Things aren't as bad as they seem.

After years of drought worsened by upstream dams and climate change, winter rains have returned water to 85% of Iraq's Huwaizah Marshes — millennia-old Mesopotamian wetlands fed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Fish, buffaloes, and migratory birds are back, and Iraq's Water Ministry reports the Tigris

Long-awaited rain revives Iraq’s ancient Huwaizah Marshes

Long-awaited rain revives Iraq’s ancient Huwaizah Marshes

01.05.2026

Heading layer

Long-awaited rain revives Iraq’s ancient Huwaizah Marshes

29.04.2026

Angola protects Mount Moco and its ancient forests for the first time

29.04.2026

Electric air taxi trials flights from JFK to Manhattan in under 10 minutes

29.04.2026

25-minute treatment cuts peanut allergy risk by nearly 70 percent

McGill University researchers found that treating peanuts with cold plasma — an ionized gas that alters protein structure — for just 25 minutes reduces allergic immune response by nearly 70%. The method preserves taste and nutrition and could be extended to eggs, hazelnuts, and other common allergens, opening the door to a wider range of safer foods.

29.04.2026

Common soil fungus helps tomatoes thrive with less chemicals

29.04.2026

Oregon youth in custody grow 75,000 native plants a year — and themselves

At Camp Tillamook on Oregon's coast, incarcerated youth are planting native plants guided by Indigenous knowledge from Willamette Valley tribes. Since the program began, nearly 712,000 plants have been placed across 3,800 acres. The programme helps them earn money, gain work experience, and leave with real skills — and a deeper connection to the land.

29.04.2026

Anti-vaping ads cut US teen vaping from 20% to 5.9% in five years

UC San Diego researchers found that anti-vaping advertising and news coverage of the 2019 EVALI lung injury outbreak were the turning point in reversing teen vaping in the US. Among California adolescents, quit attempts nearly doubled between 2017–18 and 2019–20. Nationally, youth vaping fell from a peak of 20% in 2019 to 5.9% by 2024 — proof that public health messaging works.

27.04.2026

40 years on, Chernobyl’s exclusion zone is now a wildlife haven

Four decades after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Ukraine, the Chernobyl exclusion zone has become one of Europe's largest nature reserves, covering over 4,500 km². Wolves, lynx, moose, brown bears — absent for over a century — and even Przewalski's horses now roam freely on contaminated land that is too dangerous for human life.

27.04.2026

Tanzania’s traditional plant-based diet rivals the world’s healthiest

27.04.2026

Billie Eilish’s world tour raised millions and kept 103,620 bottles from landfills

Her 14-month Hit Me Hard and Soft tour across 15 countries set a new standard for sustainable touring: reusable bottles, recycled merch, plant-based food at venues, 27 food drives feeding over 4,000 people, and funding for 102 nonprofits and 19 climate projects. Over 30 venues launched lasting environmental initiatives as a direct result.

27.04.2026

Art, music, and dance may rewire the ADHD brain without medication

New research shows that the "defocused attention" typical of ADHD is also a powerful driver of creative thinking. Activities like art, music, dance, writing, and gaming can provide structured ways to channel this trait — and may strengthen the neural networks involved in attention control, reducing impulsivity and hyperactivity. ADHD affects nearly 8% of children worldwide.

27.04.2026

Paris startup Meet My Mama turns home cooks into catering entrepreneurs

Founded nearly eight years ago, Paris-based Meet My Mama trains women with overlooked culinary talent in both cooking skills and business fundamentals, then connects them to real contracts. Around 80 women have launched their own catering businesses through the platform, supplying over 600 high-end events a year.

27.04.2026

Wool-based keratin repairs bones better than the current gold standard

Researchers have successfully extracted keratin from wool and used it to regenerate bone in a living animal. The wool-based scaffolds produced bone that was more organized and structurally sound than collagen, the long-standing benchmark. Wool is often a by-product of farming, making the material both renewable and scalable.

24.04.2026

Older adults who vote live significantly longer, study finds

A University of Pennsylvania study tracked older adults who voted in the 2008 U.S. presidential election and found they had a significantly reduced risk of dying over the following 5, 10, and 15 years, with those in poorer health benefiting most. The effect held whether people voted in person or by mail, regardless of who they voted for.

24.04.2026

Sweden’s clothing swaps turn fashion waste into a social movement

Since 2010, Sweden has held annual clothing swap events organized by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, with on-site tailors that help repair and fit clothes on the spot. By now, they are a nationwide movement. Last year alone, 140,000 people attended 140 events and took home over 44,000 pre-owned items.

24.04.2026

A 30-minute sauna session boosts your infection-fighting cells

Finnish research shows that a single 30-minute sauna session increases the number of white blood cells circulating in the bloodstream, quickly mobilizing the body's defenses and keeping the immune system alert. The effect mirrors the immune response triggered by exercise.

24.04.2026

Record 372 humpback whales spotted off South Africa in two days

Wildlife photographers Monique and Chris Fallows identified 372 individual humpback whales off South Africa's west coast over just two days last December — most of them never photographed before. Southern Hemisphere populations have grown by up to 12% per year since the whaling moratorium. Scientists say: "This is a population rebounding."

24.04.2026

Berlin Zoo leads the way with tailored tours for people with dementia

Cultural institutions worldwide are adding barrier-free tours — sign-language guides, touch-based events, autism-friendly programs — and now dementia-specific visits. In Berlin, slow-paced small-group tours are offered at the zoo, the Museum of Natural History, and Charlottenburg Palace, keeping them calm, focused, and sensory-rich.

24.04.2026

Moringa seeds filter microplastics from drinking water

Brazilian researchers have shown that a saline extract from moringa seeds — a plant native to India and common across the tropics — removes microplastics from water as effectively as aluminum sulfate, the chemical widely used in treatment plants. In alkaline water, moringa performed even better, and the extract can be prepared at home, making it a viable solution for rural communities worldwide.