A new surf academy in Senegal is helping young girls return to school, while in Germany, experts warn of evolving Islamist recruitment tactics targeting vulnerable youth. Elsewhere, an experimental surgery is enabling cancer survivors to give birth, and a software engineer overcame a low GPA to achieve a six-figure career. These stories, along with a critique debunking claims about trees sensing solar eclipses, highlight diverse developments across the globe.
In Dakar, Senegal, a surf academy run by the US group Black Girls Surf is making waves by combining surfing lessons with education for approximately 20 girls from the fishing village of Xataxely. The program, which began four months prior, requires the girls to attend school if they want to participate in surfing. The girls primarily come from Lebou households, traditional Wolof fishing communities.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Islamist groups are increasingly using social media influencers and commercial tactics to recruit young people to extremism, according to Kaan Mustafa Orhon, an Islamic studies scholar at the German advisory centre Grüner Vogel. Recruiters target vulnerable individuals with poor education and limited job prospects, promising opportunities for rapid social advancement.
In the realm of medical advancements, an experimental surgical procedure is helping people who have undergone treatment for bowel or rectal cancer to have babies. The procedure involves temporarily moving the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes out of the way during cancer treatment. After treatment, the organs are repositioned. Last week, a team in Switzerland announced the birth of baby Lucien, the fifth baby born after the surgery and the first in Europe, according to Daniela Huber, the gyno-oncologist who performed the operation.
In the tech world, Angel Juarez, a 27-year-old software engineer, transformed a 1.0 GPA in high school into a six-figure career at American Express. At 19, Juarez was working part-time and struggling financially. He found an ad for free tech training through the nonprofit Per Scholas, which provided the opportunity he needed. "I was pretty dejected that whole night. I just couldn't sleep because I was nervous about rent," Juarez told Fortune, recalling a time when he couldn't afford spaghetti sauce.
Finally, a new critique published in the journal Trends in Plant Science debunks claims that trees can sense a solar eclipse. The original research, which generated media interest, suggested that spruce trees in Italy's Dolomite mountains synchronized their bioelectrical activity in anticipation of a partial solar eclipse. However, the new critique raises questions about the initial findings.
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