Photo: Timothy K/Unsplash (CC0)
In today’s edition: new data show that the world is gaining more mangrove forest than it’s losing, Cambridge scientists uncover the hidden mechanism that blocks nerve repair, and a charity is making eye health and good vision accessible to all across India.
Coastal mangrove systems protect millions of people from storms and extreme weather events, while also soaking up large volumes of planet-warming gases. For many years, these trees have been disappearing in large numbers as they were cleared to make space for housing and fish farms. However, new data show that since 2010 the world has been gaining more mangroves than it’s been losing.
Source: BBC News
Using lab-grown human brain and spinal cord tissues, scientists in Cambridge have been able to uncover a hidden mechanism that blocks nerve repair. Reversing this “biological brake” has allowed damage nerve fibres to regrow.
Source: SciTech Daily
Spread by freshwater snails, schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that once infected over 40% of the population in parts of Lao PDR. However, thanks to decades of treatment and surveillance, infection rates have fallen below 1% in high-risk areas, with transmission concentrated to one province.
Source: WHO
Voters in California’s Monterey Park overwhelmingly approved a permanent ban on the construction of any data centres within city limits, making it the first US city to take such a measure. The resolution passed with 86% in favour, with supporters arguing a ban is necessary to “protect air quality, drinking water resources, and public health”.
Source: Common Dreams
Small-scale solar setups have become a small but mighty addition to the US electricity grid, at an estimated 58 gigawatts. The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan has a new solution aimed at helping city residents, businesses, and institutions install rooftop solar systems with energy storage: a flat fee of $600 per year and zero upfront costs.
Source: Clean Technica
Three years of rewilding on a former dairy farm in east Somerset have led to the number of recorded bird species soaring from 67 to 94, butterfly species rising from 11 to 24 and small mammals growing in number. Heal Somerset near Frome is now home to at least 15 bat species and 60 species of breeding bird, including the endangered bullfinch and numerous tree pipits, another bird under threat.
Source: The Guardian
Kaysha Kenney has collected more the 24,000 pounds – roughly 10090 kilos – of discarded oysters and used them to rebuild local reefs that protect shorelines and filter water. Her Shells for Shorelines programme gathers the used shells from restaurants and seafood markets across Orange County and Long Beach.
Source: Ecoticias
A sustained tree-planting programme that Costas Verdes – a Costa Rican nonprofit – started in 2011 has planted more than 100,000 native trees across 34 beaches, reviving wildlife habitats and combating decades of deforestation from cattle farming. The project has transformed deforested Pacific coastlines into thriving ecosystems through community-driven environmental efforts.
Source: The Guardian
GoodVision is offering eye tests to anyone who requests one completely free of charge, as well as kits where people can construct their own glasses afterwards. The organisation is now present in 12 different countries, and hopes to close the gap between the 550 million people needing glasses across India and the 250 million who can’t access them.
Source: Deutsche Welle
Across the West, many worry that the sense of community spirit is vanishing. However, Norway is one of the countries ranked highest in sense of community, and events like “dugnads” might be helping bolster that mindset.
Source: CS Monitor
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