News outlets are flooding our phones, computers and television with record high death tolls, struggling healthcare workers, unstable economies and everything coronavirus related. So this April, our Her Campus American editors decided to weed through all of that negativity to bring our readers some good news. From scientific discoveries to upcoming films, here are four positive news stories that are both informative and relevant.
Y’ALL! Scientists have evidence that it’s possible some dinosaurs could GLOW IN THE DARK! The journal Historical Biology recently revealed that some dinosaurs may have glowed in the dark due to ultraviolet fluorescing feathers and horns. Many bird species are tetrachromats, which means that a fourth cone in their retina allows them to see the UV spectrum. Jamie Dunning’s work on the photoluminescence of puffin beaks under UV light warranted the exploration of dinosaur’s ability to glow in the dark. The only thing radder than dinosaurs are glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs. Hopefully this once-in-a-lifetime scientific discovery brings a fluorescent glow to the widespread gloom we’ve all been experiencing. –Hannah Andress
Netflix is set to release Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming” as a documentary film directed by Nadia Hallgren on May 6th. The film looks at Michelle Obama’s life and the experiences she had while on her book tour of “Becoming”. This documentary film will continue Barack and Michelle Obama’s producing partnership with Netflix. Pop culture reporter, Sonia Rao in The Washington Post, says “Becoming” arrives at a defining moment in Obama’s life.” I could not think of a more perfect time to shine some light on a positive political influence, such as Michelle Obama. Even a few years after leaving the White House, this first lady’s powerful influence on American society remains evident through her record-breaking memoir and highly anticipated documentary film. –Christina McAlister
This month was the 30th anniversary of the launch of The Hubble Telescope. Observations from Hubble have allowed NASA to make incredible discoveries, like the existence of super massive blackholes and even the age of the universe (13.8 billion). In honor of Hubble’s birthday, NASA released 3D visualization of some of its most iconic images. These visualizations, created by combining many images taken at different depths of focus over several days, give views a sense of floating through space and allow us to get a better sense of the scope of our universe. To celebrate, BBC released a short documentary (only available in the UK) and this article detailing the history of the telescope and its contributions to modern science. –Carly Elkins
Iceland’s efforts to end whale hunting continue as one of the country’s two whaling companies are ending operations for good. “I’m never going to hunt whales again, I’m stopping for good,” managing director of IP-Utgerd Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson company told AFP. This is Iceland’s second year in a row with absolutely no whale hunting and many environmental and conservation organizations are rejoicing. 2018 was the last year whaling was allowed, which led to the death of 146 fin whales and six minke whales. Though the fight is not over, this is a good step in the right direction– to learn more about this whale-y good news, read EcoWatch’s most recent article. –Peyton Bigora
