Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Five real advances in science, medicine, technology, and the environment, each verified against the original reporting. In this episode: Pangenome-guided breeding of Tartary buckwheat successfully combined stress tolerance and higher yields by; Researchers at University at Buffalo developed an early warning system using publicly available data and; Legal reforms on same-sex relationships in Asia (India 2018, Taiwan 2019, Singapore 2023, Thailand 2025); Researchers at Universitat Rovira i Virgili have identified a method to convert used coffee grounds into; Replacing an internal-combustion vehicle with a battery electric vehicle almost always reduces greenhouse gas.
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 today is Wednesday, August 12th, 2026. And I'm Josh. We've got some interesting stories lined up for you today. Let's get started. Researchers at the Center for Crop and Food Innovation at Murdoch University have been working on a fascinating project with tartary buckwheat, a grain from the Himalayas. Yeah, they used something called pangenome-guided breeding to reintroduce over 123,000 structural variants from wild relatives. This helped them combine stress tolerance and higher yields, which are usually tough to balance. It's important to note, though, that this was just a single crop tested under controlled conditions. We don't know yet if this approach will work on major staple crops or lead to yield gains in actual farming fields. Researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed an early warning system to predict eviction filings during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. That's right. The system uses publicly available data and open source tools to help human service organizations anticipate community housing needs. However, it's still a case study on feasibility. There's no indication yet if the system has been deployed or tested for accuracy in real-world situations. A study from the National University of Singapore has looked into how legal reforms on same-sex relationships across Asia have changed public discourse. The study covered several significant events. India striking down its colonial-era ban in 2018, Taiwan legalizing same-sex marriage in 2019, Singapore's repeal of Section 377 A in 2023, and Thailand's marriage equality law in 2025. Interestingly, the research found that social acceptance varies depending on the institutional and media context. In India, for example, hostile language on Instagram increased after decriminalization, even though moral stereotyping declined. This suggests that legal reform alone doesn't automatically reduce hostile sentiment. Researchers at Universitat Rovira i Vergili have discovered a way to turn used coffee grounds into biodiesel and other renewable fuels. They found that the oils in damp, discarded coffee grounds can be converted into biodiesel. Plus, the carbohydrates and other compounds in the grounds could be used to produce renewable fuels, bioplastics, and industrial chemicals. New research from UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz, published in the journal Science, shows that replacing an internal combustion vehicle with a battery electric vehicle almost always cuts greenhouse gas emissions. Even if you're scrapping a relatively new gasoline car for an electric one, the emissions reduction holds true. However, the study doesn't cover emissions from electricity generation, which can vary greatly by region. So, in areas with coal-heavy grids, the benefits might be much lower compared to regions using renewable energy. We appreciate you listening. Until next time. That's it for today. That was 5 Things Going Right. Come back tomorrow for five more.