There is something quietly radical about comfort. It’s not sexy or designed for someone else’s gaze. My husband says anyway that I look the best in boxers. He thinks women’s small undies or slips as they say in Europe are too revealing, even for the best bodies.

Maybe that’s why Pride Month came to mind. At its heart, Pride isn’t really about rainbow logos or corporate marketing campaigns. It’s about the freedom to be yourself, and inclusivity.

That freedom is often taken for granted in North America and Europe, where Pride celebrations can feel like giant street parties. I remember my first in Zurich more than 20 years ago. Tel Aviv, goes all out, but it’s really the only country in the the Middle East and North Africa that can do that. In Muslim-majority countries, where religious practices are more conservative the story is more complicated and people need to hide their identities.

In some countries such as Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, same-sex relationships remain illegal. In others, social expectations can be just as powerful as laws. Not long ago a man from Hebron was beheaded for being gay. (He was waiting for asylum in Canada, a country that is taking refugees, no questions asked). Yet despite these realities, the region is full of people creating spaces for creativity, self-expression, and belonging.

Green Prophet has covered many of those stories over the years.

One of the most memorable involved Syrian dancer Ahmad Joudeh. As a young man, he faced threats from extremists who believed dance itself was a crime. Instead of giving up, he continued dancing against ISIS. Later he brought movement and healing to children affected by war. In a region often defined by conflict, Joudeh showed how art can become an act of resistance. He needed to leave Syria as a refugee. Now that it’s safer for people in Syria, we aren’t sure if he can ever go back. Our dance writer Kelly Milone wrote about Ahmad here.

We’ve also written about Syrian refugee women who found their voices through theatre. Displaced from their homes and separated from familiar lives, they used performance to tell their stories. The stage became a place where they could reclaim identities that war had tried to erase.

Pride is often associated with sexuality and gender identity, but at its core it is about something broader: the right to exist openly and honestly. The refugee rebuilding her life, the dancer refusing silence, the woman challenging social expectations: these stories share common ground.

Even global brands find themselves navigating these tensions. Not long ago Green Prophet asked a simple question: Should Pride flag colors appear on BMW Saudi Arabia?

When BMW updated its logo with rainbow colors in many countries, its Saudi channels remained unchanged. The contrast highlighted a reality multinational companies often face. It is easy to support diversity where it is popular. It is harder where acceptance remains contested, like when a tahini brand in the Middle East supported gay rights it found itself being boycotted.

The Middle East is not one thing. It contains remarkable contradictions: Tel Aviv hosts one of the region’s most visible Pride celebrations and has earned a reputation as a haven for artists, entrepreneurs, and people seeking freedom of expression. A short flight away are places where LGBTQ+ people remain largely invisible. We even have producers from the event working to make it more sustainable. Read our article here. There are even lesbian penguins at the local zoo.

But identity is not the only issue that matters. Years ago Green Prophet covered SlutWalk demonstrations in Israel, where women marched against victim-blaming and demanded the right to move through the world without harassment. The message was different, but the principle was similar: people should not have to apologize for who they are. Around the same time women were being harassed in Cairo simply for cycling or walking by themselves without a male chaperone. They made Harassmap to help each other out by alerting key times when it’s safe to walk the streets.

That connection may be why these stories belong on Green Prophet.

Environmental journalism is often reduced to statistics about carbon emissions, droughts, and renewable energy projects. Those stories matter. But sustainability is also about people. It is about creating societies where human beings can flourish. A sustainable city is not merely one with bike lanes and solar panels. It is a city where people feel safe enough to be themselves.That is why Pride Month belongs in a conversation about the environment.

Nature offers a useful perspective. Trees don’t care who you love. The ocean doesn’t care how you identify. The desert doesn’t ask who you’re holding hands with. Diversity is not an exception in nature, it is the rule and ecosystems depend on it.

This Pride Month, Green Prophet celebrates the people across the Middle East and beyond who continue to make room for others to live openly, honestly, and exactly as they are. Whether through dance, art, entrepreneurship, activism, or simply refusing to hide, they remind us that a better future is not just greener.

If you have a story of a pride month hero to share, send it along to pride@greenprophet.com.

The post Pride in the Middle East: Stories of Courage, Creativity and Community appeared first on Green Prophet.

Diminishing periods of snow cover in northern forests, shortened by climate change, are poised to disrupt a delicate balance in some of the planet’s most climate-sensitive regions – according to new research from McMaster University, VU Amsterdam, and the Woodwell Climate Research Center.  

Historically, carbon emissions from northern forest fires were counteracted by the reflective cooling power of snow cover in charred areas, but that is now under threat. 

When northern forests burn, the charred landscape sits exposed through long winters. Snow settles over the open ground, creating a surface far brighter than the darker tree canopy of intact forests. This increases the surface brightness, known as surface albedo, which reflects more solar energy. In some regions, this can offset a substantial portion of the warming driven by carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from wildfires.  

For decades, this has been one of the natural processes helping to cool the climate after northern wildfires. However, declining snow cover across northern latitudes is steadily eroding this albedo cooling effect, exposing a feedback loop with serious consequences for the global climate.  

“What was once a partial brake on warming is turning into a vicious cycle that accelerates warming and fuels even more intense fires,” says study co-author Alemu Gonsamo, associate professor of Earth, Environment and Society at McMaster. 

Gonsamo, along with McMaster researcher Zilong Zhong and an international team of scientists, have shown that wildfires in northern forests are increasingly likely to amplify climate warming rather than counteract it. Their findings were published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

 “Climate change is leading to warmer springs and earlier snowmelt across Canada’s boreal ecosystems, which shortens the period when the exposed bright snow can reflect sunlight on post-fire landscapes,” says Gonsamo. 

A comprehensive look at how northern wildfires shape the climate

Canada recently experienced its most extensive wildfire season on record in 2023, followed by the second-largest fire season in 2025 since national burned-area monitoring began in the 1970s. These record-breaking fire years highlight the rapidly escalating scale of wildfires across the northern latitudes.  

During the 2023 season, the fires emitted an extraordinary amount of carbon exceeding the annual fossil fuel emissions of nearly every country on Earth.  

“Yet the climate impacts of these wildfires extend far beyond the carbon they emit,” says lead author Max van Gerrevink, a PhD candidate in Earth and Climate science at VU Amsterdam.  

Many factors influence the impact of wildfires on climate, including vegetation changes, shifting the brightness of the surface, and long-term soil impacts. The research shows that, historically, extended spring snow cover in burn scars has helped cool the climate, a natural effect that the new study finds is now beginning to weaken as spring snow cover diminishes because of climate change. 

The consequences of retreating snow cover become especially clear at the scale of individual fires.  

“Historically, nearly half of all Canadian wildfires reached a natural climatic break-even point, where snow-driven surface cooling fully offset the warming caused by fire-related emissions. Today, that proportion has fallen dramatically, to only about one in four or five fires,” says Sander Veraverbeke, the study’s senior author and associate professor of Earth and Climate at VU Amsterdam. 

The study further shows that fires with higher carbon emissions per unit area are increasingly unlikely to achieve a full climatic offset. Compared to the 1960s, the albedo-driven cooling effect across northern forests has declined by nearly 30 per cent. The mechanism is failing where it matters most – the fires releasing the most carbon are precisely those for which the snow cooling buffer has become least effective, a compounding disadvantage that grows more severe with every degree of warming.

 “The highest priority for addressing climate change remains aggressive global greenhouse gas reductions. At the same time, our findings highlight the urgent need to invest in smarter boreal fire management and forest stewardship practices that properly account for both carbon emissions and albedo effects, buying critical time for broader climate solutions while the snow-albedo cooling benefit is still available,” says Gonsamo. 

The study authors highlight the need for targeted interventions focused on specific fires and landscapes where suppression pays the greatest climate dividend. Interventions remain both achievable and may in some cases be cost-effective. 

The post Canada’s forests can’t carry the world’s carbon emissions appeared first on Green Prophet.

For Dalit Hakim: Two weeks ago, my wild and crazy friend Dalit Hakim died from pancreatic cancer. Not the kind of cancer story we tell ourselves we can prepare for. Not a long battle measured in years. Not a gradual fading. For Dalit it was six weeks.

From the first stomach pains to the moment hot baths no longer eased the agony and she rushed to the hospital, only six weeks passed.

Dalit was young, healthy, vibrant. She ran a surfing company in Jaffa, she volunteered to feed hungry people. In her past life she had worked as a model. When I first met her, she was skateboarding down a street in Jaffa, radiating the kind of freedom and confidence that made strangers turn their heads and smile. She was one of those people who arrived like the sunshine on a grey morning as she walked into any room.

The contrast between that vitality and a six-week descent into pancreatic cancer is heartbreaking. She lived a life worth living. And then, suddenly, she was gone. We didn’t have a chance to say goodbye.

Pancreatic cancer has long been one of the most feared diagnoses in medicine. By the time symptoms appear, it is often too late. Doctors have traditionally described it as a cancer that can only truly be beaten if caught early, before it has spread. For most patients, that chance never comes.

That is why news emerging this week from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting struck me with such force.

An experimental drug called daraxonrasib has shown results that oncologists are calling extraordinary. In a trial involving 500 people with advanced pancreatic cancer, the pill reduced the risk of death by 60 percent compared with chemotherapy. Patients lived an average of 13.2 months instead of 6.7 months. Many experienced less pain and a better quality of life in those months.

Related: Turmeric can help fight cancer

The drug works by targeting RAS proteins—mutations found in roughly 90 percent of pancreatic cancers. For decades, these mutations were considered among the most difficult targets in cancer biology, earning the label “undruggable.” The success of daraxonrasib in pancreatic cancer now offers hope not only against this devastating disease but against other cancers long considered beyond the reach of modern medicine.

“These results are landscape-changing for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with a KRAS mutation,” said ASCO doctors in a combined statement. “We are seeing unprecedented survival and efficacy in second-line treatment with an expected safety profile. The RAS revolution is here, and this study is proof of principle that targeting KRAS in pancreatic cancer is feasible and effective,” said Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO, Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center and an ASCO Expert in gastrointestinal cancers.

One oncologist involved in the research, Dr. Rachna Shroff, said the results were so powerful that she cried in clinic.

I cried too, but for a different reason: because the news arrived two weeks too late for Dalit.

It won’t bring back the woman on the skateboard. It won’t bring back the entrepreneur building her dreams around the sea. It won’t give her more sunsets, more waves, more laughter with friends.

But it may mean that future families receive a different phone call. It may mean that future patients are given time—months, perhaps years—that people with pancreatic cancer were rarely offered before. Every medical breakthrough has invisible passengers: the people who never got the chance to benefit from it, the people whose stories become part of the reason scientists keep pushing forward.

Dalit is one of those people for me. And her memory now sits beside a piece of news that offers something pancreatic cancer patients have rarely been given: Hope.

I will miss you more than you can know, Dalit. May your memory be a blessing.

The post New pancreas cancer drug brings miracles to “incurable” cancer appeared first on Green Prophet.

Planning on being outdoors a lot this summer? We love time spent outdoors too, and expect to return home from picnics, hikes, and camping tanned and happy, but also healthy. One concern is Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks that infest grassy and wooded areas. Here’s what you need to know about Lyme disease, prevention, and treatment.

Humans usually get Lyme disease from the bite of a tick carrying the borrelia bacteria. A tick feeds on the host’s blood by attaching itself to their skin, and continues to feed until it’s swollen to many times its normal size. In the process it transmits the bacteria to the host’s bloodstream. Deer ticks may continue feeding on a host’s blood for several days. They exist in every American state, although mostly in upper Midwest and the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states.

Deer ticks are also found in south central and southeastern Canada, and in Europe. They’re common in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas. Don’t believe it when someone tells you there are no ticks in the area where you plan to hike or picnic. Go out in nature, by all means, but take some intelligent precautions, as we outline below.

Seasons don’t matter to deer ticks. They’re active at all times of the year except when temperatures go below freezing. People bundled up for winter weather aren’t as vulnerable to tick bites as in summer, simply because they’re exposing little skin to the hungry tick.

A young tick be as tiny as a poppy seed. Its bite may look as harmless as a mosquito bite. Most people aren’t aware they’ve been bitten for a few days, or until the famous bullseye rash appears, usually between 3-30 days after the bite.The bullseye sign looks like a circle that slowly spreads from the site of the tick bite, clear in the center and looking like a target or bull’s-eye. It may feel warm, but it’s usually not painful or itchy.

On the right, a person with the bullseye rash. On the left, a person with no bullseye but swelling at the site of the tick bite.

A dead give-away is finding the tick on your body. It must be removed as soon as you discover it.

Here is advice from a veteran Canadian outdoorsman who’s dealt with deer ticks for many years:

“First, forget whatever your uncle told you. No matches. No nail polish. No Vaseline. No soap on a cotton ball. All of those do the same terrible thing, they stress the tick out, and a stressed tick empties its gut back into the bite before letting go, which is how Lyme is transmitted.

“Use fine-tipped tweezers. Grip right where the mouthparts enter the skin: not the body – the head. Pull straight up, steady, no twisting, no jerking. It’ll feel like it’s resisting because it is, the tick’s mouth parts are barbed. Just keep the pressure on and it will let go in a few seconds. If a piece breaks off in the skin, leave it alone. Your body pushes splinters out. Digging around with a needle does more damage than the fragment ever would.”

We note: tick removal tools are available for order online and at pharmacies. Here’s a list of the 10 best tick removal tools from Medical News Today. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that fine-tipped tweezers work as well.

“Clean it with alcohol or soap. Wash your hands. Now here’s the part most people skip: don’t flush the tick.

“Tape the tick to an index card with clear packing tape. Write the date and where on your body it was found, and put the card away. If you start feeling symptoms over next 30 days – rash, fever, joint pain, a feeling like flu – show the card with the tick taped to it to the doctor.

“Some labs will test the tick itself, which is faster and often more reliable than waiting for antibodies to show up in your own blood. A dated tick taped to a card is one of the most useful things you can hand a doctor who’s trying to figure out what’s wrong with you.

“If the tick was engorged when you pulled it, and you can’t swear it was off your body within 24 hours, call your doctor that same day. Don’t wait for a rash or other symptoms. Fewer than three out of four Lyme cases even produce the classic bullseye. A single preventive dose of doxycycline within 72 hours of a deer tick bite cuts the Lyme odds way down.

Most doctors in tick country will write that prescription immediately, especially if s/he’s seen the tick taped to a card and a clear timeline.”

Note: never crush a tick in your fingers.

According to the CDC, most cases of Lyme disease can be treated with 10-14 days of antibiotics. People treated with appropriate antibiotics in the early stages of Lyme disease usually recover rapidly and completely.

In all cases of a tick bite, pay attention to the symptoms that foretell stage one of Lyme disease. If you note even one after being bitten, see your healthcare professional as soon as possible.

Fever
Headache
Extreme tiredness
Joint stiffness
Muscle aches and pains
Swollen lymph nodes

Do not accept a doctor’s casual dismissal if you feel symptoms after a tick bite. Insist on testing and a prescription for antibiotics. And here’s how to recover gut health after the antibiotic round.

Stage two may include the above symptoms plus the following:

Many rashes on other parts of the body.
Neck pain or stiffness.
Muscle weakness on one or both sides of the face.
Immune-system activity in heart tissue that causes irregular heartbeats.
Pain that starts from the back and hips and spreads to the legs.
Pain, numbness or weakness in the hands or feet.
Painful swelling in tissues of the eye or eyelid.
Immune-system activity in eye nerves that causes pain or vision loss.

In the third stage, you may have symptoms from the earlier stages and other symptoms.
In the United States, the most common condition of this stage is arthritis in large joints, particularly the knees. Pain, swelling or stiffness may last for a long time. Or the symptoms may come and go. Stage three symptoms usually begin 2 to 12 months after a tick bite.

Lyme disease can get nasty, and it can last for years. Author Amy Tan suffers from Lyme, and you can read about her horrific experience, including being told that her suffering was all in her head, on her website.

How to prevent a tick bite

Before you go out, spray your outdoor clothing, shoes, tent and other camping gear with a repellent that has 0.5% permethrin. Some gear and clothing may be pre-treated with permethrin.

Use an insect repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency on any exposed skin, except your face. These include repellents that contain DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD) or 2-undecanone.

Do not use products with OLE or PMD on children under age 3.

Dress appropriately for a walk in the woods or fields.

Ticks often attach themselves to an unprotected person’s shins and feet, then crawl up to find a place to fasten on for a bite. Don’t give them a chance: wear long-sleeved shirts closed at the cuffs, and tuck the shirt into your pants. Wear closed shoes, long socks, and pants tucked into your socks. Think in terms of dressing downwards: shirt tucked into pants, pants tucked into socks.

Wear light-colored clothes that allow you to easily spot a tick on them.

Stay on clear paths in wooded and grassy areas if you can. Brushing against tree branches, grasses and bushes increases the chances of a tick dropping on you.

On returning home, shower as soon as you can, to wash off any loose ticks. Check yourself all over, using a mirror if needed. Vulnerable areas are underarms, the hairline and scalp; the ears, waist, and inner thigh, behind the knees, and inside the navel.

Before you wash the clothes you wore outdoors, put them in the dryer on hot for at least 10 minutes. This will kill stray ticks.

Check pets that spend time outdoors, every day. Check your kids too.

Have a happy, healthy summer!

The post Lyme Disease And The Great Outdoors appeared first on Green Prophet.

The electric vehicle industry has been waiting years for a battery breakthrough that could make EVs charge faster, drive farther, and operate more safely. On the heels of the electric Ferrari Luce rollout, Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium is betting public investors will believe it can help deliver that future.

ProLogium announced plans to go public on the Nasdaq through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Translational Development Acquisition Corp. (“TDAC”) (Nasdaq: TDAC), in a deal valuing the company at approximately $3.8 billion. The move puts fresh attention on the race to commercialize solid-state batteries, a technology often described as the holy grail of electric mobility.

While Tesla remains the dominant force in electric vehicles, the company has largely focused on improving conventional lithium-ion batteries rather than pursuing a full solid-state strategy. That has left room for a new generation of battery companies, including ProLogium, QuantumScape, Factorial Energy and others, to claim they can unlock the next major leap in EV performance.

For more than a decade, solid-state batteries have been described as “just a few years away.” Automakers have repeatedly promised breakthroughs, only to encounter manufacturing hurdles, high costs, and technical challenges that have delayed widespread adoption.

“Today marks a pivotal moment in ProLogium’s journey in accelerating the commercialization of our industry-leading solid-state batteries,” says Vincent Yang, Founder and CEO of ProLogium. “This Transaction is expected to provide us with the capital to fund our next phase of growth — enabling us to scale the production of our 4th-generation superfluidized inorganic solid-state batteries, advance the construction of our new gigafactory in Dunkirk, France, and support our expansion into adjacent application verticals including data centers, aerospace and robotics while continuing to progress in EVs.

“We are excited to partner with TDAC’s best-in-class team, who shares our vision of a new energy revolution that is built with next generation solid-state batteries. Today’s Transaction is a critical step in putting our batteries in the hands of more customers, powering cutting-edge technologies and enabling a more sustainable future for all.”

Conventional lithium-ion batteries rely on liquid electrolytes to move ions between electrodes. Solid-state batteries replace that liquid with a solid material, which can potentially increase energy density while improving safety and reducing the risk of overheating. In theory, drivers could benefit from longer range, faster charging times, and batteries that last longer.

The challenge has always been scaling production: Laboratory success does not automatically translate into mass manufacturing. Materials that perform well in testing often behave differently when produced in millions of cells. This has been one of the biggest obstacles facing the entire industry.

ProLogium believes it has an advantage because it has spent years moving beyond the research stage and now we the public can own a bit of the dream through the IPO. The company says it has shipped millions of battery cells, built manufacturing capacity in Taiwan, and is developing a large-scale factory in France. It has also amassed a substantial patent portfolio covering its battery technology.

Demand for advanced batteries is growing not only from automakers but also from energy storage developers, artificial intelligence data centers cropping up all over the US, and utilities seeking more efficient ways to store renewable energy. As solar and wind power continue expanding, better batteries are increasingly viewed as a critical piece of the clean-energy transition.

Investors are paying attention because the winner of the solid-state battery race could shape the next decade of transportation and energy infrastructure and which companies “win” over all. A battery that charges significantly faster while delivering greater range could accelerate EV adoption and help reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

The battery industry has produced no shortage of ambitious promises over the past decade. Many companies have attracted billions in investment without delivering large-scale commercial products. The real test for ProLogium will not be its valuation or stock-market debut, but whether it can manufacture solid-state batteries at a cost and scale that makes sense for automakers and consumers.

About ProLogium

Founded in 2006, ProLogium is a Taiwan-based energy innovation company focused on the development and manufacturing of next-generation solid-state lithium ceramic batteries. The company holds more than 1,100 patents and patent applications worldwide and claims to be the first company to successfully commercialize solid-state battery technology. ProLogium has shipped more than 2.4 million battery cells since 2013 and operates a gigafactory in Taoyuan, Taiwan. The company is currently developing a large-scale manufacturing facility in Dunkirk, France, supported by a French government subsidy package of up to €1.4 billion. ProLogium’s batteries target electric vehicles, energy storage, AI data centers, aerospace, robotics, and defense applications.

The post Prologium files for IPO as solid-state battery race heats up beyond Tesla appeared first on Green Prophet.

When I was growing up, my father brushed his teeth with baking soda. It was salty and uncomfortable when I tried it but the abrasiveness of the powder made me feel like my teeth got a good scrub.

Years later, curious about natural alternatives myself, I switched to Tom’s, a fluoride-free toothpaste from Maine. Within a year, I had developed a cavity for the first time in years. It could be connected to pregnancy and oral health but I went back to fluoride.

My experiment wasn’t science, but it left me wondering: what exactly is holistic dentistry? And why do so many patients seem interested in it while so few dental professionals appear prepared to discuss it?

A recent study of graduating dental hygiene students in the United States suggests there is a knowledge gap. Researchers found that 42% of respondent students were unfamiliar with holistic dentistry, while 60% did not feel comfortable discussing it with patients. Yet nearly half believed the topic deserved greater attention in dental hygiene education.

The findings suggest that while patients are increasingly seeking information about natural oral care, many future practitioners are not being trained to answer their questions.

More than natural toothpaste

Holistic dentistry isn’t a single treatment or philosophy. Instead, it approaches the mouth as part of a larger system, or like an organ unto itself, recognizing links between oral health, nutrition, inflammation, heart disease, respiratory health, and overall wellbeing.

Some holistic dentists emphasize diet, mineral balance, saliva testing, pH testing, and the oral microbiome. Others focus on reducing exposure to certain dental materials, such as mercury, using biocompatible materials when possible, or incorporating traditional oral hygiene practices alongside modern care.

Many of these concepts are no longer considered fringe. Researchers increasingly recognize the importance of the oral microbiome—the ecosystem of bacteria living in our mouths. An imbalance in this microbial community has been associated not only with cavities and gum disease but also with broader health conditions.

The connection between oral health and heart health is especially well established. Chronic gum disease has been linked to increased inflammation throughout the body and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. While brushing and flossing may seem mundane compared to trendy wellness therapies, maintaining healthy gums remains one of the most evidence-based ways to support overall health.

Long before toothpaste tubes appeared on pharmacy shelves, people around the world used plants to clean their teeth.

Miswak, derived from the Salvadora persica tree, has been used for thousands of years throughout the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia. Neem sticks have served a similar purpose in India.

Researchers have found that miswak contains naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds that may help reduce plaque and gum inflammation when used correctly. Green tea extracts are also attracting scientific interest because of their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

The recent survey found that many students were unfamiliar with ingredients such as green tea extracts, lemongrass oil, nano-silver, and coral calcium, products often discussed in holistic oral care circles.

That doesn’t mean these products are superior to conventional treatments. It does suggest that future dental professionals may benefit from understanding why patients are asking about them.

Saliva: the next frontier

One of the most intriguing developments in dentistry may be saliva itself. Researchers are increasingly studying saliva, like they do blood, as a diagnostic tool that can reveal information about gum disease, oral cancers, metabolic disorders, and systemic inflammation. We spit into a vile for 23andMe or Ancestry.com but it can reveal more than our Neolithic ancestors (I am related to a Lord from Edinburgh)!

Unlike blood testing, saliva collection is simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive.

Holistic practitioners have discussed saliva testing for years, often focusing on pH and bacterial balance. Today, advances in microbiome science are bringing some of these conversations into mainstream research especially as people like Bryan Johnson advertise the longevity benefits of biohacking.

Related: do tattoos cause cancer?

Mercury fillings and root canal debates

Perhaps no topic has generated more controversy in holistic dentistry than dental amalgam fillings. I have a pile of them in my mouth. Are they killing me slowly?

Traditional amalgam fillings contain mercury combined with other metals. Conventional dental organizations maintain that amalgam fillings are safe for most patients, while holistic practitioners have long questioned whether chronic mercury exposure warrants precautionary removal or replacement.

The environmental debate has become increasingly important. Mercury from dental offices can enter wastewater streams, and many countries are gradually reducing their reliance on amalgam fillings.

Root canals have generated similar disagreements. Some holistic dentists argue that root canal-treated teeth may harbor bacteria that contribute to systemic illness. Mainstream dentistry generally rejects these claims and considers root canal therapy a safe and effective way to preserve natural teeth. Current scientific evidence does not support removing root canal-treated teeth as a routine health measure.

Still, the controversy highlights a broader challenge: patients often arrive with questions influenced by books, podcasts, social media, and alternative health practitioners. If dental professionals aren’t familiar with these discussions, meaningful conversations become difficult. Hopefully this article can open up some questions and debates.

The plastic aligner problem in our mouths

As Green Prophet has reported extensively, microplastics are showing up nearly everywhere scientists look. That includes products we place directly in our mouths.

Plastic toothbrushes shed bristles over time. Dental floss often contains synthetic polymers. Clear aligners such as Invisalign are made from thermoplastic materials worn for most hours of the day. Even many chewing gums contain synthetic rubber compounds derived from petroleum.

Researchers are beginning to investigate whether some of these products release microscopic plastic particles through daily use. The health implications remain uncertain, but the questions fit naturally within the holistic dentistry conversation: what materials are we exposing ourselves to every day, and are there better alternatives?

Some consumers are responding by choosing bamboo toothbrushes, biodegradable floss, or traditional tools such as miswak.

The recent survey revealed something interesting: many students learned about holistic dentistry not from their coursework but from social media, online searches, and conversations outside the classroom. The purpose of dental education is not to endorse every alternative therapy. It is to prepare professionals to evaluate evidence, answer patient questions, and distinguish promising ideas from unsupported claims.

The post What is holistic dentistry? appeared first on Green Prophet.

A growing group of Israeli startups believes hydrogen could be part of the answer.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and it’s available in water and in the air. It’s the building block of life. But producing it cleanly is difficult and expensive. Saudi Arabia has invested in green hydrogen but for the most part it is not financially viable. It was like biogas in the early days – more expensive than fossil fuels.

Most hydrogen today is made from natural gas, which releases carbon emissions. So-called “green hydrogen” is created using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but the process remains costly. That’s where some new Israeli innovation is stepping in.

H2Pro Wants to Reinvent Electrolysis

Caesarea-based H2Pro has become one of Israel’s most closely watched hydrogen companies. Founded on research from the Technion (Israel’s version of MIT), the startup is developing a membrane-free process called Decoupled Water Electrolysis (DWE). Instead of generating hydrogen and oxygen simultaneously, H2Pro separates the reactions into different stages. The company says this could reduce costs, improve safety, and allow systems to work more easily with intermittent solar and wind power. When it comes to membrane tech, Israel is a leader having developed earliest technologies in desalination to solve major freshwater problems.

The company has attracted backing from major investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the climate fund founded by Bill Gates, along with industrial partners such as Sumitomo, ArcelorMittal, and Temasek, a multi-billion dollar company that owns Singapore airlines. H2Pro has raised more than $100 million USD and is moving from pilot projects toward commercial-scale deployments.

Taking Israeli Hydrogen Abroad

One of the most interesting developments is happening far from Israel.

This year H2Pro partnered with Doral Hydrogen on a solar-powered hydrogen project in Spain designed to run entirely off-grid. The first phase combines solar power with a 5-megawatt hydrogen system and is intended to demonstrate that hydrogen production can operate directly from renewable energy without batteries or grid backup.

If successful, the model could be attractive for sunny regions across the Middle East and North Africa where solar resources are abundant.

Why Hydrogen Matters

Hydrogen is unlikely to replace every gasoline car or home heating system. Batteries coupled with solar power panels, geothermal energy collection systems or wind energy trubines, are often more efficient for those jobs. But hydrogen has advantages where batteries struggle: steel manufacturing, fertilizer production, shipping, aviation fuels, seasonal energy storage, and industrial heat.

The challenge here is cost.

For years, the hydrogen industry has chased the goal of producing green hydrogen for about $1 per kilogram. Israeli startups are increasingly focused on making that target realistic through new electrolyzer designs, lower-cost materials, and systems that can operate flexibly alongside renewable energy.

Israel became a global cybersecurity hub. Then it helped reshape irrigation technology. Hydrogen may be one of the country’s next major climate-tech bets.

The post Israeli Hydrogen Startup H2Pro Are Trying to Solve Clean Energy’s Hardest Problem appeared first on Green Prophet.

When we think about food waste, we usually picture leftovers forgotten in the fridge or produce that spoiled before we had a chance to use it. But some of the most common kitchen waste is perfectly edible. Radish leaves, beet greens, broccoli stems—and yes, watermelon rinds—often end up in the compost or trash without a second thought.

Summer is watermelon season, and that means plenty of rinds. Before you toss them out, consider giving them a second life. The pale white part between the juicy pink flesh and the tough green skin is surprisingly versatile.

1. Make Watermelon Rind Jam

Peel away the green outer skin and cook the white rind with sugar, lemon juice, and spices until it turns into a sweet preserve. Spread it on toast, swirl it into yogurt, or spoon it over desserts. We have the full recipe of watermelon rind jam here. 

2. Try South African Waatlemoenkonfyt

This traditional South African preserve transforms watermelon rind into tender chunks suspended in a thick, sweet syrup. The name may be a mouthful, but the result is delicious. Serve it alongside cheese or as a sweet treat with tea.

3. Pickle It

Pickled watermelon rind is one of summer’s best-kept secrets. A quick brine of vinegar, sugar, and spices turns the rind into a crunchy, tangy snack. It also makes a great addition to sandwiches, salads, and charcuterie boards. If you want to make a true ferment and get the prebiotic effects from it chop it up into small bits and add enough salt to the brine so it’s salty like the sea. Cover it and let sit like sauerkraut for a week or so and then when done to your taste put in the fridge to slow the ferment. We interviewed pickling king Sandor Katz recently. You can read the interview here.

4. Turn It Into Coleslaw

Grated watermelon rind can stand in for cabbage in a fresh summer slaw. It adds crunch with a hint of sweetness and pairs perfectly with grilled vegetables, burgers, or picnic fare. The best is watermelon that are organic. Farms use pesticides to protect crops from insects, weeds, and diseases. However, the thick outer rind is a natural barrier, and many growers follow Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to minimize chemical use

5. Add It to Salsa

Give your salsa a surprising twist by using diced watermelon rind. Combined with onion, jalapeño, lemon juice, and herbs, it creates a refreshing condiment that balances sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors. It’s a surprise why it’s not used more often. Just scrape off the hardest out later with a potato peeler or a dextrous hand. 

Related: 10 summer mocktail recipes

The next time you slice into a watermelon, remember that the fruit doesn’t end where the pink flesh does. With a little creativity, those rinds can become jams, pickles, slaws, and more, saving money, reducing food waste, and adding something new to your summer table and gut biome.

The post 5 Ways to Use Watermelon Rinds appeared first on Green Prophet.

Imagine walking through the desert and finding a tree with its own ID card. That’s exactly what Abu Dhabi is doing. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has launched one of the world’s most ambitious tree-protection projects, tagging and digitally recording 100,000 native trees across the emirate. Eventually, officials hope to electronically catalog more than 20 million trees growing in forests, roadside belts, protected areas, farms, parks, and urban landscapes.

The idea is simple but powerful. If every tree has an identity, every tree can be monitored, protected, and counted. The idea isn’t new. Switzerland has tagged its native trees for decades. Wander through what looks like a wild forest in the mountains and don’t be surprised to see a tag and number on the tree. 

The UAE project focuses on three iconic native species:

The Ghaf Tree

The UAE’s national tree (Prosopis cineraria), famous for surviving extreme heat and drought. Ghaf trees provide shade, stabilize desert soils, and support wildlife. Some are hundreds of years old.

The Samar Tree

(Acacia tortilis) is a desert workhorse. Its flowers feed bees, its branches shelter birds, and its deep roots help hold fragile ecosystems together.

The Sidr Tree

The Sidr Tree (Ziziphus spina-christi) also known as the jujube tree, may be the most culturally significant of them all. Mentioned in Islamic tradition and valued for its medicinal properties and prized honey, the Sidr has become a symbol of resilience across the Arabian Peninsula.

The tags don’t merely identify trees. They also carry a warning. Anyone caught cutting, damaging, or harming one of these protected native trees faces a fine of Dh10,000, approximately $2,725 USD. The warning appears directly on the tree markers in Arabic, English, and Urdu. Why such a strong penalty?

Officials say native trees face growing pressure from illegal firewood collection, overgrazing, urban expansion, and climate change. Rainfall is becoming less predictable, making natural regeneration increasingly difficult.

Within just three months of launching the program in 2024, Abu Dhabi had already tagged more than 17,000 trees. The information collected is being linked to geographic databases, creating a living inventory of the emirate’s natural heritage. (The region also has a soil museum!)

It’s a fascinating idea.

For years, governments have tagged cars, buildings, utility poles, and livestock. Abu Dhabi is asking a different question: what if trees were treated as infrastructure too?

As cities race to plant millions of new trees in response to climate change, Abu Dhabi’s approach recognizes something often overlooked. Protecting the trees you already have may be just as important as planting new ones.

The post Abu Dhabi Put QR Codes on 100,000 Native Trees. Damage One and It Could Cost You $2,700 appeared first on Green Prophet.

Sidr honey sells for astonishing prices. And while cities across the Middle East are struggling with heat, drought, and disappearing biodiversity, the Sidr keeps doing what it has always done: surviving.

I first became interested in the Sidr tree while reporting on desert agriculture projects in the Gulf. Engineers were talking about desalination and AI irrigation systems. Some say the sidr tree can stop desertification. Farmers were talking about native trees. Again and again, one species came up: Sidr. The more I looked into it, the more it seemed that this unassuming tree had quietly become one of the Middle East’s most important plants.

1. It appears in the Quran

The Sidr tree is associated with the Lote Tree, or Sidrat al-Muntaha, mentioned in the Quran. For many Muslims it is more than a tree. It is a symbol marking the boundary between the known and the unknowable.

2. It laughs at drought

Some trees demand constant attention. The Sidr seems almost offended by the idea. It grows in some of the driest landscapes on Earth, sending roots deep underground in search of water. Long before drip irrigation and smart agriculture, the Sidr had already solved the desert survival problem.

3. Its honey can cost more than gold by weight

Yemeni Sidr honey is legendary. A small jar can cost hundreds of dollars, especially when harvested from remote valleys where beekeepers still work using traditional methods. Whether every health claim surrounding Sidr honey is true is another question. What isn’t disputed is its reputation.

4. It feeds more than humans

During flowering season, bees swarm its blossoms. Birds eat the fruit. Livestock shelter beneath its branches. A mature Sidr tree is less like a plant and more like a tiny ecosystem.

5. The fruit tastes surprisingly good

Known as nabq, the fruit resembles a small apple crossed with a date. Children throughout the Middle East have been climbing Sidr trees to snack on the fruit for generations.

6. People wash their hair with it

Long before expensive shampoos arrived in plastic bottles, people crushed Sidr leaves into powder and mixed them with water. Many still do. The leaves create a gentle natural cleanser that remains popular from Morocco to Pakistan.

7. It may help restore degraded landscapes

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman are investing billions in restoration projects. Not every imported tree can survive those conditions. The Sidr can. Because it evolved in arid environments, it is increasingly being used in reforestation and biodiversity projects across the region.

8. It has serious thorns

The Sidr is not a tree you casually hug. Its sharp thorns help protect it from grazing animals and have likely contributed to its survival over thousands of years.

9. It has been used as medicine for centuries

Traditional healers have used Sidr leaves, bark, fruit, and honey for everything from skin conditions to digestive complaints. Modern science is still investigating many of these claims, but the tree’s medicinal reputation stretches back centuries.

10. It might be the perfect climate-change tree

As temperatures rise and water becomes scarcer, native species suddenly look a lot smarter than exotic imports. The Sidr requires little water, supports pollinators, produces food, and thrives in difficult conditions. Not bad for a tree most people have never heard of.

The next time someone talks about futuristic climate solutions, remember the Sidr. It was solving desert problems long before humans started inventing apps to do the same thing.

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