Category: Positive News

A new botany project is allowing gamers to step away from their screens and connect with nature in a tangible way. Dubbed Seed Saga, the pilot programme key element lies in the ability of gamers to cultivate plants that they may have encountered in their favourite video games. Guild Wars, a popular roleplaying game widely… Continue reading How the virtual world is inspiring gamers to become botanists

Positive News has launched a new podcast series that opens with six episodes exploring mental health solutions. The series, hosted by medical doctor Radha Modgil and journalist Seyi Rhodes, features interviews with people from around the world focusing on community-based and low-cost initiatives. The first episode profiles hairdressers in Ivory Coast who are becoming mental health… Continue reading Heard the good news? The Positive News Podcast has just launched

A unique type of citizen search for life after death starts this summer in English burial grounds, with citizen scientists being asked to record lichens found growing on gravestones. These slow-growing and complex lifeforms are symbiotic partnerships of algae living in filaments of fungi, and are a keystone species in many ecosystems, serving as food… Continue reading Lichen-lovers asked to spot signs of life among the dead

In this week’s lineup of good news, a new home saliva test could be a game-changer for prostate cancer detection. The test screens for small genetic changes linked to prostate cancer, outperforming the current PSA blood test, which is known to be inaccurate. Unfortunately, there’s no national screening program for prostate cancer in the UK,… Continue reading What went right this week: the good news you should know about

Sela, a Saudi Arabian events and marketing company, has worked in collaboration with Newcastle United in developing sensory technology that allows deaf fans to feel the excitement of live football matches. The technology which has been integrated into shirts converts the noise around St James’ Park into digital sound, transmitting it wirelessly to the sensory… Continue reading Newcastle United introduces ‘sound shirts’ for deaf supporters

Let’s Go Zero, a national campaign aimed at engaging students in positive climate action, is hoping to get all 32,000 schools in the UK to go zero carbon by 2030. The campaign’s ultimate goal is more ambitious than the government’s 2050 target of achieving net zero. However, Alex Green, who leads the campaign for the… Continue reading How to supercharge climate action? Get schools involved

Edinburgh Printmakers is currently offering art enthusiasts and creators a unique opportunity to create their own exhibition by welcoming them to alter the works on display in its continuous and evolving exhibition. The exhibition, titled ‘Edinburgh Printmakers’ Castle Mills: Then & Now – Whose Gallery is it Anyway?’ will run until 19 June, giving visitors… Continue reading Making an exhibition of yourself: the gallery where anyone can add to the walls

A platform called Ethex is allowing everyday people to invest in organisations that are committed to social change. Through crowdfunding, investors can choose a socially conscious organisation to invest in, with confidence that their funds are being used to help people in need. Ethex investors mostly select ethical finance companies, which help those with low… Continue reading The ethical investors helping financially vulnerable people avoid predatory lenders

The Offline Club, a digital detox café in Amsterdam, is offering customers the chance to leave their phones at the door and indulge in board games, books and tranquillity. The club provides a haven of solace, promoting the notion of moments of quiet introspection in favour of scrolling through endless news feeds, and random conversations… Continue reading Dutch digital detoxers unplug en masse. Will the world follow?

This week there were a lot of reasons to feel positive. From new green initiatives to help combat climate change to the announcement of projects to create more green spaces in urban areas, there was plenty of news to bring a smile to people’s faces. One study from the London School of Economics suggested that… Continue reading What went right this week: the good news that matters