NEWSROOM
Endangered bongo calf born in UK safari park
A safari park in Bedfordshire has welcomed the birth of a male mountain bongo calf, the first of the species to be born in 10 years. The mountain bongo, an antelope native to central Kenya, has been hunted almost to extinction, with less than 100 left in the wild. The calf’s father joined the park’s herd of four last November as part of a programme managed by the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and “wasted no time” in exhibiting breeding behaviours, park employee Tom Robson told BBC News. As fears rise for the future of the species, which could be extinct in the wild within two decades, breeders hope this calf will eventually be sent on to herds in other zoos to help repopulate its kind.
Neurosurgeon removes brain tumours through eyebrows in world-first
Scotland-based neurosurgeon Anastasios Giamouriadis has developed a pioneering surgery to remove brain tumours up to the size of an apple through the eyebrow. The surgery, adapted from existing key-hole techniques, allows surgeons to remove tumours from the front and middle of the brain in half the time of conventional surgeries, which can take up to eight hours. Crucially, in some cases, patients can return home within two days and resume normal life in two weeks. The method has now been used with 48 patients, and Giamouridis is now working with Aberdeen University to be able to teach the technique using VR, before eventually rolling out to other hospitals.
Mercedes-Benz opens Europe’s largest electric vehicle battery recycling plant
Car maker Mercedes-Benz has opened a recycling plant capable of recycling over 96% of car battery cell materials for new electric vehicles (EVs) in southern Germany. The plant, which is a partnership with battery recycling experts Promorbius, uses an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process to cover every aspect of the recycling process. The car maker claims that the process is less energy-and-waste intensive than existing pyrometallurgical processes, and carbon neutral thanks to solar panels. At present, the plant has an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes, capable of producing 50,000 EV battery modules, with plans to scale in the future.
Gas stoves kill thousands of Europeans annually, according to report
A study of EU and UK households conducted by Spain’s Jaume I University has found that pollutants from gas cookers contribute to over 40,000 deaths and one million cases of asthma annually across the continent. This comes as researchers continue to explore the long-term effects of pollutants indoors, with a US study finding that gas and propane stoves contribute to up to 19,000 adult deaths in the country every year. At present, a third of European households cook with gas stoves, rising to more than 60% in countries such as Italy, Romania and Hungary. The EU is steadily introducing laws to improve air quality, but the European Public Health Alliance is now lobbying policymakers to phase out the stoves altogether.
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