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Five real advances in science, medicine, technology, and the environment, each verified against the original reporting. In this episode: Between 2020 and 2024, zero women aged 20-24 in England died from cervical cancer, the first such five-year; The International Labour Organization voted on June 12 to adopt a binding convention setting enforceable; A refugee woman from Iran completed free training courses in baking and coffee-making in the UK and started a; Researchers are developing hardier strains of insects (black soldier flies, crickets, mealworms) for farming; A 10-year experiment with 3,000+ European seabass found that heat-induced male bias reversed by the third.
Five Things Going Right is a daily five-minute podcast covering real, verifiable progress in science, medicine, technology, and the environment. Every weekday, hosts Grace and Josh walk through five stories that actually happened, each checked against the original reporting from sources like the WHO, the IEA, Nature, and university research. A calm, fact-grounded start to your day. New episodes every weekday morning.
Welcome! This is 5 Things Going Right, the news that's actually good. 5 stories, 5 minutes, all of them true. Hi everyone, I'm Grace. And I'm Josh. Let's dive into today's roundup of progress. Between 2020 and 2024, not a single woman aged 20 to 24 in England died from cervical cancer. It's the first time this has happened over a five-year period. That's incredible! This achievement is largely credited to the HPV vaccine, which was introduced for school-age girls back in 2008. A study published in The Lancet, led by Professor Peter Sassiani from Queen Mary University of London, highlights this. The research team estimates that without the vaccine, about 23 deaths would have occurred in that age group during the same period. Overall, around 200 lives have been saved in England since the program started. It's important to note, though, that this finding is specific to a narrow age group in England. Cervical cancer in older age groups and other populations still needs attention to understand the broader impact. The International Labor Organization made a significant move on June 12th by adopting a binding convention for gig workers in ride-hailing and food delivery. Right. The vote saw 406 member governments, employer groups, and workers' representatives in favor, with only 8 against. Interestingly, the United States was among those voting no. The convention sets minimum standards for occupational safety, health, minimum pay, and protection against unjustified termination. Plus, it requires platforms to disclose how automated systems affect pay and work access, regardless of whether workers are classified as employees or contractors. However, the real-world impact of this convention hinges on ratification and enforcement by individual countries, which can be a slow and political process. So, many workers might not see these protections anytime soon. Let's talk about Sana Pishku, who owns Shiraz Patisserie in North London. It's named after her home city in Iran. Sana is a skilled pastry chef who set up the business in 2021 after arriving in the UK as a refugee in 2015. Her shop has become a neighborhood favorite and a regular spot for London's Iranian community. It's a great example of how refugees can contribute positively to their new communities. Researchers at the University of Montreal are working on developing hardier strains of insects for farming uses. They're focusing on insects like black soldier flies, crickets, and mealworms. The idea is to convert organic waste into biomass, provide protein for food, and even break down plastic. It's still early-stage work, but the potential applications are fascinating. An international study involving Spain, France, and Brazil looked at how water temperature affects sex in European sea bass. High heat can lead to more males being born, causing a shortage of females. But in a 10-year experiment with over 3,000 fish, this trend reversed by the third generation, with more females being born. The study focused on a single species in controlled conditions, so it's unclear if the same would happen in wild populations facing rapid temperature changes. That's all for today's updates. Thanks for listening, everyone. Take care. That's it for today. That was 5 Things Going Right. Come back tomorrow for 5 more.