Each day the Good Good Good workforce collects the very best excellent news on the planet and shares it with our neighborhood. Listed here are the highlights for this week!
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The Finest Constructive Information We’re Celebrating This Week —
Utilizing the world’s strongest MRI, researchers bought detailed images of the mind — they may assist with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s analysis
French researchers simply unveiled photos of the human mind taken by the world’s strongest MRI. The photographs are nearly 10 instances as detailed as these of a typical hospital MRI, and will result in future breakthroughs in treating Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and extra.
The scans had been taken of the brains of about 20 folks over the course of 4 minutes — utilizing a typical MRI to take related scans would usually take hours.
With these extremely detailed photos, researchers can higher perceive how the mind capabilities, search for modifications, see the way it interacts with numerous therapies for various issues, and obtain even extra medical breakthroughs.
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Extra good medical information to have a good time:
International demise tolls from pure disasters have really plummeted during the last century
Because the Nineteen Sixties, the world has seen a spike within the variety of pure disasters, largely on account of rising sea ranges and an ever-gradually rising world floor temperature.
The excellent news? We’re getting higher at serving to one another when disasters strike. In accordance with a current research from Our World In Information, the worldwide toll from pure disasters has dramatically dropped within the final century.
Researchers gathered information from all geophysical, meteorological, and climate-related disasters since 1900, together with earthquakes, volcanic exercise, landslides, drought, wildfires, extreme storms, and mass floods.
Within the early-to-mid twentieth century, the typical annual demise toll from these disasters was very excessive, usually climbing to over one million.
However that’s shifted in current many years, and because the researchers observe, “Even in peak years with high-impact occasions, the demise toll has not exceeded 500,000 because the mid-Nineteen Sixties.”
One of many largest causes for this enchancment: human beings are getting higher at predicting and making ready for pure disasters.
Nigeria simply turned the primary nation on the planet to roll out the “revolutionary” new meningitis vaccine
Final 12 months throughout 26 nations in Africa, there was a 50% improve in annual circumstances of meningitis — and Nigeria is a hotspot. Between October 2023 and mid-March 2024, there 1,742 suspected circumstances within the nation and 153 deaths recorded throughout the nation’s seven states.
The World Well being Group has a purpose to get rid of meningitis by 2030 — and so they simply took a bit step towards that purpose.
Nigeria simply turned the primary nation to roll out a “revolutionary” new vaccine to guard towards meningitis. Not like the preliminary vaccine that solely labored towards one pressure, this new vaccine protects towards the 5 main strains of the illness present in Nigeria.
Extra good vaccine information:
A person in Gaza is utilizing photo voltaic panels to wash and supply water for a whole lot of his neighbors
As humanitarian assist continues to wrestle to achieve these in want in Gaza, one man is making a distinction by assembly a vital want: clear water.
Mohammed Assaila has a solar-powered nicely in his home, and along with use it to supply clear water for “a minimum of 1,000 folks” ever day, he’s additionally working with folks in different neighborhoods to function extra wells.
Assaila has assembled a workforce of consultants to assist: an alternate power engineer, a welder to put in the photo voltaic panel bases, and a plumber that fixes wells.
And whereas they’re battling inflated prices as a result of struggle, the supplies they want are all obtainable to assemble extra photo voltaic panel wells to assist extra folks get clear water.
And the necessity is nice: again in February, the United Nations Reduction and Works Company reported that round 70% of individuals in Gaza had been consuming salinized or contaminated consuming water, and a minimum of half of water and sanitation services had been destroyed or broken.
The work Assaila and his workforce of helpers are doing is extra vital than ever earlier than, and an inspiring instance of folks stepping as much as make a distinction — even in probably the most horrifying circumstances.
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Setting a serious clear power benchmark, renewables exceeded 100% of power demand in California for 30 of the previous 38 days
California simply set a serious new benchmark for clear power: For 30 of the previous 38 days (and counting!), renewables have exceeded 100% of power demand on its primary grid.
This constant degree of clear energies assembly power calls for — not essentially 24/7, however for an prolonged variety of consecutive days — has by no means been achieved… till now.
California additionally has the world’s largest grid-connected battery storage facility that simply got here on-line in January. So, whereas renewables had been exceeding power demand throughout the day — that was all getting saved to be utilized later.
Why is that this excellent news? Because the world works to place itself on observe to restrict warming and stop probably the most catastrophic impacts of local weather change, these are precisely the clear power milestones we’ve been trying ahead to. This benchmark is so important that one knowledgeable predicted the state will run completely on renewables and battery storage by 2035 — ten years forward of its self-imposed deadline.
New analysis exhibits a genetic breakthrough might assist save a uncommon rhino species from extinction
The white rhino might be divided into two sub-species which can be genetically related — however whereas one, the southern white rhino is flourishing because of conservation efforts, the opposite faces extinction.
There are solely two feminine northern white rhino species nonetheless alive immediately, each of that are previous the age of carrying offspring. Their numbers have dwindled so devastatingly on account of poaching, poorly managed land, and different human actions.
Towards that dire backdrop, and because of breakthroughs in genetic know-how, a conservation scientist on the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance discovered that genetic samples frozen on the zoo include sufficient genetic range to convey again the species from extinction.
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Extra excellent news for endangered animals:
Scientists unveiled a brand new remote-controlled ‘pillbot’ — a microrobot which you can swallow for early illness detection
Whereas inner drugs has superior in leaps and bounds all through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, checking the human physique for cysts, tumors, and different predictors for a variety of illnesses remains to be not a straightforward endeavor.
At TED 2024, a doctor and an engineer introduced their resolution: the PillBot. It’s a small, remotely managed wi-fi robotic that may swim round in a water-filled human abdomen.
It’s sufficiently small to swallow (which they demonstrated stay on stage), cheap to make, there’s (fortunately!) no retrieval wanted, and offers physicians a direct view of the abdomen.
Why is that this excellent news? The present technique for reaching that is an endoscopy, which is a comparatively costly and invasive process — and it requires a particular go to to the hospital. The duo believes we are able to do higher — for physicians and sufferers — and even alluded to its usefulness for an additional unpopular process: colonoscopies.
An Israeli and Palestinian activist are working collectively to construct hope and peace within the Center East
Aziz Abu Sarah is a Palestinian peacemaker, writer, and tourism entrepreneur — his brother was killed by Israeli troopers when he was 19 years previous. Maoz Inon is an Israeli social entrepreneur and peace activist — his mother and father had been killed by Hamas within the October 7 assaults in Israel.
Each of those males — who’re so usually decreased to the actions of their authorities or the historic battle of their folks — are mates.
Dealing with one another on the TED 2024 stage, the 2 took turns sharing their tales, together with images of beloved family and friends who’ve misplaced their very own lives, or have misplaced dozens of relations within the months since October 2023. They talked about their efforts to construct bridges within the area — and the difficulties they confronted in doing so.
Most of all, they talked about their renewed dedication within the area: for a future that isn’t freed from anger and rage, Abu Sarah clarified, however a rage that can gas the struggle for peace.
This better-world-inspiring anger, Inon agreed, is named hope. He mentioned that this sense — together with the legacy of his mother and father and all the things they instilled in him — are what preserve him going.
→ Learn extra (and watch their full dialog!)
Extra excellent news of the week —
To struggle bots and inflated charges, Maggie Rogers is promoting live performance tickets to her followers in particular person at venue field places of work. Rogers simply dropped her third album, and is having followers purchase cheaper tickets to her upcoming tour “prefer it’s 1965.”
A brand new AI mannequin might assist detect a big proportion of individuals liable to growing childbirth-related PTSD. This system recognized indicators of CB-PTSD by evaluating quick narrative statements of sufferers who’ve given delivery.
After years of being ravaged by coral illness, a nonprofit efficiently planted 40,000 coral reefs within the Caribbean. FUNDEMAR has been very important to Caribbean reef restoration amid threats like stony coral tissue loss illness, which is on the rise all over the world.
India simply introduced a brand new alliance to fund conservation efforts for seven large cats. India is dwelling to 75% of the world’s wild tiger inhabitants in addition to the one habitat for Asiatic lions — and it’s already efficiently reintroduced the cheetah and the leopard.
A Fisk College gymnast simply made historical past as the primary HBCU gymnast to be the collegiate champion. Initially from Lebanon, Morgan Worth is now the primary to carry the title of USAG All-Round Nationwide Champion with a rating of 39.225.
Skyscrapers in Texas are “going darkish” to guard migrating birds. A serious flyover state, Texas sees roughly two billion birds — one in three birds migrating by the U.S. — migrate by the state within the spring.
In a breakthrough, neuroscientists recognized a genetic mutation that fends off Alzheimer’s in folks at excessive threat. The variant reduces the chances of growing Alzheimer’s illness by as much as 70% and could also be already defending hundreds of individuals within the U.S. from the illness.
For the primary time since 1920, the federal authorities raised the worth to drill on public lands. Whereas the price remains to be decrease than states or personal landowners cost, the rise is overdue and is an effort to higher defend public lands and cut back fossil gas emissions.
Germany’s parliament simply handed a landmark regulation permitting transgender and non-binary folks to extra simply replace their authorized paperwork to replicate their gender id. Underneath the brand new regulation, trans and non-binary folks will not want “knowledgeable” opinions or medical certificates to make the change.
Doulas, midwives, and policymakers are working to make delivery safer for Black folks. In 2021, 1,205 folks within the U.S. died from birth-related causes, up from 754 in 2019 — and Black birthing individuals are at disproportionate threat.
Over half a billion {dollars} in electrical automobile tax rebates had been issued by the U.S. Treasury to automobile sellers in 2024. Customers overwhelmingly took benefit of an Inflation Discount Act rebate that permits consumers to obtain a $7,500 tax credit score for brand new electrical automobiles as a direct low cost.
Greece simply turned the primary nation within the EU to ban backside fishing in marine protected areas. This damaging technique of fishing entails dragging heavy nets alongside the seabed, damaging ecosystems and releasing carbon trapped within the seabed.
Iconic TED Talks will now use AI to be dubbed right into a dozen completely different languages. Connecting much more viewers with TED’s inspiring talks, the unique speaker’s lip actions may also be modified to match the dubbed language.
TED introduced its 2024 world cohort of “Fellows” — folks working in well being care, artwork, science, and extra to make the world a greater place. Now a worldwide neighborhood with over 500 members from over 100 nations, the TED Fellows program helps equip these altering the world for the higher with the talents wanted to maximise their affect.
RuPaul celebrated the significance and ‘energy of drag’ from the TED stage. Because the LGBTQ+ neighborhood continues to push for primary human rights, RuPaul and his drag empire have grow to be a secure area for many who want a bit of further fabulosity of their lives.
