The Happy Broadcast (2025)

15/12/2024

Having good mental health is important to feeling well overall. Your mental health can impact your physical health, your relationships, your self-view, your mood, your thinking and so much more.

Sometimes mental health problems are not noticed until significant symptoms are present.

Maintaining good mental health is taking care of yourself and putting in effort on good and bad days.

Before you can fully and healthily love someone else, you need to have a strong sense of self-worth and acceptance of yourself, as not loving yourself can lead to unhealthy relationship patterns where you might seek validation from others or become codependent.

Remember to be kind to yourself first and foremost so that you can spread a more wholehearted kindness everywhere you go.

13/12/2024

What are the secrets of longevity among Perdasdefogu’s centenarians? In the village in Ogliastra, Sardinia, which has twice entered the Guinness Book of Records for the highest number of centenarians and the longest-living family on the planet, the reasons for long life are being investigated.

This small town in a tucked-away corner of the world has 10 centenarians out of a population of 1,765. That’s 13 times the national average for Italy.

“There is of course the fresh air and the good food, but I believe one of the reasons for their longevity is their approach to stress,” said Luisa Salaris, a demographics professor at the University of Cagliari. “They were born 100 years ago and certainly didn’t have an easy life – there would have been hunger and war. But they are people who have managed to adapt – if there’s a problem, they solve it quickly.”

“Reading, walking, playing cards … the simple things are the best things.” says one resident. Another says “Everything we ate came from the garden, what you put into your stomach is so important – if you abuse the stomach, it doesn’t resist.”

Perdasdefogu hosts several cultural events throughout the year, including a literary festival. Books are believed locally to have played a part in residents’ longevity.

“Another important factor is that Perdasdefogu conserves the sense of community. The elderly still live at home and not in care homes. Sociality is so important because if you have good social contacts, you remember, talk, and evaluate … you live well.”

Source: The Guardian

11/12/2024

London fashion week has become the first of the four main fashion weeks to ban exotic animal skins from shows from 2025 – the biggest industry event to do so.

All designers staging fashion shows at the event will have to commit to ditching skins of animals such as crocodiles, alligators and snakes from their collections.

The ban was announced by the British Fashion Council’s deputy director for policy and engagement, David Leigh-Pemberton, in a speech to parliament this week.

The move follows the ban on fur, which was first promised by the BFC’s chief executive, Caroline Rush, in 2018, and formally put in place in December 2023.

Source: The Guardian

09/12/2024

The bumblebee population has made an impressive comeback in a developed area by increasing to 116 times what it was two years ago thanks to a nature restoration group.

Rewilding Denmarkfield, a 90-acre project based just north of Perth, has been working to restore nature to green spaces in an increasingly built up area for the past two years.

Statistics from the charity show in 2021, when some of the fields managed by the project were still barley monoculture, only 35 bumblebees were counted.

But by 2023, after just two years of nature restoration work in the same fields, the population increased to 4,056. The diversity of bumblebee also doubled, according to the charity, from five to ten different species.

Due to intensive arable farming, with decades of ploughing, herbicide and pesticide use, biodiversity was incredibly low when we started. Wildlife had largely been sanitised from the fields. Rewilding the site has had a remarkable benefit.

This superb variety of plants attracts thousands of pollinators. Many of these plants, such as spear thistle and smooth hawk’s-beard, are sometimes branded as ‘weeds’. But they are all native species that are benefiting native wildlife in different ways.

The sound of traffic and a uniform sea of mono-culture barley have been replaced by the most beautiful meadows, full of wildflowers, young saplings and the buzz of bees.

Source: The Scotsman

08/12/2024

If your flight is canceled or delayed by more than three hours for a domestic itinerary, or six hours for an international itinerary, you’re automatically entitled to a refund. Under the latest guidelines, an airline must provide the refunds automatically, without passengers specifically requesting them.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new refund rule for air travelers mandates automatic refunds for significantly delayed or canceled flights.

Domestic flights delayed by three hours or more and international flights delayed by six hours or more qualify for a full refund.

Airlines must issue refunds within seven days for credit card purchases and 20 days for other forms of payment.

The rule also requires refunds for checked bag fees if luggage is not delivered within a specified timeframe, as well as for non-functional or unavailable paid services like Wi-Fi.

Source: USA Today

06/12/2024

Danish lawmakers have agreed on a deal to plant one billion trees and convert 15% of its farmland into forest and natural habitats to reduce the use of fertilizer and combat oxygen depletion in Danish waters, which has caused significant marine life loss.

The Danish government has allocated 43 billion Danish crowns ($6.1 billion) to acquire farmland over the next two decades. This first move includes planting one billion trees on repurposed farmland and establishes Denmark as the first nation to impose a carbon tax on agriculture.

This effort is part of the Green Tripartite Agreement, a deal struck in last June among farmers, industry representatives, labor unions, and environmental groups.

Agriculture is Denmark’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing these emissions is crucial for the country to meet its legally binding target of cutting emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by 2030.

Source: Reuters

04/12/2024

We suck at recycling plastic. Even now, after all these years, we recycle less than 10% of the plastic worldwide, and we keep making more of it. Not only are we bad at recycling the plastic that can be recycled, but a big chunk of our plastic production is simply unrecyclable.
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science In Japan may have found a solution.

A team led by Takuzo Aida developed a new kind of plastic that is strong, versatile, and biodegradable. Most importantly, it dissolves in seawater.

They created a polymer held together by reversible interactions called salt bridges. These cross-linked structures give the plastic its strength and flexibility, but they also have a unique vulnerability: salt water. When exposed to electrolytes found in seawater, the salt bridges destabilize, allowing the plastic to dissolve into its component molecules.

In ocean water, the new plastic starts to break down within hours. It gets even better: in soil, the sheets of plastic degrade in no more than 10 days and work to fertilize the soil.

The implications of this discovery are vast. Marine environments, often the final destination for plastic waste, could see a dramatic reduction in pollution.

Source: ZME Science

02/12/2024

More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets.

A team was monitoring Ruakākā Beach near the city of Whangārei in New Zealand’s north on Monday to ensure there were no signs of the whales saved Sunday stranding again, the Department of Conservation told The Associated Press. The agency praised as “incredible” the efforts made by hundreds of people to help save the foundering pod.

“It’s amazing to witness the genuine care and compassion people have shown toward these magnificent animals,” Joel Lauterbach, a Department of Conservation spokesperson, said in a statement. “This response demonstrates the deep connection we all share with our marine environment.”

Source: CBS News

01/12/2024

FOMO is the currency of social media platforms, eager to encourage us to compare our lives with those of others. For each post depicting health, wealth, and happiness, we might pay with the discomfort and dread of missing out on something, often forgetting that posts are heavily curated presentations of “the good life.”

Conversely, the joy of missing out (JOMO) refers to unplugging from online life and reconnecting to simple pleasures in the present moment and has been touted as an antidote to the fear of missing out.

The benefits of embracing JOMO cannot be overstated. The fast and frantic pace of digital life threatens to drown us in information. For many of us, it feels overwhelming, unnatural, and unproductive. The endless distractions provided by being constantly plugged in can drain our social battery and lead to burnout.  JOMO encourages us to carve out time for self-care.
This is often the most difficult thing to do for those with demanding fast-paced lives, but it’s essential to stay well and to take care of others. It might be a solo nature walk, a warm bath, meditation, or soothing music — whatever makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin.

Source: Positive Psychology

29/11/2024

A radical stem cell transplant has significantly improved the blurry vision of three people with severe damage to their cornea.

The clinical trial, which took place in Japan, is the first of its kind in the world, and a significant advancement for stem cell research.

Two years after the operation, no serious safety concerns have come to light, and from the outside looking in, all three corneas look much more transparent than they once did.

Four participants were involved in the study, all of whom suffer from a disorder that causes scar tissue buildup on the cornea, called limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).

Source: Science Alert

27/11/2024

Who is the person you’re most grateful to have in your life?

Thanksgiving time is here again and while gratitude may be the reason for the season, it doesn’t mean it’s always easy to express.

In the past two decades, a growing body of evidence in the field of social science has found that gratitude has measurable benefits for just about every area of our lives.

Saying thank you is something we can each do every day that’s based on science and common sense, that doesn’t have to cost a cent and will have a positive ripple effect to those around us.

There are a bunch of science-backed reasons why. Kindness we give, kindness we get and kindness we simply witness, all cause the body to release hormones that contribute to your mood, overall wellbeing, and a whole host of other benefits I’ll share with you now.

Experiencing gratitude actually rewires the brain, it helps communication in neurological pathways. It’s been linked to improved sleep, relationship health and mood regulation.

When we feel gratitude, our brains release hormones associated with happiness and joy — dopamine and serotonin. Those are two crucial neurotransmitters that are responsible for our emotions. When we release these hormones, they make us feel good, they immediately make us feel happy from the inside.

Studies show that when Serotonin levels increase, pain decreases, stress and anxiety reduce, and blood pressure goes down. Serotonin also heals your wounds, calms you down, and makes you feel happy.

Expressing gratitude towards others can also make the people around you feel physically better, as it can positively impact their mood, reduce stress, and even boost their immune system by creating a sense of connection and appreciation, which can lead to a more relaxed and positive physical state.

Source: Brown, J., & Wong, J. (2017, June 6). How gratitude changes you and your brain. The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

25/11/2024

As we age, our brains lose some of their volume. Age-related gray matter loss is typically associated with cognitive decline and impaired memory functions. Older adults are at a higher risk for brain atrophy (i.e., shrinkage) and usually lose some of their working memory capacity due to thinning gray matter.

Gray matter thinning doesn’t occur uniformly throughout the whole brain; some areas tend to thin more and shrink faster as we get older. By age 70, most older adults will experience some brain shrinkage in memory-related areas.

A new fMRI study on the neuroscience-based benefits of music interventions in healthy older adults (aged 62 to 78) found that learning to play an instrument or taking music awareness classes that cultivate “active listening” for six months increases gray matter volume in specific brain regions and improves working memory.

Education for seniors should become a major policy priority in the framework of healthy aging, to promote brain plasticity and cognitive reserve, through stimulating group interventions such as music-making and active listening.

Source: Psychology Today

22/11/2024

The City of Melbourne initiative to assign email addresses to trees has unintentionally resulted in a flood of love letters from around the world.

Officials assigned the trees ID numbers and email addresses as part of a program designed to make it easier for citizens to report problems like dangerous branches.

Since then, thousands of emails to trees have been received, most from tree-loving locals but some have come from all corners of the globe including Brazil, Russia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, the USA, and even Moldova.

Some letter writers are expressing their admiration, love, puns, life updates, intense homesickness or making suggestions such as to “keep away from fire”.

According to the Urban Forest and Ecology team, the most popular tree is a Golden Elm on Punt Road. This tree is about 80 years old, and is listed by the National Trust of Australia as a Significant Tree at a state level.

Source: melbourneurbanforestvisual.com.au

20/11/2024

Colombia has become the latest country to prohibit child marriage without exceptions, after the Senate passed the legislation “Son Niñas No Esposas” (“They’re girls, not wives”).  This new law represents a crucial step in protecting the rights of girls and adolescents by prohibiting child marriage and de facto marital unions without exceptions for individuals under the age of 18.   This reform will close a legal loophole that has enabled harmful practices and violated constitutional principles such as the right to integral development, equality, and protection against all forms of violence.

By banning child marriage and early unions, Colombia is making a clear commitment to gender equality and the rights of children and adolescents.

UNICEF believes around 12 million girls under age 18 become brides each year, with around 640 million women alive today who were child brides.

Source: Equality Now

18/11/2024

A hole that opens annually in the ozone layer over Earth’s southern pole was relatively small in 2024 compared to other years. Scientists with NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) project the ozone layer could fully recover by 2066.

During the peak of ozone depletion season from September 7 through October 13, the 2024 area of the ozone hole ranked the seventh smallest since recovery began in 1992, when the Montreal Protocol, a landmark international agreement to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals, began to take effect.

The improvement is due to a combination of continuing declines in harmful chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) chemicals, along with an unexpected infusion of ozone carried by air currents from north of the Antarctic, scientists said.

Source: NASA

17/11/2024

Magic mushrooms have earned all the hype recently, but regular mushrooms like white button, shiitake, and portobello also have tremendous health benefits. People who eat mushrooms may have a lower chance of developing anxiety and depression, according to a large observational study.

The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, used dietary and mental health data from more than 24,000 participants to draw the association between mushroom consumption and lower odds of depression.

“Mushrooms are a potent source of antioxidants, such as ergothioneine and potassium, which could reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. These are known to be risk factors for depression,” says Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, a professor and director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Lab at The Pennsylvania State University and a co-author of the study.

Gao tells Verywell that people who incorporate mushrooms into their diet have a 43% lower likelihood of having depression.

Source: Verywell Health

15/11/2024

Using technology not unlike the regenerative braking found in hybrids and electric vehicles, the subway trains in Barcelona generate some of the power flowing to the EV chargers in the nearby parking lot, the lights illuminating the station, and the escalators taking them to the platforms.

Every time a train rumbles to a stop, the energy generated by all that friction is converted to electricity, which is fed through inverters and distributed throughout the subway system. One-third of that powers the trains; the rest provides juice to station amenities and a growing network of EV chargers.

The ultra-fast charger outside the Bellvitge station is among four electrolineras — Spanish for “electric gas stations” — that went up in July.

Each year, residents and tourists take 440 million trips on Barcelona’s subway system, which includes 165 stations linked by 78 miles of track. The transit agency has installed three inverters so far; 13 more are in progress. Once they’re all in place by the end of September, it expects regenerative braking to provide 41 percent of the energy needed to power the trains, a renewable source of energy it says will save about 3,885 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Source: The Grist

13/11/2024

More than 8,300 people with mental health needs took part in nature-based activities across England during the £5.77 million cross-governmental funded project led by the University of Sheffield,.

Prior to accessing nature-based activities, those participants’ whose happiness, anxiety and life satisfaction was worse than the national average, found levels of life satisfaction and feeling that life was worthwhile had improved significantly.

Green Social Prescribing is the practice of supporting people with mental health needs to engage in nature-based activities. Referrals will typically come from GPs, community mental health teams, or social workers, but people can also self-refer.  Compared to many other social prescribing initiatives the project reached a broader range of people, including children and young people aged under 18, ethnic minority populations (21 percent), and people from socio-economically deprived areas (57 percent).

Prior to accessing nature-based activities participants’ happiness, anxiety, life satisfaction, and feeling that their life was worthwhile was worse than the national average. After taking part in the project, wellbeing had improved, and typically happiness and anxiety was in line with the national average. Levels of life satisfaction and feeling that life was worthwhile had also improved significantly.

Source: University of Sheffield

The Happy Broadcast