It’s well known that the media never talk about trains arriving on time. So much so that following the news can be totally depressing. Without denying the great threats and difficulties facing our times, there is also very good news that sometimes reaches us and which is not relayed enough. To ignore them is to condemn ourselves to despair. Here are three recent pieces of information that make us smile again.
A technological solution against epileptic seizures
A 13-year-old British man with severe epilepsy was the first patient in the world to receive a brain implant capable of controlling seizures. This Picostim neurostimulator was installed in his brain to treat Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy resistant to treatment.
The latter allowed him to reduce seizures by 80% and relieve his daily life, which was until then very restrictive. Quoted by EngadgetMartin Tisdall, pediatric neurosurgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), underlines:
For Oran and his family, it completely changed their lives. Watching him ride a horse and regain his independence is absolutely astonishing.
Algae to cool the climate?
A study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Oceanic University of China (OUC) has found that a common type of ocean algae may play a role in the production of a compound (DMSP ) which contributes to cooling the Earth’s climate.
Quoted by Phys.orgProfessor Jonathan Todd, co-lead author of the study and member of the UEA School of Biological Sciences, underlines: “Pelagophyceae are among the most abundant algae on Earth, but they were not previously known as important producers of DMSP. This discovery is exciting because DMSP is an abundant anti-stress compound, a food source for other microorganisms, and a major source of climate-cooling gases. »
This cemetery is a gigantic solar farm
In Valencia, Spain, a new project plans to install thousands of solar panels in the city’s cemeteries. The initiative is so ambitious that it could become the largest solar farm in the country. Enough to provide 440,000 kilowatts of electricity per year, saving 140 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The icing on the cake is that the energy will be used by municipal buildings and will also help the 1,000 most vulnerable households in the municipality.
That’s it for this week. If you liked this article, you can always reread the previous part of this section to find other good news that has gone relatively unnoticed.
