Synopsis of last week's most important good news highlights.
Don't Dig For Climate Victory: New studies show that by embracing regenerative farming we could draw up to 150 percent of global emissions into the ground every year. 150 percent!
Alzheimer’s Drug: The first Alzheimer’s disease medication shown in trials to slow progression of the disease by 27 percent has been given full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, paving the way for its costly price tag to be covered by Medicare.
World's 'Most Liveable' Cities: Once again, Vienna tops the latest Global Liveability Index. How did your city fare?
Malaria Vaccine: The WHO has announced that 12 countries in Africa will receive the first 18 million doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine.
Oldest Stone Tools Ever Discovered in The US: Discovery of 18,000 year old tools is further proof that Indigenous people have been in the Americas longer than archaeologists once thought.
Major Raw Material Find: Euractiv reports that a massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 50 years. In equally good news, the fact that it's in Norway means that the company will have to observe stricter environmental standards when extracting the minerals, including carbon capture and storage.
Tired All The Time? New study shows that brain fog and fatigue are often wrongly put down to ageing, when it could just be a deficiency of vitamin B12.
De-Listed: New research shows that 26 Australian species - 14 mammal, eight bird, two frog, one reptile, and one fish - no longer meet criteria to be listed as threatened. Their names are spectacular, including the greater bilby, burrowing bettong, eastern barred bandicoot, and sooty albatross.
Great Progress: Humanity has made astonishing progress on access to water, sanitation and hygiene this century, reports the World Health Organisation. Between 2000 and 2022, 2.1 billion people gained access to safe drinking water, 2.5 billion gained access to safely managed sanitation.
Legally Binding Emoji: Sending a thumbs-up emoji may now be considered an agreement to a legally binding contract, a Canadian judge has ruled.
No Clothes Required: Visitors to Japan will soon be able to show up with little more than the clothes they’re wearing, thanks to an initiative by Japan Airlines to offer rental clothing during visits. The initiative is a bid to promote sustainable tourism and reduce carbon emissions from saved aircraft weight.
Humans Really Can Hear Silence: Ever since the days of the ancient Greeks, scientists and philosophers have debated whether silence is ever 'heard'. Now, researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the US may just have settled the issue...
Landfill Solution: Running low on suitable land for solar power projects, cities are getting creative - and hundreds are putting them on land that would otherwise be unused, and in some cases, a liability: old landfills. The further good news is that there are at least 10,000 disused or closed landfills across the United States - and most are publicly owned.
Magic Find: A rare hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has just been sold for £10,500 ($13,560) at an auction - having been purchased for only 30p (39 cents).
Ecological Civilisation: France is seeking to turn itself into an 'ecological civilisation.' Over the next four years the Ministry of Ecological Transition will train 5.6 million public sector workers about the climate crisis, including how to use that knowledge to change the way they work.
Cricket in America: For decades, cricket’s powers have dreamed of making it big in America. On Thursday - Major League Cricket - the grandest, richest attempt yet to get Americans hooked on cricket began in a converted baseball stadium on the outskirts of Dallas.
Today's Articles
Strange But True: Once-extinct species of bird has re-evolved back into existence and returned to the island where it lived thousands of years ago. Extraordinary...
Fight Against Auto-besity: For years, cars have been getting bigger and bigger. Now, France has decided to fight back against these "useless" and "absurd" vehicles in towns. Bon sens...
Comedy Pet Photo Awards: It's that time of year again! Here are some hilarious shortlisted entries for this year's competition. Love and laughter...
Trailblazers: Have you heard of the 'Harvard Computers'? They were the women who built the foundations of modern astronomy...