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New drug offers breakthrough in treatment of asbestos-linked cancer

By Peter Schulte / February 15, 2024 / Good news links

Scientists at Queen Mary University of London have developed a drug to treat mesothelioma, a notoriously deadly and hard-to-treat cancer linked to asbestos, in the biggest breakthrough in two decades.
An international trial spanning five countries found that the new drug, ADI-PEG20, cuts off the tumor’s food supply and quadruples three-year survival rates. It is the first of its kind to be successfully combined with chemotherapy in 20 years.

England brings in biodiversity rules to force builders to compensate for loss of nature

By Peter Schulte / February 11, 2024 / Good news links

England is launching a biodiversity credit scheme that attempts to force all new road and housebuilding projects to benefit nature, rather than damage it. The “nature market”, called biodiversity net gain (BNG), means all new building projects must achieve a 10% net gain in biodiversity or habitat. The requirement becomes law under the Town and Country Planning Act on February 12 for larger sites, and on April 2 2024 for smaller sites.

Decarbonization containers turn 78% of marine emissions into limestone in new pilot

By Peter Schulte / February 8, 2024 / Good news links

A remarkable pilot project installed on a 787-ft. container ship has proven it’s possible to capture emissions from the smokestacks of cargo ships with 78% efficiency and convert the CO2 into limestone pebbles, which can be offloaded and sold. London startup Seabound, funded by a US$1.5-million grant from the UK Government, partnered up with global shipping company Lomar to install the carbon capture equipment on one of its older and dirtier-burning ships, a medium-sized vessel capable of carrying more than 3,200 shipping containers.

No cervical cancer cases in HPV-vaccinated women in Scotland

By Peter Schulte / January 22, 2024 / Good news links

A new study from Public Health Scotland has found that no cases of cervical cancer have been detected in young women who have been fully-vaccinated as part of the HPV immunization program, concluding that the vaccine was “highly effective” in preventing the development of the cancer. Scotland’s HPV vaccination program started in 2008 with girls offered the vaccine in their first year at secondary school.

U.K. announces groundbreaking ‘Flee Funds’ scheme for domestic abuse survivors

By Peter Schulte / January 17, 2024 / Good news links

Building on the success of a pilot plan last year, which provided 600 victims with critical funding, the new initiative aims to expand what are now known as “flee funds.” Survivors will each receive a monetary reward of around $3,200, meeting a critical need for people who face financial difficulties in leaving abusive environments.

U.K. use of gas and coal for electricity at lowest since 1957

By Peter Schulte / January 2, 2024 / Good news links

The UK’s gas power plants last year generated 31% of the UK’s electricity, or 98 terawatt hours, according to a report by the industry journal Carbon Brief, while the UK’s last remaining coal plant produced enough electricity to meet just 1% of the UK’s power demand or 4TWh. Fossil fuels have been increasingly squeezed out of the electricity system by a surge in renewable energy generation combined with higher electricity imports from France and Norway and a long-term trend of falling demand.

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In Scotland, renewable power has outstripped demand

By Peter Schulte / January 1, 2024 / Good news links

For the first time, in 2022, Scottish renewables generated more power than the country used, new government figures show. The growth of wind power, coupled with a small drop in electricity consumption, meant that the volume of electricity produced by renewables in Scotland was equal to 113 percent of demand.

World’s first commercial-scale ocean thermal energy generator to be built off the coast of São Tomé and Príncipe

By Peter Schulte / November 14, 2023 / Good news links

The Dominique barge is designed to provide a net output of 1.5 megawatts year-round, enough to supply nearly 17% of the nation’s entire 78 million-odd kilowatt hour energy consumption. London company Global OTEC plans to begin commissioning the project in 2023.

Quick, simple blood test helps diagnose bipolar disorder

By Peter Schulte / October 26, 2023 / Good news links

The researchers from the University of Cambridge found that, on its own, the blood test could diagnose up to 30% of patients with BD, but combining it with the online psychiatric assessment significantly improved the diagnosis rate, especially in people whose diagnosis was not obvious.

Scientists in the U.K. say they may have made biggest cervical cancer treatment breakthrough in 20 years

By Peter Schulte / October 23, 2023 / Good news links

In the study by the UCL Cancer Institute, 250 women with cervical cancer received the new treatment – an intensive six-week course of carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy. Five years later, 80% of those who had received the new treatment were alive, an 8% improvement over the control group.