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Top news from around the world

CANADA

Sapphires have been found in only one region of the Great White North, but a recent study reports that the gems can form under a wider range of pressures and temperatures, giving clues to where more may be hidden.

IRELAND


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A joint American and Irish research team has found that the best aid for people stung by a lion's mane jellyfish is a vinegar wash followed by a heat pack. These jellyfish swarm Ireland's coastlines from June to September, causing beach closures.

MEXICO

A Swiss reinsurance company has developed a new policy for hotels near a coastal reef off southern Mexico that would help cover the cost of rebuilding this Caribbean habitat following natural disasters.

U.K.

A recent Royal Academy of Engineering report recommends that the U.K. start making more biofuel from waste, such as sawmill residue and whiskey dregs, rather than from food crops, such as wheat.

AUSTRALIA

Health care and government officials are planning to build a 90-resident community for people with dementia that is intended to resemble a small town. Afflicted inhabitants of a similar village in the Netherlands reportedly require fewer medications.

Leslie Nemo is a freelance science journalist living in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can find more of her work at www.leslienemo.com

More by Leslie Nemo
Scientific American Magazine Vol 317 Issue 4This article was originally published with the title “Quick Hits” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 317 No. 4 (), p. 22
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1017-22