What went right this week: the good news that matters

Scientists heralded ‘golden age’ for cancer treatment

Cancer survival rates have doubled in England and Wales over the last half a century amid a “golden age for cancer research”. 

That’s according to a landmark report by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), which analysed cancer deaths in the two nations between 1973 and 2023. Despite cases of the disease rising, it noted that the chances of surviving it had doubled. 

“As this report sets out, it is a time of both optimism and realism,” said CRUK chief executive, Michelle Mitchell. “We’re in a golden age for cancer research, with advances in digital, genomics, data science and AI reimagining what’s possible and bringing promise for current and future generations.

“However, despite the best efforts of National Health Service staff, patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment, and cancer survival is improving at its slowest rate in the last 50 years.”

The report came as scientists celebrated a series of cancer breakthroughs. In one, the immunotherapy drug Pembrolizumab was shown to halt head and neck cancer for twice as long as existing treatments. A new therapy for advanced breast cancer, meanwhile, was shown to slow the disease, helping patients live longer. 

Related: Welcome to the ‘golden age’ of medicine 

Image: Thirdman

Speaking of cancer treatment …

Exercise can cut the risk of colon cancer patients dying from the disease by a third, according to a world-first trial that could transform cancer treatment globally. 

Researchers said that the results of the trial – presented at the world’s largest cancer conference in Chicago, US – prove for the first time a link between exercise and cancer reoccurrence. 

For the trial, researchers recruited 889 colon cancer patients. Half were enrolled on a structured exercise programme, while the other half were given a healthy lifestyle booklet. Those in the structured programme were found to be 37% less likely to die in the eight years following their treatment.

“For an intervention that isn’t a drug, exercise offers remarkable benefits for patients,” said Prof Charles Swanton, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK. “For some people with colon cancer, physical activity can be a gamechanger that shifts the course of their recovery.”

Image: Tikkho Maciel

Cure for HIV ‘a step closer’

A cure for HIV could be a step closer after researchers found a way of forcing the virus out of its hiding place. 

HIV’s ability to conceal itself in white blood cells has posed a major challenge for scientists, who have not been able to eradicate the infection, only manage viral levels within the body. Being able to see the virus could be a gamechanger. 

The development was pioneered by scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, who used mRNA technology to expose HIV in white blood cells. First used during the Covid-19 pandemic, mRNA trains an individual’s immune system to recognise and fight pathogens.

The new approach “could be a new pathway to an HIV cure”, research fellow Dr Paula Cevall told the Guardian.

Image: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

A record number of dams came down in Europe

Europe’s dam-busters are celebrating another record-breaking year having brought down more river barriers than ever before in 2024.  

Fresh research shows that 542 dams were removed across the continent last year – up significantly on 2023’s 487 removals. Finland led the way, with 138 dams removed, followed by France (128) and Spain (96). Four countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic and Turkey – dismantled their first river barriers.

“Healthy, free-flowing rivers are central to adapting to the climate crisis and boosting biodiversity, but Europe’s rivers are the most fragmented in the world,” said Jelle de Jong, chief executive of WWF Netherlands.

“We need to keep scaling up the removal of small obsolete dams that are blocking our rivers. Another record-breaking year highlights the growing support for dam removals across Europe.” 

Image: Lahnasenkoski hydropower plant dam, Finland, which has since been removed. Credit: Simo Räsänen

Argentina's new marine reserve ‘a win’ for nature

The creation of a vast new ocean reserve off the coast of Patagonia in Argentina has been heralded “a resounding win for marine conservation”. 

Spanning 729,000 acres – an area larger than Luxembourg – Patagonia Azul Provincial Park encompasses some 60 islands, as well as kelp forests and intertidal rocky headlands. These vibrant ecosystems support a dizzying array of marine life, including seabirds, whales and seals. 

However, the delicate balance of this corner of the South Atlantic Ocean has been threatened by industrial fishing in recent years, prompting politicians in the province of Chubut to declare it a marine reserve. It will now be off-limits to industrial fishing. 

“Patagonia Azul places under legal protection one of the most biodiverse areas of the Argentine Sea,” said Sofia Heinonen, executive director of Rewilding Argentina. “This is a resounding win for marine conservation.” 

Image: Chinh le Duc

New fuel cell ‘could enable electric aviation’

Scientists have developed a fuel cell that they claim packs three times as much energy per pound as today’s best batteries and could one day power planes.  

The cell was developed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MiT), US. It’s fuelled by liquid sodium metal – an inexpensive and widely available substance – which passes through a porous electrode before chemically reacting with oxygen to produce electricity.   

In a series of experiments with a prototype, researchers found that the cell carries around three times as much energy per unit of weight as the lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles. Their findings were published in the journal Joule.

MiT’s Yet-Ming Chiang, who helped develop the prototype, admitted that it would not pack enough punch to power large intercontinental jets, but could be an enabling technology for regional electric aviation. It could also be “revolutionary” for marine and rail transport, he added.  

“We expect people to think that this is a totally crazy idea,” said Chiang. “If they didn’t, I’d be a bit disappointed because if people don’t think something is totally crazy at first, it probably isn’t going to be that revolutionary.”

Image: Philip Myrtorp

Younger generations have ‘lower risk’ of dementia

The risk of developing dementia is lower in people born more recently, a study has found, although scientists are unsure what is driving the trend.   

The research – based on a study of some 150,000 people in the US, continental Europe and England – revealed that younger generations had a much lower dementia risk. 

In the US, 25.1% of people born between 1890 and 1913 developed the condition, the study found, compared with 15.5% of those born between 1939 and 1943. In Europe, the figures were 30.2% and 15.2%, respectively, while England recorded a smaller decline, from 15.9% to 14.9%.

The trend was more pronounced in women, researchers noted. Those behind the study – led by the University of Queensland, Australia – suggested the fall could be down to improvements in education, the decline of smoking, and a reduction in air pollution.

“If such trends continue, the health and socioeconomic burden of dementia is not likely to increase in the future beyond the burden associated with population aging,” authors concluded. 

Image: Jonathan Borba

Two more nations eliminated trachoma

Papua New Guinea and Mauritania have become the latest countries to eliminate trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, as a public health problem.

Papa New Guinea and Mauritania’s success in defeating the disease – spread via contaminated fingers or flies that have come into contact with the eyes of an infected person – follows improvements in water sanitation, public health campaigns and the mass rollout of antibiotics. 

The World Health Organization described the elimination of trachoma in both countries as “a landmark victory for public health”.

In further good news, it noted that the number of people requiring antibiotic treatment for trachoma across Africa fell from 189m in 2014 to 93m in 2024 – a 51% reduction.

Image: Vika Chartier

More children in England to receive free meals

All children in England whose parents receive Universal Credit – an income support benefit – will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026, a move welcomed by campaigners.

According to the Institute for Fiscal studies, the new policy will lead to an additional 1.7 million children getting free lunches, lifting around 100,000 children out of poverty. 

“At last, more kids will get the food they need to learn and thrive,” said Kate Anstey, head of education policy at Child Poverty Action Group. “We hope this is a sign of what’s to come in autumn’s child poverty strategy, with government taking more action to meet its manifesto commitment to reduce child poverty in the UK.”

Image: Yan Krukau

Comedy entered the climate fray in the US

“Oil companies did the math, and fixing the environment is slightly less profitable than fixing the elections.”

So quips Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian David Cross (pictured) in a new video series that seeks to engage US citizens in the climate crisis at a time when the current government is trying to silence climate science. 

The Climate Science Translated series pairs scientists with comedians, who translate climate science in no holds barred language – something many academics struggle to do. It launched in the UK last year, reaching more than 10m viewers, 87% of who said they were more likely to take climate action after watching.

Those behind the initiative were motivated by research showing that 74% of Americans want stronger climate action from their government.  

“Climate change isn’t political – it’s been politicised,” said Ben Carey, founder of Climate Science Breakthrough, which launched the project. “Most people want action, even if Trump doesn’t. This video campaign has found an effective way to appeal beyond partisan viewpoints, through the unlikely alliance of eminent scientists and foul-mouthed comedians.”

Image: Luigi Novi/Nightscream
Main image: Poba/iStock