the treatment of this debilitating disease. They used human pluripotent stem cells, cells that have the capacity to become any cell in the body, to create insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. The engineered stem cells supplemented the diabetic mices inability to produce insulin, curing them of the disease for 9 months to a year before relapse occurred.
Theres a new green fuel in townHydrogen fuel was fast shaping up to be a hopeful route for a zero-emissions means of running things, but its costly production in terms of energy was affecting hopes for it being a sustainable resource. A team in Tokyo has now managed to refine the process to yield 25 times more hydrogen than previous methods all while using thrifty ingredients including light and a specific kind of rust. Combined with all the solar power breakthroughs currently occurring, green energy is on the up.
A crash course in what not to do, according to one Stanford University psychologist.
Babies love baby talkEven if it makes your skin crawl to hear adults cooing over little uns, it turns out babies across the globe are universally partial to baby talk. The news comes fromStanford psychologist Michael Frank who led the largeststudyto date looking at how the different ways adults speak is received by babies across the world. While all babies were fans, older babies liked it best and even showed a preference for baby talk in their native language as they likely recognized it most even if they couldnt speak it yet. The overall winner was oohs and coos, so think twice before scorning your new-parent friends for embarrassing you in public the babies have spoken.
Important change in the winds for HIV treatmentShortly after a UK man became the second person cured of HIV a fantastic breakthrough in the treatment of this once devastating disease theres more good news in the UK as PrEP, a preventative drug that prevents HIV infection, will finally be available nationwide on the NHS having already been made available in Scotland. After a 3-year study involving 20,000 participants, the drug will be made available to those at higher risk of exposure from April. PrEP is already available in the US and you can find PrEP providers near you here.
-
Plasters finally take a step towards racial inclusivityMajor UK superstore Tesco has taken the long-awaited step to introduce skin tone diversity into their range of bandaids. Previously, widely available bandaids, or plasters in the UK, have mainly catered to Caucasian individuals and the racial oversight was brought to light by a moving Tweet from Domonique Apollon in April 2019 after he wore a bandaid suitable for his skin tone for the first time. Longtime readers of Malorie Blackman's literary series Noughts and Crosseswill appreciate this poignant detail becoming a reality, as will those watching the current BBC dramatization available to watch via iPlayer in the US (excellent for those self-isolating).
Universal flu vaccine passes integral stageWatchers of the Pandemic documentary on Netflix (we wouldnt recommend catching up now if you missed it) may remember the plight of flu-fighting epidemiologists as the constantly shape-shifting nature of influenza meant strains were annually moving beyond existing vaccinations. Now, a universal vaccine is becoming a reality as for the first time a vaccine, called FLU-v, has been developed that can induce immune responses that last at least six months. Phase I and II of the clinical trial have been approved meaning its safety for use in human subjects and we hotly await what comes next for the groundbreaking vaccine.
Top marks for lights out in dark sky nationSometimes a bit of darkness can be a good thing, and when it comes to nighttime, the tiny South Pacific island of Niue tops the charts. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is a non-profit working to protect our most precious natural spaces from light pollution, and this year chose Niue as the first entire country ever to be accredited as a Dark Sky Place. This classification recognizes responsible lighting policies that preserve the natural darkness of nighttime carrying with it endless benefits for the biological cycles of animals, plants and humans.
-
People hating on National Parks created beautiful artIn a glimmering example of you cant please everybody, artist Amber Share decided to take some of the best worst reviews of National Parks in America and turn them intotourism posters, showing that we can still make something funny in the face of people's negativity. You can see the whole collection on her Instagram account @subparparks, but a personal favorite has to be the above magnificent minimization of Yellowstone.
CRISPR may hold the key for curing genetic blindnessSurgeons at Oregon Health & Science Institute have attempted to use gene hacking to cure Leber congenital amaurosis, a genetic condition that leads to the onset of blindness in early childhood. By directly gene editing within the patients eye, researchers hope to ...take people who are essentially blind and make them see," according to researchers.
The Arctic seed vault in Svalbard is thrivingLast month saw an enormous glut of 60,000 seed samples added to the ever-growing collecting in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Tucked beneath a mountain in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, the initiative began with hopes to create a Noahs ark for plant diversity to protect our green spaces should a global catastrophe occur up top. The collection now includes 1.05 million seed varieties including the first-ever donation from an indigenous US tribe. Nicknamed the "Doomsday vault", we may need it sooner than thought.
Sea sponges can sneeze, and the footage is amazingThe aah and choo of asneezing sea spongehas been caught on camera for the first time and the recording is hilarious. Stumbled upon almost by accident, the discovery came about while researchers were observing sea cucumbers and sea urchins sniffing the sea floor. The video shows the two-part sneeze of a tulip-shaped sponge as it expands before contracting, expelling particles as it goes. Researchers arent yet sure what the sneezes are in response to. Lets hope its not a case ofthe suds.
Vernal equinox brings early springThe times might be dark but for the Northern hemisphere, the days wont be, as spring arrives on March 19, the earliest date in 124 years. The variation in the date is the result of leap years and daylight savings time. It should be noted this is the astronomical definition of spring, which refers specifically to the position of Earth's orbit in relation to the Sun, so perhaps dont expect to hear a gay little spring song in your garden just yet.
Its possible some dinosaurs could GLOW IN THE DARKA titillating discovery published in the journal Historical Biology recently revealed that some dinosaurs may have glowed in the dark thanks to ultraviolet fluorescing feathers and horns. Many extant bird species are tetrachromats, defined by a fourth cone in their retina that means they can see the UV spectrum. Co-author Jamie Dunning's work on the photoluminescence of puffin beaks under UV light inspired the questions, could dinosaurs have this too? We'd like the answer to be yes, please. The only thing cooler than dinosaurs is glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs.
If you need more positivity in your life right now, take a look at these ingenious social distancing moments from around the world that will restore your faith in humanity.
Follow this link:
15 Good News Stories To Tackle The COVID-19 Sadness - IFLScience
- Oregon baby undergoes fetal surgery for spina bifida | kgw.com - November 24th, 2022
- Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis - Wikipedia - November 16th, 2022
- Examining cooperation in nature: Q&A with author Kristin Ohlson - Mongabay.com - September 25th, 2022
- Aileron Therapeutics Announces Late-Breaking Oral Presentation of Non-Clinical Data Demonstrating ALRN-6924 Protected Human Hair Follicles and Their... - May 15th, 2022
- Stem cell timeline: The history of a medical sensation ... - January 5th, 2022
- Gene Therapy for Hearing Loss on the Horizon : The Hearing Journal - LWW Journals - January 5th, 2022
- How to live longer: Green tea may halt brain decline and prolong life - Toys Matrix - December 10th, 2021
- Harvard study links exposure to wildfire smoke and COVID-19 with implications for BC - The Globe and Mail - August 31st, 2021
- YOUR HEALTH: Finding cures by tracking cells - WQAD.com - July 21st, 2021
- 2017 Amtrak tragedy becomes call-to-action for Blood Donor Day this Sat., Dec. 18 - ilovekent.net - December 18th, 2020
- Blood donors needed to keep blood supply stocked for local patients - The B-Town (Burien) Blog - The B-Town Blog - October 16th, 2020
- Stem Cell & Regenerative Therapies | Oregon Regenerative ... - July 4th, 2020
- STEM CELL THERAPY IN PORTLAND, OREGON - Cornell Pain Clinic - July 4th, 2020
- Oregon Medical Centers Regenerative Medicine ... - July 4th, 2020
- Hospitals to Resume Elective Surgeries, Triggering a Surge in Blood Needs - southsoundtalk.com - May 17th, 2020
- 2020 Emerging Scholars: Dr. Cathy Wong - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education - February 6th, 2020
- Five recent drug target discoveries for pancreatic cancer - Drug Target Review - December 13th, 2019
- Personalized Stem Cells, Inc. Announces First Patients Treated in FDA Approved Clinical Trial for Treatment of Osteoarthritis with Stem Cells - PR Web - November 18th, 2019
- Stem Cell Therapy Salem OR - oregonmedicalcenters.com - September 7th, 2019
- About | OHSU - September 7th, 2019
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae - Wikipedia - May 13th, 2019
- PRP and Stem Cell Joint Regeneration | Portland Oregon - April 5th, 2019
- Adult Stem Cell Orthopedics - Oregon Regenerative Medicine - April 5th, 2019
- What are stem cells? Oregon Light Therapy - April 5th, 2019
- Inhibitory postsynaptic potential - Wikipedia - April 3rd, 2019
- Stem rust - Wikipedia - March 11th, 2019
- How A "Full Body Stem Cell Makeover" Works - Ben ... - March 9th, 2019
- Stem Cells | Medford | Ashland | Southern Oregon - December 23rd, 2018
- Stem Cell Therapy Portland Oregon | Stem Cell Therapy - September 2nd, 2018
- Portland, Oregon Stem Cell Transplants, West Haven Sylvan ... - August 18th, 2018
- Oregon Stem Cell Center Result of OHSU Research Strides ... - July 26th, 2018
- Stem Cells to Relieve Low Back Pain? WebMD - October 14th, 2017
- Gene editing used to repair diseased genes in embryos - NHSUK - NHS Choices - August 25th, 2017
- Stem Cells, Fetal Tissue Research & Cloning - Oregon Right ... - August 25th, 2017
- New Biomedical Engineering Grants Aim at Heart Failure and Resistant High Blood Pressure - Newswise (press release) - August 25th, 2017
- Altering human heredity? Researchers repair disease-causing gene - TRT World - August 17th, 2017
- The Public Needs to Weigh In on the Ethics of Genetically Engineering Humans - Slate Magazine - August 17th, 2017
- First embryo gene-repair holds promise for inherited disease - HollandSentinel.com - August 14th, 2017
- Early gene-editing holds promise for preventing inherited diseases - The Jerusalem Post - August 6th, 2017
- Embryo Gene-Editing Experiment Reignites Ethical Debate - Scientific American - August 6th, 2017
- Meet the Oregon researcher whose embryo work is shaking the medical world - Portland Business Journal - August 6th, 2017
- Editing human embryos with CRISPR is moving ahead now's the ... - Phys.Org - August 6th, 2017
- Scientists genetically modify human embryos for first time, reports say - Medical Xpress - August 6th, 2017
- First safe repair of disease-causing gene in human embryos - Virginian-Pilot - August 6th, 2017
- The Center for Traditional Medicine in Lake Oswego, Oregon - November 23rd, 2016
- News: VetStem Cell Therapy - November 23rd, 2016
- Oregon Stem Cell Center to focus on adult stem cells as ... - November 20th, 2016
- Oregon Regenerative Medicine - Advanced Joint and Injury ... - August 7th, 2016
- OHSU research team successfully converts human skin cells ... - October 19th, 2015
- Stem cells definition of Stem cells in the Free Online ... - February 17th, 2015
- Oregon Scientists Frustrated At Change In British Human Embryo Policy - February 3rd, 2015
- Obesity, high-fat diets during pregnancy could harm fetus - December 30th, 2014
- Arachnoiditis Stem Cell Treatment | eHow - November 23rd, 2014
- Oregon | Pet Stem Cell Therapy - October 23rd, 2014
- How to Volunteer for Clinical Stem Cell Research | eHow - October 3rd, 2014
- oregon Stem Cell Clinic - August 22nd, 2014
- Oregon Stem Cell Treatment | Stem Cell Treatments - August 22nd, 2014