Upbeat News Tuesday
- 18 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Today's eclectic collection of positive news nuggets from around the world.
Mother And Cub
A wildlife photographer from the state of Karnataka, India, has posted an incredible shot of two leopards drinking at the backwaters of Bhadra’s Tiger Reserve. What’s so special about Sohan Singh’s encounter is that not only is the mother and its cub drinking side-by-side but, while the former bears the species’ distinctive spots, the cub is all-black. All-black leopards are often referred to as ‘black panthers’, with many confusing them as two different species. In actual fact, a black panther is simply a leopard (or jaguar) with melanism, causing excessive dark pigmentation leading to the beautiful all-black coat. Follow Sohan Singh on Instagram
Blindingly Obvious
Refrigerated trailers (reefers) are critical for hauling fresh food and flowers from the farm to your local market - the problem is that they pollute like crazy, powered by diesel that runs around the clock, even if the truck pulling them is fully electric. Or parked. That constant diesel burn spews CO₂ and NOx into industrial and residential areas alike. THe good news is that Australia's Sunswap Endurance thinks they’ve cracked the problem with a solar-powered reefer that, they say, will keep food cold in transit without burning a drop of diesel fuel. The idea is insultingly simple. Sunswap adds PV panels to the top of a semi-trailer, which continuously charge onboard batteries that power a highly efficient electric reefer unit. When the truck is stopped, loading, or parked for the night, the batteries can also be topped up from grid power.
Victoria's Coronet
When Dynastic Jewels: Power, Prestige and Passion, 1700-1950 opened at the Hôtel de la Marine, Paris reclaimed its role as the epicenter of glittering history. On view until 6 April 2026, this collaboration between The Al Thani Collection and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum brings together rare royal jewels of exceptional provenance, many shown in France for the first time. Highlights include Queen Victoria’s sapphire-and-diamond coronet, designed by Prince Albert and made by Kitching & Abud.
Another Good Use of AI
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed an AI system that can analyse scans in seconds, identifying neurological conditions with up to 97.5 percent accuracy while also triaging urgency. Tested on over 30,000 MRI scans, the model flags strokes and haemorrhages for immediate attention, offering a potential fix for radiology backlogs and delayed diagnoses as MRI demand outpaces specialist capacity, reports Science Daily.
This May Surprise You
Trump, 'The Undisputed Champion of Coal', has overseen more retirements of coal plants than any other president in US history. A new analysis shows 57GW retired across Trump’s two terms, versus 48GW under Obama and 41GW under Biden. Ageing plants and cheaper fossil gas and renewables have driven this trend, with wind and solar now generating more electricity in the United States than coal.
Low-Cost Climate Win
Hospitals are cutting climate pollution by dropping a common anaesthetic. Medical institutions across Europe, North America and Australasia are phasing out desflurane, a widely used anaesthetic with 2,530 times the warming impact of CO2. The shift to alternatives has already cut anaesthetic-related emissions by nearly 30 percent over a decade, with no loss of clinical quality and significant cost savings, says Bloomberg. Regulators now see operating rooms as a fast, low-cost climate win.
Lead-Free Gasoline
A new study in the USA show that after lead was banned in gasoline in the 1970s, despite fuel consumption rising, concentrations of lead in hair samples plummeted from as high as 100 parts per million to 10 ppm by 1990. It was less than one ppm in 2024. Before the Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970, lead was all over the U.S., from smokestacks and paint to pipes and car exhaust emissions.
“The sun himself is weak when he first rises; and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.” Charles Dickens
On This Day
17 February 1904: Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly premieres at La Scala in Milan, Italy. However, the original two-act production was a notorious fiasco, attributed to an excessively long second act and insufficient rehearsal time. Following the disastrous premiere, Puccini extensively revised the opera, splitting the long second act into two and making other changes. The revised version premiered with great success on May 28, 1904, in Brescia, Italy.
Today's Articles
Where's The Sun Gone? The Trump administration says that it's not sure where the Sun goes at night. Warning: dark humour.
Mood Boosting Video
Hilarious Dutch TV Commercial: Never buy a VW Golf from an old lady.