Photo: Curated Lifestyle/Unsplash+
In today’s edition: a big advance in gene therapy restores hearing in deaf people, the Bahamas has officially eliminated mother-to-child HIV transmission, and global suicide rates see a 40% drop since the 1990s.
In a small study, scientists injected a functional hearing gene directly into the inner ear. All ten participants experiencing deafness, from children to adults, showed measurable improvement, with some beginning to hear better within just a few weeks.
Source: Science Daily
The Bahamas has reached this public health milestone via an inclusive, nationwide care model. All pregnant women, regardless of nationality or legal status, receive free antenatal services across public and private facilities. A lab network supports routine HIV screening at the first visit and again in the third trimester.
Source: WHO
The age-standardised rate has dropped from roughly 15 deaths per 100,000 people in the early 1990s to around 9 per 100,000 by the early 2020s: a fall of nearly 40%. Despite population growth, the total number of annual suicide deaths has also declined, with the most significant drops taking place in East Asia and Europe.
Source: Our World In Data
According to provisional data, nearly 126,000 babies were born to mothers aged 15-19, making the birth rate for that age group 11.7 births per 1,000. By comparison, the teen birth rate in 1991 was 61.8 births per 1,000.
Source: NPR
The launch of SunZia Wind comes as California broke its record for wind generation eight times this month. The 3.5 gigawatt development will deliver power from New Mexico over a 550 mile long transmission line to California, and will be able to generate enough electricity to supply 3 million people.
Source: EE News
When a renewable energy entrepreneur donated 26 acres to the Champlain Housing Trust for affordable housing, he stipulated that the units be powered with renewable energy. Vermont’s first project of this kind, geothermal energy will heat and cool 36 homes, and 8 additional units plus a daycare centre will have air-source heat pumps.
Source: Canary Media
4th Amendment Workplaces is a framework developed by Siembra NC to help restaurants and other businesses train up on legally vetted protocols to defend employees against ICE. There are now over 1,000 4th Amendment Workplaces across North Carolina, with 4th Amendment Workplace resolutions passed in three cities and similar efforts underway across 12 states.
Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful
Amsterdam’s fossil fuel ad ban goes into effect in May and goes further than others preceding it. Since the UN Secretary-General called for all countries to ban fossil fuel advertising, more and more cities are doing so. BBC journalists explore how the restrictions work and what they can accomplish.
Source: BBC News
The Kruunuvuori Bridge is designed only for pedestrians, cyclists and, as of next year, trams. The 0.74-mile (1.19-km)-long bridge is the last of the three Crown Bridges to be built, connecting Helsinki’s eastern island suburbs with the city centre.
Source: New Atlas
Forty years after the Wild Horse Return Programme was launched, the Przewalski’s horse, the world’s only surviving wild horse species, is no longer on the brink of extinction. Thanks to extensive rewilding and breeding efforts, there are now several self-sustaining wild herds in Northwest China.
Source: China Daily
