Good News Worth Celebrating
- Editor OGN Daily
- 7 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Quick summary of last week's top good news stories.
In a week when scientists revealed that they have found a way to double the shelf life of strawberries and a new brilliantly green comet has been discovered (grab your binoculars - it's visible now), there have been numerous other good news stories to perk up the spirits and lighten the mood. Here's a quick synopsis of last week's top good news nuggets.
Medical Innovations
Gift of The Gab: A brain implant attached to a voice synthesizer has restored the naturalistic speech of a woman with severe paralysis, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco researchers have announced. Previous versions had an eight-second delay when decoding speech. Study co-author Cheol Jun Cho called the new research a "breakthrough."
Lab Grown Teeth: Scientists have successfully grown human teeth in a lab for the first time, according to a new study. Researchers at King’s College London say the breakthrough could lead to patients regrowing lost teeth in future, offering an alternative to fillings or dental implants.
Needle-Free: Needle phobia is extremely common. In response to this problem, Dutch company FlowBeams has unveiled the rather James Bond-sounding BoldJet, an injection system that uses a laser to heat liquid, propelling high-velocity “liquid microjets” through the skin.
Wildlife & Conservation
"Exceedingly Rare": If you stumbled upon a video camera in your backyard, wouldn't you investigate? In “exceedingly rare” footage, an inquisitive - and obviously slightly cautious - chimpanzee did the same. The impressive part is that he used a tool with which to do so.
Conservation Success: Contrary to what many believe, new research shows that sea turtles are actually increasing in numbers in many places around the world, reports Bloomberg. Analysis of 61 datasets from nesting sites globally show a positive trend: 28 sites show increasing populations, while only five show declines.
Geometric Intuition: Regardless of how you feel about crows, there’s one thing we can all agree on: They’re super smart. In fact, a new study reveals that, like humans, crows can identify shapes that exhibit geometric regularity and recognize those that do not. It’s the first time a nonhuman species has been shown to have this geometric intuition.
Women
Empowering Women: Japan has passed new laws to create a radical four-day work week experiment in a bid to reverse the country’s rapidly declining birthrate. “We will continue to review work styles flexibly to ensure that women do not have to sacrifice their careers due to life events such as childbirth or child-rearing,” said Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike.
New Mixed Events: The IOC has just approved six new mixed events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Track and field’s new 4x100m mixed relay adds to the growing lineup of mixed-gender events across the Games, while artistic gymnastics will feature its first mixed team competition. Four more mixed events for 2028 include golf, rowing (coastal beach sprint), table tennis and archery.
Now on Show: Few names are as evocative as Claude Monet, the French artist who came to define the Impressionist movement. But there was more than one Monet. His stepdaughter also painted Impressionist masterpieces - now on show in America.
Climate & Clean Energy
Behemoth: European wind turbine sets new world record. It measures a whopping 905ft (276 m) from blade tip to blade tip. Equivalent to spanning over three football fields, it could generate enough electricity to power 70,000 Danish homes per year.
Sustainable Living: Construction has started on Stockholm Wood City and it will be the world’s largest city made entirely from timber. It will provide 2,000 new homes and 7,000 office spaces. Aside from creating less carbon emissions, timber has another major eco-friendly benefit: It’s recyclable. Additionally, research has pointed to buildings made with natural materials like wood positively contributing to health and well-being.
Cheap EV: A boxy two-seat electric pickup truck spotted in Los Angeles may be a sighting of a new, no frills $25,000 vehicle rumoured to be on the way, financed by Jeff Bezos and managed by some automotive heavyweights.
Prices Keep Falling: Solar panel prices dropped 37-46 percent and batteries fell by 20 percent last year, reports Renew Economy. Solar manufacturing capacity is now three times current global demand, while 30 percent of all new battery storage is getting paired with solar - an irresistible combination.
Electric Numbers: 50.8%: The share of US electricity generated by clean sources in March 2025; the first time fossil fuels have generated less than half of US electricity; 40.9%: The share of the world’s electricity that was generated by clean energy last year; $950 million:
The amount approved to build new solar energy in New York - making it the state's largest solar farm; 50%: The share of Zambia’s population that has access to electricity, up from 30 percent in 2017. The country is currently installing solar mini-grids to expand access, part of a broader push across Africa; 9%: The share of Uruguay's electricity that comes from imported oil, down from 50 percent in 2008. The drop illustrates the country’s evolution into a clean energy leader.
Shipping Agreement: After nearly a decade of negotiations, nations have come to a “landmark” global shipping agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The new International Maritime Organization Framework introduced a carbon pricing mechanism that will require ships with high emissions to pay for the excess pollution they release.
Global South: A new report by RMI shows that countries in the Global South – which includes Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia – are increasing their share of electricity from solar and wind power twice as fast as countries in the Global North. In fact, one-fifth of countries in the Global South have already surpassed wealthy nations in key statistics on solar and wind power usage or electrification.
And Finally...
Biological Signature: Astronomers have found signs of biological activity on a planet 124 light years from Earth, in what they call the strongest evidence yet of extraterrestrial life. Scientists detected specific organic molecules in the atmosphere of K2-18b. On Earth such molecules are only produced by living organisms. The astronomers stopped short of claiming definitive evidence of biological activity but they said the new findings were compelling, as no known non-biological process could account for such a large quantity of organic molecules.
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