Uplifting News

While the majority of the world's reefs are now under threat or even damaged potentially beyond repair, a new study reported in the journal Current Biology on March 8 offers some encouraging news: efforts to restore coral reefs not only increase coral cover, but they can also bring back important ecosystem functions, and surprisingly fast.

"We found that restored coral reefs can grow at the same speed as healthy coral reefs just four years after coral transplantation," says Ines Lange of University of Exeter, UK. "This means that they provide lots of habitat for marine life and efficiently protect the adjacent island from wave energy and erosion."

"The speed of recovery that we saw was incredible," she says. "We did not expect a full recovery of reef framework production after only four years."

The work by Lange and her international colleagues represents the first reef carbonate budget trajectories at any coral restoration sites. The study was conducted at the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Program in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, one of the largest restoration projects in the world.

THe Great Green Wall being built in Africa to halt the southern progress of the Sahara Desert is a favorite public works project of mine — it’s massive, ambitious, long-term, important, and if it works, the effect will repay the cost many times over. This video takes a quick look at some of the work being done on the wall in Senegal.

TAMPA, Fla. - The city of Tampa will be adding hundreds of trees in two communities as part of the mayor’s mission to plant 30,000 new trees by 2030.

"We were known, previously, as having one of the best tree canopies in the world," Mayor Jane Castor said. "Every five years, USF does a tree study in the city. This last tree study showed that we had lost approximately 8% of our canopy. And so, we are doing all that we can to replace that and replace it with trees that make a difference."

The Green Alley Award is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It's a European award that recognizes and supports startups focused on the circular economy, aiming to reduce waste and resource consumption.

The article highlights the award's achievements over the past decade. It showcases examples of past winners who developed innovative solutions like reusable packaging and bioplastics. This year, the award offers a €25,000 prize and the chance for finalists to network with potential investors and collaborators.

The article emphasizes the growing importance of circular economy solutions as we face resource limitations and climate change. Research suggests that transitioning to a circular economy could significantly reduce our reliance on raw materials. The Green Alley Award plays a role in fostering innovation and progress in this crucial area.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12450009

Drug drastically reduces children’s reactions to traces of food allergens

A drug that has been used for decades to treat allergic asthma and hives significantly reduced the risk of life-threatening reactions in children with severe food allergies who were exposed to trace amounts of peanuts, cashews, milk and eggs, researchers reported Sunday.

The drug, Xolair, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for adults and children older than the age of 1 with food allergies. It is the first treatment that drastically cuts the risk of serious reactions — such as anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction that causes the body to go into shock — after accidental exposures to various food allergens.

The results of the researchers’ study on children and adolescents, presented at the annual conference of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Washington, were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

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New Zealand on Friday opened its first hospital exclusively treating kiwi birds, and vets have already nursed the first patient back to health—a chick nicknamed "Splash" that tumbled into a swimming pool.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12224558

A pacemaker for the brain helped a woman with crippling depression

Emily Hollenbeck lived with a deep, recurring depression she likened to a black hole, where gravity felt so strong and her limbs so heavy she could barely move. She knew the illness could kill her. Both of her parents had taken their lives.

She was willing to try something extreme: Having electrodes implanted in her brain as part of an experimental therapy.

Researchers say the treatment —- called deep brain stimulation, or DBS — could eventually help many of the nearly 3 million Americans like her with depression that resists other treatments. It's approved for conditions such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy, and many doctors and patients hope it will become more widely available for depression soon.