Green gold, cool zig zags, cute baby rhinos and safer cow burps

You never need to look far for the good things in life. Type ‘good news’ into Google and see how many heart-warming stories pop up. We did exactly that, and we found this! Here’s some lovely news to fill your day with hope.

Gold mining goes green

In 2022 the Royal Mint started using a new chemical process to recover and reuse the gold from old circuit boards. Now there’s an entire processing plant dedicated to it, breaking down 4000 metric tons of circuit boards a year to recover literally hundreds of kilos of gold. The metal will be sold to investors who want to buy gold but don’t want their money to support environmentally damaging mining.

Weird zig zag walls help us stay cooler

Hot and sticky? You need a wall like this! Walls with a special 3d zigzag pattern are staying as much as 3 degrees centigrade cooler than normal walls without using any energy, cutting the power used by cooling systems and helping fight climate change. It’s great news when greenhouse gases from cooling systems are set to triple by the year 2050.

Yorkshire black rhino has a baby

A black rhino brought up in North Yorkshire’s Flamingo Park zoo has given birth to a baby in Rwanda, where she now lives. Olmoti came to Yorkshire in 2015 with her mum Samira. In 2019 she was sent to Akagera National Park in Central Africa thanks to a partnership between Rwanda and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, EAZA. The baby’s dad is called Mandela, another rhino who was re-homed in the area thanks to EAZA.

Cow burps might become less farty

Cows burp methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and the one billion cows kept by humans across the planet tend to burp a lot. Now a new anti-methane vaccine has arrived, predicted to slash the huge climate impact of cow burps, and it should be on sale within the next three years. The prototype cut cow methane emissions by an impressive 13% per cent in its first trial involving 10 cows.

The UAE plants 100 million trees by drone

In Abu Dhabi the plan is to plant 100 million mangrove trees by 2030. In 2023 they sowed more than six million seeds from special drones, dropping them into the fertile tidal mud they love to grow in. The drones have been programmed to drop the seeds randomly for a natural effect and they’re only being dropped in the places they’re most needed and are the most likely to grow.

Magic one micron thick solar cell

A team of forty physics geniuses at Oxford University has developed a solar cell so skinny it can be painted onto buildings, cars and ‘almost any surface’. It’s at least as efficient as regular solar panels but because it’s so thin, it’s incredibly versatile. Imagine an electric car that self-charges for free as it drives, a shoulder bag that charges your phone as you walk, or a roof that generates enough energy to run your home without solar panels.

How poo can heal you

Bacteria originally found in poo can help chronic wounds heal, vital for people with diabetes whose bodies can struggle to handle injuries. It’s called Alcaligenes faecalis, first discovered in faeces, and it could end up saving lives.

Scientists say cynicism is dangerous

Apparently overcoming cynicism leads to a healthier, happier life. So says the neuroscientist Jamil Zaki, who has discovered that life is more likely to be horrible when you expect it to be horrible. When we see the worst in humanity and don’t trust anyone it isn’t just harmful to our lives, it encourages us to believe things that aren’t true. If you find yourself sliding into cynicism Jamil’s book, Hope for Cynics: The surprising science of human goodness, will be out soon and it’s full of hot tips for cynical types.

Love more colour in your world

It’s amazing how the smallest things often have the biggest impact. As Picasso said, "Colours, like features, follow the changes of the emotions." Rachel Goldman PhD agrees, saying “It's amazing how colours can truly impact our mood and influence our behaviour." We like her advice. She recommends we think about our clothes and how different coloured clothing makes us feel when we wear it. Maybe next time you’re feeling a bit blah, see if changing the colour of your clothes shifts your mood. We sell masses of colourful clothing designed to make you feel good, so go explore and put a smile on your face!