What went right this week: the good news that matters

Grades are better in schools with smartphone bans, according to a landmark study which “puts hard evidence behind what teachers and parents have long seen”. 

In a first-of-its-kind trial, involving nearly 17,000 students in India, pupils were split between classrooms where smartphones were prohibited and classrooms where they were permitted. Students in the former achieved markedly better grades than those in the latter, the study found, especially students considered vulnerable. 

The results of the study – led by the University of Pennsylvania, US – chime with anecdotal evidence from the Netherlands, which was one of the first nations to ban phones in schools. In a survey of Dutch high schools, three-quarters said that the ban had boosted students’ concentration, while one-third reported better academic performance. 

The results of the US study were welcomed by Daisy Greenwell, director of the UK’s Smartphone Free Childhood movement.  

“This research finally puts hard evidence behind what teachers and parents have long seen: without phones in class, children are better able to focus, connect, and flourish,” she said. “Big tech’s addictive algorithms hijack attention, so banning phones is a simple, low-cost way to boost learning – and the gains are biggest for those who need them most. It’s high time the UK followed suit.”

Read more about Smartphone Free Childhood here.

Image: Yan Krukau

An “extraordinary and unique” marine ecosystem off the coast of Western Australia will be designated an ocean reserve, it was announced this week.

Encompassing coral reefs and mangroves, the Exmouth Gulf – a 2,600sq km expanse of water – is home to Australia’s largest concentration of dugongs and is a vital stop-off point for migrating humpback whales. 

Recognising its “globally significant” biodiversity, the government of Western Australia announced this week that it will designate the gulf a marine reserve, with 30% of its waters off-limits to fishing. It will be jointly managed by first nations people, the government promised. Finer details have yet to be thrashed out and a management plan will follow. 

“Exmouth Gulf is facing increasing pressure from climate change and a proposal for an industrial port development so this commitment could not have come at a better time,” said Paul Gamblin, CEO of the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

Image: Jon Hanson

One of the world’s largest pension funds has vowed to withdraw €14.5bn (£12.6bn) from BlackRock, the world’s largest investment fund and a major financier of fossil fuel projects. 

The decision by PFZW – the Dutch pension fund for healthcare and welfare workers – is a huge win for the campaign group Go Fossil Free, which long called for it to cut ties with BlackRock. 

PFZW’s move follows a decision by BlackRock to pull out of the Net Zero Asset Managers Alliance, a voluntary coalition that sought to steer the asset management industry to the goal of net zero. The alliance has since halted its activities. 

“This amazing victory is due to pressure from our movement,” Go Fossil Free said in a statement. “By withdrawing our pension money from BlackRock, we reduce the power of this American asset giant. And we ensure that the money goes to greener investors.

“Now is the time to set our sights on pension funds such as ABP, the largest pension fund in the Netherlands, so that they follow suit.” 

Image: Ethan Hu

China’s energy transition is “fundamentally reshaping the economics of energy across the world, accelerating the deployment of renewables … and rapidly bringing China towards a peak in energy-related fossil fuel use”. 

That’s according to a major review into the Chinese energy transition. Compiled by the thinktank Ember, the report highlights how China’s “energy diplomacy” and increasing dominance in the clean-tech sector is driving clean energy progress in emerging economies and beyond. 

According to Ember, Chinese factories now produce 60% of the world’s wind turbines and 80% of its solar panels. The country, it said, had made the cost of renewables more competitive globally, meaning that 91% of newly commissioned wind and solar projects are now cheaper than their fossil fuel equivalents. 

“China has opened the door to a new energy future by building electro-technologies at vast scale, slashing costs and raising the ceiling of possibility,” said Sam Butler-Sloss, Ember’s research manager. “The consequences reach far beyond its borders.” 

The report comes amid growing optimism that China’s emissions may have peaked.

Image: iStock

The world’s fastest growing source of energy has continued its “gravity defying” ascent in 2025, according to another report from Ember. 

Charting solar’s meteoric rise, the research showed that global solar installations surged by 64% in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2024. The growth was led by China, but India also deployed near-record amounts of solar, while Africa saw the technology begin to “take-off”. 

“These latest numbers on solar deployment in 2025 defy gravity, with annual solar installations continuing their sharp rise,” said Nicolas Flushum, an energy analyst at Ember. 

“In a world of volatile energy markets, solar offers domestically produced power that can be rolled out at record speed to meet growing demand.”

Image: Los Muertos Crew

A trial aiming to transform the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using a simple blood test has started recruiting its first participants. 

The UK pilot – led by University College London – will build on evidence from the US, where a blood test that identifies proteins associated with the disease was shown to be 95% accurate at diagnosing Alzheimer’s. 

Recruiting participants from memory clinics across the UK, the trial will use the test on people from diverse backgrounds and those with other health conditions to assess its effectiveness for the broader population.

“After decades of research, we now have a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease that is backed by strong scientific evidence and provides comparable information to other gold-standard diagnostic tests, such as PET scans and lumbar punctures, yet is far more accessible and cheaper,” said UCL’s Prof Jonathan Schott. 

“Currently only about 2% of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s have access to one of these gold-standard diagnostic tests. While identifying Alzheimer’s disease early and accurately is already important for enabling access to current therapies and planning care, it will become even more critical as a new generation of treatments emerge that can slow down the decline of memory and thinking.”

Image: CDC

Millions of men could benefit from faster scans to diagnose prostate cancer, scientists said this week. 

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and is typically diagnosed using a three-part MRI scan that involves injecting dye into patients. This is both costly and time consuming, and as a result only 62% of men in England and Wales who require a prostate MRI get one.

But that could be about to change after researchers at England’s University College London and the University of Birmingham found that a two-part MRI scan without dye was just as accurate at diagnosing the disease – and took a fraction of the time. 

Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, described the research as “a hugely important step”. 

A second trial of the two-part scanning technique is currently underway in the UK. “The results of the two trials together should provide the complete evidence package we need to change practice across the country,” said Hobbs. 

Image: Mart Production

Conservationists have welcomed the UK government’s decision to ban burning on England’s deep peat, describing it as a “positive step forward” for nature. 

The ban will come into force at the end of September and builds on legislation introduced by the previous government, which prohibited burning on some peatlands but left others exposed.   

Peatlands sequester huge amounts of carbon, support a dizzying array of wildlife and store huge volumes of water, helping to prevent flooding. However, heather and grassland above them is often burned to create habitat for grouse to increase the number of birds available to be shot for sport. 

The shooting industry has unsurprisingly been critical of the burning ban, claiming it will increase the risk of wildfires. However, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was among those welcoming the ban. 

“Peatlands are one of nature’s greatest superheroes,” said Beccy Speight, the charity’s chief executive. “Extending the ban on burning over peat in the English uplands is a hugely positive step forwards.”

Image: Ergin Yıldızoglu

Eating a keto diet could help relieve symptoms of depression, fresh research from the US suggests.

In a study by Ohio State University, 16 students with depression who adopted the keto diet saw their self-reported mental health scores improve nearly three-fold during the trial. Participants’ scores on cognitive tests also increased, while their body mass decreased.      

A keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that switches the body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

“[The] implementation of a well-formulated ketogenic diet for 10–12 weeks is a feasible adjunctive therapy and may be associated with improvements in depression symptoms, wellbeing, body composition, and cognition,” wrote the academics behind the research, published in the journal Nature. 

The Ohio trial was small but echoes the findings of a previous study by Stanford Medicine, which concluded that the ketogenic diet “improves severe mental illness”. 

Image: Nadine Primeau

Bird-safe glass and hedgehog corridors could be mandated on all new builds in England after the House of Lords tabled amendments to the government’s controversial planning and infrastructure bill. 

The amendments would create a legal obligation for house builders to make developments more nature-friendly by installing things like swift bricks, which create ready made homes for swifts. Hedgehog corridors between gardens and bird-safe glass, which stop birds mistakenly trying to fly through windows, would also have to be incorporated into homes under the amendments, which ministers will now debate.  

Ecologists have found little to cheer about in the UK government’s controversial planning and infrastructure bill, which critics claim will give developers the right to ignore environmental protection rules. The government has claimed that such protections stymie development – findings refuted by its own research.

Image: Piotr Łaskawski
Main image: iStock