A “person wash”, the brand new Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral and a new treatment for asthma: this is the Recap that Reassures

We attack this recap with the washing machine for human beings. After the fabulous cleansing toilets, the idea obviously comes from Japan… The concept was developed by the Japanese company Science Corp and it took a long time before becoming the official version that will be presented, in real conditions during the Osaka Kansai World Expo in April 2025. In fact, the current model is derived from an innovation presented in Osaka in 1970, which failed to attract public attention. So, several decades later, Science Corp is back at it again, emphasizing, this time, the ecological aspect of their “person wash”. This would consume less water than a shower.

According to the creators of the capsule, it allows, in 15 minutes, to wash the person with jets of water powerful enough to not need to scrub and to dry them using a flow of hot air at the end of the program. Hence the parallel with our washing machines. If the innovation should be commercialized after the Osaka World Expo next year, it could be of great help to the elderly or people with disabilities for whom taking a shower often turns out to be a complicated task.

Notre-Dame de Paris has had a makeover

Emmanuel Macron was delighted with the speed at which one of the most visited monuments in Europe, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, was restored. The Head of State had bet that it would be ready 5 years after the fire which caused enormous damage to the building dating from the 12th century, a true jewel of France's historical, cultural and religious heritage. During the President's visit to the restored Cathedral, we were able to see the immensity of the work carried out, especially when we remember the images broadcast shortly after the fire of April 15, 2019. From the nave to the spire of Viollet-le-Duc, passing through the choir or the facade, one could even say that the monument is all the more resplendent than before.

2000 craftsmen were mobilized for the work, they were all invited to visit the completed site. From all these people, more than 1,300 responded, whether wood, metal and stone craftsmen, scaffolders and roofers, campanists, gilders, sculptors or even architects. Every hand counted. Hands that Emmanuel Macron wanted to thank during his speech. The cost of the project amounted to some 700 million euros, financed exclusively through donations.

A new treatment for asthma patients

Every year, nearly 4 million people around the world – including a thousand in France – die from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Faced with this alarming observation, a recent study carried out by the AstraZeneca laboratory offers a promising alternative to systemic corticosteroids, often associated with undesirable side effects.

Researchers recommend the use of benralizumab, an antibody already known to treat severe asthma. Administered in high doses during attacks, this treatment targets eosinophils, white blood cells responsible for pulmonary inflammation, and destroys them. According to the results published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicinea single subcutaneous injection of 100 mg reduced the risk of treatment failure by four at 90 days and improved symptoms by 28 days.

Although these results are promising, benralizumab still requires larger clinical trials, planned for 2025, to validate its effectiveness and assess its cost-effectiveness. A major advance that could revolutionize the management of severe asthma and COPD attacks.