Today in Squirrel News, England’s groundbreaking ‘national active travel network’ plans to help public health and the environment by creating safe routes for walking and cycling; heart surgeons in Texas perform the first robot-assisted surgery with a likelihood of quicker patient recovery; and a UK zoo is isolating living cells from zoo dung to bank for future conservation efforts.
National initiative in England launched to support healthier, greener travel
Twelve of England’s regional mayors have signed up to an unprecedented plan to create a ‘national active travel network,’ focusing initially on helping children to walk, cycle, or scoot to school safely. They have pledged to create a combined 3,500 miles of routes safely linking schools to homes, town and city centres, and transport hubs.
Countries must protect human right to a stable climate, court rules
The Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights says countries have a legal obligation to protect people alive today and future generations from the impacts of climate breakdown, including ‘urgent and effective’ actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions based on the best available science.
First time robot-assisted heart transplant minimises surgical trauma
Performed in Houston, Texas, the new surgical method avoids a large chest incision, lowers infection risk, and speeds recovery compared to the current treatment standard. It is being hailed as a big leap forward in the treatment of advanced heart failure, one particularly meaningful to immunosuppressed patients.
Crossbred coral fragments transplanted in Florida to strengthen and save reefs
Scientists from the University of Miami have managed to crossbreed local coral species with a variety from Honduras that has thrived under climate change conditions. Now they have transplanted fragments of the new cross in Miami with the hope that the reefs will become more climate resistant.
Lisbon introduces citywide reusable cup scheme, first EU capital city to do so
With an average daily use in the city of 25,000 cups, Lisbon hopes to greatly reduce plastic waste with the new system. Cup users will pay a 60-cent deposit and be able to return cups for a refund at one of 17 machines spread throughout the city. All participating establishments will get standardised “Lisbon cups” by October.
Tiny, lightweight device for early wildfire detection would give a critical head start
Made from nontoxic wax and charcoal, the pinecone-sized device blends into surrounding nature and would give firefighters an earlier alert when every second counts.
British zoo banks living cells from animal dung for future genetic diversity
The Chester Zoo’s ‘Poo Zoo’ project has been figuring out how best to isolate and preserve living cells from zoo animal poop that will then be banked for the future to save endangered species and increase the diversity of gene pools in shrinking populations. Not all the technology for the later steps exists, but the idea is to preserve the cells until it does.
Ohio archive preserves LGBTQ+ history, as much is erased
The last decades have brought long-overdue recognition of LGBTQ+ contributions to history, but with much of the official record being actively erased from US government sources, the Ohio archive is stepping in to do what queer organisations have long done for themselves.
River Seine in Paris reopens for swimming, first time in over 100 years
After years of cleanup efforts, the Seine opened for public bathing Saturday. Three pools with changing rooms, showers, lifeguards, and sunbathing space will be free of charge until the end of August.
Friendship and in-person social contact important for brain and mental health
On the Pulse podcast, a neuroscientist explains how social interaction, particularly in person, makes us happy and is critical for the health of the brain; a reporter helps a newcomer to the area make friends using research on best methods; and ‘Me-mory’ app, invented by a man with a traumatic brain injury, supports friendships for people with memory issues.
