Skip to content

Good things

Airdrie Our View_text

It can be easy to overlook all the good that is happening in our world. As a new year begins, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the positive things that happened in the past 12 months.

Big scientific breakthroughs were made this year in the battle against oft-fatal illnesses.

A new cystic fibrosis therapy has dramatically improved patients’ lung function, showing clear signs of targeting the genetic root of the disease, instead of just alleviating symptoms.

An October 2019 announcement recommended a vaccine that has been shown to be effective in protecting people from the Ebola virus.

An HIV-positive man in Britain became the second known adult to be cleared of the virus.

Women also made gains in 2019.

Iceland became the first country to enforce equal pay.

Malawi Chief Theresa Kachindamoto annulled more than 1,500 child marriages and banned the harmful practice.

For the first time, the Abel Prize for Mathematics was awarded to a woman and the International Monetary Fund has a female chief economist.

2019 also brought welcome news for animals.

The Netherlands claimed it is the first country to no longer have stray dogs.

Sea turtles are making a huge comeback – increasing in population by 980 per cent since the passing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

There may still be hope for the white rhino, as successfully fertilized in-vitro embryos were collected from the two remaining female northern white rhinos.

Here’s to more positive news in 2020.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks