Positive News Tuesday
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Ensuring September gets off to a bright start with today's global round up of positive news nuggets.
Diving Fox
The world’s funniest wildlife photography competition, the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, has been delighting us with its side-splitting snapshots for ten years. Now, an immersive live experience showcasing some of its best images from the past decade is coming to London. The experience will open at an art space located in Marble Arch, on 12 September. It will showcase 91 of the competition’s best photographs. The experience will run until January 2027 and tickets can be purchased from the FRAMELESS website.
Arctic Fox Diving into the Snow: Extraordinarily, they're most successful at catching mice (when they dive into the snow) if they're facing magnetic north. Watch 2 minute video.
mRNA Vaccines
Six years after the pandemic, we have personalised mRNA vaccines for cancer. Researchers sequenced the tumours of 1,137 melanoma patients, selected ‘neoantigens’ which teach the immune system how to attack the cancer, and then built each person their own vaccine in about six weeks. Given alongside Keytruda, a standard cancer immunotherapy drug, fewer of the patients relapsed and fewer of their cancers spread than for those on Keytruda alone. It's the first time an mRNA cancer vaccine has worked in a late-stage trial. Great progress.
Churchill's VE Day Mic
A microphone used by Winston Churchill to celebrate VE Day is up for auction. The wartime leader made an inspiring speech to mark the defeat of the Nazis on a Grampian DPL PA mic at Westminster Chapel on 8 May 1945. It is now being put up for sale by Gerry O’Brien, the former landlord of the Churchill Arms pub in London. A brass plaque attached to the microphone is engraved with the words “The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance. Winston S. Churchill”. A typed label on the underside states: “This microphone was used on the VE Day gathering at Westminster Chapel by Winston S. Churchill after addressing his cabinet.”
Roman Telescope Launches
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully blasted into space a the weekend and is the latest in NASA’s line of “great observatories” designed to study wide swaths of the universe. The mission will probe questions around dark matter and dark energy, identify tens of thousands of exoplanets, and more. Roman has the precision of the Hubble telescope but a field of view 100 times larger and can scan 1,000 times faster. It complements the James Webb Space Telescope, which has a narrower window but can zoom in and capture exquisite details. Roughly 1.4 terabytes of data will be streamed back to Earth per day, with the first images expected early next year. Nancy Roman, nicknamed the “Mother of Hubble,” was NASA’s first chief of astronomy and first female executive. Want to know more? NASA’s Roman Project Scientist gives a brief overview in this 4 minute video.
First in 200 Years
A Przewalski’s horse foal was just born in the steppes of central Kazakhstan, marking the first foal born in the area in 200 years - an important step towards the restoration of the species. It’s the first offspring of seven-year-old horse named Tessa, who arrived in Kazakhstan from Tierpark Berlin in 2024 as part of a large-scale international project to return wild horses to areas where they once thrived. The Przewalski’s horse, also known as the kertagy, is the last surviving species of wild horse in Eurasia. “This is much more than the birth of one foal. It is the first new generation of Przewalski’s horses born in the steppes of central Kazakhstan and a very important milestone for the whole reintroduction programme."
Right to Repair
From this week, people in Ireland should find it easier to have their phones, washing machines and other household items fixed, thanks to new right-to-repair legislation. Launched by the European Union (EU), the directive is being rolled out across member states with the aim of tackling Europe’s growing waste mountain. Under the new rules, manufacturers of certain products must offer a repair service for their goods. Household and electronic items such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners and mobile phones are among those covered.
“Practice makes improvement.” Les Brown
On This Day
1 September 1972: American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer (pictured in 1972) defeats Russian champion Boris Spassky 12.5-8.5 in Reykjavik, Iceland, in the most publicized world title match ever played. Widely known as the "Match of the Century", Fischer became the first American-born World Chess Champion, ending 24 years of unbroken Soviet dominance of the title. The contest was viewed as a geopolitical clash between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Today's Articles
World's Largest: The world's largest national park is more than one hundred times bigger than Yellowstone National Park.
Orange Shark: Once-in-a-lifetime discovery when they caught something extraordinary off the coast of Costa Rica.
Just Like Calculators: Remote controls and other devices will soon be battery-free; that's good for the planet and our wallets.
Mood Boosting Video
Lake Ontario: Official music video of the Canadian Resistance Army.
