This is a thread to share good news articles that maybe don’t warrant their own thread. I’ve found a bunch of good news articles here , but there are other sources as well.
Please share your good news and positive news articles here.
For starters.
Scientists are finding new ways to recharge old lithium batteries for a longer life.
Scientists at Stanford Revitalize Batteries By Bringing ‘Dead’ Lithium Back to Life
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University may have found a way to revitalize rechargeable lithium batteries, potentially boosting the range of electric vehicles and battery life in next-gen electronic devices.
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
As lithium batteries cycle, they accumulate little islands of inactive lithium that are cut off from the electrodes, decreasing the battery’s capacity to store charge. But the research team discovered that they could make this “dead” lithium creep like a worm toward one of the electrodes until it reconnects, partially reversing the unwanted process.
Adding this extra step slowed the degradation of their test battery and increased its lifetime by nearly 30%.
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Bruce
18 January 2022 08:29
2
The best news - face masks make you more attractive.
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People may be able to get a dog-allergy vaccine to rid them of their dog allergies.
Researchers Find the Key to Fixing Human Allergies to Dogs
There have been many research efforts describing the progression of dog allergies, but very few studies to try to cure people of them.
Now, researchers looking to artificially induce immune tolerance have for the first time identified candidates for those parts of the molecules that make up dog allergens—which could give us a ‘dog allergy vaccine’.
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Maree
18 January 2022 09:55
4
This missing 18 year old, found alive
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-60018679.amp
She went missing after leaving the night club.
Thousands of members of the public called to help, brilliant police work and now she’s safe and a man arrested for imprisoning and threatening her
Her family must have been fearing the worse and the relief must be incredible
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I have primroses in my garden flowering and the daffodils are 6inches high .
The days are slightly longer and not dark till 5pm
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I’ve known plenty of men I would find more attractive wearing a mask
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Bruce
18 January 2022 20:52
7
Indeed, and so much cheaper than alcohol.
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You’ve noticed it then, too?
Ah, Bruce, but not nearly as much fun. :w ink:
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Danny
18 January 2022 21:46
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A 71 year-old man was shoveling snow in his driveway in Sweden. He had a sudden heart attack. A doctor happened to be driving by and stopped to help him. After calling the emergency number, a drone dropped a defibrillator just over 3 minutes later, that the doctor then used to save the man’s life.
Drone to the rescue!
Drone Helps Save the Life of a 71-Year-old Man Who Has Cardiac Arrest While Shoveling Snow
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Danny
20 January 2022 14:42
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I’ve heard and seen these. I think it’s the most exciting use of a drone I’ve heard of.
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That article had a few good examples of ways drones have been used for good. Drones have been doing some good work around the world.
Invading Rats Were Finally Eradicated on 2 Galapagos Islands Thanks to Drone Partnership
Free of the rodents, endemic and native plants and animals on these Galapagos islands will be able to fulfill their ecological roles, guaranteeing the hatching of nests and survival of birds and reptiles, including Galapagos Land Iguanas, Blue-footed Boobies, Swallowed-tailed Gulls (the only nocturnal gull on the planet, and the vulnerable Lava Gull, one of the rarest gull species on Earth.
Uganda Joins African Nations Using Drones to Deliver Life Saving Medical Supplies to More Than 22 Million People
After Massive Wildfires, DroneSeed is Replanting Forests 6x Faster By Using Special Drones
DroneSeed will fly a squadron of seed-dispersing aerial robots to lay the foundations for a new forest atop ones that have been torched.
Carrying 57 pounds of tree seeds, the drones weigh over 100 pounds in total, and operate in teams of five using satellite-guided software to identify hundreds of “microsites”—areas where trees will be expected to grow the best.
Holders of the only Federal Aviation Administration license for operating “heavy lift drone swarms,” DroneSeed can seed the ground 6x faster than hand-planting seedlings can—covering around 40 acres per day at a cost of around $275 to $400 per acre.
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Danny
20 January 2022 15:07
14
I knew about 2 of those. Replanting is genius if you ask me, but delivering a defibrillator in a crowded city. I’m sorry still impresses the crap out of me. I wonder how much it costs the patient and does insurance cover it? You know it’s not done out of the kindness of their hearts.(Cynicism showing through).
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You may be right. I don’t know who pays for this, but they’re getting started in countries that have universal health care, so health insurance isn’t a factor. That particular drone was done in partnership with Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
From his bird’s eye view of the market, Drone Industry Insights’ Bödecker agreed that emergency delivery may be the world’s first killer app for small drone technology. “With emergency medical, you can push through the regulations more easily,” he said. “And when you’re saving lives, people will accept high costs and noisy drones.”
And so the future looks bright for Everdrone. “About 72% of the people in Europe live in what is defined as urban areas,” said Sällström. “So potentially we could reach 72% of all European people with this type of service. We see a huge market opportunity in front of us.”
Indeed, Finland, Denmark, France and the UK have all noticed what is happening in Sweden and are eager to follow suit. Stakeholders in those countries have already begun discussions with Everdrone to try to bring a similar system to their countries.
https://coreheli.com/drone-killer-app-saves-swedish-lives/
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This article…
I hope they can secure the site & it doesn’t get built over.
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Exercise Alters Brain Chemistry to Protect Aging Synapses, Study Finds
When elderly people stay active, their brains have more of a class of proteins that enhances the connections between neurons to maintain healthy cognition, a UC San Francisco study has found.
This protective impact was found even in people whose brains at autopsy were riddled with toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
New Method for Treating Alzheimer’s Disease Developed by Researchers
Researchers in Oslo have developed an artificial intelligence method to help them identify potential new medicines for Alzheimer’s. The new medicine seems to be more precise. No side effects were documented during tests with worms and mice.
The computer program browsed through a large catalog of substances and identified two candidates, Rhapontigenin and Kaempferol. They used mice and nematodes, a type of worms, to document whether use of these substances on their nerve cells inhibited memory loss.
“We are now using AI to propose small, structural modifications to these candidate compounds. We want to make them safer and more efficient for treating Alzheimer’s disease,” Fang says.
Maree
23 January 2022 10:24
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This 84 year who raises funds by gardening, chopping logs etc to buy and equip ambulances and then drives them over to places in Europe that need them is just awesome.
He helped the orphans too. I cried he when he tells about the little boy he bonded with who died and was just buried outside in wasteland in an unmarked grave
So sad his wife now has Alzheimer’s but he’s being her carer
There’s a thread isn’t there, about what is your passion. His passion for helping and caring is very strong.
My total respect to him
84 year old delivers ambulances
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A push back against planned obsolescence and an attempt to recycle used things to help conserve resources. The UK and US have had “right to repair” laws for a while. The governments are making more attempts to give consumers the ability, parts and knowledge to repair their own products.
Apple and Microsoft have jumped on board.
Parts for electronics must be made available for 10 years.
Big Repair Project is looking into people’s mindset and willingness to repair their items.
From fancy toys to smartphones, when technology breaks, it often seems simplest to ditch it for a new model.
But now experts are hoping to challenge the status quo, launching a citizen science project to explore attitudes to repair, and pinpoint parts of the UK where the mending mindset is thriving.
The Big Repair Project comes in the wake of campaigns to reduce the vast quantities of electrical and electronic waste produced each year, as well as the environmental impact of new products, by ensuring that consumers can fix broken or damaged products – a rarity in the consumer world.
“We’ve got this hypothesis that actually repair isn’t just an economic good, an environmental good, but also social good,” said Miodownik.
At the same time, Biden put in his support for “right to repair” in his executive order.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1485728202903404551
80-Year-old Man Walks Through Blizzard to Rescue 3 Cars of People
A retiree rescuer hiked half a kilometer through a winter whiteout to reach a woman that had used social media to alert the local neighborhood that she was stuck and afraid for her safety.
At 80-years old, Andre Bouvier Sr. is being hailed as a hero for rescuing not only the woman, but three other cars likewise stuck in an impassable blizzard which locals describe as a “Saskatchewan Screamer.”
