Inhale the present, exhale the past.

Now, let your breath guide you back to the present moment, where peace and mindfulness reside.

Thank you for reading today’s edition of Grateful Gazette 😌

Here’s what to know for Tuesday:

• Melanoma vaccine shows promise in Phase 2 trial

• Musician opens up a mental health center

• Solar sites with native plants boost insect and crop health

A NEW CANCER VACCINE NEARING CLINICAL TRIALS

A breakthrough cancer vaccine is getting closer to the final stage of testing.

You may have heard of melanoma, a type of skin cancer that can be deadly if not treated early. But what if there was a way to prevent it from returning after surgery?

That’s what a team of researchers have been working on for years.

They have created a vaccine that uses a unique technology called mRNA to teach your immune system how to recognize and destroy any remaining cancer cells.

The vaccine is personalized for each patient, using their own tumor cells as the source of mRNA.

Well, it gets even better.

The vaccine has been tested in a large trial with hundreds of high-risk melanoma patients.

The results were very encouraging: the vaccine reduced the chance of cancer returning by almost 50% when combined with another treatment called immunotherapy.

And the best part?

The vaccine had very few side effects, unlike chemotherapy or radiation.

The FDA has approved the vaccine to start a Phase 3 trial, the last step before it can be used widely. This trial will involve more than 1,000 patients from different countries. 

If the vaccine proves safe and effective, it could be a game-changer for cancer treatment.

It could also open the door for developing similar vaccines for other types of cancer if we can catch them early enough.

🐱 Massachusetts Senate passes bill banning the declawing of cats.

🦌 A deer was rescued from a frozen pond in Michigan.

🧑‍⚕️ A doctor uses an Apple Watch to help a passenger on a flight

🎿 Lost skiers and snowboarders rescued back to safety

👦 Seven-year-old saves dad’s life after learning from paramedics at school

🧠 Korn’s Brian Welch launches mental health center to help others find community

So, it turns out that native grasses and wildflowers in solar energy sites promote insect biodiversity and pollination.

A recent Argonne National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory study led to this discovery.

The researchers monitored two solar sites in Minnesota that were restored with native vegetation and found that insect abundance tripled in less than five years.

The experiment shows that using solar power and making the land green again can be good for both the environment and the insects.

The scientists also checked the solar sites with nearby farms and saw that the solar sites had more kinds of insects and more insects in total.

They guessed that the insects at the solar sites were worth about $4,000 per hectare per year because they helped the plants grow.

This strategy is a win-win situation for both causes.

By using this approach, we can generate clean energy while also restoring the natural habitats for insects. That’s fantastic news for everyone!

Enter a world of pure imagination.

I was skeptical of the new film WONKA when I first heard about it. Yet everyone I know keeps telling me it’s fun and lighthearted.

I’m not sold, but I’m trying it out today. Maybe you can score a Tuesday movie deal and treat yourself to a spontaneous night out to the movies?

Let me know if you see this movie or try something else!

- Thank you for reading Grateful Gazette. Remember to breathe deeply to bring your mind back to your body 💜

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