Monday's global round up of positive news stories to get the week off to a bright start.
Selfless Swims
From the Cook Straight in New Zealand to the Catalina Channel in Southern California, high school senior Maya Merhige is tackling some of the world’s most challenging swims with the goal of raising money for cancer patients. And she’s succeeding: So far, the teen has donated over $125,000 to charity. “The entire time I was in the water - in those really, really hard parts - what I repeated to myself was, ‘If these kids can go through radiation and chemotherapy and cancer treatment then I can swim for another 10 strokes or 10 minutes,’” Merhige said of her recent New Zealand swim. The Berkeley senior has traveled the globe supporting Swim Across America and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals.
Conservation Successes
Greece's Mediterranean monk seals are back from brink of extinction now that the species has moved from 'critically endangered' to 'vulnerable' after decades of conservation efforts to protect marine ecosystems and rehabilitate orphaned and injured seals. On the other side of the globe, endangered Caribbean reef sharks are bouncing back in Belize thanks to the no-shark-fishing zones around three atolls established in 2021 and the efforts of local shark fishers who have cooperated with marine scientists and authorities to create safe havens for the shark.
Landmark Study
Scientists have successfully corrected a disease-causing gene mutation with a single infusion. The treatment involved fixing a 'spelling error' involving the four base sequences - G, A, C and T - in DNA. The effect was to change an incorrect DNA letter to the right one; the result was a normal gene that functioned as it should, potentially halting liver and lung damage for patients with a rare disorder. "This is the beginning of a new era of medicine," says the New York Times.
One of Three
The first new national forest in more than 30 years will be created between the Cotswolds and the Mendip Hills near Bristol in south west England, the government has announced. Twenty million trees will be planted, as part of a drive to bring greenery closer to people in cities and towns. The Western Forest is the first step towards fulfilling Labour's manifesto promise to plant three national forests, and meeting its target of protecting 30 percent of land for nature by 2030.
Avalanche of Discoveries
Astronomers are predicting an “avalanche of discoveries” after the first major release of observations from a space telescope built to study the mysterious dark matter and dark energy that comprise the bulk of the universe. The European Space Agency’s Euclid mission has captured images of 26m galaxies, covering 10bn years of cosmic history. They give researchers unprecedented insight into the forces that shape the cosmos and the galaxies it holds. The first batch of survey data has allowed researchers to create a detailed catalogue of 380,000 galaxies, revealing the rich variation in galactic structures, with some caught in the act of merging with their neighbours.
NZ Prodigy
New Zealand's Sam Ruthe has become the youngest person in history to run a sub-four-minute mile, aged 15. The middle-distance prodigy ran a record time of three minutes 58.35 seconds in wet conditions at Auckland's Mount Smart Stadium. Ruthe has already broken a number of records in 2025, becoming New Zealand's youngest senior national champion when he won the 3,000m - in another world-record time for his age - in February.
EV Sales Up
Global slow down? Definitely not. Electric vehicle sales grew by 30% in the first two months of 2025, according to Rho Motion, the leading EV research house. China led with 1.4 million vehicles (+35%), while Europe's battery-electric segment jumped 29%, and North American sales rose steadily (+20%), with the U.S. specifically seeing 28% growth in pure electric vehicles.
"Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest." Hermann Hesse in Steppenwolf
On This Day
24 March 1945: With the debut of the Billboard magazine pop album chart, American pianist and singer Nat King Cole's King Cole Trio became the first record album to appear at No. 1.
Today's Articles
The Blaze Star: Scientists say that everyone in the Northern Hemisphere may be able to witness a star exploding this week.
Quotes About Mondays: Few count Monday as their favourite day of the week, so here's a dozen upbeat quotes about the first day of the week that may give you a new perspective.
Feat of Engineering: 1.74 mile long cylinder of ice dating back 1.2 million years could solve Ice Age mystery.
Mood Boosting Video
Cinematic Landscape: Exploring Iceland's extraordinary topography from the air.