WELCOME TO THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF SALIENCE
This week we cover the DNA of freshwater rivers, futuristic surgery, and combatting loneliness in care homes. Plus, Mount Etna is providing new building materials, and a London bank is home to some unexpected agriculture.
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Built from the ashes
Sometimes old wisdom is best, and scientists in Italy have turned to ancient Roman techniques to lessen the environmental impact of construction. By mixing volcanic ash from Mount Etna into building materials, they hope to reduce the use of natural resources, while potentially creating structures that grow stronger over time…
Go with the flow
Measuring aquatic biodiversity is no easy feat when you can’t see through the water. A new project is aiming to plumb the murky depths of freshwater rivers by analysing the DNA found in up to 30,000 water samples, helping to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the ecosystem.
New connections
The pandemic has amplified feelings of isolation for many people living with dementia in care homes. Writing for Tomorrow’s Care, John Ramsay, founder and MD of Sapience client Social-Ability, discusses how the end of lockdown could mark a turning point in how we tackle loneliness for some of the most vulnerable in our society.
‘They saw right through me…’
No longer the reserve of sci-fi adventures, augmented reality could now be changing the game in modern healthcare. Researchers are developing new tech to map digital scans of body parts directly onto surgical microscopes, helping to reduce potential blind spots in complex operations.
And finally…Orchid you not
You never know what you might find amid London’s hustle and bustle if you take the time to look around. A rare orchid believed to be extinct in the UK has been discovered on the rooftop of a multi-storey bank in the heart of the city, to the astonishment of the resident ecologist.
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