Good News Notes: “A 36-year-old German man in a completely locked-in state was outfitted with a novel brain-computer interface (BCI) system that relies on auditory feedback. The man learned to alter his brain activity in response to that auditory feedback to compose simple messages. He used this ability to ask for a beer, for his…
Category: app
To Resurrect Jordan’s Lost Forests, People Plant Tiny Urban Ones
Good News Notes: “At a park in the east Amman neighborhood of Marka, a local street cat stalks two small birds past shrubs and saplings. Deema Assaf, an architect turned environmentalist, stops talking for a moment to watch the interaction. Only a few feet from the oblivious birds, the cat freezes. Then it loses interest…
You can now tell Alexa to plant a tree
Good News Notes: “Starting today, customers in the US can donate $1 to plant one tree by telling Alexa-enabled devices, “Alexa, grow a tree,” Amazon announced today. Customers will be able to keep track of how many trees they’ve planted in their Amazon Pay account. Amazon also said that it’s donating $1 million to the environmental charity it’s…
St. Thomas, Ont. woman makes $1M donation to reach city’s animal centre and dog park budget goal
Good News Notes: “St. Thomas City council is expected to approve a new animal centre and dog park Tuesday after a massive donation from a local businesswoman. After the city required private donations or fundraising of $1 million to reach the $2.5 million goal set out in the strategic plan, Sara Teare stepped up and…
TikTok Hack Saves Lost Child at Disney
Good News Notes: “One of the most terrifying things Guests can experience when visiting Walt Disney World is losing a member of their party, especially when it comes to younger Guests without a phone. While it is true that losing a child is terrifying in any public space is already terrifying, having the misfortune of…
Back from the dead? Elusive ivory-billed woodpecker not extinct, researchers say
Good News Notes: “In terms of elusiveness, it is the Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster of the bird world, so rare and undetectable that the US government declared it extinct last year. But the ivory-billed woodpecker is, in fact, still alive and pecking in the forests of Louisiana, a team of researchers has claimed. A series…
Engineer born with one hand makes a prosthetic one out of plastic bottles for $800
Good News Notes: “One of Enzo Romero‘s favorite activities is playing the guitar, which he effortlessly does with his bright blue hand. Initially, it used to hurt, as he used his handless right arm to press down on chords. But now, with fingers on the end, he can play music painlessly. It all began with ‘The…
Solar energy can now be stored for up to 18 years, say scientists
Good News Notes: “Solar-powered electronics are one step closer to becoming an everyday part of our lives thanks to a “radical” new scientific breakthrough. In 2017, scientists at a Swedish university created an energy system that makes it possible to capture and store solar energy for up to 18 years, releasing it as heat when…
Koala IVF could help save species from extinction
Good News Notes: “Freezing koala sperm could become a key part of a strategy to save koalas from extinction by 2050. University of Newcastle scientists Lachlan Howell and Ryan Witt say koala “biobanking”, could be harnessed with IVF technology to help the endangered species reproduce. An estimated 64,000 koalas were killed when 5.5m hectares were ravaged by…
Brooklyn native turns single-use plastic bags into reusable totes
Good News Notes: “Meet Alex Dabagh, the founder of aNYbag, the company turning New York City’s plastic trash into luxury totes. Plastic has been a blessing and burden for humankind. The artificial material can create inexpensive and useful goods, but most plastics outlive humans. It takes plastic bags anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years to decompose in landfills. Many…