Sweden is encouraging Hittaut (recreational nature hiking) with the added encouragement of exploring places to find specific checkpoints along the hike.¹

European dippers are making the news lately, including science news in Wales.^1-3

These riparian habitat birds are indicators⁴ of freshwater stream quality, as noted below. Scientists study them to learn how badly freshwater streams are polluted—such as by non-biodegradable (non-decaying, indigestible) plastic waste products.^2,3

Under ideal circumstances, we can do a lot of good. But when circumstances handicap or restrict our potential—in ways we cannot circumvent—we just do the best that we can.

That principle is true for humans as well as in the water-filtering services of the humble bivalves we call oysters—according to recent research involving the University of Maryland.^1,2

A recent study conducted by researchers from Harvard University found that deaths from despair are significantly less common among healthcare workers who regularly attend religious services.¹ A “death from despair” was defined as one related to alcohol, drugs, or suicide.

They summarized their findings in the journal JAMA Psychiatry:

Pig populations are having their ups and downs.

For domestic swine raised as livestock, the problem is a decreasing population. Some herds have succumbed to the swine flu,¹ and some pork processing plants are required to shut down.