Tuesday's Upbeat News
- 15 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Today's bite-sized chunks of upbeat news to get everything off to a bright start.
Three Peaks
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, has completed the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of the hospital where she was treated for cancer, describing it as a "chance to explore life beyond diagnosis and to give something back". She did the event, which involves climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales over a day, to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The princess revealed she was having cancer treatment in 2024, and said she was in remission at the start of 2025. After completing the challenge, she said she wanted to support "holistic healthcare" for people with cancer, describing it as a way to improve "wellbeing, resilience and quality of life during an exceptionally difficult time". The Royal Marsden Hospital describes holistic care as "supporting the whole person - integrating physical, emotional, spiritual and social wellbeing alongside clinical care."
The Moon Illusion
This year's Strawberry Moon marks the first full Moon of the summer season. In the northern hemisphere, June's full Moon is different from others in the calendar year as it is the lowest-hanging in the sky. This means it sits closer to the horizon causing something known as the Moon illusion, a phenomenon where the Moon appears larger than when it's positioned high in the sky at other times of the year. Its name is connected to the time of year that it rises, rather than its actual colour. Named after the harvest season observed by indigenous Americans, it signalled the time of year that wild strawberries were harvested, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Historically, full Moons were given nicknames to help keep track of time and monitor the changing seasons.
Biopic Record
The recently released Michael Jackson movie has overtaken Oppenheimer as the highest-grossing biopic of all time, after taking $977m at the worldwide box office. Michael was already the biggest ever musical biopic, having leapfrogged 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody - about the band Queen. But it has now also surpassed director Christopher Nolan's 2023 film about the American theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, which previously held the box office record for any film based on a real-life figure. As well as driving fans into cinemas, the new movie has also seen an uptick in people streaming Jackson's songs. He's been the most played artist in the UK on YouTube in the past month, with double the number of plays of his nearest rival, Canadian star Drake. Billie Jean, perhaps his most famous tune, is currently the most played song on Spotify around the world.
Spotify’s 20 Most-Streamed Songs Ever: Spotify has reshaped how the world listens to music, but only a small group of songs have reached the platform’s highest streaming tier.
Resilient Reefs
According to a new analysis of 45,000 coral surveys alongside decades of climate and ocean data, scientists identified nearly 64,000 square miles of coral reef capable of both surviving and recovering from climate change - three times more than previous estimates. The climate-resilient reefs were identified across 71 countries and 100 territories, including in previously unrecognized parts of the Caribbean and Pacific and Atlantic oceans. One of the report’s authors said people tend to see coral reefs as “beyond saving,” but that the research “proves otherwise,” and now we need the “political will” to save them.
Quality Control
Ford says it has hired back some human engineers after AI failed to match their skills and experience. In a bid to reap the benefits of the tech, which developers claim can cut costs and boost productivity, the US carmaker adopted it across some parts of its operations including for quality checks. But, according to Bloomberg, external, its executives said the firm has rehired more than 300 "veteran" quality inspectors in recent years to make up for the pitfalls of automated systems. In a press release marking the news, Ford said "reaching best-in-class quality required a significant talent refresh".
BioVault
Texas-based Colossal Biosciences and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced a plan to create an archive of living cells and genomic material for every species protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in a project to safeguard roughly 2,300 types of animals and plants deemed threatened or endangered. The biodiversity preservation initiative - BioVault - will be a cryogenic archive for endangered species that stores living cells, reproductive tissues and genomic DNA, with the aim to preserve these samples. The BioVault is planned as a permanent public resource with standardized samples and open-access genomic data available to scientists around the world.
"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between work and play; labor and leisure; mind and body; education and recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both." Lawrence Pearsall Jacks in Education Through Recreation (1932)
On This Day
30 June 1737: British Commissioners of Longitude grant self-taught clockmaker John Harrison £500 after the successful trial of his first longitude clock, called H1. This grant funded the creation of his improved H2 timekeeper, marking a critical early milestone in the quest to solve the infamous longitude problem. Harrison's H1 was a marvel of mechanical ingenuity. Because standard pendulum clocks failed miserably on the rolling waves of the ocean, he utilized a radical system of interlinked swinging balance beams that remained stable despite the ship's motion. Harrison was awarded £20,000 (today's equivalent of £3m to £4m) for his achievement of creating a practical method for determining a ship's longitude at sea
Today's Articles
New Heights? A rare first edition heads to auction today. How high will 'Wuthering Heights' go? Nobody alive today has ever had the opportunity to buy one.
Perception Gap: Big disparity between how concerned people feel about climate change personally and how they feel others perceive the threat.
Nutrient Powerhouse: Dragon fruit may look ugly, but peel away the skin and you will enjoy a plethora of surprising health benefits within.
Readying For Launch: NASA’s new flagship observatory is one of the most powerful astronomical survey instruments ever built.
Mood Boosting Video
North Korea Edition: 'Always Look on The Bight Side of Life' from the Department of Whimsy Enforcement.
