Reasons to be Cheerful – The best positive news stories from the week!
Need a break from covid updates? Bummed out by Brexit? Here are five of the most uplifting stories of the week to give you a daily dose of cheerful news.
Coca-Cola Co. trialed their first paper bottle!
A paper bottle prototype was tested by Coca Cola co. this week in an effort towards a larger target of removing all plastic packaging. The core challenge is to create a plastic-free bottle capable of preventing gas from escaping their carbonated drinks, and no fibres from the bottle flake off into the liquid, and this is an impressive step forward towards meeting this goal. Read more here
United Arab Emirates ‘Hope’ space mission has returned its first picture of Mars!
The UAE ‘hope’ mission has returned a stunning first image of the red planet. The project will progress to study the planet’s weather and climate systems, capturing more images to discover more about the planet. The project will also trace how energy moves through the atmostphere from the bottom to the top and study the leakage into space of neutral atoms of hydrogen and oxygen, to help humanity determine how Mars went from a warm and wet planet to the colder and dessicated one we see today. Read more, and see the image, here
Scientists at Cambridge University have taken a ‘vital step’ towards finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease!
Every hour approximately two new people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the UK, a devastating disease than can leave people unable to talk or walk, and for which there is currently no cure. But this research has broken new ground in understanding the role of a key protein called alpha-synuclein, which causes Parkinson’s disease when it behaves abnormally and forms clumps called Lewy bodies inside neurons causing them to work less effectively and eventually die, and brings us closer than ever to finding a cure. Read more here
Crowdfunded Calendar saves Spaniel’s life!
Alfie the Springer Spaniel needed expensive lifesaving surgery (which his owner couldn’t afford) that was until she set up a crowdfunded springer spaniel calender staring Alfie and her six other dogs. The inital print of 30 soon rose to 300, and now Alfie is on the road to recovery. Read more here
Okay, this last one is a bit silly but…
Pigs can play video games with their snouts!
Four pigs’ skills were put to the test this week as they were trained to use an arcade-style joystick to steer an on-screen cursor into walls. Even cuter than that? They continued to play even after the food reward was removed, most likely for the social contact and kind words of encouragement from the researchers. Maybe next they can try and set them up on Fortnite? Read more (and check out some adorable pictures!) here
