What went right this week: the good news that matters

An AI-assisted brain scanning tool has been shown to rapidly speed up stroke diagnosis, enabling more than half of patients to recover. 

That’s according to England’s National Health Service, which is rolling out the tool nationwide having used it to interpret more than 60,000 brain scans already. Where deployed, it has enabled doctors to make faster decisions about treatment, the NHS said.  

Speedy diagnosis and treatment is critical: it’s estimated that someone who has had a stroke loses around 2m brain cells per minute.

David Hargroves, NHS England’s national clinical director for stroke, said that the “technology is revolutionising how we help people who have been affected”.

Image: Accuray

Families of patients at all acute hospitals in England can now seek a second opinion if they’re concerned about the care their relatives are receiving, after Martha’s Rule was rolled out nationwide.   

The patient safety scheme is named after Martha Mills, who died of sepsis in 2021, aged 13. Her mother Merope campaigned for patients and their loved ones to be given the right to request an urgent review of their care, after her concerns were ignored. 

The National Health Service said that between September 2024 and June 2025, 4,906 calls were made to Martha’s Rule helplines at hospitals trialling the scheme, leading to 241 “potentially life-saving interventions”. This week, it announced that it had been rolled out across England. 

“Families often know their loved ones better than anyone – they can spot when something isn’t right in ways that even experienced doctors might miss,” said Dr Ronny Cheung, consultant general paediatrician at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. 

“I’ve had Martha’s Rule invoked under my care, and while it can feel challenging initially, it’s ultimately about creating a culture where everyone… has a voice to raise concerns. This can only make the care we provide better.”

Image: Akram Huseyn

A four-day week trial in Scotland has proven to be “overwhelmingly positive” for employers and staff, a report concluded this week. 

The trial at two government agencies – Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) and South of Scotland Enterprise (SSE) – saw 259 employees shrink their working week to 32 hours with no loss of pay.

According to the Autonomy Institute, which coordinated the pilot, 98% of staff at SSE reported a significant boost in morale and motivation, while mental health scores saw an 18.4% uptick at AiB. Productivity was observed to have increased at both organisations. 

“Until now, much of the research into four-day working weeks has been focused on the private sector,” Will Stronge, chief executive of the Autonomy Institute, told Positive News. “These groundbreaking results show that the public sector can reap similar benefits.”

Covering just 259 staff, the Scottish trial was small, but its findings chimed with the results of the world’s largest four-day week trial. Also in the UK, it was hailed a win-win for employers and staff, but not everyone is convinced. Critics question whether such benefits can be sustained long-term.

Image: Gabriela Palai

Mexico’s jaguar population has shot up by 30% since 2010, according to the country’s latest census of the big cats.

An estimated 5,326 jaguars now roam the nation, which classified them as endangered in 2010. Since then, large protected areas have been created for the big cats, which the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) says has helped boost numbers.  

Despite the “encouraging” numbers reported by the ANCJ, jaguars remain in peril across Mexico. According to figures quoted by Reuters, the species will require at least another two decades of population growth to be considered no longer at risk of extinction.  

Hunting for jaguar parts remains a threat to the big cats. The ANCJ has called for a crackdown on the illicit trade, as well as more corridors to help the big cats move around. 

Image: Haim Charbit

Bottom trawling is to be banned across much of Scotland’s offshore marine reserves, the government announced this week. 

The highly destructive fishing practice will be outlawed in five of Scotland’s 20 marine sites, with partial bans applying to the remaining 15. The total area covered by bans will be around 60,000 sq km – less than many ecologists had hoped for.

“This long-awaited step offers a vital lifeline for marine biodiversity and supports ocean recovery, benefiting wildlife, fisheries, and the climate,” said Joe Richards of the Blue Marine Foundation. “[But] large areas … remain exposed to bottom trawling, contradicting the latest scientific advice.”

The measures will come into effect on 16 October and were welcomed by the Scottish Fisherman’s Federation. The move follows a consultation and comes after England pledged to ban bottom trawling in 41 offshore marine protected areas. Greece also recently vowed to outlaw the practice in its marine reserves by 2030.

Image: Jonny Gios

The US is on track to retire more coal capacity in 2025 than it did under the Biden administration last year, despite the efforts of the Trump White House.

That’s according to analysis by Carbon Brief, which found that “rather than follow the US in turning away from clean-energy leadership, other countries have continued efforts to phase down coal power”, citing Vietnam, Indonesia and South Africa as examples.

The analysis showed that, for the first time, there are no active coal-plant proposals in Latin America. However, it wasn’t all good news. Carbon Brief said that coal power is on the rise in India and continuing in China. 

Of the US’s declining use of coal, Carbon Brief added: “Whether this trend continues in an increasingly uncertain environment for clean energy remains to be seen.” 

Image: Markus Spiske

Fish-shaped soy sauce containers are the latest single-use plastic products to be outlawed by South Australia, as the state moves to curb waste. 

Notoriously tricky to recycle, the containers are commonly discarded litter in South Australia, where, according to the government, they pose a threat to marine life. 

“They’re too small to be captured by sorting machinery and often end up in landfill or as fugitive plastic in the environment,” said environment minister Susan Close, announcing the ban, which came into force on Monday. 

The move builds on legislation passed in 2023, which banned carrier bags, plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds, among other commonly littered items. It comes weeks after a global summit aiming to reduce plastic pollution was torpedoed by petrostates. 

Image: 沢田佳久

The population of New Zealand has been revised up to 695bn – a dramatic increase that includes its wildlife.

The new figure is part of a government awareness campaign to highlight the biodiversity crisis and get people thinking differently about nature. 

“We want to spark curiosity and conversations around all the amazing plants, birds, and marine life we have in this country and what we stand to lose if we don’t look after it,” said Penny Nelson, director general of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.

The “playful, back-of-the-envelope” figures were released in response to research showing that 89% of New Zealanders believe that nature is in ‘good shape’, which Nelson said is “disconnected from the reality of the situation”.

While the campaign has been broadly welcomed by ecologists, the New Zealand government itself has been accused of being disconnected from reality when it comes to biodiversity, with critics claiming it is lagging behind on ocean protection. 

Image: New Zealand Department of Conservation

A London care home designed to tackle social isolation has been shortlisted for a major architecture award – one that will see it compete against the Houses of Parliament’s refurbished ‘Big Ben’.

A modern reimagining of a traditional almshouse, Appleby Blue in Bermondsey offers rent-capped social housing for older people. Featuring 59 apartments, shared facilities and rooftop gardens, it was designed by Witherford Watson Mann Architects in collaboration with Southward Council. The property is one of five projects shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects’s (RIBA) Stirling prize. 

“One of the biggest challenges of growing older is increased isolation,” said the jury panel. “The design attempts to remedy this by creating spaces that encourage chance meetings, places to chat with friends or sit together with a glass of wine and watch the world go by.” 

Appleby Blue Almshouse will be up against the resorted Elizabeth Tower (‘Big Ben’) at the UK Houses of Parliament, the new London College of Fashion, Cambridge’s Discovery Centre (pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s new base), and two private properties. The winner will be announced on 16 October.

Image: Philip Vile
Main image: iStock