Ubuntu | Thoughts | Ubuntu Studio’s positive news round-up | Friday 11th November 2022

Ubuntu Studio’s positive news round-up – Friday 11th November 2022

Friday 11th November //
Positive news round-up

Ubuntu Thoughts  /   5 Min read
November 11, 2022
Ubuntu | Thoughts | Ubuntu Studio’s positive news round-up | Friday 11th November 2022
Ubuntu | Callum Berry, Author
Author
Callum Berry
Content & Media Manager

About PNR

From reports of rising temperatures to increased natural disasters, climate news can sometimes come off as all doom and gloom. So we’ve committed to sharing a weekly update called the ‘Positive News Roundup’ (PNR) that showcases just some of the stories of hope for our planet.

If you’d like to contribute or have ideas for upcoming articles, get in touch with PNR editor Callum at callum@ubuntustudio.co.uk.
Happy Friday readers, we hope you’ve all managed to stay dry amid the absolute downpours we’ve been experiencing this week. In honour of the clocks going back and days getting darker, we’ve decided to make today's positive news report as fun and joyous as possible. Enjoy!
Ubuntu | Thoughts | Ubuntu Studio’s positive news round-up | Friday 11th November 2022

Happy feet

All of this rain we’ve had the past week has left us feeling a bit miserable — so this one’s purely for a bit of joy.

A penguin with a foot condition has had a pair of orthopaedic shoes custom-made to help correct his degenerative foot condition.

Lucas, a 4 year-old African penguin who resides in the San Diego Zoo, was diagnosed with a condition called bumblefoot, which is a bacterial infection common in birds and rodents. The condition causes inflammation in the footpad, and can be fatal if left untreated.

Luckily for Lucas, his new kicks will prevent sores forming on his feet. The shoes were made by non-profit Thera-Paw who design custom products for animals with special needs.
Ubuntu | Thoughts | Ubuntu Studio’s positive news round-up | Friday 11th November 2022

Ant-i pest solution

The poor miniscule ant is often seen as a nuisance to picnic-ers and kitchen cleaners. However, it turns out that alongside their sheer strength and meticulous ‘hive mind’ behaviour, they may be of use to farmers and crop-growers.

A team of scientists from institutions in Brazil and Spain have found that ants can be even more effective at protecting crops from pests than conventional harmful pesticides. The researchers, led by Diego V. Anjos, looked at over 50 studies over 17 different crops grown in the UK, US, Australia and Brazil.

The findings showed that ants were as good, if not better in some cases, at protecting crops from pests. Surprisingly, this is old news for the Chinese, who have been using the insects to control pests in citrus trees for centuries.
Ubuntu | Thoughts | Ubuntu Studio’s positive news round-up | Friday 11th November 2022

Coral and stool

The plight of coral reefs around the world have long been the topic of Discovery channel documentaries and climate activists’ frustrations. However, a small but mighty solution may have been found to help preserve them.

A small dolphin native to the Maldives called the “spinner dolphin” is renowned for being acrobatic and highly intelligent — and also excrete nitrogen-rich poo.

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for coral reefs, and researchers found that one pod of spinner dolphins provided around 288 kg (635 lbs) of nitrogen in their excrement in one year alone, helping to sustain local reefs.

Obviously this isn’t going to be enough to save every habitat that has felt the impacts of climate change, but right now, every little helps.

“It’s exciting to have found a likely important mechanism by which the dolphin’s behaviour could be sustaining the health of surrounding reefs,” says lead author of the study, Dr Tom B Letessier from ZSL’s Institute of Zoology.”

And we couldn’t agree more!

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