• Seven studies from US scientists explain why ageing 'zombie' cells drive inflammation and how they might be targeted.
• In older mice, experimental treatments reduced inflammation and improved frailty, brain health and performance on cognitive tasks.
• The results are preliminary, and more research is needed to test safety and effectiveness in people.

A team of US researchers has published seven studies that shed fresh light on so-called “zombie” cells, the ageing cells that stop dividing but stay active in the body. The work suggests new ways to find these cells, calm the inflammation they cause and, in older mice at least, improve health.

Zombie cells, known formally as senescent cells, release inflammatory substances that can feed into diseases of later life. The studies were carried out at the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging and appeared in Nature journals. They go beyond confirming that these cells matter, asking instead how to tell different types apart and why they turn harmful.

One long-standing headache has been spotting the cells reliably. The research shows they vary considerably depending on where they sit in the body and what made them senescent. To help, the team built a tool called the SenMayo gene set, which uses patterns of gene activity to identify them across different tissues. It was tested on bone biopsies from older adults and has since become a widely used resource.

Other studies looked at why the inflammation never seems to stop. Several routes involve faulty mitochondria, the tiny structures that supply much of a cell’s energy. In one, genetic material leaking from mitochondria sets off immune responses, while another involves shifts in mitochondrial metabolism that alter how inflammatory genes are switched on.

That points to a rather neat possibility: treatments that switch off the harmful signals without having to destroy the cells themselves.

The team also tried several experimental approaches in older mice, including drugs designed to clear senescent cells, a natural compound found in tomatoes, and genetic techniques aimed at particular cell populations. Depending on the method, the mice showed lower inflammation and improvements in physical frailty, brain inflammation and performance on thinking tasks. A further study identified a protein, IL-23R, as a possible blood marker of biological ageing.

Why it matters

Chronic inflammation is tied to many conditions that become more common with age, so understanding exactly which cells drive it is a useful step towards treating them. The results are still preliminary, and further research is needed to show whether any of these approaches are safe and effective in people. Even so, a clearer map of the problem is the sort of groundwork that sensible therapies are built on.

Originally reported by ScienceDaily: Mayo Clinic discovers new ways to fight the “zombie” cells that drive aging

• A driver misdirected by his GPS spotted a house fire near Lyerly, Georgia.
• He helped rescue 11 children and a grandchild from the Burke family's foster home.
• The house was destroyed, but the community has rallied round the family, who are seeking a rental.

A man named Casey took a wrong turn on his GPS and ended up rescuing a houseful of children from a fire in Georgia. His device had steered him off course and onto State Highway 114, south of Lyerly in Chattooga County, when he noticed smoke in the distance.

The blaze was at the home of James and Larita Burke, a devoted couple who foster and adopt children. Eleven children and a grandchild were inside, some of them adopted and the rest in foster care.

Mr Burke had nodded off in his recliner on Saturday night. The next thing he knew, a stranger was standing in his living room, telling him the house was on fire and he had to leave.

Casey had never driven that road before. Mr Burke said the man told him he felt something had drawn him that way, and that the sight of flames from the crest of the rise left him in no doubt that he must step in. “I’m so thankful that he did,” Mr Burke said.

Casey found himself the only first responder at the scene. Working alongside Mr Burke and a son, he helped wake the children and bring all of them out of the house.

The fire went on to consume the whole building and two cars, leaving little but cinders and charred beams. Many of the children have since moved to other foster homes.

Mrs Burke said the support from the local community arrived straight away and has been overwhelmingly generous, even though the family lost everything. Over the years, 500 children have stayed with the couple at one time or another.

The Burkes are now searching for a rental property big enough for all 14 of them while the house is rebuilt. There is a small crumb of comfort in the wreckage, since some of the brick walls withstood the fire.

Why it matters

A house fire can spread quickly, and people asleep indoors may have precious little warning, so a stranger raising the alarm can be the difference between a close call and a tragedy. Here, one person’s quick thinking meant every child got out. The story also shows a community rallying round a family that has opened its home to hundreds of children and is now receiving some of that care in return.

Originally reported by Good News Network: Family That’s Fostered 500 Children Saved from Housefire Thanks to Stranger’s Wrong Turn

• A rare sea aster mining bee has been recorded at Steart Marshes in Somerset.
• The species is normally found along England's south and east coasts.
• Saltmarsh restoration finished in 2014 and is credited with creating a suitable home for it.

A rare bee with zebra-like stripes has turned up in the West Country, far from the south and east coast haunts where it is normally found. The sea aster mining bee has been recorded at Steart Marshes, a nature reserve in Somerset, and it is the first time the reserve has played host to the species.

The discovery was made by naturalist Nigel Phillips, who described it as “a huge surprise”. He found plenty of the bees, along with several colonial nest areas in dry, sandy ground. Until then, he had assumed the species lived only on saltmarshes around the Thames estuary.

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, which looks after the reserve, says its work to bring back the saltmarsh has given the newcomer an ideal place to live. The charity argues that the find shows what can happen for rare wildlife when coastal habitats are restored.

The bee is a rather particular eater. It relies on the sea aster, a coastal marsh flower with pink and yellow blooms that appears as summer turns to autumn. Steart has a good deal of it, and that is thought to be what finally brought the bees to the peninsula.

The marshes are a fairly recent creation. Work finished in 2014, when former farmland was turned into coastal wetland by letting seawater flow back across the fields. The reserve now supports a wide range of coastal wildflowers.

Site manager Bay Alys Laver said saltmarshes tend to be associated with large flocks of wading birds, geese and ducks, but that much of the life there goes unnoticed. She called the sighting a testament to the reserve’s staff, who work alongside local graziers, and said she was delighted that the first sea aster mining bees had found the site.

Why it matters

Saltmarshes are specialised habitats, and plenty of the creatures that depend on them are small enough to be easily overlooked. The source notes that 148 of the 290 invertebrate species recorded in these habitats across the UK are found only in saltmarshes. A rare bee settling at Steart, a splendid addition to the reserve, suggests that returning farmland to the sea can provide the right flowers and nesting ground for wildlife that is hard to find elsewhere.

Originally reported by BBC News (Science & Environment): Tiny zebra-striped bee in West a 'huge surprise'

• On 27 October 1962, US ships dropped depth charges near Soviet submarine B-59 off Cuba.
• Captain Savitsky wanted to fire a nuclear torpedo, but Vasily Arkhipov was the only officer opposed.
• Arkhipov persuaded him to surface and await Moscow's orders, averting a likely nuclear war.

On 27 October 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a Soviet officer named Vasily Arkhipov held out against a decision that could have ended in nuclear war. His refusal to go along with it is why he is remembered today as a man who may have spared the world a catastrophe.

That day, American warships, eleven destroyers plus the carrier USS Randolph, tracked down the Soviet submarine B-59 near Cuba. The diesel-powered boat carried nuclear weapons. Though it lay in international waters, the Americans began dropping depth charges as a signal, hoping to compel it to come up and identify itself.

Aboard the submarine, the mood must have been tense. The crew had heard nothing from Moscow, and no civilian radio broadcasts, for days, so they had no way of knowing whether war had already broken out. Captain Valentin Grigoryevich Savitsky reasoned that it might have, and he wanted to fire a nuclear torpedo.

On Soviet submarines carrying this weapon, only the captain and the political officer needed to approve a launch. B-59, however, also had Arkhipov aboard as Chief of Staff of the submarine flotilla, so three agreeing votes were required instead of two.

A fierce argument broke out among the three men, with Arkhipov alone opposed. In time he talked Savitsky into surfacing and waiting for instructions from Moscow, which was no mean feat given the pressure they were under.

Recognition took a long while to arrive. Most of the crew were held in low regard back home, although Arkhipov stayed in the Navy and eventually became a Rear Admiral. In a 2012 PBS documentary, his wife Olga remembered him as clever, courteous and unruffled.

In 2002, Russian officials held a press conference and revealed that B-59 had been carrying nuclear torpedoes, and that Arkhipov was the reason they stayed unused. In 2017, his family received the first Future of Life Award on his behalf, presented after his death.

Why it matters

The Cuban Missile Crisis is widely seen as one of the most perilous moments of the Cold War, and this episode shows how much can hinge on one person’s judgement when information is scarce and nerves are frayed. Arkhipov’s decision to hold back and wait for word from Moscow avoided a launch that would probably have led to a nuclear conflict. It is a reminder that restraint under pressure can matter as much as any show of force.

Originally reported by Good News Network: Good News in History, October 27

• Residents of Lismore Island in Scotland crowdfunded an excavation at the site of their 13th-century cathedral.
• Archaeologists found burials, craftworking areas, early buildings and evidence of precious-metal working from the early monastery.
• Researchers say Lios Mòr was a flourishing centre of worship and craft, published in the journal Antiquity.

Residents of Lismore, a small island in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides, have helped to show that the early medieval monastery on their doorstep was a busy hub of worship, skilled craftwork and learning. Researchers now think its standing may have matched that of some of the most celebrated monastic sites in Britain at the time.

The Lismore Historical Society commissioned the excavation, and a sizeable share of the island’s 170 residents chipped in to pay for it. Dr Clare Ellis of Argyll Archaeology led the work around the site of the island’s 13th-century cathedral.

The monastery, called Lios Mòr, was established by Saint Mo Luóc in the 6th century. Until now, its story rested on written records, place-names and local tradition, with precious little physical proof of its size or character. The team wanted to find out whether the cathedral site also held Mo Luóc’s original monastery, and how large and important the settlement had been.

Excavation and geophysical survey revealed extensive burial grounds, early buildings, high-status craftworking areas and rare signs of precious-metal working. In one spot, six burials dated between 650 and 1040 CE lay among fragments of large carved stone crosses. Elsewhere, an oval building on a limestone-paved base was surrounded by traces of handmade pottery and toolmaking.

A third trench produced around 1,000 fragments of debris linked to precious metalwork. It also held small crucibles, probably used to melt copper, silver and gold before pouring it into casts, and some of the casts themselves.

Writing in the journal Antiquity, the researchers suggest this production most likely took place inside the monastic enclosure. Items such as brooches hint that secular people may have had an influence or presence there. They add that monasteries in Ireland at around the same time made secular goods for trade, which points to economic links between elite lay and church centres.

Professor Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen, a co-author of the paper, said the monastery could now be seen as a flourishing centre rather than a name in old documents. Bob Hay, a former islander who organised the funding and volunteers, said the project showed what community-led archaeology can add to academic research.

For a plucky little historical society, it is a cracking result.

Why it matters

Written records and local tradition can only take history so far, and physical evidence is what turns a good story into established knowledge. By showing that Lismore was a major centre of faith and craft, the dig adds to our picture of how Christianity spread and flourished in early medieval Britain. It also shows that a small community, with modest funds and willing volunteers, can make a genuine contribution to scholarship.

Originally reported by Good News Network: Tiny Scottish Island’s Little Historical Society Makes Massive Discovery

• Solar Bright Future has trained at least 300 displaced young people in Cameroon's Northwest to install solar systems.
• It has brought solar power to 164 health facilities: 41 with lighting and 123 with vaccine cold-chain units.
• Its chief executive says at least 60% of graduates have found work and 20% have started businesses.

An enterprising Cameroonian clean-energy company has trained at least 300 young people displaced by conflict to install solar power in health facilities across the country’s Northwest region. So far, 164 facilities have received either solar lighting or solar-powered vaccine storage.

The company, Solar Bright Future, is a subsidiary of a local NGO, Action for Advancing Sustainable Development. Of the 164 facilities, 41 now have solar lighting, while 123 have solar units that power vaccine cold chains. The systems include temperature monitoring and, depending on their capacity, can also run ultrasound machines and sterilisation devices.

The need is considerable. A civil war in the Northwest and Southwest regions has continued for 10 years, cutting off job opportunities for young people and worsening the collapse of basic public services. Rural communities face acute power shortages, mothers often give birth in the dark, and children risk missing vital vaccines because clinics cannot store them properly.

Chief executive Ndze Noel Lifogha says the project grew out of a tragedy at a Northwest clinic without electricity. He says a woman displaced by the war reportedly lost newborn twins after a kerosene lamp started a fire. One baby died at once, and the other died days after leaving the clinic, having gone unvaccinated because the facility had no means of refrigerating vaccines.

Over the past three years, men and women aged between 18 and 35 from the Northwest have learned to install and maintain solar systems. The training lasts three months, during which they support the health facilities, and it leads to certificates recognised by Cameroon’s Ministry of Vocational Training.

The scheme also appears to be giving people a footing in work. Lifogha says at least 60% of graduates have found jobs, formal or informal, and 20% have set up their own businesses providing energy services to their communities.

One graduate, 31-year-old Kudus Sony Kangimi, used to work as a security guard. He says the programme has changed his life and that “I have found purpose”.

Solar Bright Future is a finalist in the “Resilience” category of the “Heroes of Tomorrow: U.N. SDG Action Awards”. The competition is a special initiative of the UN secretary-general, hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and winners are due to be announced on 29 October.

Why it matters

Vaccines only work if they are kept cold, and childbirth is safer with proper light, so dependable power in a clinic can make a real difference to newborns. The UNDP says over 1,200 health facilities in the areas where its project operates still suffer severe electricity shortages, so the task is far from finished. By training displaced young people to tackle it, this scheme addresses health care, employment and clean energy together.

Originally reported by Mongabay: Solar initiative brings power to clinics and jobs to displaced youths in Cameroon

• Six Irrawaddy dolphin calves were born this season on the Mekong River in Cambodia.
• The population along a 75-mile stretch now stands at 118, the largest river-dwelling group.
• Local reverence and community-focused conservation are seen as key to the dolphins' recovery.

Six Irrawaddy dolphin calves have been born in the Mekong River in Cambodia this calving season, taking the local population to 118.

The dolphins live along a 75-mile section of the river in the north-east of the country. Local conservationists say the new arrivals are a clear sign that the species can bounce back if the threats it faces in its environment are brought under control.

This group is the largest of its kind still living in a river. Elsewhere, Irrawaddy dolphins have been divided into isolated populations across several countries. Some are still hunted and others are caught accidentally in fishing gear, although more and more they are being valued as a draw for ecotourism.

In both Cambodia and Laos, the dolphins are treated with great respect. Folk tradition and Buddhism each teach that they are the reincarnated spirits of ancestors, and some people say the animals have rescued villagers from drowning or kept them safe from crocodiles. These beliefs have helped people in the two countries to live peacefully alongside one another for a long time.

The biggest danger is gillnet fishing. Calves are particularly at risk because they may not know to stay away from boats and the noise made by fishermen. The method still turns up in protected areas, but it appears to be happening only on a small scale.

Around 160 dams have been built along the Mekong, the largest river in South-East Asia, and they have changed the ecology of stretches where the dolphins live. Even so, the arrival of six calves suggests there is still enough food in the river for the population to grow.

In 2014, the Cambodian branch of the World Wildlife Fund began a joint programme to protect the dolphins. Its approach is to help communities earn a living in ways that depend less heavily on fishing.

Why it matters

River dolphins are among the most endangered animals on Earth, so any rise in their numbers is welcome news. A recent study of conservation methods found that community support and local attitudes counted for more than anything else when a species climbed out of endangered status. On the Mekong, people hold the dolphins in deep reverence, and some have confronted illegal fishers in protected zones despite the risk of violence. That commitment gives the population a good chance of continuing to recover.

Originally reported by Good News Network: Numbers of Endangered and Sacred River Dolphin Grow by 6 After Successful Breeding Season