Here's a quick catch up...
Battery-Free: New indoor solar cell means our devices will never need charging. So no more irritating cables!
DNA Record Breaker: "It's the biggest genome that has ever been discovered out of all organisms that live on this planet," Dr Ilia Leitch of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, told BBC News. The fern was found to have a record-breaking genome size of 160 billion base pairs of DNA, which when unravelled would stretch out to about 100 metres. By comparison, the human genome contains about three billion base pairs and would stretch to about two metres.
First Female President: Claudia Sheinbaum has been elected as Mexico's first woman president - in a presidential race that pitted two women against each other.
'Ultimate Championship': A new World Athletics Ultimate Championship has been launched with a record-breaking $10 million prize pot. It hopes to become athletics’ answer to the Super Bowl.
Medical Breakthroughs
“Off The Charts”: Patients with an incurable form of lung cancer could lead normal lives by taking a daily pill that “stops cancer its tracks”, a breakthrough study has revealed. Scientists have hailed the drug, called lorlatinib, for its “off the charts” results after a trial found it improved survival rates by the longest period ever recorded.
Melanoma Vaccine: The world’s first personalised mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma halves the risk of patients dying or the disease returning, according to trial results that doctors described as “extremely impressive”.
Immobility Breakthrough: A new treatment using electrical pulses in combination with occupational therapy could restore movement to some people experiencing paralysis from the neck down. The FDA is analyzing the study's data to determine if it will issue a license for the device.
Artificial Cornea: A 91-year-old man has made history by becoming the first patient in England to receive an artificial cornea, described as a “great advancement for patient care”. Chris Farley said the transplant surgery has enabled him to continue to see his 83-year-old wife Elizabeth.
Bionic Hero Arm: A five-year-old boy born without a left hand is believed to have become the youngest in the world to receive a bionic hero arm. His life-changing Iron Man-style arm was an “instant confidence boost”.
Wildlife / Nature
Wolverine Restoration: Colorado lawmakers have approved a bill to restore North American wolverines to the state’s high country. Supporters say the wolverine is one of the last species still “missing” from Colorado.
Ganges River Dolphins: According to a recent report by the Wildlife Institute of India, the population of the remarkable Ganges river dolphin are is bouncing back, with now more than 4,000 dolphins in the Gangetic River basin.
Vast New Forest: Uzbekistan Forestry Agency and locals are busy planting trees. Millions of them. The initiative has so far planted a whopping 4.2 million acres of forest, with nearly half a million more acres of new forest planned for 2024.
Climate / Energy
US Energy: Clean electricity is on the cusp of overtaking fossil fuels in the US. In March 2024, renewables and nuclear generated 49.4 percent of the USA's electricity.
China's Emissions: China’s carbon emissions may now be ‘in a structural decline’. Two separate new analyses suggest that China’s carbon dioxide emissions peaked in 2023 and will start declining from this year onwards. Partly as a result of this, Bloomberg is predicting that global emissions could fall as much as 2.5 percent in 2024, and an analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air has come to a similar conclusion, citing a fall of 3 percent in China’s carbon dioxide emissions in March.
Today's Articles
Fabulous Creations: Street artist brightens his city with charming chalk drawings - guaranteed to make you smile.
Radio Caroline: Britain's legendary pirate radio station turns 60, after surviving numerous disasters.