Upbeat News Tuesday

Editor OGN Daily
1 day ago
4 min read

Some tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news to brighten the day.

a high-fidelity digital twin for a fusion reactor — Credit: NVIDIA

Endless Clean Energy

Billions of dollars are flooding into fusion. But can it deliver? Two weeks ago, Chinese scientists created a record-smashing magnetic field for use in fusion experiments. Last week, Reuters revealed that a startup in Japan pulled off a world-first test of a superconducting coil that stayed stable at fusion-level heat. In the south of France, the world’s largest fusion project - the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) - has just entered a critical phase, with the final assembly of its reactor core; and in the United States, NVIDIA, General Atomics and a team of international partners have built a high-fidelity digital twin for a fusion reactor. Everybody’s goal is the same: clean, endless power by the 2030s. Even if most of these projects fail, scientists say they’ll still push us closer to learning how to “bottle a star.” And that really would be a game-changer.

Silver Saxon Cross

A solid silver Saxon cross has gone on display for the first time in more than 1,200 years after it was discovered by a metal detectorist in England. The thinly gilded early medieval pendant, which has one of its four arms broken and its central stone missing, was found in a field in Leeds. The pendant would have been worn by a church official in the 8th Century and has now gone on show at Leeds City Museum, where Kat Baxter said: "Despite its small size, the pendant is a significant find in terms of helping us to build a more complete picture of life in early medieval Leeds, along with other discoveries made locally."

mother polar bear with her cub — Credit: Erinn Hermsen | Polar Bears International

Polar Bear Cam

In partnership with Explore.org, Polar Bears International runs a number of polar bear livestreams. The organization also hosts its annual Polar Bear Week, which runs until 8 November this year. The week aims to bring awareness to polar bears and their habitats, both of which are in need of protection. Cam viewers may catch mother bears snuggling with their cubs, young bears venturing out on the ice, and males sparring. Plus, while you watch, you can play Polar Bear Bingo, which has participants scope out and screenshot the bears doing certain activities.

Global Literacy

The World Bank’s latest data shows a quiet global triumph: 93 percent of people aged 15 to 24 can now read and write, up from 87 percent in 2000. In many regions, including East Asia, Latin America, and Central Europe, youth literacy has reached or neared universal levels, marking one of the most successful, least reported stories in development. It's wonderfully good news that almost all of the world's young people can now read and write.

Longbow Speedster, white with tan leather interior — Longbow Speedster | Longbow

The Longbow

British EV start-up Longbow has revealed what it calls a “full-speed driving prototype” of its incoming ultra-light electric sports car - and claims to have created it in about a third the time the same operation would have taken a normal car company. The £84,995 ($112k) Speedster, due to reach its first customers at the end of next year, was taken from two-dimensional design sketches to running prototype in just six months - by a company that was only incorporated in 2023. According to Autocar, a coupé version, called the Roadster, will be built in much higher volume than the Speedster’s initial 150 units and should reach the market about a year after, at a lower price of £64,995 ($85k). Orders for both are being taken now, and the first year’s run of Speedsters is understood already to have been allocated.

Prof Robert Jackson talking at the Blue Planet Prize in Tokyo — Prof Robert Jackson | Blue Planet Prize

Climate Solutionist

A pioneering climate scientist who articulates solutions to environmental problems has won a prestigious environment award. Prof Robert Jackson from Stanford University, US, was instrumental in highlighting the contribution of methane - a potent greenhouse gas - to global heating. Cutting this, he said at the Blue Planet Prize, held in Tokyo, Japan, “would have a more immediate impact” than cutting CO2. Methane has a much higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide over shorter time scales (it's about 86 times greater than CO2's over 20 years) due to its greater heat-trapping ability, but CO2 has a much longer atmospheric lifetime, leading to a higher cumulative impact over centuries.

Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond. Hunter S Thompson