Positive News Thursday
- Editor OGN Daily
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Thursday's eclectic smorgasbord of tasty good news nuggets.
Go Finish Your Book
After years of giving millions of dollars to literacy programs, bookstore employees and librarians, James Patterson has now launched an initiative on behalf of emerging authors. The bestselling novelist and true crime writer has announced that the first 12 recipients of grants from his "Go Finish Your Book" campaign. Authors each will receive up to $50,000 to help them complete their manuscript. "There are so many incredible stories out there that never get written because life gets in the way. I wanted to give these writers a little time, a little space, and a push to say: your voice matters - now go finish your book," Patterson said in a statement.
Good News For Koalas
Australia's embattled koalas have been given some good news for once, with the approval of the world's first chlamydia vaccine for the marsupial. More than a decade in the making, the vaccine will protect koalas from the widespread disease that causes painful urinary tract infections, infertility, blindness and death. Developed by University of the Sunshine Coast scientists, with the support of global institutions and funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the vaccine is a milestone in the efforts to save vulnerable koalas.
Livestream Earth
Watch Earth Live and in 4K from video cameras on the International Space Station, downlinked via NASA. This is the world’s first continuous 4K livestream from space, empowering you to see our planet like astronauts do.
Thinner The Better?
Apple has revealed its latest iPhone, trumpeting the smartphone’s slimmest design yet. The device, named the iPhone Air, is one of several upgrades the company unveiled at its annual product showcase, promoted with the title “awe-dropping”. The skinny phone is 5.6 mm thick, retails for $999, is made of “spacecraft titanium”, has a 6.5in display and comes in a palette of colours that “evoke lightness”, the company says. Adding that despite the phone’s thinness, it will be durable and crack-resistant.
Universal Childcare
A groundbreaking new law in New Mexico makes it the first state in the USA to guarantee no-cost childcare for all families. This initiative is a strategic investment in the state's future, designed to boost the economy by enabling parents, particularly mothers, to enter or re-enter the workforce. The state estimates it will save families an average of $12,000 per child. This progressive move could set a new national standard by showing that investing in children and families is a powerful path to long-term prosperity.
Canada's Moon Rover
In a shopping plaza an hour outside Toronto, flanked by a day spa and a shawarma joint, sits a modest two-storey building - it is the modest headquarters of Canadensys Aerospace, where Canada is charting its first trip to the Moon. Canadensys is developing the first-ever Canadian-built rover for exploring the Earth's only natural satellite, in what will be the first Canadian-led planetary exploration endeavour. The Canadian vehicle is part of Nasa's Artemis programme, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and the rover will also help demonstrate Canadian technology.
New Research
Bison - also known as buffalo - once ambled across North American prairies in enormous herds, but by the late 1800s, they had been hunted to near-extinction, with long-lasting impacts on many Indigenous communities and the landscape. Conservation efforts have since strived to restore bison populations, and about 5,000 of the animals currently call Yellowstone National Park home. Now, a new study underscores just how important these large mammals can be for maintaining a healthy and heterogeneous ecosystem. Researchers found that the animals play a key role in the nitrogen cycle. As the herd travels about 1,000 miles each year, moving back and forth along a 50-mile migration route, the animals increase the amount of microbes in the soil. In turn, these microbes increase the amount of nitrogen for plants, improving their nutritious value by up to 150 percent. The findings also serve as a kind of time machine, allowing scientists to better understand what impact bison had before they were almost wiped out, and it hints at what the animals could offer if more of their populations were restored.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis
On This Day
11 September 1916: First true self-service supermarket, Clarence Saunders' "Piggly Wiggly", opens in Memphis, Tennessee. Piggly Wiggly was also the originator of various familiar supermarket concepts such as checkout stands, individual item price marking and shopping carts.
Today's Articles
Origin Story: On 26 June 1974 at 8:01 am, a supermarket in Ohio initiated a seismic event in the world of commerce - the scanning of the first ever barcode label.
New Exercise Trend: We all know that walking is good for us, but the Japanese believe they have an even better way to boost the positive results of walking.
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