Only Good News | OGN Daily

Sunny Saturday news from around the world to brighten the day.

13th-century Arthurian manuscript — Credit: Cambridge University Library

Merlin's Magic

King Arthur, legendary British king who appears in a cycle of medieval romances as the sovereign of a knightly fellowship of the Round Table. It is not certain how these legends originated or whether the figure of Arthur - or indeed Merlin, the mythical magician who prominently features in Arthurian legend - was based on a historical person. However, the New York Times reports that "modern day magic" has revealed hidden Arthurian tales in a 500-year-old ledger. Cambridge researchers have recovered rare 13th-century Arthurian manuscripts hidden within a 1500s property ledger using multispectral imaging and CT scanning technology normally used for dating fossils. The painstaking digital reconstruction revealed Old French tales featuring Merlin's shapeshifting and Sir Gawain's sun-powered abilities.

King Arthur’s Hall: A remarkable stone and turf structure on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall that was previously thought to be a medieval animal pen has been found to be 4,000 years older - and unique in Europe.

Conservation Success

A record-breaking spawning season for Central California Coast coho salmon. Last winter the endangered salmon returned to Mendocino Coast rivers and streams in the highest numbers since monitoring began 16 years ago, with an estimated population of over 15,000 adults. Commercial and recreational fishing for CCC coho salmon has been closed for nearly 20 years. "A lot of people think it’s too late - it’s too hard to bring back endangered species. This is a prime example of why it’s not too late or too hard," says NOAA San Joaquin River Branch Chief, Jonathan Ambrose.

Pink, blooming cheery trees in Brooklyn Botanic Garden — Credit: Antonio M Rosario | Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Bloomin' Marvellous

Cherry blossom season has made it to New York! Last week, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden launched “CherryWatch,” a tracker that provides daily updates on the blossom status of the garden’s more than 150 cherry trees. Most are still in the “prebloom” stage, so in the meantime you can take a virtual tour of when the site’s Japanese Garden was at its glorious peak bloom back in 2020.

Antibiotic Breakthrough

Researchers at McMaster University in Canada have identified lariocidin, the first new class of antibiotics in nearly three decades, effective against drug-resistant bacteria, reports Phys.org. Extracted from backyard soil bacteria, this discovery might go some way towards addressing the global antimicrobial resistance crisis responsible for 4.5 million annual deaths worldwide.

"Like Finding Gold"

A small, quail-like bird species called the plains-wanderer hasn’t been seen in West Melbourne, Australia for decades. In an effort to catalogue data on local bird calls, a zoo-based conservation organization installed audio recorders in the wilds and after thousands of hours of recordings, an AI-powered tool pinpointed the plains-wanderer by identifying its soft, low “ooming” call at two sites in western Melbourne. While the bird technically still hasn’t been “seen,” one expert said this discovery was “like finding gold.” That’s because, among other things, the plains-wanderer is a “flagship” species, indicating healthy grasslands throughout southeastern Australia and playing a crucial role in insect control and seed dispersal.

the first MI5 camera (Houghton Ltd ‘Ensignette’ roll film camera), 1910 — Credit: Tim Bowditch | The National Archives

MI5: Official Secrets

For the first time since the inception of Britain's spy agency in 1909, MI5’s history is now on display to the public in a major new exhibition - in Richmond, south west London - made possible through an unprecedented partnership between the Security Service and The National Archives. Visitors can explore the ever-changing world of espionage and security threats through original case files, photographs and papers, alongside the real equipment used by spies and spy-catchers. From counter-espionage and daring double-agents during the world wars, to chilling Cold War confessions, this historic exhibition aims to take you behind the scenes of one of Britain’s most secretive institutions. However, somewhat inevitably, the exhibition cannot cover the past 50 years of MI5’s work in any detail. From Sat April 5-Sept 28; nationalarchives.gov.uk

"Your body tells you what it needs, and if you sleep past your alarm on a Saturday morning, it's probably because you need the sleep." Sophia Bush