🎗 33 percent fewer deaths from cancer in the US in 30 years
Vaccination, better treatments, and fewer smokers are some of the factors behind a large reduction in cancer mortality in recent decades.
🌻 Regular trips in nature could reduce people's reliance on antidepressants
Research has found that visiting green spaces between three and four times a week can drastically lower the need for mental health drugs.
⚡ Laser beams can deflect lightning strikes
By shooting thousands of laser pulses into the air, it is possible to divert lightning strikes.
🚽 Medical laboratories move into your toilet bowl
Several products that can analyze your urine every time you pee will be launched during the year.
💄 A type of handle makes it easier for people with reduced mobility to apply lipstick
A type of handle makes it easier for people with reduced mobility to apply lipstick.
🐭 No animal testing is needed to get a drug approved
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will no longer require animal testing to approve new medications.
🌍 The dangerous ozone hole is getting smaller and smaller
It's progressing slowly, but it's progressing nonetheless. In a few decades, the ozone hole that lets dangerous UV radiation through will be a thing of the past.
🩺 Spotify founder Daniel Ek wants to revolutionize healthcare with his new startup
Neko Health now offers people the opportunity to scan their bodies and get a complete picture of their health.
🦋 California County sees largest number of monarch butterflies in 20 years
In November last year, employees and volunteers of a conservation group counted more than 129 000 individuals of the famous black and orange striped western monarch butterfly. This many monarch butterflies haven’t been counted in 20 years.
🚬 Tobacco companies in Spain now fit the bill for cigarette butt clean-up
Under a new environmental legislation in Spain, tobacco companies are duty-bound to pay for the cleanup of the millions of cigarette butts smokers throw away on the streets each year.
💡 Optimist's Edge: Self-driving cars are almost here
💡 In 20 years humans will not be allowed to drive cars on regular roads, because computers by then will drive so much better. This will bring massive change, and lots of new opportunities. The time to start thinking about this is NOW.
🔥 New stoves can save hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa
By switching to gas or electricity instead of wood and charcoal, many people would avoid inhaling dangerous gases when cooking.
🗳️ New study: No evidence of democratic decline
The study analyzed data from over 160 countries over a period of 30 years and found no evidence of widespread democratic decline.
🧬 13-year-old cured of "incurable" cancer
By modifying the genes in healthy T cells, doctors produced immune cells that could kill cancer cells that no other treatments could even detect.
🍟 France’s ban on single-use restaurant tableware is a fast-food “revolution”
On January first, many different fast-food chains in France, like McDonald’s, pioneered new waste-reduction laws that bans single-use restaurant tableware.
📚 Top Reads
We're honored to present these top reads from world-class writers, who contribute to Warp News because they believe in our mission of spreading fact-based optimism all over the world.
💰 Wall Street legend: “Pessimists sound smart – optimists make money”
Jim O'Shaughnessy is a legendary investor on Wall Street. He shares what he thinks is the biggest opportunity for the future and explains how the world is going through a great reshuffle.
🔋 Northvolt and the benefit of understanding the future
The story of Peter Carlsson and Northvolt teaches us two lessons: You need to understand the future to see all the possibilities, and you must be a fact-based optimist to grab them.
💡 David Deutsch: Optimism, Pessimism and Cynicism
With so much progress in the world, how can pessimism still be widespread? It is because of cynicism, denying that “so-called-progress” is progress, argues David Deutsch, professor at Oxford University and one of the world's leading intellectuals on optimism.
💡 Kevin Kelly: The Case for Optimism
Kevin Kelly is the founder of Wired Magazine and author of several books, among them The Inevitable. For Warp News he presents his case for optimism.
🐉 Opened or closed will determine China's future success
An increasing number of people think the future belongs to China. Interestingly, that’s what well-informed pundits assumed 1,000 years ago as well. The reason that those predictions turned out wrong tells us something important about China’s prospects this time.
⬆️ Pollyanna's secret
Optimists often get called nicknames, one of these is Pollyanna. But the real story about the nickname tells us something important about the power of optimism.
