Good News – Planet patterns, lottery winners, and more

This month’s Good News begins with a local story.

  A few new businesses opened up this summer in Port Washington, one being F45 Training on Shore Road.  F45 Training is a fitness center that originated in Sydney, Australia almost a decade ago and now has over 1,000 locations worldwide.  Since its opening back in mid July, it has had a positive reception from the Port Washington community.

“F45 Training is great because it is conveniently located in town and provides a variety of workouts including cardio and weight training,” said community member Tony Santos. 

Another business that recently opened is a Vietnamese restaurant called JoJu, located on 43b Main Street. Joju’s most popular menu items include the beef bulgogi bowl, lemongrass chicken bowl, and beef bulgogi banh mi, and customers frequently order takeout as well.

Outside of Port Washington, two new breakthroughs have come out in the world of science: planets contain more water than previously believed and certain patterns show signs of dozens of undiscovered planets.  The recent studies from scientists Jacon Bean and Rafael Luque of the University of Chicago proved that planets other than Earth contain underground water.  This is important, as finding habitable planets besides Earth is a major goal for scientists, and this information is one step closer to achieving it.  

Originally, it was hard for the scientists to tell if there were more planets in other solar systems, because when looking through a telescope, we also see the stars surrounding planets.  The brightness of the stars blocks the view of some planets.  However, scientists are recognizing faint signs in stars which indicate that planets are most likely there, such as shadows on the stars themselves and their orbits’ paths.  This information is groundbreaking as more planets means more opportunities for potential habitable environments in the future.

It was recently said that the mixture of Manuka honey and amikacin could assist in getting rid of a bacterial infection.  Mycobacterium abscessus is a bacterial infection that typically affects patients with cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis, but now scientist Dr. Jonathan Cox and his team from Aston University showed that Manuka honey and amikacin will clear the bacteria.  Since the scientists have discovered how Manuka honey actually does help with the bacterial infection, opportunities have opened up for doctors to use the honey to treat many health conditions, and not just cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis.

“By combining a totally natural ingredient such as manuka honey with amikacin, one of the most important yet toxic drugs used for treating Mycobacterium abscessus, we have found a way to potentially kill off these bacteria with eight times less drug than before,” said Cox.

Lakeville Stationery on Lakeville Road in North New Hyde Park recently sold a winning lottery ticket on Sept. 10.  The winning ticket was worth $500,000 and the probability of winning was extremely small, with odds of nearly 1 in 9 million. 

Finally, Apple’s newest model of the iPhone, the iPhone 14, has been created and launched.  Since 2007, when the first iPhone was made, there has been a high demand for the devices.  The camera has been updated, making clearer and better quality photos, and the screen is also much clearer than previous phones.  A unique distinction of the iPhone 14 is that Apple is not raising its price, so customers can save money while purchasing the most updated model of the iPhone possible. The phone launched on Sept. 9 and will be available starting on Sept. 16.  

“The iphone 14 seems like a great investment and I might possible purchase one in the near future,” said senior Ryan Morosanu