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Five real advances in science, medicine, technology, and the environment, each verified against the original reporting. In this episode: A farming programme in Sierra Leone founded by Mambud Samai teaches amputees sustainable farming, enabling; Medicaid enrollees in Massachusetts receiving medically tailored meals had 31% fewer hospitalizations and 20%; Researchers in South Korea have overcome a major electrical bottleneck in next-generation semiconductors by; Researchers discovered that amphibians that survive a deadly chytrid fungus develop powerful immune defenses; Sightings of blue whales and fin whales off Southern Africa's Atlantic coast have increased in recent years.
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. Five stories, five minutes, all of them true. Hi, I'm Grace. Today is Friday, July 17th, 2026. Here is what we are covering. And I'm Josh. Let's dive into today's stories. Our first story takes us to Sierra Leone, where a remarkable farming program is making a difference. Founded by Mambud Samai, it teaches people who have lost limbs how to farm sustainably. That's really inspiring. This training has enabled many participants not only to grow their own food, but also to start small commercial plots and businesses. It's a real game changer for their livelihoods. Absolutely. It's great to see such impactful initiatives providing both skills and independence. Moving on to Massachusetts, there's a new study from Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. They looked at Medicaid enrollees receiving medically tailored meals. Right. These meals are fully prepared and home delivered, customized by a registered dietician for conditions like diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. And the results are quite promising. Enrollees in the program had 31% fewer hospitalizations and 20% fewer emergency department visits. Although it's worth noting that the study doesn't specify the sample size, duration, or if it accounts for factors like baseline health status or other concurrent care. Now on to some tech news. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or KAIST, have tackled a significant issue in the next generation of computer chips. Exactly. As these chips shrink, getting electricity into the semiconductor material becomes tricky, often wasting power and slowing devices down. The team found a way to reduce that loss right at the point where electricity enters the material. It's a crucial development for future tech. In environmental news, researchers at University College London have been studying amphibians that survive the chytrid fungus. This fungus has devastated amphibian populations globally, but they found that survivors developed strong immune defenses while still tadpoles, which protect them after metamorphosis. Plus, they identified a large set of previously unknown antimicrobial peptides. These could one day inform new drugs, although the study doesn't specify how common recovery is. Finally, let's talk about some positive news from the oceans. A new study reports an increase in sightings of blue whales and fin whales along southern Africa's Atlantic coast. That's encouraging, especially considering commercial whaling killed about 1,075,000 of these whales between 1913 and 1978. The study notes more frequent sightings, but it doesn't provide current population estimates. So, the increase might partly reflect improved monitoring, rather than just population growth. That's all for today's stories. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time. That's it for today. That was 5 Things Going Right. Come back tomorrow for 5 more.