274: The beautiful confusion of the first billion years
This week's top stories
The United States designates a massive new marine sanctuary
A new 11,766-km2 area off the Central California coast was officially designated the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary by NOAA last week. The third-largest in the nation, the sanctuary will prohibit new gas and oil exploration and is the first ever designed with the involvement of Indigenous groups.
India officially eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
India launched its first trachoma control project in 1963. In 2005, trachoma still accounted for 4% of all blindness cases in the country; by 2018, this had dropped to 0.008%. Globally, India joins 19 other countries that have been confirmed by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. WHO
Timor-Leste eliminates elephantiasis as a public health problem
Efforts to stop the spread of infection started in 2005 but were paused in 2007 because of funding constraints. The WHO helped start mass drug administration again in 2015, and the introduction of a new triple drug therapy was a gamechanger in 2019. It's the fifth country in the WHO Southeast Asia region to achieve this feat. WHO
AI gets its penicillin and X-ray moment
When the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel wrote his will in 1895, he designated funds to reward those who ‘have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.’ The resulting Nobel Prizes have since been awarded to the discoverers of penicillin, X-rays, and the structure of DNA—and, as of today, to two scientists who, decades ago, laid the foundations for modern artificial intelligence. The Atlantic 🔒
Global electric vehicle sales soared in September
Last month, a record-breaking 1.7 million all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars were sold globally, an increase of 30.5% year-on-year and 150,000 more compared to the previous record in December 2023. The first nine months of this year have seen 11.5 million EVs sold globally, up 22% compared to the same period last year. So much for the 'slowdown'. Inside EVs
Deforestation in the Amazon continues to fall
While fires rage in the Amazon due to the ongoing drought, deforestation remains near a six-year low. The most recent twelve-month total of land cleared was 4,191 km2, a 30% decrease from the 6,029 km2 recorded at the same time last year. Mongabay
Two big breakthroughs in cancer treatment
Doctors are hailing 'amazing' trial results that show a new drug combination stops the advance of lung cancer for over 40% longer than the standard treatment, as well as a 'remarkable' new treatment regime for cervical cancer that reduces the risk of dying by 40%, the biggest advance against the disease in 25 years.
The clean revolution is accelerating in the Global South
In 2024, 87% of Global South CapEx on electricity generation will flow into clean energy, and the IEA expects new solar and wind capacity to increase by 60%. Solar and wind generation is only five years behind the Global North, and electrification is at 75% of Global North levels—and growing faster. RMI
Global teen pregnancy rates have dropped by one-third since 2000
According to UN data, the birth rate for girls aged 15 to 19 has decreased significantly, from 64.5 live births per 1,000 girls in 2000 to 41.3 in 2023. Central and South Asia have witnessed an even greater decline, with rates falling by more than two-thirds. Our World In Data
India is finally becoming a clean energy superpower
For several years the country has fallen short of its proclaimed clean energy targets, but this year that's changed. Coal power is falling and wind and solar installations are on track for a record 34 GW by the end of the year. By just finishing clean energy projects currently being built, India will get most of the way to its 500-GW target for 2030. Bloomberg 🎁
James Webb Telescope data are revolutionising astronomy
Over star-studded slide decks and rounds of Pacifico beer, 100 or so astrophysicists recently exulted in new findings about the universe’s first billion years, an epoch that the James Webb Telescope is revealing in exquisite detail for the first time. 'We are knocking on the door of history.' Quanta
How's the biggest global election year in history going?
Sixty-seven countries with a total population of about 3.4 billion people have already held national elections this year. Another 440 million people will have their say before the end of 2024. With almost 90% of votes around the world cast and tallied, what's evident so far? The Economist 🎁
- Democracy has proved to be pretty resilient.
- Voter turnout has risen for the first time in two decades, signalling engagement by citizens in the political process.
- Efforts to undermine elections have mostly failed, and disinformation campaigns haven't made much of an impact.
- Voters have held leaders accountable, with a swing against incumbents in well over half of the democratic elections held so far this year.
If it bleeds it leads
This month the American Cancer Society released its biennial update of statistics on breast cancer among women in the United States. Breast cancer mortality—people dying from the disease—is down 44% since 1989, thanks to advances in early detection and treatment. That incredible progress has saved an estimated 517,900 lives. Amazing, right?
The report also showed that since 2010, breast cancer incidence—people diagnosed—has increased by an average of 1% per year, and by 1.4% for women under 50. This change is worrying, but it could be attributed to higher awareness about the disease and earlier diagnosis. It's also more than offset by the reassuring evidence that breast cancer has become far more treatable, and far fewer women are dying from it.
Guess what the headlines in all the major news publications were?
The media doesn't just have a bad news bias—it actively distorts stories to portray them in the worst possible light. In the case of cancer specifically, commercial outlets, social platforms, and even the cancer community itself continue to pump out alarmist content long past the point at which it's accurate.
Don't get me wrong, cancer is still a nasty piece of work. It's touched many of our lives, leaving pain and suffering in its wake. But our fear of it? That's gotten out of hand. A cancer diagnosis isn't the end of the road anymore. It's time our attitudes caught up with that reality.