What went right this week: the good news that matters

The number of people dying from chronic diseases globally fell in four out of five nations between 2010 and 2019, a landmark study has found.

The analysis, led by Imperial College London, revealed that progress in tackling cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes, was the main driver of declining mortality rates. Reductions in deaths from some cancers – including stomach, colorectal, cervical, breast, lung and prostate – also contributed to the fall.

Those behind the analysis hailed the findings as a global “success story”. However, they warned that progress was slowing compared to the previous decade, amid an increase in deaths from dementia and other cancers, like pancreatic and liver cancer.

“While the majority of countries around the world are making progress to reduce the risk of dying from chronic disease, compared to the previous decade, progress has slowed, stalled or even reversed in some nations,” said Imperial’s Prof Majid Ezzati. 

“In many countries, effective healthcare programmes like medications for diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol, as well as timely cancer screening and heart attack treatment, may not be reaching the people who need them.”

Image: iStock

Every family in New Mexico, US, will be eligible for free childcare from November, state governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week. 

Some low-income families in New Mexico already have access to free childcare. Now the state’s income eligibility limit will be scrapped to help other families. According to the Associated Press, the policy will be funded by government income from oil and gas. 

Critics claim that it will benefit upper-income families who do not need help, and say there are not enough pre-school places as it is. Supporters claim it will improve family stability, boost the economy and remove stigma around benefits. Grisham conceded that there would need to be more childcare centres.

Funding for the legislation has yet to be approved by state lawmakers. New Mexico’s policy follows a similar scheme in Multnomah County, Oregon, which launched in 2020 and has been lauded as a blueprint for others to follow. 

Image: krakenimages

In a first for the US, California has passed a bill that will legally define and then ban ultra-processed foods from school dinners. 

Ultra-processed foods are industrially manufactured and chemically modified additives that enhance taste, texture and appearance of food. Often they contain high levels of saturated fat, sugar and salt, and are increasingly linked to negative health effects. 

California’s bill to phase them out from school dinners – Assembly Bill 1264 – passed with bipartisan support. 

“In California, Democrats and Republicans are joining forces to prioritise the health and safety of our children,” said Democrat Jess Gabriel, who introduced the bill. “We are proud to be leading the nation with a bipartisan, science-based approach.”

Image: George Dagerotip

Green energy companies are resisting pressures to ditch progressive measures and are instead “acting as trailblazers in some areas of human rights progress”.

That’s according to a report by the UK-based charity, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC). It analysed practices and policies at 35 renewable energy firms, and concluded that the sector is “making significant progress on embedding human rights into its operations”. This, it added, comes despite the challenging environment created by adverse government policies, notably in the US. 

“Companies are coming around to the fact that a fast energy transition can only be one that is also fair and rights-respecting,” said the BHRRC’s Caroline Avan. “These are positive signs that the sector is moving in the right direction.”

However, the report said that the sector has more work to do: only two out of the 22 firms analysed were deemed to have sufficient policies in place to protect indigenous rights. “Closing this gap is absolutely crucial for a just and sustainable energy transition,” it added.

Image: DFID/Abbie Trayler-Smith 

The ‘electrotech’ revolution will push fossil fuels into terminal decline by 2030, ushering in a new age of energy security, the thinktank Ember forecast this week.    

In its latest report, it said that cleantech – including solar, wind and batteries – could displace, on average, around 70% of imported fossil fuels.

Identifying China as the world’s first ‘electrostate’, Ember said that it accounts for half of global solar panel installations, 60% of electric vehicle sales and two-thirds of global growth in electricity demand since 2019. 

“China is the pivot nation in the global system, and fossil electricity demand in China is down 2% in the first half of 2025,” the report noted. “If current trends continue … fossil fuel demand will be in decline by 2030.”  

By contrast, Ember added, the US is being “leapfrogged” by developing nations, such as Vietnam and Namibia, when it comes to solar’s share of the domestic energy mix. 

Despite pledges to cut carbon, global emissions are still rising with most nations falling short on their climate pledges. A decline in fossil fuel use can’t come soon enough, say climate scientists. 

Image: Ala J Graczyk

A daily dose of aspirin can half the likelihood of colorectal cancer returning after surgery, a Swedish trial suggests. 

Researchers found that people who took a low dose of the on-the-shelf drug after having their tumour removed were 55% less likely to see their cancer return as those who didn’t. 

The 3,500 patients involved in the trial – run by Stockholm’s Karolinska Institutet – all had tumours with specific genetic mutations, which researchers said made them susceptible to aspirin’s cancer-fighting properties. About 40% of colorectal cancer patients have such mutations.

Those behind the research believe that the results could have global significance and influence treatment guidelines for colon and rectal cancer worldwide.

“Aspirin is a drug that is readily available globally and extremely inexpensive compared to many modern cancer drugs, which is very positive,” said lead researcher Anna Martling.

Image: Danilo Alves

It’s long been touted as the sexy near-future of long-distance travel, but hyperloop has remained something of a pipe dream. Until now.

This week the technology took a big step forward after Dutch-based Hardt Hyperloop completed a potentially gamechanging test at the European Hyperloop Center (pictured). As well as reaching a record speed of  85kph, it performed a lane switch manoeuvre, which is seen as critical for scalable hyperloop infrastructure.   

Proponents of hyperloop claim that it could one day take thousands of trucks off the road and many more planes out of the sky. While the technology has a long way to go, much progress has been made at the European Hyperloop Center since it launched its first test a year ago. 

“Demonstrating lane-switching at these speeds – in this environment – is a major leap from theoretical designs to real-world systems, and a great accelerator for scalable hyperloop implementation worldwide,” said Roel van de Pas, managing director at Hardt Hyperloop. 

Image: European Hyperloop Center

Youth-led projects tackling air pollution in Mongolia, improving river protection in Mexico, and saving a marine species in the Philippines have won a global award for their work – and money to help them scale.  

The Iris Prize, which funds young environmentalists catalysing climate action in their communities, revealed its winners this week.

Breath Mongolia (pictured), which addresses Mongolia’s air pollution crisis through youth-led advocacy, scooped $15,000 (£11,000) in prize money. Coming second and winning $10,000 (£7,300) was Viaje al Microcosmos de Nuevo León, a citizen science project inspiring those living near Mexico’s Santa Catarina River to monitor and protect it. Project Lawud, which protects dugongs in the Philippines’ Sarangani Bay, took home $5,00 (£3,600).  

“These young leaders are not waiting for permission; they are creating change, and their creativity, courage and commitment are exactly what the world needs to tackle the climate and nature crises,” said Desmond Alugnoa, who was on the judging panel. 

Image: Iris Prize

For the first time in centuries, Atlantic salmon are breeding again in England’s River Don – a remarkable turnaround for a waterway once considered biologically dead. 

The discovery of a wild-born Atlantic salmon in the South Yorkshire waterway near Sheffield has been confirmed by the Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT). It’s the first evidence of successful spawning on the river since salmon were wiped out by pollution and manmade barriers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Over the last 25 years, fish passes have been installed across the Don to reconnect the river and allow salmon to return. Although adult salmon have been spotted swimming upstream, nobody knew if they were managing to spawn. Until now. 

“For almost my entire life, I had to witness the misery of this once prolific salmon fishery,” said Chris Firth, DCRT co-founder. “Its recovery is beyond my wildest expectation – and the discovery of this salmon is the culmination of my life’s work.”

Image: Don Catchment Rivers Trust
Main image: iStock