In today’s edition, we’re talking about Switzerland’s drug regulator approving the first-ever malaria treatment specifically designed for newborn infants, the huge drop in Sri Lanka’s suicide rate, which was once one of the highest in the world, and the all-female team creating a “Noah’s Ark” for endangered plants in India.
First-ever malaria treatment for newborn infants is approved
Switzerland’s drug regulator has approved the world’s first malaria treatment for newborn babies, which could potentially clear the way for the medicine to become available in parts of Africa where the life-threatening disease is endemic.
Sri Lanka’s suicide rates have fallen by almost two-thirds since the 1990s
As recently as 1996, Sri Lanka had one of highest suicide rates in the world, at three times the global average and four times the rate in countries such as the UK or the US. The biggest driver of this improvement? The banning of certain toxic pesticides.
UK bosses to be banned from using NDAs to cover up misconduct at work
Bosses in the UK will be banned from using non-disclosure agreements to silence employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination in the workplace as part of the government’s overhaul of workers’ rights.
Nearly 1,000 Britons will keep shorter working week after trial
All 17 British businesses in a six-month trial of the four-day week said they would continue with an arrangement consisting of either four days a week or nine days a fortnight. All the employees remained on their full salary.
“Own less, have more”: French app rents out underused household items
Launched in April, the Poppins app attracted 40,000 users in France in its first few weeks. It displays objects available in an area, some of which can be borrowed, others rented. The wider aim is to make sharing more popular than shopping: Poppins includes rental shops and borrowing outlets like libraries in its listings.
One-size-fits-all expiry dates on food packaging tend to operate on a hit-and-miss policy: often, they present a food product as out of date even when it’s still perfectly safe to eat. Now, smart sensors are able to measure when food has actually gone bad.
Liverpool mobile greengrocer to reach “food deserts” with aid of mapping tool
A mobile greengrocer will deliver fresh fruit and vegetables in areas of Liverpool where it is “easier to buy a vape than an apple” as part of a new government scheme to tackle food inequality. Families in social housing will receive visits from the Queen of Greens, a mobile greengrocer in the city, which will be directed to the areas of highest need.
A soil-judging contest is helping college students learn to steward the land
University students across the US are taking part in a nationwide competition with a unique concept: the protection of dirt, an increasingly threatened resource.
The map helping conservationists to protect migratory species
Across the globe, marine animals cross countless borders and oceans, meaning protecting them is a particularly tricky endeavour. A new migration map hopes to change this by closing the gaps in geography.
The “rainforest gardeners” creating a Noah’s ark for endangered plants
In Kerala, one of the world’s “hottest hotspots” of biodiversity, an all-female team have turned a patch of forest into a haven for orchids, ferns, succulents and carnivorous plants.
