A New York City bodega owner was just reunited with the store’s cat, three month old Jabal, after a couple passing by about a week earlier ABDUCTED it in plain view of a surveillance camera. That ignited an intense grassroots search effort, with locals putting up posters, posting about Jabal online, and canvassing the neighborhood. In the end, the woman who allegedly took Jabal had her stepson take the cat to the police. The woman was also arrested for theft, although she claims she’s an “animal lover,” and didn’t steal the cat. In any event, Jabal is home. (Here’s a local news report about it)………….Children in London are experiencing faster lung development now that traffic pollution has dropped in the city. Researchers tracked more than 3,400 children and found lung capacity grew once the nitrogen dioxide levels from vehicle exhaust fell. And during the study, the share of children from London with impaired lung function dropped from 14% to 9%………………And finally……………….
In Kenya, a 22-year-old entrepreneur named Norah Kimathi has created a robotic hand that can translate a teacher’s voice into sign language for deaf students. Now the students can be taught, even if the teacher doesn’t know sign language. (Kenya doesn’t have a “standardized signed language.”) Each robotic hand is 3D-printed from recycled plastic litter, and costs $350. They can last three years without maintenance, and they’ve already sold 78 units. (Here’s video.)