0
Collection Good News KW24
guest post from Good News Magazin
Numerous positive events take place every day and everywhere. Once a week, the Good News Magazine collects the good news of the week. For more good news in these turbulent times, stop by here.
Health – These ants rescue their injured fellow ants – and heal their wounds
In 2017, the biologist Erik T. Frank observed something very special in the Ivory Coast: a strategic health system that was previously unknown in the insect world.
The Megaponera analis, also called Matabele ants, are fearless hunters. They attack termite colonies in large, orderly groups of several hundred ants. They capture, kill and eat the insects, but often sustain serious injuries themselves in battle.
The wounded ants call for help by releasing certain pheromones. For some of them there is no more hope, they were bitten too badly by the termites and are left behind.
Others, however, are carried back to the nest by their comrades, where they are thoroughly examined and treated. Termite claws or heads lodged in the bodies of the injured are removed. Open wounds sometimes licked by other ants for minutes to prevent infection. With clearly positive effects on the chances of survival: A study by Frank and two of his colleagues found that 90 percent of the ants survive if they receive treatment, compared to only 20 percent if not. More info.
Economy – Spain proposes law against food waste
Spanish companies that throw away food unnecessarily could soon face hefty fines. After strengthening women’s rights, the left-leaning Spanish government now also wants to tackle the issue of food waste.
A draft law provides for fines of between 2,000 and 60,000 euros for companies in the production and distribution chain that produce avoidable food waste. If Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has his way, the “Food Loss and Waste Prevention Law” should come into force at the beginning of 2023. The southern European country follows similar laws from France and Italy. More info
Nature & Sustainability- Is the superworm saving us from plastic pollution?
Australian researchers were able to prove that the so-called superworm can digest Styrofoam. This knowledge could spark a recycling revolution.
Perhaps we humans can soon look forward to new support from the animal kingdom. Researchers at Australia’s University of Queensland have found that the so-called Zophobas morio – also known as the superworm – apparently has a big appetite for polystyrene. A special enzyme in the intestines of the little animals should make this possible. The worms could thus provide new scientific knowledge to revolutionize recycling processes. More info.
Nature & Sustainability – It’s back: Species conservation is celebrating the return of the Iberian lynx
20 years ago, the Iberian lynx was the world’s most endangered cat species. Since then, the population has increased more than tenfold.
It is an enormous success for species protection: for a long time, the Iberian lynx was considered to be threatened with extinction. In 2002, only 94 specimens of the distinctive brush-eared cats, which are about half the size of their Eurasian relatives, were counted. Hunting, the loss of their natural habitat, and a drastic decline in their main prey, rabbits, had brought the species to the brink of extinction. But with the help of conservation and breeding programs, the population has recovered. Today there are again more than 1,111 lynxes in the Iberian Peninsula. More info.
Health – Berlin’s first district health center for equal health opportunities
The new health center in Berlin-Neukölln does not work for profit and considers the entire life situation of patients.
Probably very few people like to go to the doctor, but in Berlin-Neukölln the first multi-professional district health center could make this a reality for the people there.
The health center was opened in February 2022 on the site of the old Kindl brewery. General medical and pediatric medical practices as well as social and nursing advice and offers for psychological care are now located here. The services offered by the district health center are intended to help people who have poor access to health care or who are in a precarious psychosocial situation. More info.
Article image: shutterstock.com
Donate us a coffee for our charitable work:
Our authors use the Corona-Warn App of the RKI.
–
