Space macaroons, puppy parenting, town hall turnouts and more. Our round up of what went well this week.
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Muslim Activists Raise Money to Repair Vandalized Jewish Cemetery
In partial thanks to the divisiveness of this administration, groups who have not historically come together are doing so to fight bigotry. After Jewish Cemetery Chesed Shel Emeth in St. Louis was desecrated, American Muslims Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi set up a crowd funding campaign on LaunchGood.com to help repair the 170+ toppled or broken tombstones. Their initial goal was to raise $20,000, which the campaign reached within three hours. Currently, over $120,000 has been raised.
SpaceX Launches Science (and Macaroons) into Space
A cargo capsule named Dragon successfully delivered supplies and science equipment for over 250 research experiments to the SpaceX Spacestation on Thursday. Processes such as tissue regeneration and bacteria mutation are sped up or slowed down in a no gravity atmosphere making it easier to do certain experiments in space. The six-person space station crew also received specially developed macaroons for French astronaut Pesquet. Pesquet celebrates his 39th birthday on Monday.
More Citizens Participate in Politics as Town Halls See Record Turnouts
In Utah, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, New Jersey, Arkansas and South Carolina this week, constituents have been showing up in droves to confront their representatives and Senators at local town hall meetings. Many are first-timers. Topics most asked about include Trump’s connection to Russia, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, health care reform and the environment.
Beer Company to be the First to offer Employees “Paw-ternity” Leave
A Scottish beer company named BrewDog is opening its doors this Spring in Colombus, Ohio. Avid dog lovers, the brewery offers one week paid leave for employees who have new puppies or rescue dogs. “”It’s not easy trying to juggle work and settle a new dog into your life,” co-founder James Watt told USA Today. “We wanted our team to take the time they need to welcome a new puppy or dog into their family.” Not to be left out, BrewDog also has ‘enhanced’ maternity and paternity leave for those having non-furry children.
We May Soon be Able to Target Breast Cancer Treatment
A researcher from Michigan State University has offered proof that Breast Cancer treatment can be predicted by the behavior of each particular cancer gene. By looking at the way a gene expresses itself (how it activates pathways), scientists can learn the correct drug or drugs to treat that gene. This opens doors to predicting exactly what will help stop tumor growth in specific cancers, rather than giving all patients a generalized treatment protocol. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.