A Little Good News

[GordMay]

America's Food Fund
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 37 million people struggled to know where their next meal might come from on a daily basis, a number that we are now seeing rise, at an exponential rate.
We have an opportunity to come together to support our neighbors in this critical time of need.
The goal of America’s Food Fund — launched by Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurene Powell, Steve Jobs and Apple, along with the Ford Foundation — is to help ensure that all people have reliable access to food.
$14,105,300 raised of $15,000,000 goal ➥ https://www.gofundme.com/f/AmericasFoodFund

See also:

Preventing global food security crisis under COVID-19 emergency
➥ https://www.ifpri.org/blog/preventin...d-19-emergency

[GordMay]

“Pandemic will drive biggest drop in CO2 emissions since WW II, World Meteorological Organization says”
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to drive carbon dioxide emissions down six per cent this year, the head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday (April 22), in what would be the biggest yearly drop since World War II.

But, the WMO also warned that past economic recoveries had been associated with even higher emissions growth, than before the crises.

In a sombre reminder of the changes to the planet, since 1970, the WMO said carbon dioxide levels were up 26 per cent, since then, and the global temperature was 0.86 C higher on average.
The WMO also published, on Wednesday, the final version of its report on the global climate, which confirmed a preliminary finding, that 2015-2019 was the warmest five-year period on record, with the global average temperature having increased by 1.1 deg C (± 2 deg F) since the pre-industrial period.
➥ https://public.wmo.int/en/media/pres...climate-action
➥ https://public.wmo.int/en/media/pres...ge-accelerates

[GordMay]

SaNOtize Obtains Health Canada Approval to Commence Phase II Trial for Potential COVID-19 Therapy
More ➥ https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...863096478.html
And ➥ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/...mpression=true

SaNOtize has been evaluating nitric oxide (NO), a naturally occurring nanomolecule in the body, as a first-in-class nitrosylite drug, with the potential to be used as a topical antimicrobial agent to treat a wide variety of diseases.
SaNOtize has demonstrated the effectiveness of its NORS formulation, in eradicating different types of viruses, including influenza and H1N1, and is working diligently to determine NORS’ efficacy to prevent and treat COVID-19 infections.
Has confirmed NORSTM is >99.9% effective against different types of coronaviruses (including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) in tests conducted by the independent Institute for Antiviral Research at Utah State University, and is working with a leading hospital in Israel, to commence a clinical trial, to determine the efficacy of NORS in prevention of COVID-19

➥ https://sanotize.com/
➥ https://sanotize.com/covid-19/

[GordMay]

The Nurse Who Came by Sea
An interesting & inspiring article about Rachel Hartley, an ICU nurse who sailed (s/v “Turning Point” - 50') from Hampton, Virginia, to help out in New York City’s fight, against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The city’s boating community is pitching in too. Local sailor Carla Murphy, posted about Hartley’s journey, in the Facebook group Sailors of New York, and within an hour the recently opened ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina donated dockage for two months (normally more than $11,000) to the Hartleys. The marina restaurant is feeding the Turning Point crew — alongside FEMA-contracted ambulance squads — through its GoFundMe campaign. (Aside from Coast Guard, law enforcement, and emergency boats every now and then, 'Turning Point' is the only vessel in the marina these days.) Other sailors and local companies have donated support and equipment.
Much more ➥ https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020...=pocket-newtab

Taylor Hartley (Rachels husband & skipper) ➥ https://www.thartleyphotography.com/
➥ https://www.thartleyphotography.com/about

➥ https://www.facebook.com/groups/824629654291727/


➥ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-estu...co+share-sheet

[GordMay]

The Florida Aquarium Makes History Again!
Florida scientists have just made history by becoming the first in the world to reproduce ridged cactus coral in human care.
Ridged cactus coral (also known as Mycetophyllia lamarckiana) are one of the most common species of coral, currently populating the Florida Reef Tract. Since the underwater ecosystem has been in danger, following major outbreaks of stony coral tissue loss disease in 2014, scientists have been caring for several coral samples, that were collected prior to the outbreaks, in hopes of one day being able to restore the reef to its former glory.
The historic breakthrough took place, earlier this month, at The Florida Aquarium’s Center for Conservation, in Apollo Beach. The work is part of a collaboration effort (“Project Coral”) to save the Florida Reef Tract from extinction, with London's Horniman Museum and Gardens.
And just think, a solution to the next pandemic or human illness, could be discovered from healthy coral reef.
More ➥ https://www.flaquarium.org/pressroom/posts/cactuscoral

The Florida Aquarium Becomes First Organization in History to Induce Spawning of Atlantic Coral; A New Hope to Save Florida’s Reefs
About a year ago, the aquarium's scientists became the first in the world to get Atlantic Ocean coral to successfully reproduce, two days in a row, for the first time, in a lab setting.
➥ https://www.flaquarium.org/pressroom...tic-coral-a-ne

Project Coral ➥ https://www.horniman.ac.uk/project/project-coral/

[Mike OReilly]

Along the lines of what I'm hoping we see come out of this; a recognition that most of the "heroes" of this pandemic are people our societies generally under value and under pay.

Ontario offering some front-line workers $4 more an hour amid pandemic

Workers eligible for the “temporary pandemic payment” increase include staff at long-term care homes, retirement homes, emergency shelters, supportive housing, correctional institutions, youth justice facilities and those providing home and community care.

[GordMay]

In One Week, Both Sweden and Austria Celebrated the Closing of Their Last Coal Plants
The last coal-fired plant in Sweden, shut down two years early this month, bringing the tally of coal-free European countries up to three. Swedish utility, Stockholm Exergi, announced the closure April 16, a day before Austria also closed its last remaining coal plant, PV Magazine reported.
Belgium became the first EU country to phase out coal, for heating and power, in 2016.
Six more countries have pledged to follow suit by 2025 and five more by 2030.
Germany, which is the world's No. 1 producer of brown lignite coal, reached an agreement, in January, to stop burning the fuel by 2038.

Sweden exits coal two years early ➥ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/...o-years-early/

Europe Beyond Coal ➥ https://beyond-coal.eu/

[GordMay]

Antiviral drug remdesivir shortens time to recover from pandemic virus
Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT)
Dr. Anthony Fauci says, Gilead Sciences Inc's experimental Antiviral drug, “Remdesivir” reduced time it takes patients to recover, by 31%, 11 days on average, versus 15 days for those just given “usual” care.
Hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement who received remdesivir recovered faster than similar patients who received placebo, according to a preliminary data analysis from a randomized, controlled trial [1] involving 1063 patients, which began on February 21. The trial (known as the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, or ACTT) [1], sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is the first clinical trial launched in the United States to evaluate an experimental treatment for COVID-19.
Several other studies [2] have painted a mixed picture of its effectiveness, and Fauci cautioned that the full data still needs to be analyzed.

1. “NIH Clinical Trial Shows Remdesivir Accelerates Recovery from Advanced COVID-19" [ACTT]
➥ https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-event...anced-covid-19

ACTT Full Text ➥ https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04280705

Hopes rise on coronavirus drug remdesivir ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01295-8

2. “Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial”
➥ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l..._hsmi=87146813

[smbdyiam2]

air in fl.
https://www.wtsp.com/article/tech/sc...a-c76becd5f0a1

[JPA Cate]

Brilliant concept for a thread, Gord. Thank you.

[GordMay]

WWII vet who raised millions for health-care workers receives 140,000 birthday cards


Capt. Tom Moore, the British World War II veteran who raised more than $36 million for the United Kingdom's National Health Service, is being celebrated by people around the world, with more than 140,000 well-wishers (including Queen Elizabeth) sending him cards for his 100th birthday on Thursday.

The Bedfordshire resident raised the money by walking 100 laps around his backyard ahead of his 100th birthday. His story went viral, and donors around the world gave to his cause.

People were so touched by his generosity that they started sending him birthday cards, and there are so many that they have to be stored at his grandson's school. Moore is also being honored by the Royal Mail, with all letters sent this week marked with a stamp commemorating his birthday, and he has been made an honorary colonel.

Moore told BBC News it feels "extraordinary" to be turning 100, especially with "this many well-wishers."
More ➥ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-...herts-52472132

[GordMay]

'They're not alone': Seniors get unexpected gifts from Canadian artists during pandemic
What began as a call to local artists, asking for donations of Canadian artwork to seniors' residences, has blossomed into a countrywide message of support to let the elderly know they haven't been forgotten during the coronavirus pandemic.
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainmen...ovid-1.5551217

[GordMay]

Children may not be super spreaders after all
Australia is one of the few states that kept most schools open as the pandemic spread across that country, and has now released its report* on how that worked out. The preliminary data, which has not yet been peer reviewed, suggests kids in Australia are not so-called "super spreaders" as they're frequently called by epidemiologists, when it comes to influenza.
“COVID-19 in schools – the experience in NSW” ~ NCIRS
* ➥ National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance | NCIRS
Full Report ➥ http://ncirs.org.au/sites/default/fi...ril%202020.pdf

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Children may not be super spreaders after all
... The preliminary data, which has not yet been peer reviewed, suggests kids in Australia are not so-called "super spreaders" as they're frequently called by epidemiologists, when it comes to influenza...

However
Young children are not immune to COVID-19
Children are as likely as adults to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 after close contact with an infected person, according to a study of people in Shenzhen, China.
The team found that 7% of close contacts younger than age 10 became infected — roughly the same as in the population overall. They also found that just 9% of original cases were responsible for 80% of infections detected in close contacts. Such ‘superspreading’ events could lead to “large COVID-19 clusters”, the authors write.
“Epidemiology and transmission of COVID-19 in 391 cases and 1286 of their close contacts in Shenzhen, China: a retrospective cohort study”
Preprint ➥ https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journ...20)30287-5.pdf

[Puddleduck]

https://youtu.be/bea4jCAkXsI


https://www.probablytomfoolery.com