Look — we’ve all been feeling it. Fascism and authoritarianism washing in like a powerful tide, the vivid full-color proof of a genocide being perpetrated with our tax dollars, and the omnipresent threat of climate disaster and microplastics in our brains… it’s grim out there, folks.
Doom scrolling is an inevitable part of life and though we know that there are countless individuals (like yourself) out there fighting the good fight, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. The bad news is that the algorithm wants us to feel helpless and ineffective. The good news is that human beings and the natural world are both capable of incredible feats that incrementally, bring us to a better place.
Here are some of the wins we’re celebrating to combat the pull of full-on nihilism.
Microplastics vs. Fungi
Good news for all of us who are terrified of the amount of microplastics in, well, everything! A team of researchers at the University of Hawaii have discovered a fungi species with the ability to degrade plastic — and they might be able to train it to do so at a faster speed.
Huntington’s Disease Breakthrough
The medical world scored a major breakthrough recently when it was announced that Huntington’s disease was successfully treated for the first time. The new treatment consists of a new type of gene therapy given during 12-18 hours of brain surgery. Data from the clinical trial involving 29 patients showed that after three years, there was an average 75% slowing of the disease.
An Italian Getaway for Spiky Friends
When you imagine a hedgehog hospital, you may think of your local vet clinic… but in this case, you’d be way off the mark. We’d like to introduce you to La Ninna Hedgehog Facility, a hedgehog rescue housed in a 300-year-old farmhouse in Italy’s Piedmont region. The team has treated over 4,000 hedgehogs and the facility boasts a dedicated hospital (including a hedgehog ICU), a retirement home, and a cemetery for the spiky friends who couldn’t be saved.
Introducing Two New Deep Sea Discoveries
Just when it feels like we’ve surely reached the limit of newly discovered species, some deep sea researchers decide to prove us wrong. Oceanographers are showcasing two new critters they discovered in the waters of Western Australia: a bioluminescent lanternshark and a teeny tiny porcelain crab.
New Pain Management Guidelines for Gynecological Care
It’s long overdue, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has finally released pain management recommendations for in-office gynecological procedures including IUD insertions and cervical biopsies. Women shouldn’t needlessly suffer procedures with a significant chance of severe pain without local anesthetic or other options available to them.
Amazonian Trees More Climate Resistant Than Believed
We love trees on Spinsters Row. We’re big fans of them all: big stately elms, delicate Japanese maples, golden aspens, tall baobabs, sprawling banyans… give us more trees, all the time. Trees are sometimes better company than people. A new study now shows that some of the biggest trees in the Amazon are more climate resilient than previously believed and continue to help draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. This is good news but also means that we, as stewards of the planet, are charged with protecting these trees and their habitats.
So there you have it — some positivity to counteract the sheer mountain of horrible news that the algorithm is determined to bury us underneath.
As always, we implore you to stay aware and involved, but not to let the powers that be convince you that all is hopeless or lost. There’s good in the world and more to come. We have to keep searching for it.
