Uplifting Headlines - The Bright Side of News

‘We can live again’: Belgian nursing home residents hit the nightclubs

"A Belgian initiative with the motto “happiness overcomes old age” has found a novel way to counter feelings of loneliness among nursing home residents: unleashing them on to the dancefloor of Brussels’ largest nightclub."

I thought this was a cute story about a non profit that's trying to help bring a little joy to seniors.
 

US Puts Solar Panels on Old Nuclear Weapons Sites for Powering 70,000 Homes​

1718088832197.jpeg
Sites managed by the Dept. of Energy’s nuclear weapons division are now playing host to solar farms that should be able to power thousands of homes.

As part of a government program called Cleanup to Clean Energy, the Idaho National Laboratory, though never having hosted nuclear weapons itself, will soon be the site of a 400-megawatt solar farm spread across 2,800 acres.

Other locations including the Hanford site in Washington state, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, the Nevada National Security Site in Nevada, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, are all considered strong candidates for the program.
Click to expand...
 

Eating Pomegranates Can Help Alzheimer’s Patients Alleviate Symptoms, Study Says​


1718088926996.jpeg

A substance naturally occurring in pomegranates can improve memory and the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study concluded.

Forgetfulness, difficulty finding words, and confusion about time and place are some of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that an ordinary fruit can help.

Their study on mice with Alzheimer’s shows that urolithin A, which is a naturally occurring substance in pomegranates, can “alleviate memory problems and other consequences of dementia,” said Vilhelm Bohr, Affiliate Professor at the University’s Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

This is good news for patients with dementia – a disease that is difficult to treat.
Click to expand...
 

Meet Bao Li and Qing Bao–the National Zoo’s Returning Pandas After a Panda-less Year in D.C.​


1718089233424.jpeg

In an elaborate announcement video, First Lady Jill Biden broke the news that she’s expecting—the return of giant pandas to the National Zoo.

Following a prolonged period of diplomatic tension with China, all but one zoo in the country was panda-less, but after signing a new 10-year lease agreement for the purpose of scientific research, improving relations, and delighting visitors, D.C. is set to have a new pair of pandas by the end of this year.

2-year-old Bao Li is the son of Bao Bao, the female panda born at the zoo in 2013 to parents who left last year after tensions between the US and China reached a fever pitch.

Bao Li will be joined by Qing Bao, a 2-year-old female who is believed to be a possible breeding partner.
Click to expand...
 

NPR Exclusive: U.S. overdose deaths plummet, saving thousands of lives​

For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S.

"This is exciting," said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute On Drug Abuse [NIDA], the federal laboratory charged with studying addiction. "This looks real. This looks very, very real."

National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6 percent. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages.

Some researchers believe the data will show an even larger decline in drug deaths when federal surveys are updated to reflect improvements being seen at the state level, especially in the eastern U.S.

"In the states that have the most rapid data collection systems, we’re seeing declines of twenty percent, thirty percent," said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, an expert on street drugs at the University of North Carolina.
Click to expand...

Scientists are not yet sure the exact cause of the decline, but the data from the individual States looks promising. Some factors for the decline are surmised to be better treatment and resources for overdoses, and the supply of drugs changing.

Reddit: U.S. overdose deaths plummet, saving thousands of lives
 
hawkdon said:
MAYBE A BETTER QUALITY OF ILLEGAL DRUGS!?!?
Click to expand...
Here's one theory by someone close to the problem. Some of it is enforcement of the cartels, but also part is that the drugs are getting cut with a substance that causes less withdrawal symptoms which causes people to take slightly less of the Fentanyl, the drug that is killing so many.

Fentanyl may be harder to find and less pure in some areas because of law enforcement efforts targeting Mexican drug cartels.

The chemical xylazine is also being mixed with fentanyl by drug gangs. While toxic in humans, causing lesions and other serious long-term health problems, xylazine may delay the onset of withdrawal symptoms in some users. Dasgupta said it's possible that means people are taking fewer potentially lethal doses of fentanyl per day.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top