New treatment helps alopecia patients regrow their hair
A new Yale study shows that one in three patients with a severe skin disease were able to regrow hair after being treated with a common arthritis drug.
North & Central America
This archive covers progress stories from North and Central America, spanning the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the nations of Central America. Readers will find reporting on health, environment, community resilience, and policy advances across the region.
Stanford University researchers invent groundbreaking solar panels that work at night
The setup is inexpensive and, in principle, could be incorporated within existing solar cells. It is also simple, so construction in remote locations with limited resources is feasible.
New technique uses plastic waste to capture CO2 emissions
The scientists from Rice University developing the technique estimate that the cost to remove CO2 from flue gas streams would be about US$21 a ton, a significant improvement over existing alternatives.
Opium production down as one thousand families in Mexico’s Golden Triangle turn to agroforestry
The project has helped lift the Tamazula municipality, where the four communities are located, off the state’s poverty list, raise their income above the minimum wage and contain narcotrafficking.
Ketanji Brown Jackson to become first Black woman to serve on U.S. Supreme Court
Jackson made history as the U.S. Senate confirmed her by a vote of 53-47. President Biden nominated Jackson to take over the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
Amazon workers on Staten Island vote for company’s first unionized warehouse in U.S.
The outcome represents a landmark win for organized labor, which has for years tried to organize Amazon warehouse and delivery workers.
Washington State launches first-in-the-nation missing Indigenous people alert system
Washington State’s new alert system for missing Indigenous people is the first of its kind in the nation, modeled on the familiar Amber Alert and pushing notifications out through highway billboards, radio, and social media the moment a family reports a loved one missing. The law was championed by State Representative Debra Lekanoff, a member of the Aleut and Tlingit tribes, and inspired in part by the disappearance of Tulalip woman Mary Johnson-Davis in 2020. A companion bill tackles a quieter injustice: requiring coroners to correctly identify Indigenous victims and notify their families, so cultural and burial traditions can be honored. Oregon, Wisconsin, and Arizona are moving in similar directions, suggesting Washington has built a foundation other states can follow toward visibility, dignity, and accountability.
General Electric produces its first 100% recyclable wind turbine that can be reconstructed as it ages
Recyclable wind turbine blades just moved from concept to reality: a French-led consortium has built a 62-meter prototype in Ponferrada, Spain, designed to be fully broken down and reused at the end of its life. The secret is a thermoplastic resin called Elium, which can be chemically separated from its glass fibers so both materials return to the manufacturing stream as good as new. Engineers will now put the blade through structural lifetime testing in Denmark, with the recycling process itself validated soon after. If the approach proves commercially viable, it could close one of renewable energy’s most persistent loops — turning the blades that power our clean-energy future from a looming waste problem into a genuine circular success story.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. pledges to plant 6 million trees across the U.S., Brazil, India, and Indonesia
Through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen, West Elm, and others will plant one tree for every piece of indoor wood furniture sold.
Panama legally recognizes rights of nature
The new law could have major implications for Panama’s land and energy development policies, which are now required to respect and protect the natural world’s new rights.