Pioneering brain surgery, space hibernation, eco saunas, and more
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Pioneering brain surgery, space hibernation, eco saunas, and more uplifting stories | The Guardian
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Pioneering brain surgery, space hibernation, eco saunas, and more uplifting stories
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Good morning.
A man who was paralysed from the chest down can now feed himself and drink from a cup thanks to a brain implant that bypasses his spinal cord injury.
Keith Thomas, who is from New York, was 42 when he was injured in a swimming accident in 2020. He could not even lift his arms off his wheelchair when he agreed to the surgery, but after a “double neural bypass” to implant electrodes in his brain, he has been able to move his limbs and feel the sensation of touch again.
Prof Chad Bouton, whose team developed the technology at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York, said: “I think we’re going to continue to see progress and I think it’ll be applicable to the millions of folks around the world who really need this technology.”
The Guardian newsletters team
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The 11 secrets of starting again – from successful late bloomers
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 Ready for your stunning second act? Composite: Guardian Design; Mireya Acierto; Richard Drury/Getty Images
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Go big – and regret nothing. These are some of the secrets of success shared by late bloomers – from a seventy-something standup comedian to the founder of a highly successful spice business – on how to have a stunning second act. They reveal why it’s never too late to embark on the life of your dreams.
Along with sensible truisms such as pursuing what you are truly passionate about, there is great wisdom in taking a long view. “People should remind themselves that they only have one life,” says Lisbeth Dreyer, a literal late bloomer who became a flower farmer and florist in her 60s. “And if there is something you want to do, you should try it. I think people feel bad inside if they don’t try what they want to do. If it doesn’t work, at least you tried. It is easier to live with it if you try.”
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The Feast app: your most useful kitchen utensil
Get inspired with more than 7,000 recipes from our world-class cooks and smart, exclusive features to make cooking a breeze.
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Chatsworth House pilots ‘community membership’ free entry scheme
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The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth House, where groups of up to eight can visit at no cost using a community membership pass. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA
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Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, which is supposed to have served as the inspiration for Jane Austen’s Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice, is home to a renowned private art collection, including rare first editions by authors such as Charlotte Brontë and Oscar Wilde.
But the cost of admission to the house (£33 for an adult, rising to £40 at Christmas), has long put its heritage out of reach for many. Now, Chatsworth is pioneering a scheme of free community memberships that people can borrow from Derbyshire libraries. It hopes the pass could become a model for widening access to heritage across Britain.
“For me, the best bit was walking around places that you recognise from TV and film adaptations,” said Kate, a contract worker who lives locally and was one of the first people to benefit from the scheme. “I felt like I’d been there before.”
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Can humans hibernate their way to Mars?
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Nasa astronaut Sally Ride in her sleep restraint on the space shuttle Challenger, 1983. Photograph: Space Frontiers/Getty Images
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Can humans hibernate their way to Mars? A growing group of scientists thinks so. Certain animal species can survive months without food or water, thanks to a specific area of their brain. Turns out we have one, too – and with the help of technology, humans might also be able to safely shut down.
“It could absolutely transform the future of space travel,” says Christiane Hahn, from the European Space Agency. Hibernation could shrink the provisions needed for deep space travel, while reducing its potential health risks.
Plus, there’s hope this research could one day treat all sorts of diseases. “This has so much therapeutic potential,” says physician professor Matteo Cerri. “It’s just an incredibly exciting area.”
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‘More real than anything you’ll see scrolling’: the radical resurgence of UK fanzines
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‘The whole ethos of zines in DIY’ … music fanzines. Illustration: Ruby Martin/The Guardian
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In the money-dominated, digital music industry, a new generation of zine-makers are finding ways to rebel. From hip-hop to indie pop and glamrock, a wave of devoted fans are reviving the old-school fanzine. Five decades on from their punk beginnings, this alternative medium that celebrates creativity for its own sake, not an exec’s bottom line, lives on.
The old guard are just as inspired, with zine-makers from the 1990s renewing their enthusiasm for the art. As hip-hop musician and zine-r ExP puts it: “You’re almost definitely going to spend more time looking at a zine than anything you see scrolling … It’s the long way round, but the scenery is always better.”
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The closed-loop garden behind the world’s first community-powered sauna
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R-Urban, a community powered sauna and allotment in Tower Hamlets, east London. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
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A sauna might not be top of anyone’s agenda in London right now, given the interminable heatwave that the climate crisis has wrought upon the capital city, but the work of R-Urban Poplar raises a sweat without destroying the planet. The world’s first “community powered” sauna, it uses food waste from a local housing estate in Tower Hamlets to fuel the hot room.
Kitchen scraps from the Teviot estate are processed in a local scale anaerobic digester to produce methane gas and power the sauna. “Nine years ago, the site was an unused car park and empty garages,” writes our reporter, Damien Gayle. “Now, butterflies flutter around leaves and flowers in raised, no-dig beds.” Elle McAll from the Women’s Environmental Network, which helps to fund R-Urban, says: “The whole thing really has been about how can we reimagine our local food system so it really does genuinely benefit local communities.”
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| Stronger, better, braver: how my netball family helped me come back from injury |
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When a dislocated shoulder put Natalie Morris on the sidelines, she thought her netballing days were over. But her teammates refused to let that happen. From daily check-ins to celebrating the small wins – “You did up your own bra?! Huge!” – it was their unwavering support that helped Natalie return to the court. In this love letter to her teammates, she says thanks for it all.
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