People shared some good things happening to the world right now and as everything goes to hell in a handcart these 17 are the perfect pick-me-up
10.
‘I remember when I was a little kid in the western US, seeing a bird of prey like a hawk or falcon was a big point of excitement, nevermind seeing something like a bald eagle. They were so rare! The biggest reason for that was the use of DDT in insecticides, which caused significant eggshell thinning in many predatory bird species.
‘Thanks to the banning of DDT in US agriculture in 1972 (followed by a worldwide agricultural ban in 2004), we’ve seen a massive rebound of many of those species. Bald eagles, brown pelicans, peregrine falcons, ospreys… all those cool little guys we might take for granted nowadays. Now, I’m always seeing red-tailed hawks and pelicans and little falcons flying around — it’s not even momentous!
‘What makes this comeback even more amazing is that I am only nineteen. How crazy must it be for me to have seen such drastic changes within my short lifetime??’
-AFatLizard
11.
‘In Ethiopia they managed to plant more than 350 million trees in a single day as part of a massive project against climate change. They broke a world record and are literally transforming the country’s landscape.’
-Lia_Moon_
12.
‘Over 86% of the world’s population can now read and write—an all-time record’
-CanBright546
13.
‘In 1950, the average life expectancy at birth was only 48.5 years. In 2019, it was 72.8 years. That’s an increase of 50 percent.’
-mrhymer
14.
‘Whales are slowly returning to parts of the ocean they hadn’t been seen in for decades. Nature heals when we give it the chance.’
-Upskilltc23
15.
‘There’s lots of scholars out there translating old books into English for the first time.
‘As an example, scholars are currently almost finished translating the complete works of St. Augustine into English for the first time. It’s taken 35 years so far and they’ve now published 45 of the 49 planned volumes.’
-RunDNA
16.
‘If you’re young right now, there’s a decent (not high, but not low) chance that there might be a general cancer cure in our lifetime because of CRISPR technology and immunotherapy.
‘Early advances in CRISPR have been absolutely phenomenal; for instance, CRISPR Therapeutics has actually managed to cure Sickle Cell Disease in humans. The treatment is known as Casgevy. Downside: it costs something like 2 million dollars lol
‘I am also a physician in an area known for one of the top cancer hospitals in the country and immunotherapy is a revolution happening right now allowing physicians to give many patients with previously untreatable cancers a fighting chance.
‘I’m seeing way more patients on it than ever and we are being given guidance on how to treat potential side effects. These treatments were only theoretical when I was starting medical school. Same for CRISPR, in fact it was only beginning to emerge in labs when I was getting my bachelor’s and masters 10-ish years ago.
‘Both of these technologies can be engineered to be incredibly specific to the exact genetic sequences of disease. If, for instance, you could create a CRISPR treatment that turns off crucial cancer genes (p53, telomerase) in only your specific cancer cells, the cancer could be completely cured without affecting any other cell in your body.
‘This is still very, very far from reality. However, that’s what we said about these technologies 10-20 years ago and they’re already being used in humans to a very limited degree. I’m very, very excited to see where they will progress in the next 20-40 years.’
-Halefire
17.
‘Pretty much everyone who’s on this thread is likely living better than royalty was 200 years ago’
-rs217000
READ MORE
Source Reddit, Image: screen grab