Coffee filters providing floodproofing for endangered birds, a successful treatment for Huntington’s disease, and the Seine river in Paris cooling 800 buildings in summer are a few of the interesting stories I’ve read and enjoyed in the past month.
I hope you enjoy them, too!
What I Found Interesting
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Can you imagine a coffee filter helping birds to raise their young? That’s what is happening in Rhode Island as volunteers and researchers work to save saltmarsh sparrows from extinction.
Before the early 1800’s, salt marshes along the Rhode Island shore would flood twice a month, during new and full moons.
Due to rising sea levels causing extreme tides, more frequent flooding as well as development has reduced habitat for the saltmarsh sparrow.
Citizen scientists and researchers working together found a solution to floodproof the nests during high tides, raising the nests like an elevator.
A plastic coffee filter that costs $6 (£4.50) glued to foam pads proves to be a buoyant life raft for nests that would otherwise flood.
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If you’ve wanted to create a website, but didn’t know how to get started or what to write, consider joining Weird Web October.
A community-oriented event, Weird Web October challenges you to make a website every day in October based on the theme of the day.
And if you’re not sure how to get started creating a website, Stefan Bohacek has a slew of resources on website basics including hosting, growing your site, and making it fediverse-ready.
(I was glad to see Bohacek included Shannon Kay’s Make Your Own Website guide in his list of resources.)
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A trial study has shown Huntington’s disease has been successfully treated for the first time.
According to the research team, the treatment uses a type of gene therapy during a 12-18 hour delicate brain surgery.
The data showed that three years after surgery there was an average 75% slowing of the disease based on a measure which combines cognition, motor function and the ability to manage in daily life.
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Amazing.
A personal computer case, monitor, and mechanical keyboard all made from Lego-style bricks. And it works.
The personal computer has memory, a motherboard, and a cooler.
It’s incredible what you can build with Lego-style bricks. Makes me think I should find my son’s two containers of Legos and start building something!
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You’re invited to join the Internet Archive in October as they celebrate an extraordinary milestone: one trillion web pages preserved and accessible through the Wayback Machine.
In-person and livestreamed events happen throughout October; I’m looking forward to the October 16, 2025 virtual Library Leaders Forum.
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Pumps and heat exchangers are part of the heat transfer network channeling water to and from the Seine river, naturally cooling 800 buildings in Paris, France.
Currently the network is composed of 100 kilometers of pipe and is expected to expand to 245 kilometers of pipes, which will have the capacity to cool an additional 2,200 buildings.
Cool to learn the Louvre is part of the network!
