What went right this week: the good news that matters

Reaching net zero emissions by 2050 just might be within grasp in the UK, ‘provided the government stays the course’, Climate Change Committee (CCC) experts said this week.

The government’s advisory panel revealed in its annual progress report that emissions in 2024 dropped to just under 50% of 1990 levels. It means the nation is on track to meet the interim target of a 68% cut by 2030.

Much of the progress has been driven by swapping fossil fuels for renewables in our electricity system, and the CCC expects to see further rapid gains as the EV transition continues to gather pace.

There’s good news on peatland restoration and tree planting, too, with the latter hitting a two-decade high in 2023-24.

The CCC cautions, however, that both still fall short of required targets, adding that heat pump take-up also needs to accelerate to realise the 2050 goal. High electricity prices are another barrier to going green, the experts warn.

“The UK can be proud of our progress in reducing emissions. We’ve cut them by over 50% since 1990,” said CCC chair Piers Forster. “However, the government needs to do more to ensure people see the benefits of climate action in their bills. Given increasingly unstable geopolitics, it is also important to get off unreliable fossil fuels and onto homegrown, renewable energy as quickly as possible.

“The fossil fuel era is over – cheap, clean electricity is our future.”

Image: Zaptec

Every baby in England will have DNA testing to screen for hundreds of conditions under plans revealed this week by health secretary Wes Streeting.

Newborns will undergo whole genome sequencing as part of the government drive to predict and prevent illness.

“Genomics presents us with the opportunity to leapfrog disease, so we’re in front of it rather than reacting to it,” Streeting told the Telegraph.

“With the power of this new technology, patients will be able to receive personalised healthcare to prevent ill health before symptoms begin, reducing the pressure on NHS services and helping people live longer, healthier lives.”

The measure is expected to form part of the government’s forthcoming 10-year plan for the NHS, and includes a pledge of £650m by 2030 for genomics research.

It follows the announcement last year of the groundbreaking ‘Generation Study’, where up to 100,000 babies across multiple hospitals in England are being DNA-screened for 200 diseases.

Image: Isaac Taylor

Mutant microbes can turn plastic waste into paracetamol, scientists have discovered, heralding a cleaner, greener way of making the common painkiller. It’s traditionally made from raw materials derived from crude oil, in industrial processes driven by fossil fuels.

Now, researchers at the University of Edinburgh have tweaked a harmless strain of E coli using genes from mushrooms and soil bacteria before letting it loose on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, commonly found in bottles and food packaging.

Through ‘precision fermentation’ – a process akin to brewing beer – the bug transformed industrial PET waste into paracetamol in fewer than 24 hours, with almost no emissions. 

More studies are needed to develop a commercial process, the Edinburgh team said, but the university’s chair of chemical biology, Prof Stephen Wallace added: “This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn’t just waste or a material destined to become more plastic – it can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease.”

Image: Suzy Hazelwood

First class acts including Greentea Peng, Self Esteem and the Nova Twins were on track for a greener Glastonbury this week after traveling by rail to the hallowed fields of Somerset’s Worthy Farm.

They were among artists signed up to the ‘I came by train’ pledge, a campaign spearheaded by train booking company Trainline, which encourages revellers to leave the car at home when travelling to events.

According to Trainline, rail travel emits 67% less CO2 than driving. Travelling from London to Edinburgh by rail spares the same planet-warming emissions as going vegan for a fortnight.

Meanwhile, a Trainline survey reveals that almost 60% of festival-goers who drove to events last year are keen to switch to rail.

Chart-topper Sam Ryder kicked off proceedings on Tuesday by unveiling a Great Western Railway locomotive renamed ‘Train Ryder’ in his honour.

“I’m proud to be part of a campaign that celebrates travel that’s better for the planet,” he said. “Rebranding a train in my honour and riding it to Glastonbury with my guitar? That’s a bit of me. Let’s ride the rails this summer!”

Image: Great Western Railway

Deploying AI in key sectors such as food, power and transport could slash greenhouse gas emissions by 5.4bn tonnes a year by 2035, according to new research published in Nature this week. 

Scientists from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (GRICCE), working alongside investment firm Systemiq, found the savings would more than offset data centre emissions, which have grown with the advent of AI. 

Renewables could benefit from an AI-managed electricity grid, effectively boosting wind and solar by 20%. And in food, AI could help identify new proteins that better mimic meat and dairy, boosting take-up of plant-based alternatives.

Meanwhile, AI has the potential to improve EV adoption by helping drivers select prime charging sites. It can also bolster efficiency by optimising transport logistics.

GRICCE chair Nicholas Stern said AI held ‘transformative potential’ to catalyse the green transition but cautioned that success would rely on committed public policy and investment. 

Mattia Romani, Systemiq’s head of sustainable finance, added: “By intentionally directing AI towards clean growth, adaptation, and resilience, we can ensure it delivers real benefits for people and the planet.”

Image: Christina Morillo

A new test could save thousands of lives worldwide through early detection of a deadly fungal disease that surged during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Scientists at the University of Exeter have developed a prototype lateral flow test for mucormycosis, better known as black fungus disease.

It’s caused by inhaling spores of mucorales fungi, which are harmless to most people but can prove lethal in those with weak immune systems or poorly-managed diabetes.

A spike of 40,000 cases in India during the second wave of Covid-19 caused 3,500 deaths and left many survivors with facial disfigurements. 

Current diagnostic tests involve an invasive biopsy and long turnaround times with poor accuracy.

Prof Chris Thornton from Exeter’s Centre for Medical Mycology is behind the new test, which gave results in 30 minutes when trialled on patients with mucormycosis at Besançon University Hospital (BUH) in France.

Prof Laurence Millon, head of molecular diagnostics for invasive fungal infections at BUH said: “The availability of a rapid point-of-care lateral flow test for the disease will make its detection quicker and cheaper. Its simplicity makes it ideally suited to countries that lack access to diagnostic facilities.”

Image: analogicus

‘Cursed’ spores haunting ancient Egyptian tombs could be used to fight cancer, it was revealed this week. 

Aspergillus flavus survived for millennia in Egyptian burial chambers, only to wreak havoc on the teams who excavated them. The untimely demise of archaeologists who discovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb led to stories of a ‘pharaoh’s curse’, but researchers now believe the toxic fungus could be the future of leukaemia treatment. 

“Fungi gave us penicillin,” said the University of Pennsylvania’s Sherry Gao, lead author of the study. “These results show that many more medicines derived from natural products remain to be found.”

Gao’s team isolated molecules from Aspergillus flavus and tested them against a range of common cancers, noting a ‘potent’ effect on leukaemia cells. 

“Nature has given us this incredible pharmacy,” Gao added. “It’s up to us to uncover its secrets.”

Image: AXP Photography

A Cambridgeshire fen is taking part in a pioneering initiative breathing new life into degraded European peatlands.

The PaluWise Project will transform rewetted peatland into sustainable ecosystems through ‘wet farming’ – or paludiculture – which involves growing crops on wetlands without draining them. 

Besides locking up carbon in restored peat soil, it has the potential to create havens for wetland wildlife such as birds, voles and insects. 

The Great Fen, managed by a partnership of organisations including the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN), joins sites in Poland, Finland and the Netherlands taking part in the four-year pilot.

“Paludiculture has the potential to support the EU’s climate targets and biodiversity strategy while providing farmers and landowners with an income, but only if the practice is scaled up”, said PaluWise coordinator Päivi Merilä from Finnish research organisation, Luke.

Peat beds at the Great Fen’s Speechly Farm will be used to grow crops including bulrushes. WTBCN is working with a clothing firm to turn their fluff into natural fibre stuffing.

Lorna Parker, Great Fen’s project manager said: “We believe that nature, farming and communities can all benefit from the restoration of peatlands, and we’re excited to be helping find new solutions to the challenge of growing crops in low lying areas, while locking in carbon and protecting wildlife.”

Image: Martin Prosen

There’s welcome news for women coping with recurrent pregnancy loss this week as a significant study led by the University of Warwick revealed a possible cause. 

Pregnancy charity Tommy’s funded the work, which has discovered how an abnormal process in the development of the endometrium, or womb lining, could lead to miscarriage. 

Warwick’s scientists say this field of reproductive medicine has largely focused on embryo health, with research on the role of the endometrium remaining a ‘missing black box’, until now.

They’ve now developed a screening test for the womb lining anomaly, paving the way for possible new treatments.

It’s being piloted to help 1,000 patients at Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire.

Charlie Beattie (pictured), from Leamington Spa, was one mum who took part in early trials after countless miscarriages over four years. 

She has since gone on to have a baby daughter, nine week-old June, with husband, Sam. 

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” she said. “We had got to talking about adoption or just being an uncle and auntie, so we are absolutely thrilled. She is a little miracle, and we are very grateful.”

Image: courtesy of Charlotte Beattie

‘The home of cricket’, London’s Lords, has become the first sports arena in the world to be kitted out with a personal sat-nav for blind, partially-sighted and disabled fans.

The ground has teamed up with indoor navigation pioneers Waymap, to create step-by-step audio and on-screen instructions that guide visitors to seats, amenities and exits. 

Every walkway, staircase and door was scanned with a specialist camera to create the map, which feeds into Waymap’s phone app.

The tech calibrates to the individual user’s stride and uses motion sensors on their phone to inform instructions with startling accuracy.

Robert Ebdon, director of estates at Marylebone Cricket Club, which runs Lords, said: “Our partnership with Waymap allows us to lead the way in accessible innovation, ensuring that every visitor – regardless of ability – can experience the magic of Lord’s with greater ease and independence.”

Waymap hopes to extend the innovation to other sports grounds, including Wembley. Company founder Tom Pey, who lost his sight suddenly at the age of 39, said: “It’s wonderful to see MCC setting such a great example of how to make accessibility happen.”

Image: Paul Gillett

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