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GNR Good News Roundup for 4-9-2025 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-09
Good Morning, Gnusies!
Welcome to this April 9 of the year 2025.
This past weekend saw the first of the outdoor farmers markets here in northeast Ohio. Despite the wild ride that has been the weather in the last week or so, the rain the night before had stopped and while it was chilly, it was still a pleasant day out. I had a blast talking to the merchants and other friends and acquaintances I’d been missing over the winter.
There was one stand that was missing, but I found out something amazing about them.
There’s a local organization called EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute that runs a string of culinary businesses — pub, bistro, French restaurant, butcher, bakery. The important part? Is that they are not operated strictly as a business. It’s a training program for people re-entering society from prison, and includes housing in the form of an apartment building purchased and refurbished for that purpose.
The news I found out this past weekend, in asking about their absence from the market?
Brandon Edwin Chrostowski, the CEO, just won the 2025 James Beard Foundation Impact Award . From the Impact Award webpage The Impact Awards recognize achievements by individuals and/or organizations who are actively working to push for standards that create a more equitable, sustainable, and economically viable restaurant industry and food system for producers, workers, and consumers alike. ~~~ This esteemed honor recognizes leaders and organizations making a significant difference in the food industry through initiatives focused on climate change mitigation, the Farm Bill, racial and gender equity, and innovative business and staffing practices that set new standards for the independent restaurant industry. As much as I would have liked my pan au chocolat and ham and cheese croissants, learning about the award meant more. I’ve spent years supporting EDWINS, through the farmers markets and word of mouth, and I’m so so glad to see the CEO getting recognition.
x YouTube Video
Chew gum, reduce viral transmission. Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.
Antiviral Chewing Gum Can Reduce Influenza and Herpes Simplex Transmission Henry Daniell at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine, has replicated work he undertook during the pandemic to create a chewing gum with the potential to neutralize viruses, reasoning that the viruses are spread more significantly from the oral rather than the nasal cavity. Made from Lablab purpureus, which naturally contain an antiviral trap protein called FRIL, the gum was shown in a study to neutralize two herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and two influenza A strains (H1N1 and H3N2). in Molecular Therapy, Daniell and collaborators in Finland, demonstrated that 40 milligrams of a two-gram bean gum tablet was adequate to reduce viral loads by more than 95%. In their study published in Molecular Therapy, Daniell and collaborators in Finland, demonstrated that 40 milligrams of a two-gram bean gum tablet was adequate to reduce viral loads by more than 95%. “These observations augur well for evaluating bean gum in human clinical studies to minimize virus infection/transmission,” Daniell said, according to Penn News. Daniell and his colleagues are now looking to use lablab bean powder to tackle bird flu, which is currently having a significant impact in North America.
More SCIENCE! at the link!
Old trees get new respect!
300-Year-Old Trees Along Detroit River Gain Recognition as an Old-Growth Forest The Old-Growth Forest Network, dedicated to protecting trees in the U.S., has officially recognized 32 acres of centuries-old forest near one of the largest metropolitan areas in America. The grove is found in Humburg Marsh, which is just south of the Welcome Center in the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, remarkably located only 20 miles from downtown Detroit. ~~~ The oaks in the Humburg Marsh near the Detroit River have avoided development and grown free for centuries. “We know through historical records that the Humbug Marsh property has been relatively untouched for about 300 years,” Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge park ranger Alex Gilford told WDET-TV News. ~~~ According to local news reports, a proposed development project in 1998 threatened to destroy a mile of marshlands near the forest. One thousand local residents gathered to protest against the development—and their efforts helped save the native ecosystem.
Who can say no to more Galapagos turtles? NOT ME!
Philadelphia Zoo’s 100-Year-old Galapagos Tortoises Hatch 4 Babies–to Help Ensure the Species’ Survival The Philadelphia Zoo is overjoyed to announce the hatching of four critically endangered Galapagos tortoises for the first time in the Zoo’s 150 year history. The parents, Western Santa Cruz tortoises, are the Zoo’s two oldest residents, each estimated to be around 100 years old. Additionally, the female named Mommy is considered one of the most genetically valuable of her species in the Survival Plan of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). She is also the oldest first-time mom of her species. The hatchlings are currently eating and growing normally “behind-the-scenes” inside the Reptile and Amphibian House. The first one hatched on February 27 and the animal care team is still monitoring more eggs that could hatch in the coming weeks. ~~~ “This successful outcome comes from years of hard work studying animal behavior and providing top-level care. Until now, Mommy’s genes were not represented in the AZA population, making these offspring extremely important in the protection of this species,” said Philadelphia Zoo Director of Herpetology Lauren Augustine.
Now even more reason to get vaccinated!
Those Who Got Shingles Vaccine Were 20% Less Likely to Get Dementia in Study of 280,000 Seniors Older people who received the vaccine for shingles had a 20% lower risk of dementia, according to researchers who called the results “remarkable”. The study looked into the health records of seniors in Wales and revealed that those who received the shingles vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia over the next seven years than those who didn’t receive the jab. Scientists say the findings support an emerging theory that viruses which affect the nervous system can increase the risk of dementia. ~~~ The study’s senior author, Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford Medicine, said that most studies suffered from the basic problem. “In general, they’re seen as not being solid enough evidence to make any recommendations on.” But two years ago, Dr. Geldsetzer recognized a fortuitous “natural experiment” in the rollout of the shingles vaccine in Wales that seemed to sidestep the bias. ~~~ In the past two years, his team has replicated the Wales findings in health records from other countries, including England, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, that had similar rollouts of the vaccine.
..I never knew wild cat colorations could be...this wild. (You’ll have to click through to see because Instagram. Sorry!)
Rare Colocolo Cat Captured on Trail Cam in Chile Sauntering up as if on a Catwalk A conservation nonprofit in Chile has delighted South American ecologists with the daytime camera trap footage of a Pampas cat, an extremely rare, non-endangered, and little-understood small wildcat species. Named after the characteristic South American environment they thrive in, the “Colocolo,” to use the local name, looks like a small lynx, or large house cat. Captured by the Colocolo Project, the footage is the second sighting of the cat made by the group this year. According to the project, the Pampas cat is the third-largest in Chile, behind the puma and the Andean mountain cat. The high-altitude resident is rather special among wildcats because it has six different pelages, or fur patterns, some of which are very different. This can often cause confusion during sightings with Andean mountain cats as to which one is which.
I love living in the future.
Scientists Discover Mechanisms That Prevent Autoimmune Diseases and Win $600,000 Crafoord Prize Researchers had long tried to discover the cause of autoimmune diseases. But, Christopher Goodnow and David Nemazee, independently of each other, adopted a new approach. They asked why we do not all develop these diseases. Their focus was on B cells which, together with white blood cells and T cells, are the building blocks of our complex immune system. “They have given us a new and detailed understanding of the mechanisms that normally prevent faulty B cells from attacking tissues in the body, explaining why most of us are not affected by autoimmune diseases,” says Olle Kämpe, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and chair of the Crafoord Prize committee that awarded the pair 6 million Swedish kronor ($600,000). ~~~ “This also paves the way for development of new forms of therapies that eventually can cure these diseases—or might prevent them in the future,” said one professor of clinical immunology at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
That’s it for me, folks!
And now, the weather.
(I swear my name is still not Cecil Baldwin.)
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