Good news on global health, energy, research

Among the marvels of human ingenuity in the free section of this Fix the News is the world’s longest-distance telesurgery and Africa’s first. A urologist in Florida removed a prostate tumor in Angola, 7,000 miles away, using a robotic console.

And among the items requiring a subscription in this edition:

— UNICEF reports that last year it delivered more than 1.5 billion polio vaccine doses to 87 countries, screened 251 million children under five for malnutrition, helped 26 million out-of-school children and adolescents gain access to education, and much more.

— China is leading the world in converting old coal-mining sites into solar power projects. In mainland China – the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal – 90 former coal mines are operating as solar-power facilities and an additional 46 projects are in the planning stages, according to Global Energy Monitor.

— A psychedelic nasal spray requiring a much shorter period of clinical supervision has shown promise against treatment-resistant depression, the Financial Times reports. 

In a 193-person, six-nation study, mebufotenin benzoate — a substance derived from plants and the Colorado River toad — sent treatment-resistant depression patients home after just 90 minutes after a dose, and halved depression symptom scores for eight weeks.

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