🌟 The Good News Times – 29th August 2025 Edition
Breathing Crystals, Sponge Cities & Cosmic Fireworks
A crystal that “breathes” like tiny lungs
Scientists in Korea andJapan have unveiled a remarkable porous crystal that repeatedly soaks up andreleases oxygen under gentle, reversible conditions, like a miniature set of lungs. Materials that can store anddose oxygen cleanly have been a holy grail for greener fuels, smart sensors andmedical devices. What’s different here is stability andrepeatability. Instead of crumbling or requiring extreme conditions, this crystal behaves reliably at mild temperatures andpressures. Imagine ships andfactories sipping oxygen precisely, or grid-scale systems that make green fuels more practical. It’s the sort of quietly revolutionary advance that starts in a lab beaker andends up changing how we power things. You can read more here - SciTechDaily
A city that soaks up storms (on purpose)
Copenhagen continues its journey to become a “sponge city,” reshaping streets, parks and plazas to drink in cloudbursts rather than fight them. Think rain-gardens, permeable pavements and playful storm channels that double as community spaces on dry days. Instead of grey infrastructure that shunts water away, the Danes are building blue-green networks that hold, clean and slowly release it - reducing floods while making neighbourhoods lovelier to live in. It’s climate adaptation with child-like ingenuity. Turn the downpour into a feature, not a bug. Reasons to Be Cheerful highlighted the shift this month and honestly, it reads like urban planning with crayons and courage. You can read more here - Reasons to be Cheerful+1
Mosquitoes meet their match (and people meet fewer bites)
From Poland to parts of Africa, a new generation of relatively low-cost, targeted drones is helping public-health teams find and treat mosquito breeding sites with far greater precision. Instead of blanket spraying, crews can map standing water and deliver larvicides exactly where needed - cheaper, more humane for non-target species and more effective against disease vectors. Fewer mosquitoes means fewer cases of malaria, dengue and other nasties - a quiet, practical victory you can feel on your skin. You can read more here - Good News Network
Lunch that teaches you to love the ocean
This is a fabulous school-lunch idea bubbling up in coastal communities in California - Sea-to-School programmes that put sustainably caught local seafood on kids’ plates and turn the cafeteria into a classroom. Children meet fishers, learn how marine ecosystems work and taste the difference that stewardship makes. It’s nutrition, environmental education and regional pride in one bite. When young people discover that dinner can heal habitats (hello, shellfish restoration!) they become the kind of grown-ups who protect what they love. Reasons to Be Cheerful has been spotlighting models like this - practical, tasty and scalable. You can read more here - Reasons to be Cheerful
A cosmic drumroll - the star that might go boom
Astronomers have spotted signs that a distant, dying star could be edging toward a supernova - the spectacular finale where a star collapses and briefly outshines whole galaxies. Will it happen next year or in a thousand? Space keeps its secrets. But the evidence, a giant gas bubble and other tell-tale ripples - has researchers watching closely. Why is this in a good-news roundup? Because supernovas forge the heavy elements that make planets (and us). The universe is still making wonders and we get front-row seats. You can read more here - SciTechDaily
Little big wins that made us grin
Seahorses sidle back - Conservation groups in the UK report seahorses returning to restored coastal habitats - a heart-swelling sign that cleaner waters and seagrass recovery are working. It’s not just cute - seahorses signal healthier ecosystems for everything from juvenile fish to shorebirds. Just on a personal note, seahorses are my favourite creatures. How can something so ridiculously improbable exist. I see it as a sign that the Universe has a sense of humour. You can read more here - Positive News
Carbon chemistry magic - Oxford chemists stabilised a rare 48-atom carbon ring - a weird, beautiful structure that could unlock new materials with unusual electronic properties. It’s fundamental science today, future devices tomorrow. You can read more here - SciTechDaily
Why these stories matter
There’s a thread running through all of this. Solutions that compound. A breathing crystal doesn’t just make a neat headline, it hints at cleaner fuels and smarter medical tech. Sponge-city parks are not only pretty but they quietly protect homes and wallets when the heavens open. Targeted mosquito control means fewer kids missing school, fewer hospital beds occupied and less pesticide sprayed where it isn’t needed. Sea-to-School turns lunch into a lifelong lesson in caring for place. Even the supernova watch party reminds us that curiosity is a renewable resource - the more we use, the more we have.
And here’s the loveliest bit. Almost everything above scales. Cities everywhere can copy Copenhagen’s rain-embracing design. Health teams can adapt drone playbooks to their landscapes. Schools near coasts (or rivers, or farms) can fold local food systems into learning. Labs in Aotearoa and beyond can build on carbon-ring wizardry and oxygen-sipping materials.
So yes, the world is noisy. But tucked inside the din are engineers with lung-like crystals, planners turning storms into playgrounds, teachers serving curiosity with kai and scientists listening for the universe’s next cymbal crash. If that doesn’t raise your spirits a wee bit, maybe we need a little chat.
See you next week. Hopefully we are still here to share some new tiny wonders.