Quick catch up of last week's most important good news about medicine, health, climate and clean energy.
Ozone Layer: International efforts to protect the ozone layer have been a “huge global success”, scientists announced, after revealing that damaging gases in the atmosphere were declining faster than expected. The loss of the ozone layer, which risked exposing people to harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, is on track to be completely recovered by 2040 across the world, aside from the polar regions, according to the report. The poles will take a little longer. The Montreal protocol, signed in 1987, aimed to phase out ozone-depleting substances and clearly demonstrates what the world can achieve if it gets serious about an agreed objective.
Medicine / Health
New Breast Cancer Test: A novel blood test, described as an “incredibly exciting” advance, demonstrated the ability to detect the recurrence of breast cancer up to three years before tumours appear on routine scans. This invention has the potential to drastically enhance treatment outcomes (and peace of mind) for millions of women around the world.
Melanoma Vaccine: The first vaccine for melanoma - a skin cancer usually caused by sun damage - halved the risk of patients dying or the disease returning in a trial. Researchers combined a vaccine using the same mRNA technology as many Covid jabs with an established immunotherapy called pembrolizumab. Prof Charles Swanton, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, said the results were “extremely impressive”, but that more research is needed.
Needle-Free: Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed oral insulin drops that could replace injections for people with diabetes. In the works for three years, the drops are placed under the tongue and absorbed into the body, eliminating the need for needles.
Global Progress: The WHO and UNICEF released a new report on global access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools. Between 2015 and 2023, global access to clean drinking water in schools increased from 66% to 77%, basic sanitation increased from 68% to 78%, and basic hygiene rose from 58% to 67%. This is a staggering achievement. In actual numbers, it means that well over 200 million schoolchildren have gained access to improved water, sanitation, or hygiene services in the last eight years.
Ocean Conservation
Great Blue Wall: Ten Indian Ocean nations are creating a network of marine conservation areas called the “Great Blue Wall.” It’s part of a larger global effort to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030 - currently only around 5 to 8 percent of the marine area in the Indian Ocean is under some form of legal protection.
US Ocean Conservation: The Smithsonian and the NOAA just announced the rollout of a first-of-its-kind National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy. It’s the first nationwide strategy aimed at taking action to save marine life (and, subsequently, all life). The total ocean territory under U.S. management covers an area larger than all 50 states combined. While protections for marine life have increased in recent years (globally, too), much of it remains unprotected or misunderstood. The new strategy aims to close those gaps by working alongside local and Indigenous stakeholders.
Climate / Clean Energy
$2 Trillion: Spending on clean energy technologies and infrastructure is on track to hit $2 trillion in 2024, according to a report by the International Energy Agency. “Clean energy investment is setting new records even in challenging economic conditions, highlighting the momentum behind the new global energy economy,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
Secret Weapon: Crop residue biochar could lock up 7 percent of global emissions. This extraordinary finding from a recent new study shows, in fact, that the potential of repurposed crop residues is so powerful that countries like India could use it to lock away the equivalent of over 40 percent of their current greenhouse gas emissions.
Rare Earth Elements: A Norwegian company has uncovered Europe’s largest proven deposit of rare earth minerals, which are essential resources as the world turns more toward renewable energy. With China controlling the majority of rare earth deposits today, the CEO of the company Rare Earths Norway said “It is important to state that there is absolutely no extraction of rare earth elements in Europe today.” He noted that the finding marks a “great milestone.”
Lithium From Seawater: Discovery hails potential new era of cheaper and more environmentally friendly electric cars and smartphones.
Gates Goes Nuclear: Bill Gates has helped break ground in Wyoming to mark the construction of the first next-generation nuclear reactor in the United States. The US nuclear industry has been moribund for decades - with no development advances since the 1970s. "I believe that the next-generation nuclear power plant that TerraPower is building here will power the future of our nation – and the world," said Gates. "Today, we took the biggest step yet toward safe, abundant, zero-carbon energy."
World's Largest Solar: The world’s largest solar farm is now online in China - now home to the three largest farms in the world. Located on 33,000 acres in the desert, the solar farm’s production capacity could power over two million electric vehicles annually.
Good Tipping Point: The world has reached a monumental tipping point, and this one is good! According to new data estimates from BloombergNEF, global carbon dioxide emissions are starting to fall for the first time since the start of the Industrial Revolution. The data aligns with projections made by Climate Analytics last November that 2023 was the year of peak emissions, led by the explosive growth of renewable energy capacity.
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Today's Articles
Founding Documents: On the anniversary of the United States’ founding, rare early copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to be sold in a live auction.
First Film Ever: For the first time, camera traps have recorded a family of wild Bornean Clouded Leopards.
Drone Photo Awards: Shortlist for this year's competition features the best images of the past 12 months.
Unsolicited Advice: 68 year old man gifts his children bits of advice he wished he had known when he was their age.