Photo: Andres Ch Mendez/Unsplash (CC0)
In today’s edition: biosphere reserves are helping local communities across Central America make a living from nature whilst increasing forest cover, Kazakhstan sees its saiga population hit the 4.6 million mark, and Czech researchers create a custom-made 3D-printed implant for those needing joint replacements.
In Guatemala’s Maya biosphere reserve local people are making a living from trees at the same time as increasing forest cover. The 2.1m-hectare reserve in the northern province of Petén was established by the Guatemalan government in 1990 and recognised by Unesco. It now anchors the largest natural forest in Central America.
Source: The Guardian
The species saw a big decline in the late 20th and early 21st centuries because of poaching, habitat loss, and disease. In the early 2000s, the population in Kazakhstan had fallen to fewer than 25,000 animals. In a win for the once-critically endangered antelope, the population has increased by over 18,000% in the past two decades.
Source: Astana Times
In Prague, a team of researchers are developing a custom-made implant with a porous structure which can be infused with drugs and release them gradually over time. The porous nature of the structure encourages bone re-growth and serves as a reservoir for drugs tailored to individual patients.
Source: English Radio Czechia
Ireland has officially criminalised the practice of “sex for rent”, with new legislation making it an offence to offer or advertise accommodation in exchange for sexual activity. The legislation comes against the backdrop of Ireland’s ongoing housing crisis, which has heightened insecurity in the private rental market.
Source: GCN
Killai has transformed from a climate-vulnerable coastal settlement into a blueprint for how ecosystem restoration and community-led action can jointly address issues such as coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, cyclones, sea-level rise and saline intrusion.
Source: The Hindu
QuadBoat is designed to track and retrieve targets from bodies of water, with researchers claiming most existing unmanned surface vehicles used in search-and-rescue missions are built mainly to locate or approach people in distress. QuadBoat goes a step further by physically retrieving targets from the water.
Source: Interesting Engineering
Scientists in China have developed a way to create clothing and textiles from a fungus that can self-clean and regenerate. The fungus in question, cordyceps militaris – often referred to as caterpillar fungus – is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and can create threadlike structures.
Source: SCMP
In many authoritarian countries, it is not uncommon for the state to closely monitor online communications or even shut them down entirely in a political crisis. One solution for this could be what is known as a “LoRa mesh network.” The devices use license-free radio frequencies of the sort available for civilian use, the same used by weather stations and garage door openers.
Source: Deutsche Welle
The free-flowing conversation about mortality, otherwise known as a death salon or death cafe, was unique in that it was designed for people of color. Death salons for marginalised communities are becoming more common around the country, with practitioners addressing the unique end-of-life concerns of queer, trans, or Black and brown people,
Source: The Guardian
The SkoBot is a customisable toy robot designed to get Indigenous children excited to learn their languages. SkoBots use a type of artificial intelligence to speak Indigenous languages, and they’re small enough to mount on the user’s shoulder.
Source: NPR
