Global Good News Round Up
- Editor OGN Daily
- Jul 13
- 5 min read
A quick summary of all the top good news stories from last week.
Health & Wellbeing
Robotic Transplant: Surgeons in the U.S. have completed the first-ever fully robotic heart transplant. The patient recovered quickly thanks to reduced surgical trauma and lower risk of infection, and the procedure marks a significant leap in robotic cardiac surgery, offering new hope for patients with advanced heart failure.
Help For Asthma: New research has found that drinking camel milk can reduce the severity of asthma caused by house dust mites, a major trigger. It opens the door to using camel milk in combination with existing therapies.
‘Magic Mushrooms’: New Zealand has approved use of ‘magic mushrooms’ to treat depression. Studies have found that 80 percent of patients who were given psilocybin experienced a drop in anxiety and depression that lasted for six months or more, described as a “real breakthrough.”
Brain Function: A safe and affordable treatment to slow the advancement of Parkinson's dementia has emerged - in the form of a commonly available cough syrup. “Current therapies for Parkinson’s disease and dementia address symptoms but do not stop the underlying disease. These findings suggest Ambroxol may protect brain function, especially in those genetically at risk. It offers a promising new treatment avenue where few currently exist.”
First of Its Kind: Swiss regulators have approved the first malaria treatment specifically designed for babies and small children under 10 pounds. Rollout in African countries where malaria incidence is highest will begin as soon as possible.
Supreme Court: In a 6-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to uphold a program, active since 1996, that provides “subsidized telephone and internet services to rural healthcare providers, schools and libraries, and low-income Americans.”
Culture & Entertainment
Guess Who? A woman has just become the highest-grossing actor of all-time at the global box office.
Art Nouveau Métro: The “forgotten” designer of Paris’s most iconic Métro station entrances and art nouveau buildings is to be given his rightful place in the city’s history with a museum dedicated to his work. The Guimard Museum will be established at a four-storey building in designed by Guimard in 1910 and which features much of his signature ironwork.
V&A Bowie Centre: From the Thierry Mugler suit he got married in to his costumes from the Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane era, David Bowie’s most iconic looks will be available for fans to see up close as London's V&A museum opens its David Bowie Centre on 13 September.
Blockbuster Event: The Bayeux Tapestry is set to return to England for the first time in 900 years. A loan deal for the depiction of the 1066 Norman Conquest of England has been announced. The British Museum is understood to be the intended recipient of the tapestry, which at 224ft long can be safely displayed by only a few institutions. Any exhibition based around the tapestry is likely to be a blockbuster event and one of the largest in British history.
Ethical AI: MIT student's creation could help bring countless old paintings, currently stored in the back rooms of galleries with limited conservation budgets, to light.
Conservation & Sustainability
Lisbon Leads: Portugal’s capital city has launched a citywide reusable cup scheme to reduce plastic waste. With the potential to remove 25,000 discarded cups every night, Lisbon is the first European capital to implement an initiative that aims to combat plastic waste and reduce emissions.
Vital Intel: A new map has launched to assist in the conservation of migratory marine animals. The first-of-its kind map, known as MiCO, reveals how more than 100 species traverse the world’s oceans - vital intel as nations draw up plans to conserve the seas.
Ocean Conservation: Spain has emerged as a global leader in ocean conservation, announcing sweeping marine protection initiatives that will protect 3,180,883 hectares (12,281 square miles) - significantly expanding the country’s protected ocean territories and helping to achieve just under 26 percent coverage of marine protected areas in Spanish waters, advancing towards the 30 percent target by 2030.
Biodegradable Plastic: Japanese scientists have created a supramolecular plastic that completely dissolves in saltwater within 8.5 hours. This saltwater biodegradable plastic matches conventional plastics in strength while featuring innovative "salt bridge" bonds that break down when exposed to seawater, potentially addressing the global microplastics crisis.
Bivalve Boogie: Using LED lights to get scallops to jump into pots is "changing the game" for the fishing industry. Dubbed the "disco scallops" method, this new "cruelty-free" approach to catching the bivalve mollusks eliminates the need for "destructive" bottom trawling that damages the ocean floor.
'Green Fee': Hawaii has become the first U.S. state to charge a tourist ‘Green Fee’ to help fund climate resilience. The fee will apply to travelers staying in hotels, short-term vacation rentals, and for the first time ever, cruise ships. Tourist taxes are emerging worldwide as more destinations face the impacts of over-tourism and climate change.
Design
The Art of Time: This meditative, sculptural timepiece transforms with the passage of time like a kinetic work of art. It's somewhat like a flower opening and closing - and is a beautiful new way to tell the time.
Air Conditioning as Art: Using a 4,000 year old technique, a team of researchers has developed a 3D-printed, evaporative cooling system made of hollow clay columns that can be filled with sand and water that requires no electricity.
Climate & Renewable Energy
Energy Breakthrough: A tidal turbine submerged off the Scottish coast has achieved a significant milestone that will help pave the way for exploiting "the world’s largest untapped renewable energy resource".
Balcony Solar: Germany hits a new milestone in renewable energy. The country's market register now shows over one million balcony solar installations in operation, producing free, clean energy. The number of installations has doubled in one year, from 500,000 in June 2024 to over one million in June 2025.
Sand Battery: The world's largest sand battery is now storing wind and solar energy, supplying instant energy when demand requires it.
50.4: The percent decline in the United Kingdom’s emissions since 1990, according to the government's Climate Change Committee.
People Power: In a win for people power, the US Supreme Court has denied oil giant ExxonMobil’s bid to overturn a civil penalty imposed on it for violations of the Clean Air Act at a Texas refinery - potentially setting an important precedent. “Citizens need all the tools Congress provided so they can stand up to big corporations who are breaking environmental laws.”
Call to Action: If you know someone (or, indeed, you are someone) between the ages of 15 and 35 who has a climate solution, listen up: A philanthropic collaborative is giving away $25 million to young people at the forefront of climate action, and there’s an open call for applicants ready to bring their big ideas to life. Learn more about how to apply - from now until September.
And Finally...
"The Greatest Mystery of the 20th Century": It's 88 years since famous aviator Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937 during her attempt to be the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world, accompanied by her navigator, Fred Noonan. Where she disappeared has long been a mystery, but this November, a field team are off to a Pacific island between Hawaii and Australia to determine if a plane-like silhouette in its lagoon - known as the Taraia Object - is indeed Earhart’s lost aircraft, a Lockheed 10-E Electra. Other evidence indicates that it likely is. Could this be the time when the case can finally be closed?
