Children’s Charity Gets Boost from Online Community

What if you had the chance to make the hospital experience of a child just a little more comfortable? Children in hospital still want to be able to do all the things that other children do. Unfortunately, hospital budgets don't cover entertainment for these kids, and they have to rely on donations. This is where Get-Well Gamers comes in. They provide hospitals with consoles and games so that the kids have a way to wile away the time between visits. And besides, did you know that playing computer games has also proven to help manage pain in some patients? Founded in the US in 2001, Get-Well Gamers has gone on to help out hundreds of hospitals around the world, all year round. Everything is donated, so the hospitals don't have to pay anything, and the children can enjoy anything from a classic games system to the very latest next-gen console. The charity is able to do this through the generosity of people giving away their old games and electronic toys, as well as money, which goes towards shipping. UK Reddit user James Stewart came across a post about the Get-Well Gamers Foundation and thought it such an amazing idea that he contacted them to see if they had a chapter in the UK. It turned out they didn't, and so Get-Well Gamers UK was born. "Hospitals can be tough, even when you're old enough to know exactly what's going on," James said on the charity's website. "When you're a child, it's scary and confusing." James, who goes by the Reddit username ShetlandJames, launched the UK faction last year, but despite Reddit posts to raise awareness for it, Get-Well Gamers UK hadn't received much publicity. It received a couple of donations here and there, but nothing major. But last week, another Reddit user, Downvotes4Samson, posted about a little girl they knew who had to spend some time in hospital. In the playroom was an Xbox 360 for the children to play on. The user thought it was a brilliant idea, and after a little research found the games console had been given to the hospital by Get-Well Gamers UK. Reading more about the charity, the user posted to Reddit to encourage everyone to make a contribution. Within an hour of the post, James received an email from PayPal informing him that someone had donated £100. Half an hour later, another donation was made, then another, and another. The Get-Well Gamers UK website was also getting hundreds of hit, which was unheard of before Downvotes4Samson's initial post. And not only was the site overrun with people donating their gaming stuff, they were also offering their free time. Less than five hours after that initial Reddit post was made, James received another alert from Paypal: someone had donated a whopping £900 - more than all of the other donations put together! At the moment, Get-Well Gamers UK helps just over 40 hospitals, but thanks to all of the latest donations (totalling more than £1,600), that could extend to more than 300 hospitals across the UK! If you would like to help sick children in hospital feel even just a little bit better, check out Get-Well Gamers UK's About and Donation pages, and follow the instructions there. You can also visit the US site here. And, finally, a huge "WELL DONE" to everyone who has already donated!

Could Sleep Training Rid the World of Prejudice?

When we sleep, our brains process what we have learnt throughout the day. So, is it possible for us to relearn deeply-ingrained prejudices - no matter how big or small - while we are sleeping? According to a small study of 40 people, published in Science and carried out by Northwestern University in Chicago, it just might be! Bearing in mind how small the study was, the authors believe that any racial or sexual bias we might have (even subconscious), could be reduced by manipulating the way our brains learn while we sleep. All of the study participants were white and in the 18-to-30 age bracket, and took a series of tests beforehand to assess the levels of their prejudices - conscious or otherwise. (You can check out your own scores by taking the tests here.) After they had taken the tests and their scores had be assessed, the people in the study participated in some exercises. These tasks showed the group pairs of faces with a word beneath them, and each participant had to choose the face they felt countered the typical bias. For example, one of the pairings that popped up was a white woman's face with the word "math" beneath, and a black man's face with "sunshine" under it. The study participants had to choose which combination of face-and-word they felt was most opposite from one another. After the choice had been made, depending on whether the response was correct or incorrect, a sound would ring. Following this was another exercise, in which the participant would hear the corresponding correct or incorrect tone, and choose the pairing accordingly, reinforcing the associations from the first exercise. Once all of the tasks had been completely, the group had a monitored 90-minute nap. While they slept, the team played the sounds from the exercises again, but at a lower volume and amid white noise. When the prejudice assessments were taken again, the team found an overall reduction in both racial and sexual bias scores. And a week later, the "sleep training" appeared to still have an effect, with the scores still lower than when the tests were initially taken. Professor Ken Paller was the lead author of the study. He explained that to know the full effects of using "counter-bias training" (as the team has called it), a bigger experiment is needed. If an extended experiment were to take place, then study participants would have to interact with and make decisions about other people in person. "[There] is the question of whether people in positions of authority in society, such as judges and police officers... should have their unconscious bias evaluated, and perhaps trained to some standard," he added. But the study authors believe this method could be applied in a variety of ways, and not just to reduce prejudice. For example, if people wanted to get rid of some of their bad habits, such as smoking, drinking, or eating unhealthily, counter-vias training has the potential to help. As long as it's used wisely, application of sleep training has the potential to change the world for the better - so watch this space!

Cast & Crew Create ‘Big Bang’ Science Scholarship

How many of you have watched science-nerd sitcom The Big Bang Theory? If you have, then you'll know that it centres around a bunch of stereotypical science academics, their careers, and their passions (which involves a lot of sci-fi, as you can imagine!). The series has been running for eight seasons and has managed to make science fun and interesting for a lot of people. And what better to repay their loyal fans, in the same vein as the show, than to make it possible for future scientists to fulfil their dreams? Around fifty people associated with the show have contributed to a scholarship fund to help low-income science students at UCLA, something they have been discussing setting something like this up for a couple of years. They realised that when the show first aired, freshmen in college would have only been about 10 years old, and would have grown up watching it. In 2007, Mayim Bialik, who plays Amy Farrah Fowler on the show, earned her PhD in neuroscience at UCLA. And despite some of Big Bang being set in "rival" university Caltech, the team decided that UCLA was the more deserving choice. Big Bang creator Chuck Lorre explained that UCLA had more of a need for the scholarship fund than Caltech. However, it's possible that the team will be looking to extend the fund to other universities in and out of the state in the future. "Unlike Caltech, which is a much smaller, private operation, UCLA has a need for rich scholarships for high-performing STEM students who financially are falling short for getting great education," he explained. The university has another tie-in with the show, other than Mayim Bialik's doctorate, with David Saltzberg PhD. He's a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, and also The Big Bang Theory's science consultant. The scholarship fund, which is the first one created by a television show's cast and crew for UCLA, will go towards students in science, maths, technology, and engineering. As we said before, The Big Bang Theory has attracted a huge fan base, including some famous names - some of which have even graced the show with cameo roles. Wil Wheaton, for example, is known for Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), but has a recurring role on the show, playing himself. Other sci-fi actors you might have spotted (or will want to keep a look out for) are Summer Glau, Katee Sackhoff, Nathan Fillion, George Takei, and Leonard Nimoy. But if you're more into the science-fact stuff, Professor Stephen Hawking makes a couple of appearances, as well as astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. And this is just a small handful of big names to have appeared on the show! As Mr Lorre pointed out, the show is enthusiastically supported by the science community, and the scholarship fund is an opportunity for those involved to give back to their supporters. "Our Big Bang family has made a meaningful contribution," he explained. "And, together, we'll share in the support of these future scholars, scientists, and leaders." When the fund launches, there will be 20 students taking up scholarships for the 2015-16 academic year, who might not otherwise have been able to pursue their passion for a career in science. These first 20 lucky scholars will be announced on the set of The Big Bang Theory later this year, in autumn. After that, another five students will be invited into the scholarship every year.  

Cold Sore Virus Can Kill Skin Cancer?

If any of you suffer from the occasional cold sore, it might be hard to imagine how such an annoying mark on your face could possibly be of benefit to anyone. It's even more irritating when you consider that cold sores are a variation of the herpes virus. But a genetically engineered version of this virus has shown real promise for treating malignant melanoma - skin cancer. Using a virus to treat another illness is called viral immunotherapy. In this case, the cold sore virus has been modified so that it can't replicate in healthy cells, leaving only cancer cells to focus on. This new cancer-fighting virus is called Talimogene Laherparepvec, or T-Vec for short. When T-Vec is injected into a tumour, it replicates in the cancer cells and releases substances that fight cancer. This has already been shown in phase-3 trial results, which have been published in Journal of Clinical Oncology. The results are from the largest ever randomised trial of virus immunotherapy in the fight against skin cancer. They showed that some melanoma patients could have years more survival than without the therapy. All of the 436 patients in the study had aggressive and inoperable skin cancer. However, those treated early on in their disease's progression survive an average of 20 months longer than those participants who were given an alternative treatment. The international trial, which covered the South Africa, the US and Canada, as well as the UK, yielded such positive results that T-Vec could become widely available from next year. Professor Kevin Harrington from the Institute of Cancer Research in London is the trial leader in the UK. He said that using treatments like T-Vec for cancer is exciting because of the so-called "two-pronged attack" against the disease. T-Vec not only directly kills cancer cells, it also boosts the immune system against them as well. "And because viral treatment can target cancer cells specifically," he explained, "it tends to have fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy." Professor Harrington added that he and other experts in the field hope T-Vec is just the start of a new development of cancer-fighting treatments that we'll be hearing about over the 10 years or so. Dr Hayley Frend, Cancer Research UK's Science Information Manager, said that T-Vec had already been shown to benefit some people with skin cancer in previous trials. However, this is the first study - in the world - to have shown to increase the length of patient survival. "The next step will be to understand why only some patients respond to T-Vec," she added, "to help better identify which patients might benefit from it."

Akon is Bringing Electricity to Africa!

If we asked you what you know about Akon, you might be able to tell us that he is an award-winning R&B and Hip Hop star. But what you might not know is that he has spent the last couple of years trying to bring electricity to a part of the world that is shrouded in darkness when the sun goes down - Africa. Of course, Akon hasn't been going it alone. Together with Thione Niang and entrepreneur Samba Bathily, Akon launched a company that aims to bring electricity to the 600 million people across some of Africa's poorest and most rural countries. According to Akon Lighting Africa's website, around 80% of the world has access to electricity, but only 30% of the African population enjoys the benefits. The company only launched in February of last year. However, in the short amount of time since then, solar energy has brought light and other electric "luxuries" - such as street lights - to 14 countries in Africa so far. For the first time ever, houses and villages, health centres and schools, have all been connected to electricity. And because electricity has been introduced to these places, a number of job opportunities have opened up in those communities. These jobs are particularly important for the younger people and vary from installations to maintenance. Akon Lighting Africa has been looking into more ways of bringing electricity to more people, and they announced their latest plans to do this just a couple of weeks ago. The aim is to enable the African people to help themselves and each other by opening a solar academy in Bamako, the capital Mali. Mr Bathily said that there is both enough sun and technology to bring electricity to everyone. "[But] we are doing more than just investing in clean energy," he pointed out. "We are investing in human capital; we can achieve great milestones." The solar academy is a training centre that will be opening this summer, enabling people to learn about solar power and how to make the most of the 320 days of sun a year the continent experiences. People who attend the academy well learn how to maintain solar-powered electricity systems and microgrids, which are small power grids that can operate independently. These types of systems have been growing quickly in Africa and are a great way of harnessing the continent's natural resources. One of the founders of Akon Lighting Africa, Mr Niang, explained that the hope is for people who graduate from the academy to be able to come up with their own innovative technical solutions. "With this academy," he concluded, "we can capitalise on Akon Lighting Africa and go further." Alongside their sister company Solektra International, Akon Lighting Africa are slowly shedding light (and electricity) on Africa.

More Kids are Reading for Fun!

Just when you might have given up all hope of children reading for fun, new research from the National Literacy Trust (NLT) suggests otherwise. For the survey, around 32,000 school children between the ages of eight and 18 were asked questions about their reading habits and their favourite material to read. What they found was the both enjoyment of reading and how often the kids actually read is at the highest levels for nine years, with around 60% of the children questioned having a favourite work of fiction. NLT Director Jonathan Douglas has attributed the findings to popular series of books over the last few years, such as Twilight and The Hunger Games, as well as some reading campaigns to encourage young people to read. "Book Start, the Summer Reading Challenge, and the Young Readers Challenge have combined with the attraction and ease of digital reading," he explained. In the list of favourite fiction from the school children, there were four familiar titles take the top spots. All of these books have become hugely popular film franchises - Diary of a Wimpy Kid, topping the list, followed closely by The Hunger Games, the Twilight series, and the Harry Potter books. But kids aren't just reading books, they're reading everything. From magazines and comics to emails and texts, to poems and song lyrics, kids are reading so much! Of course, as is often the case with studies like this, there is a persistent gender gap, with girls showing more of an interest in reading outside of the classroom than boys. 46.5% of girls admitted to this, while only 35.8% of boys said the same. More than 60% of girls also said they enjoyed reading "very much" or "quite a lot", compared with less than half of the boys questions in the survey. And while reading has come a long way in terms of popularity, more than half of the children in the study said they favoured watching TV over reading - though, that isn't really shocking! Mr Douglas explained that almost a third of disadvantaged children also don't believe their parents care or not if they read outside of school. Despite this, he said it was very encouraging that the number of those that do read every day has risen dramatically. "More must be done to help parents realise what a difference reading with their children from a young age can make to their future," he added. War Horse author Michael Morpurgo agreed, explaining that there are still a lot of boys who find no pleasure in reading because they are disheartened by it. This means that there are still some children who will never become readers at all. Because of this, he said that it's up to adults - authors and illustrators, as well as parents and teachers - to make reading an enjoyable experience for children, even for the most reluctant readers. He said that it was great news to know there are children who are taking up reading and making it a part of their lives. "This is quiet enrichment," he added. "This is growing awareness; this is the heart of the matter of education for life." So, if you have children at home, even nieces or nephews or grandchildren, why not settle down with them with a book and allow them to bring the story alive for you.

L’Oreal to Use 3D-Printed Skin for Testing?

Cosmetic company L'Oreal is teaming up with 3D-printing company Organovo to completely revolutionise how cosmetics are tested - with 3D-printed skin! Of course, we don't advocate animal testing, and L'Oreal claims not to have tested on any of its products on animals since 2013. So, how does it make sure its products are fit for use on people's skin? L'Oreal has been engineering tissue in a lab for more than 30 years, growing human skin from donations from plastic surgery patients. At the moment, the company makes more than 100,000 samples of skin each year, with nine different varieties that cover different ethnicities and ages. Unfortunately, these samples are only 0.5cm², and take a week to produce. If you think about how much skin the company would need to test all of its different skincare products, you would realise that a week is a very long time for something like that to be produced. But what L'Oreal is planning with Organovo is going to change all that, and make the whole process go a lot quicker - by 3D-printing human skin. Organovo has previously said that it was capable of 3D-printing a functioning human liver, using a slightly different method of printing organs than other companies have tried. Instead of using a scaffolding system, Organovo's method allows for direct assembly. Guive Balooch is the Director for L'Oreal's connected Beauty Incubator and Global VP of the company's Technology Incubator. In a press release, he explained that the Technology Incubator was developed to uncover innovations that could potentially transform the beauty business. So while partnering up with Organovo might seem like a strange move, especially as the 3D-printer hasn't been connected with a cosmetics company before, it does explain a little more how this came to be. "Organovo has broken new ground with 3D-bioprinting, an area that complements L'Oreal's pioneering work in the research and application of reconstructed skin," Mr Balooch pointed out. He added that the partnership will also hopefully advance safety and performance evaluations in the lab, and "the potential for where this new fields of technology and research can take us is boundless". Of course, using this new method will further reduce the need for testing cosmetic products on animals, and it is hoped that other companies in the industry will follow suit. "We are excited to be partnering with L'Oreal," said Organovo CEO Keith Murphy. "[Its] leadership in the beauty industry is rooted in scientific innovation and a deep commitment to research and development."