A quick summary of all the best good news stories from last week.
In a week when a new report by the Reuters Institute revealed that around four in ten (39 percent) of survey respondents said they sometimes or often avoid the news - up 3 percentage points on last year’s average - because it is often so 'negative' and 'overwhelming', the team at OGN Towers have been scouring the global media, as always, for all the good stuff.
So, here's all the positive news from last week to help put a spring in your step...
Health & Wellbeing
End of Opioids? America's FDA has approved the first non-addictive pain drug that matches opioids. Journavx is the first pain medication that works as effectively as opioids without addiction risks. The breakthrough drug provides a new option for treating acute pain from surgery and injuries.
'Never Succeeded Before': For the first time, a patient with type 1 diabetes has undergone an islet transplantation using genetically modified insulin-producing cells that do not require immunosuppressive drugs. "A major immunological breakthrough," says Professor Per-Ola Carlsson, who leads the clinical study, to Life Science Sweden.
Power of Eggs: New study finds that eating between one and six eggs each week significantly reduces the risk of dying from any cause but particularly from heart disease.
Eliminating Disease: Already this year, Niger has become the first African country to eliminate river blindness, Georgia has become the 46th country worldwide to eliminate malaria, and Guinea has eliminated sleeping sickness.
Mission 300: The heads of 30 African nations have endorsed a plan to provide “reliable, affordable and sustainable” electricity to 300 million people who currently do not have regular access across the continent over the next five years.
Libraries & Well-Being: A study has confirmed that libraries really do make life better - and in more ways than even the most avid bibliophile might expect.
Conservation & Wildlife
.
First Ever Photograph: High up in the Sierra Nevada, the tiny Mount Lyell shrew has been shying away from cameras since it was first identified almost 100 years ago. Despite being a documented species, it was the only known mammal in California that had never been photographed. That is, until three young researchers ventured into the mountains. “I would love to say we spent three days waiting, and the shrew finally appeared at the last second. But we got the Mount Lyell within the first two hours.”
India's Tigers: A new study has found that tiger population in India doubled between 2010 and 2022 - from 1,706 tigers to approximately 3,682 - through conservation efforts. India is now home to approximately 75 percent of the world’s tiger population, according to estimates from the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Andes Amazon Fund: It's possibly the world's most effective conservation initiative almost nobody has ever heard about. In the past month, it's posted nine stories about new protected areas in Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, totalling almost 3,860 sq. miles (10,000 sq. km). Some of these areas are crucial biodiversity hotspots.
Sanctuary Success: A region of the Pacific Ocean that’s larger than Switzerland is now fully protected from fishing, thanks to the creation of a massive new marine sanctuary in the Marshall Islands. The new marine protected area spans 18,500 square miles of water.
Food & Farming
Positive Double Whammy: New non-GMO rice strain emits 70 percent less methane and greatly boosts yield. That's good news for both people and planet.
Ice Stupas: Ladakh, a high-altitude desert in northern India, faces growing challenges as water becomes scarcer. However, the community found a simple but ingenious solution. Engineer Sonam Wangchuk introduced “ice stupas” - artificial, cone-shaped glaciers that store winter meltwater and release it during the growing season. These towering structures hold millions of litres of water, transforming barren landscapes into fertile farmland.
England's Farmland: Roughly nine percent of England’s farmland needs to be converted into habitats for wildlife and forest by 2050 in order to meet the country’s nature and net-zero goals. Under the new land use blueprint, grasslands used for grazing livestock faced the biggest reduction.
Renewable Energy
Data Energy: Often criticized for their energy use, a data center in Switzerland will heat 6,000 homes with recycled energy. The Geneva-based center has been recovering 100 percent of the energy it uses and it hopes to point to a greener way to operate in the industry. "In the real world, data centres convert electricity into heat. With the exponential growth of the cloud, this energy is currently being released into the atmosphere and wasted.”
A World First: Solvang ASA, a Norwegian shipping company, has rolled out Clipper Eris, the world’s first ship with a full-scale onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) system. The system will aid in reducing emissions by 70 percent while allowing repurposing of stored carbon in the food processing industry.
US Heat Pumps: In 2024, people in the U.S. bought 37 percent more air-source heat pumps than gas furnaces, the second-most popular heating appliance. Heat pumps had a 21 percent lead in 2023, showing a clear momentum for a “greener” alternative that is three to four times as efficient as fossil fuel alternatives. It's one of the most effective ways an individual can reduce emissions, and save money.
And Finally...
Congratulations to Ananya Prasad on becoming the first "woman of colour to row solo and unassisted across any ocean" after completing a 3,000 mile voyage across the Atlantic. The 34 year old was born in India, but now lives in England. She began her transatlantic journey from La Gomera in the Canary Islands in December before arriving safely at the Caribbean island of Antigua, after 52 days at sea.
Congratulations are also in order for scientists who succeeded in creating the First Glimpse inside a badly burnt scroll from the Roman town of Herculaneum. It has been digitally "unwrapped" using a combination of X-ray imaging and artificial intelligence, providing the first look inside for 2,000 years.
That's it, you are up to date. Please don't hesitate to share this page (or any other pages) with friends and family - and spread the good news about OGN Daily.
Today's Articles
World’s Largest Building: The secret to how they built The Crystal Palace so quickly in 1851 for England's Great Exhibition.
China-Killer: Volkswagen has teased plans for a “China-killer” electric vehicle that will cost just €20,000.
Doug Larson: You may never have heard of him. Born in 1926, he became highly skilled at the pithy, humorous one-liner.