We’re kicking off the week at Squirrel News talking about three Baltic states choosing to disconnect from Russia’s power grid, a new AI method which can diagnose early stage 1A breast cancers with an accuracy rate of over 90%, and the world’s first fine dining restaurant staffed entirely by homeless people.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are now officially disconnected from Russia’s electricity network, joining the European Union’s grid instead. The move has been in the works since roughly 2007, and has long been seen as essential for European security.
New AI tech improves breast cancer detection at very early stages
The results of a new study found the method could detect stage 1A breast cancers with an accuracy rate of 90-100%. While larger trials are needed to validate preliminary results, the machine learning-based approach could be a useful tool for oncologists across the globe.
New Orleans launches map to find restricted pregnancy drug
In the wake of Louisiana’s abortion ban, doctors say the drug misoprostol has been harder to access for legal use. In response to this, the New Orleans Health Department has launched a new map showing which pharmacies in the city stock the medication, which is used for miscarriages and other routine healthcare.
The largest solar cell factory in the US is now online
Points for local economic development aside, ES Foundry’s new factory is set to reach a shipment capacity of 3GW towards the end of 2025, making it a big player in the US’s domestic solar supply chain.
Denver offers vouchers to help residents purchase an e-bike
While they’re a more sustainable alternative to petrol-guzzling vehicles and faster than going on foot, e-bikes are too expensive for many people to buy. That’s why the city of Denver in Colorado is offering $400 vouchers to help with this purchase, or up to $900 toward a cargo model that can haul heavier loads, such as children.
California jail’s recidivism rates drops to 1.71% thanks to new programme
In the US, the likelihood that a released convict will return to prison within five years is 45.8%. For Vacaville’s 750 GRIP graduates, the figure hovers around 1.71%.
A plot of land in eastern Kentucky is now officially in the hands of a team of environmental activists, whose campaign to stop a prison from being built on the site of a former coal mine has worked. The Appalachian Rekindling Project now wants to rewild the site with bison and native flora and fauna, and open it to intertribal gatherings.
Germany’s carbon-sequestering peatlands are making a comeback
A series of new programmes are restoring farmlands across Germany to peatlands, all while encouraging the growth of markets for the native reeds, grasses and sedges they support.
New app tells passersby the backstories of the homeless people they walk past
With the Samaritan app, pedestrians who walk past a homeless person will see a dialogue box pop up above their head, giving details on their backstory, as well as their biggest needs.
Michelin chef opens world’s first fine dining restaurant staffed by homeless people
Home Kitchen is one of many high-end restaurants in London’s Primrose Hill, but it comes with a big difference: everyone who works there, from waitstaff to kitchen aids to the chefs themselves, has experienced homelessness in some form.
