The week's good news: May 30, 2019

1. Scientists develop compound that can kill antibiotic-resistant superbugs

British scientists say they have discovered a new compound that can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including E. coli. The compound was developed by Kirsty Smitten, a doctoral student at the University of Sheffield, and researchers are testing it on gram-negative bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. Prof. Jim Thomas said since the compound is luminescent and glows when exposed to light, advanced microscope techniques allow researchers to follow the "uptake and effect on bacteria. ... This breakthrough could lead to vital new treatments to life-threatening superbugs and the growing risk posed by antimicrobial resistance." Gram-negative bacteria can cause infections that are hard to treat because the cell walls are difficult to penetrate. There hasn't been a new treatment for gram-negative bacteria in five decades, and the next stage in this research is to test the compound against additional multi-resistant bacteria.

ScienceDaily

2. Students crown beloved school janitor 'King for a Day'

When he arrived at Sand Hill Elementary School and was handed a crown and a cape, John Lockett knew it wasn't going to be a typical day at work. Lockett spent the last decade as a janitor at the school in Carrollton, Georgia. After sharing that he was retiring, the staff decided to send him off in style. With the help of his wife and the students, an elaborate "King for a Day" celebration was planned. Lockett was greeted by 685 kids, who chanted "Mr. John! Mr. John!" and let him know it was officially "Mr. John Day." The students made posters and cards and told Lockett how much he meant to them. This moved Lockett to tears, principal Carla Meigs told Good Morning America. "He is very humble, hardworking, just dedicated to the job," she said. "He is as good as they come."

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Good Morning America

3. Dutch woman connects with family of soldier whose grave she's visited for 74 years

Mia Verkennis never met Army Pfc. Joseph Geraci, but since 1945, she has visited his grave twice a year, placing flowers in his memory. Verkennis, 89, lives in the Dutch village of Margraten. During World War II, U.S. forces liberated Margraten from the Nazis, and about 17,800 soldiers who died in battle were buried there in the Netherlands American Cemetery. Villagers adopted headstones, with most not knowing anything about the soldiers or their families back in the U.S. After decades of visiting Geraci's grave, Verkennis asked someone she knows who speaks English to write a letter for her to send to the family, and she reached Geraci's niece in New York, Donna Hooker. Hooker and Verkennis now write each other regularly. "Every chance we get we send her pictures," Hooker told The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. "It's very comforting to know what she's done for Uncle Joe."

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

4. Georgia neighborhood throws block party for retiring mail man

Over the years, the people on Floyd Martin's mail route in Marietta, Georgia, came to be like family. He spent almost 35 years delivering letters, cards, and bills to residents in the neighborhood, before retiring last Thursday. Jennifer Brett accompanied him for one final trek, documenting it all on Twitter. People waited for Martin outside their homes, shaking his hand and offering their well-wishes, and several decorated their mailboxes with balloons, banners, and ribbons. Lorraine Wascher told Brett that Martin delivered her mail for more than 20 years, and "always had a smile, always had a wave." Martin was stunned at the end of the day when he realized they were holding a giant block party in his honor. More than 300 people attended, and Martin was invited back to judge the neighborhood's annual Halloween parade.

Jennifer Brett Twitter

5. Man graduates from NYU nursing school after getting his start there as a cleaner

Not long after he immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, Frank Baez got a job that would change the course of his life. He was 17, and worked as a custodian at New York University's Tisch Hospital in order to help support his family. Baez was impressed by the hard-working nurses, and decided he wanted to become one. He earned his bachelor's degree from Hunter College, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college, and then returned to NYU, enrolling in the Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Now 29, Baez graduated last week, and after taking his licensing boards, plans on applying for a nursing position at NYU. Nataly Pasklinsky works at the school, but was a nurse at Tisch Hospital when Baez was a custodian, and remembers how compassionate he was with patients. "Frank will become an excellent nurse, because his heart is in it," she told CNN.

CNN