Good News Links

Chromosomes

Gene therapy hailed as ‘medical magic wand’ for hereditary swelling disorder

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Hereditary angioedema, or HAE, is a rare disease that affects about one in 50,000 people. It is caused by a genetic mutation that leaves patients with leaky blood vessels, causing erratic bouts of swelling. Dr. Hilary Longhurst, the principal investigator at New Zealand’s Te Toka Tumai, Auckland City hospital, said the new single-dose therapy appeared to provide a permanent cure for her patients’ “very disabling symptoms”.

Streets of Palau Koror and coves of coral reefs

Palau is the first nation to ratify treaty to protect high seas

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Palau has become the first nation to ratify the high seas treaty, a legally binding international agreement that seeks to protect and manage ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction. Other countries, including Chile and the Maldives, are engaged in their ratification processes, pushing the treaty closer to becoming international law. The establishment of the high seas treaty has been under debate for nearly two decades, but U.N. member states finally reached a consensus to approve the treaty in March 2023.

California coast

First ever U.S. Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area declared in California

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The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Resighini Rancheria, and Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community designated the first ever Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area (IMSA) in the U.S. along the northern California coast.
The tribes plan to steward nearly 700 square miles of their ancestral ocean and coastal territories from the California-Oregon border to Little River near the town of Trinidad, California using traditional ecological knowledge and management practices.

Cosmetics

E.U. will force cosmetic companies to pay to reduce micropollutants

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Under draft rules that follow the “polluter pays principle”, companies that sell medicines and cosmetics will have to cover at least 80% of the extra costs needed to get rid of tiny pollutants that are dirtying urban wastewater. Governments will pay the rest, members of the bloc said, in an effort to prevent vital products from becoming too expensive or scarce.

Lionesses and cubs

Belgium bans import of hunting trophies from endangered species

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Before the ban, Belgium allowed the import of trophy species vulnerable to extinction such as hippopotamus, cheetahs and polar bears. The new law will stop the import of hunting trophies from many species currently at risk of extinction or that could be threatened unless trade is limited. The bill will protect all species listed in the European Regulation on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora.

Desert landscape at sunset

Mexico announces 20 new protected areas covering more than 5 million acres of land

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Mexico’s government recently announced the creation of 20 new protected areas across 12 states and two coastal areas in the country, covering roughly 5.7 million acres. Officials introduced four new national parks, four “flora and fauna protection areas,” seven sanctuaries, two biosphere reserves and three “natural resources protection areas” under the protection of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas.

EU flag at night

E.U. fossil fuel CO2 emissions hit 60-year low

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The European Union pumped out 8% less carbon dioxide from the fossil fuels it burned in 2023 than it did in 2022, pushing these emissions down to their lowest level in 60 years. The fall is the steepest yearly drop on record behind 2020, when governments shuttered factories and grounded flights to stop the spread of Covid-19, according to analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Back of a school bus

Miami commits to putting 100 electric school buses on the road

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Miami-Dade county is set to receive nearly $20 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to help cover the costs of 50 new electric school buses and 16 DC fast chargers, bringing the public school district’s total to 100 electric buses. Miami-Dade county is one of four school districts selected to receive a total of $33,175,000 through the EPA’s first Clean School Bus Program’s Grants Competition.

Person having blood drawn

Breakthrough Alzheimer’s blood test could detect disease 15 years before symptoms emerge

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A recent trial of 786 people – conducted by Dr. Nicholas Ashton at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and colleagues – found the new test to be as accurate at detecting the signs of Alzheimer’s as painful lumbar punctures, and better than a range of other tests currently being worked on. Experts say it could pave the way for national screening programs for people 50 and over, and that current treatments could work better with the cases picked up earlier.

Landfill. A lot of plastic garbage. Environmental problems.

Plastic bag bans in the U.S. have already prevented billions of bags from being used

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Over the past several years, U.S. cities and states have passed hundreds of policies restricting the sale and distribution of single-use plastic bags. A new report – copublished by Environment America, U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, and Frontier Group – says these laws have largely succeeded in their goal of reducing plastic bag use. New Jersey’s ban alone has eliminated more than 5.5 billion plastic bags annually.