Ying Ying and Le Le, two giant pandas who could never quite get in the mood over 13 years of living together in a Hong Kong zoo, successfully mated. Perhaps Ying Ying and Le Le just needed some privacy. Ocean Park Zoo shut down on Jan. 26 as part of Hong Kong's measures to fight the coronavirus, leaving the amusement park and zoo free of its usual throngs of visitors. It won't be known for a while whether the patter of tiny panda paws is on the way. The gestation period is from 72 to 324 days, and ultrasound scans can't detect a cub until 14 to 17 days before birth, the zoo said. Source: The New York Times (link in bio) #positivenews #coronavirus #china #panda #stayhome #animal #giantpanda

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Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, which produces widely-watched annual emissions estimates, said carbon output could fall by more than 5% year-on-year - the first dip since a 1.4% reduction after the 2008 financial crisis.⁣ ⁣ Neither the fall of the Soviet Union nor the various oil or savings and loan crises of the past 50 years are likely to have affected emissions the way this crisis is," he said. Experts warn that without structural change, the emissions declines caused by coronavirus could be short-lived and have little impact on the concentrations of carbon dioxide that have accumulated in the atmosphere over decades.⁣ ⁣ This is why it is important to think about the nature of the economic stimulus packages around the world as countries come out of the most immediate health crisis," said Dan Lashof, U.S. director at the World Resources Institute. Source: Reuters (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #earth #co2 #noemissions #future #science #lockdown #carbonemissions

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Thanks to the isolation that has been produced to avoid more contagions from the COVID - 19 coronavirus, some animals have taken advantage of walking the streets, swimming where they did not do it before or returning to certain areas. An example of this is the massive arrival of thousands of sea turtles to empty beaches in India, according to reports from local media and social networks. The absence of these turtles were observed in 2002, 2007, 2016 and last year too but this spring was the first in seven years that the mass nesting of the species took place at broad daylight. Without tourists on the beaches, human interference at the nesting site decreased and experts and authorities estimate that the turtles laid around 60 million eggs in the sands of these Indian beaches. Source: IBT (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #positivity #india #turtle #seaturtle #beach #ocean #egg #coronavirus

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Denmark-based toymaker Lego recently announced on Instagram that it had begun producing protective visors for front-line healthcare workers in its home country. The company has modified some of its molding machines to manufacture Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).⁣ ⁣ Intended to offer an extra layer of protection between health workers' eyes and those suffering from COVID-19, the visors consist of a wide, transparent plastic cover and handle.⁣ ⁣ "The team worked around the clock to create designs and make molds that can produce more than 13,000 visors a day. We are grateful to have such talented, dedicated and caring colleagues," the company added. Source: Lego Instagram (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #positivenews #lego #healthcare #help #mask #doctors #denmark #coronavirus

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Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the "Green Stimulus" package as part of the government's efforts to extend green cover in the country and to create job opportunities for the youth in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Since Pakistan locked down starting March 23 to try to stem the spread of COVID-19, unemployed day labourers have been given new jobs as "jungle workers", planting saplings as part of the country's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme.⁣ ⁣ Under the package, a "Green Nigehbaan" initiative will also be launched to initially provide job opportunities to 65,000 youths/daily wage earners, making them part of the plantation campaign. Source: Reuters (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #pakistan #trees #green #coronavirus #jobs #youth

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Australia's tourism economy is at a standstill, leaving the country's tour boats bobbing in the harbors. Now, some of those companies are repurposing their idle vessels - and staff - for coral restoration missions along the Great Barrier Reef. One family-owned tour company, Passions of Paradise, is using its catamaran to take scientists to a site on the Great Barrier Reef where they've set up "nurseries" where baby coral is being grown and harvested. The new coral is fused with the old to revive it - so far, about 1,000 pieces of coral have been re-planted. When tours resume passengers will be able to snorkel over the site which boasts healthy marine life and corals near the nursery. Source: Rtbc/Karryon (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #scuba #australia #coral #coronavirus #positivenews #coralreef #greatbarrierreef

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One of the most difficult parts of social distancing and self-isolation is the prolonged physical separation. As lockdown continues we miss the hugs. We miss physical touch. And it's especially hard for those who are quarantining alone. As these feelings of loneliness and isolation grow, Iceland has responded by encouraging people to hug trees. Rangers from the country's forestry service are advising people to spend five minutes a day hugging a tree in one of the country's national parks. Iceland's forestry service has uploaded several photos on its website to act as a visual guide for tree hugging (people are encouraged to hug different trees). Indeed, research shows that trees really do have healing powers. The Japanese practice of forest bathing or shinrin-yoku became part of Japan's national health programme in 1982. Essentially it means to immerse yourself in nature, and is embraced by doctors around the world as a way to combat stress and improve health. Source: Lonely Planet (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #iceland #trees #hugs #coronavirus #mentalhealth #lockdown #nature

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Scientists have long turned to llamas for antibody research. In the last decade, for example, scientists have used llamas' antibodies in H.I.V. and influenza research, finding promising therapies for both viruses. Winter is a 4-year-old chocolate-colored llama with spindly legs, ever-so-slightly askew ears and envy-inducing eyelashes. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, the National Institutes of Health and Ghent University in Belgium hope she might be an important figure in the fight against the novel coronavirus. The coronavirus gets its name for having a corona, or crown shape, which is formed by protein spikes that let the virus break into healthy host cells. But the preliminary research finds that the petite antibodies from Winter's blood (which were used to engineer a new antibody) can bind onto the coronavirus spikes, and block the virus from infecting cells. The researchers are hopeful the antibody can eventually be used as a prophylactic treatment, by injecting someone who is not yet infected to protect them from the virus, such as a health care worker. Source: New York Times (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #llama #belgium #antibodies #coronavirus #cure #science #covid19

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Sudan's new government has outlawed the practice of female genital mutilation, a move hailed as a major victory by women's rights campaigners in a country where the often dangerous practice is widespread. Now, anyone in Sudan who performs female genital mutilation faces a possible three-year prison term and a fine under an amendment to Sudan's criminal code approved last week by the country's transitional government. The United Nations estimates that nearly nine in 10 Sudanese women have been subjected to the most invasive form of the practice. It typically occurs between the ages of one and 15. The practice has no health benefits but can cause ongoing physical and psychological problems. This comes following years of persistent and forceful advocacy by all stake holders; the NCCW, women and child advocates, donors including UK aid and the Swedish government, UN agencies, international and national organizations, community-based organizations and community members, especially those who came together and publicly declared to join the 'Saleema' movement. Source: UNICEF/The New York Times (link in bio) #thehappybroadcast #sudan #FGM #women #issue #africa #positivenews #girls

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