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Good News Roundup Thursday, 9/22/22: Searching for a Better Us [1]
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Date: 2022-09-22
One of the many things I’ve enjoyed over the several years since GoodNewsRoundup (Hi Goodie! *waves*) started these is watching how our writers, as a group, (and to a lesser extent our commenters), has grown and changed over time. How all of us bring different perspectives, foci, musical tastes, etc. I’ve been introduced to so many artists and efforts through the GNR that I would have otherwise never heard of, and been reminded of those I’ve long forgotten, or found versions I would have otherwise missed.
Like Play for Change — a group? movement? something I’d never heard before seeing the videos here in the roundup. And more specifically, their version of U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.
I hit play so I could listen while reading the GNR on Tuesday, and listening to the lyrics through the lens of current events practically broke me (in a good way).
The what I’m looking for isn’t God, as a cursory search on the interwebs states the original meaning of the song was intended, or those many, many people who’ve gone missing, as the Play For Change’s version was dedicated to the International Day of the Disappeared.
I’m looking for a better future. A better society. A better humanity, one we are all, I should hope, collectively (for the most part), working towards.
I’ve talked more than once about how we as humanity — individually all the way up to globally — are traveling this road together. We’re fighting for a better tomorrow. A more fair, more just, compassionate and empathetic society. A society that lifts up the least of us, and holds everyone to the same standards of justice regardless of wealth or position.
We still haven’t found what we’re looking for. We’ve won many battles. We’ve hit obstacles and fought over, under, around, through — reached out to those in need, sheltered those who are lost.
And so I bring you yet another version of that song, one a collaboration of two acapella artists I’ve only discovered since starting my own journey here writing a monthly Good News Roundup. Enjoy the music, and the Good News!
x YouTube Video
Since I’ve been thinking about Terry Pratchett and rereading (or in many cases, reading) Discworld soon-ish, have some good news about sea turtles:
‘We are astonished, ecstatic’
–
Southwest Florida's best turtle nesting season on record This is the best turtle nesting season on record for Bonita Beach, Vanderbilt Beach, Naples, Marco and Keewaydin Islands. “We are astonished, ecstatic,” exclaimed Eve Haverfield, president and founder of Turtle Time, a volunteer group that monitors sea turtles in South Lee County. “It is just incredible. We are just so, so thrilled.” … Collier County now has 1,945 nests, breaking the 2016 record of 1,927. Keewaydin Island had a whopping 609 nests. Marco Island broke its record with its 101 nests. Kraus thinks there might be even more on Marco that didn’t get recorded because this year Sand Dollar Island split, leaving one half hard to access. ... “The big news is Parkshore beach got a leatherback this year,” said Kraus who added that’s the first leatherback that has ever nested on mainland Collier County. In 2015, Keewaydin had one leatherback nest.
How about some news about human babies? Finland’s at it again, setting another bar for equality and child health:
x Good News Alert:
Finland has passed a new law giving the same amount of paid parental leave to both parents at the same time.
Both parents will now get 160 days of leave each.
The policy is meant to encourage equality in childcare.
🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/mTR7rHyPYG — Goodable (@Goodable) September 21, 2022
[Text:
Good News Alert:
Finland has passed a new law giving the same amount of paid parental leave to both parents at the same time.
Both parents will now get 160 days of leave each.
The policy is meant to encourage equality in childcare.]
This is near and dear to my heart, and there is something about this that makes me nostalgic for childhood backyard science. It might have been invented for field science far away from laboratories, but I would really really like to see every child have one of these, here in America or elsewhere. The number sold (and to whom) is encouraging, but I hope to see it grow. Gotta start somewhere!
He Invented a $2 Paper Microscope For Remote Lab Work So Scientists Don’t Have to Haul Heavy Equipment Stanford University bioengineer Manu Prakash saw in his team’s $50,000 microscope a serious contradiction. As well as being bulky and ridiculously challenging to transport to remote locations, it needed training from skilled technicians to know how to use it. It also had to stay well out of the weather and other environmental impacts. So he invented a portable one. Costing $1.75, the Foldscope has a 140x zoom, which is a small enough field to see a malaria parasite inside a cell. … “I want to bring science into everyone’s hands, make it more personal,” Prakash told CNN. “We have decoupled everyday life from the process of science.” The ultimate in schoolhouse science, Prakash’s invention has sold 1.6 million units, mostly to schools in America, but serious scientists are also using it—like Dr. Kirti Nitnaware in India who works on the isolation and characterization of bioactive metabolites in cyanobacteria. She used the Foldscope last year to isolate a new species of cyanobacteria. For this and other reasons, Prakash received the 2022 Golden Goose Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), parent company of the scientific journal, Science.
Some of y’all have seen this:
x Science Alert:
Scientists have made a major breakthrough in treating autoimmune diseases by using CAR-T therapy.
Five patients with lupus were given the treatment, which resulted in remission.
Doctors say it provides hope for tackling other autoimmune conditions. pic.twitter.com/nqDeKeKWqh — Goodable (@Goodable) September 18, 2022
[Text:
Science Alert:
Scientists have made a major breakthrough in treating autoimmune diseases by using CAR-T therapy.
Five patients with lupus were given the treatment, which resulted in remission.
Doctors say it provides hope for tackling other autoimmune conditions.]
skralyx has a wonderful in-depth explanation of the science and broader implications of this discovery with regards to future developments here.
I do want to point one thing out here though: These five patients were treated with this therapy as a last-ditch “compassionate-use” trial. In other words, everything else available had been tried, and these five young people, aged 18-24, were heading for multiple organ failure and possibly worse. Within three months — after a single shot — all of them were essentially cured, with no signs of lupus. The implications of this — what it does, what it might be used against in the future — are staggering.
It’s all about the bees! And friendship. Don’t forget the friendship!
Beekeeper Shocked When Neighbor Gives Up Farmland to Host Hives:
“I’ve never experienced anything like that.” The hyper-cultivation around Franz Nigl’s property in Leiten, Austria, was never really “his thing,” and wanting to hear the meadows “buzzing” again, he let his good neighbor Josef Krenn, a hobbyist beekeeper, take it over. “I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Krenn admits. “We benefit from each other. Franz grows the flowers and in return he gets good honey from me.” Local news outlet Tipps spoke to both men, and described the 2.4 acre (one hectare) meadow as an “oasis” of insects and flowers, with 40 different blooming plant species on which Krenn’s bees can feed. “As far as I can, I try to ensure that nature benefits,” Nigl said, explaining his intentions. “There should be a direct obligation to cultivate flowering areas, [but] unfortunately, people today walk through nature blind and no longer know the connections. I know that you can’t do much yourself on a large scale anyway, but you can on a small scale on your doorstep.”
Bonus musical track because I went down a youtube spiral and can’t resist:
x YouTube Video
I enjoy finding new people to add to my Y list. You know, the meme that goes:
In a world full of X, be a Y.
Have another Y:
x The Weeknd is one of the biggest stars in the world.
After he found out a 3-year old girl with cancer wanted to meet him, he invited her to his concert.
When they met, she did this. pic.twitter.com/BorbTnIorh — Goodable (@Goodable) September 21, 2022
[Text:
The Weeknd is one of the biggest stars in the world.
After he found out a 3-year old girl with cancer wanted to meet him, he invited her to his concert.
When they met, she did this.
[Video of meeting]]
(Click through — there’s a part 2.)
(I’m not crying, you’re...cutting up onions.)
Another use for drones:
Woman Hailed as Hero For Using Drone to Locate Over 200 Lost Pups For Free September 9th was a normal Friday for Erica Hart, as she abandoned her shopping trip to rush home and launch a drone search for a schnauzer before a rumbling thunderstorm made things worse. Jamie Hollinshead phoned her from Clayton, Yorkshire, to say his rescue dog Hilda had bolted from their garden and they’d already searched for two hours. The 33-year-old rushed to the last-known location and within 20 minutes spied the escaped pooch running down a residential road. … “Once that drone’s above the dog, it’s not going anyway because I can guide people in quick enough. It’s like a military operation. The humble drone operator believes she’s rescued more than 200 dogs in seven years and has started a Facebook group where users share lost dog posts and Erica shares the happy endings.
How about some news about SPAAAAACE? (With a little help from 3D printing.)
x YouTube Video
I...don’t think this one needs an introduction.
x Meanwhile in Canada:
Two refugees fled the war in Ukraine and came to Manitoba. Not only did the community welcome them with open arms, but when they learned the couple wanted to get married — they paid for everything, even the flowers and the cake.
🇨🇦♥️🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/NQRk4pLmKc — Goodable (@Goodable) September 18, 2022
And one last bit, courtesy of Mark’s continued stellar coverage of the situation in Ukraine:
x Legendary Ptashka, Azov regiment medic, you all saw singing on ruins of Azovstal, is free from Russian captivity. She is going home!!! pic.twitter.com/mHkOl95Hg0 — Nika Melkozerova (@NikaMelkozerova) September 21, 2022
[Text:
Nika Melkozerova
Legendary Ptashka, Azov regiment medic, you all saw singing on ruins of Azovstal, is free from Russian captivity. She is going home!!!
(with photo)]
That’s all for me this month, fellow G’nusies! Play us out!
[END]
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