In Dakar, Senegal, a surf academy is making waves by combining surfing lessons with education, helping approximately 20 girls return to school. The program, run by the US group Black Girls Surf, is located in the fishing village of Xataxely and requires girls to attend classes if they want to participate in surfing, according to Euronews.
The four-month program blends surfing instruction with evening classes for girls who had dropped out of school or never enrolled, Euronews reported. The girls primarily come from Lebou households, a traditional Wolof fishing community.
In other news, an experimental surgical procedure is helping cancer survivors have babies, according to MIT Technology Review. Radiation and chemotherapy treatments can have damaging side effects on the uterus and ovaries. Surgeons are pioneering a solution by temporarily moving these organs out of the way during cancer treatment and then returning them to their original position after treatment concludes. Last week, a team in Switzerland announced the birth of a baby boy, Lucien, whose mother had undergone this procedure, making him the fifth baby born after this surgery and the first in Europe, according to Daniela Huber, the gyno-oncologist who performed the operation, as reported by MIT Technology Review.
Meanwhile, a new critique published in the journal Trends in Plant Science has questioned the findings of a study that claimed trees could sense a solar eclipse, according to Ars Technica. The original research, which generated media interest and even inspired a documentary, suggested that spruce trees in Italy's Dolomite mountains synchronized their bioelectrical activity in anticipation of a partial solar eclipse. However, other researchers have raised concerns about the initial paper, Ars Technica reported.
Finally, a 27-year-old software engineer, Angel Juarez, turned a challenging start into a successful career. At 19, Juarez was working part-time and struggling financially, according to Fortune. He was interested in coding boot camps but couldn't afford them. He found an ad for free tech training through the nonprofit Per Scholas. "I was pretty dejected that whole night. I just couldn't sleep because I was nervous about rent," Juarez told Fortune.
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