Today's Good News

Editor OGN Daily
2 minutes ago
4 min read

Wednesday's eclectic collection of positive news stories from around the globe.

The Canopy Watcher

In the forests of Uganda, a young male chimpanzee lounges effortlessly on a twisted vine, pausing to observe the world below. The image, snapped by photographer Federica Cordero, is one of the winning entries of this year's Nature in Focus awards. The India-based competition aims to “reveal fresh perspectives on the natural world and shed light on urgent conservation challenges,” said Rohit Varma, the awards’ co-founder. See the other winning images here.

Scorpion Venom

Amazingly, scorpions might help save a woman’s life some day. Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences have identified that venom of the scorpion Brotheas amazonicus appears to attack breast cancer cells in a way similar to a widely used chemotherapy medication.

Man dressed as Batman — Influencing pro-social behaviour

Remarkable Batman Effect

A fascinating new study from researchers in Milan suggests something pretty amazing: people are much more likely to be kind when something unexpected - like a superhero - enters the room. Scientists wanted to see whether a small surprise could inspire more prosocial behaviour, so they designed a clever real-world experiment on the Milan metro. A female experimenter, appearing pregnant, boarded crowded trains while observers recorded whether anyone offered her a seat. Then they repeated the test with one small twist: another experimenter dressed as Batman quietly walked onto the train from another door. The results were striking. Without Batman, only 37 percent of passengers offered their seat. But when Batman was present - even though he didn’t interact with anyone -that number jumped to 67 percent. Even more surprising? Nearly half the people who gave up their seat said they never even noticed Batman at all. Just the presence of something unexpected seemed to break passengers out of autopilot and make them more aware of the needs around them.

Bicycle parked beside a canal in Utrecht — Bike parked beside a canal in Utrecht

Best Cycling Cities

The Dutch city of Utrecht has been crowned the world’s best for biking. The Danish capital, Copenhagen, and Ghent in Belgium ranked second and third respectively. It begs a question: what makes a city cycle friendly? According to those behind the EU-funded Copenhagenize Index, it’s not just about safe and connected cycle infrastructure. Researchers also assess how equitable cycling is, and the political support behind biking. The latest index was dominated by nations in northern Europe. The highest ranking UK city was London (33rd), while Portland, Oregon, (35th) was the best performing US city, and Montreal (15th) topped Canada's rankings.

Global EV Sales

Electric vehicle sales have slumped in the United States since September 2025… but the United States is not the world. Globally, EV sales are up 23 percent from 2024, with 1.9 million new units sold in October alone. Last month, petrol and diesel engines combined fell to just over a third of EU new car sales, with electrified vehicles now dominant. Pure battery-electric cars reached an 18.9 percent share and hybrids made up the rest of the almost two-thirds total. Special shoutout to Latin America, where EV sales rose 55 percent in the third quarter, in a transition that remains largely subsidy-free, and another shoutout to China, where the electric truck surge is starting to seriously dent global demand for diesel.

EV Affordability: Remarkable geographical price differences.

the Butterfly Nebula — Credit: Noirlab / NSF

Easy to Name

There's probably no need to tell you the name of this nebula - as it's rather self explanatory. Snapped by the Gemini South Telescope in Chile and located about 3,000 light years away, the Butterfly Nebula is made up of a really rather unique white dwarf star that around 2,000 years ago began pushing away its outer layers into a hot shell of ionized gas. This is how what are known as planetary nebulae form: the shell of gas is expelled from a host star and creates a rough sphere of ejected stellar material. This star however, is casting out the gas and dust of its exterior into these rather gorgeous butterfly wing shapes.

“Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.” Will Rogers

On This Day

Cover of the 1984 single 'Do They Know It's Christmas'

3 December 1984: The single Do They Know It's Christmas, written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and sung by an all-star cast under the banner of Band Aid, is released in the UK. It went straight to No. 1 and was the fastest-selling single in UK history at the time.