1. Trainee firefighter, 18, saves choking baby
A young sapeur-pompier (firefighter and medic) training in Bucquoy (Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France), has saved an infant from choking at a swimming pool.
Nicolas Segard, aged 18 and originally from nearby Épinoy, saved the baby girl, who got into difficulty as Mr Segard was on lifeguard duty as part of his training. The pool was just closing, just before 18:00.
Mr Segard was chatting with security agents when he heard someone shouting: “She’s choking, she’s choking!”. The 11-month-old, named Ymen, was with her mother when she began choking on a piece of cake.
The trainee immediately intervened and saved the baby girl’s life. Ymen had undergone heart surgery two weeks before, so was particularly fragile. She was later given oxygen and taken to a hospital for checks.
Mr Segard told The Connexion: “Saving a life has motivated me further. I’m not sure why I chose this path when I was a kid, but I’m glad I was able to help. It was thanks to the training I received. [I’ve had] great teachers.”
Nicolas’s father, David Ségard, 53, told TheConnexion: “I’m very proud of my son. Who wouldn’t be? It was his first solo intervention and it has left an impression on him
“When he came home, his mum asked him if he really wanted to continue to become a sapeur-pompier. He said ‘Yes,’ with a big smile. I think he’s found his calling. All the sacrifices we’ve made, in time and money, it was all worth it.”
Ymen is now doing well, and her parents sent a message of thanks to the swimming pool’s management team.
2. Paris Olympics stadium used locally recycled plastic for its seats
The majority of the plastic (80%) used to create the seats in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic aquatic arena has come from the local neighbourhood of Seine-Saint-Denis, it has emerged.
Augustin Jaclin, co-founder of Lemon Tri, the company that collects the recycling, told Euronews: “It’s collected in Seine-Saint-Denis, shredded in Seine-Saint-Denis, processed in Seine-Saint-Denis, all for a swimming pool that’s also in the area.”
The seats have successfully undergone numerous tests, including UV and fire resistance and toxicity levels, as well as mechanical resistance to ensure they remain fixed to the floor even if a particularly animated or angry spectator attempts to rip them off.
The manufacturers turned to the recycled plastic after they encountered problems in finding the material from their usual sources. Much of the product comes from everyday items such as discarded soda bottle tops.
Mr Jaclin said: “It’s a huge communication tool. When we tell children to come and put your bottles in the bins, and tomorrow they’ll be in the seats of the Olympic swimming pool, it raises awareness [of waste recycling].”
It comes as the Paris Games have set ambitious sustainability targets ahead of the summer 2024 event.
3. Innovative cup reminds vulnerable to stay hydrated
A French start-up has created a smart drinking cup designed to help people to remember to drink enough water to stay hydrated.
The technology is particularly useful for vulnerable people, especially during the current heatwave conditions.
The glass is called ‘Auxivia’, and is made by the French company Telegrafik, which was founded in 2013 and is based in Toulouse. Its president, Carole Zisa-Garat, told Libération that it specialises in “all kinds of innovative solutions to help people age well”.
The technology comes from Telegrafik, and the glass itself is made by a manufacturing partner in Caen.
When in use, after 10 minutes of non-activity the glass glows blue, as a reminder for the user to drink. It can last for a week on a single charge and is washable by hand or in the dishwasher. The glass also collects data on how much water is drunk, so medical staff can monitor consumption and ensure users are drinking enough.
Telegrafik is now working with around 300 elderly and medical care homes.
Ms Zisa-Garat said: “We are working with professionals and medical-social groups who are working to prevent loss of autonomy in older people. These people stop feeling thirsty as they get older and don’t think to stay hydrated.
“Instead of relying on care workers who have to manually note everything down, we now have an automated way of alerting patients who haven’t drunk enough.”
4. Research by France’s Institut Pasteur helps HIV patients
A sixth HIV patient is in total remission from the virus, 20 months after beginning a treatment via new research spearheaded by France’s Institut Pasteur, it has been announced.
Researchers at a scientific conference in Australia confirmed the patient, known as ‘the Geneva patient’ (because they were treated in Switzerland), was now showing no signs of the virus less than two years after the treatment began.
The patient was first diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1990 and had a bone marrow transplant in 2018. This transplant was slightly different to previous operations.
Previous transplants used stem cells from donors who naturally have a very rare genetic mutation that prevents HIV from entering the cells. This time, doctors used ‘lambda’ stem cells, in a bid to enable the body to replace and eliminate the cells infected with HIV.
Dr Asier Sáez-Cirión, from the Institut Pasteur, then looked for the virus in the ‘Geneva patient’.
He said: "The number of infected cells has fallen drastically. We are no longer able to detect them. Today, 20 months later, the virus has not reappeared. That's why we're talking about a period of remission.”
‘Remission’ does not mean a definitive ‘cure’, but means the reduction or disappearance of all signs and symptoms. The virus could technically reappear, but for now, it is effectively gone.
5. Endangered species born in zoo in Alsace
A baby bongo (an endangered type of antelope at risk of extinction) has been born at the Mulhouse zoo in Alsace, eastern France. It is the first birth for the species at this zoo.
Visitors will be able to see the baby - a 22kg male - from Saturday, July 22.
There are fewer than 100 bongos in the wild, all of which are in Kenya, Africa. This new baby was born as part of a European drive to increase the species’ number.
The parents of the newborn come from Germany and Prague. They were both also born in captivity as part of endangered animal projects.
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