• CostPlus Drug Company is selling medications at cost, plus a small markup, allowing Americans to pay a similar price for medications to Europeans. In some cases, medications cost thousands of dollars less than the retail price at pharmacies. TechCrunch.
• World records fewest guinea worm cases in history of eradication campaign. The Carter Center.
• This startup is turning nonrecyclable plastic into building blocks fit for construction. Fast Company.
• Between 1978 and 2016, the median level of lead in the blood of children in the US fell by 95%. Our World in Data.
• Federal agencies are raising minimum wages for government employees to $15 an hour. Axios.
• A Zambian park has reversed the national extinction of black rhinos. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Conservation efforts are saving humpback whales. Good Good Good.
• UCLA researchers cure HIV in 40% of mice. The Jerusalem Post.
• Swedish startup Molecular Attraction plans to kill mosquitoes in places plagued by malaria by tricking the insects into drinking beetroot “blood” laced with toxins. Freethink.
• Giant pristine coral reef discovered off Tahiti. BBC News.
• Rains bring salmon back to California streams after 25 years. The Guardian.
• Ghostly monkey and slug snake among 224 new species found in Mekong region. The Guardian.
• GM to invest historic $7 billion in 4 facilities across Michigan, creating 4,000 jobs. Detroit Free Press.

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• The overall cancer death rate dropped by about a third from its peak in 1991 to 2019, averting about 3.5 million deaths, CNN.
• Uganda has immunized eight million children against polio in just three days. Uganda has achieved incredible results in childhood health over the past 20 years, with the mortality rate for under fives dropping by more than half. The East African.
• Child mortality rate worldwide has also dropped by half over the past 20 years. UNICEF.
• Tanzania has lifted a 20-year ban preventing adolescent mothers from attending school. The Citizen.
• Fatal police shootings in America dropped by 13% between 2020 and 2021, reaching the lowest annual number on record. ABC.
• The Philippines has banned child marriage. South China Morning Post.
• Technology, education, and community efforts have helped Bangladesh reduce cyclone-related deaths more than 100-fold since 1970. The New Humanitarian.
• Giraffe populations across Africa have rebounded by 20% since 2015. National Geographic.
• Mexico’s endangered jaguar population increased by 20% between 2010 and 2018. Mongabay.
• South Australia set an impressive new renewable energy record in the final days of 2021, with the state’s solar and wind farms and rooftop solar systems supplying an average of just over 100% of local demand every day for a period of almost one week. Renew Economy.

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• The history of the end of poverty has just begun. Our World in Data.
• First-ever pig-to-human heart transplant offers hope for thousands in need of organs. USA Today.
• Researchers find a new target for a universal flu vaccine: the “anchor”. Freethink.
• A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer for low income countries. NPR.
• First female judge nominated for Pakistan’s supreme court. The Guardian.
• mRNA vaccine technology has helped repair broken hearts in mice. New Scientist.
• Grazing livestock among the trees is helping to prevent wildfires. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Beijing meets state air quality standards for first time in 2021. Reuters.
• U.S. sees record job growth in 2021. Bloomberg.
• Spain returns to pre-pandemic employment levels thanks to creation of 776,000 jobs in 2021. El Pais.
• Thousands of seasonal farmworkers will get their much-deserved raises after all. Daily Kos.

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• US Army creates single vaccine against all COVID & SARS variants, even future strains. Defense One.
• Many surprise medical bills are now illegal. Axios.
• Michigan’s new congressional maps undo years of gerrymandering. NY Times.
• After being declared extinct in the wild, the Tequila fish is making a comeback. BBC.

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• COVID-19 vaccines have saved over a million lives in the US alone. The Commonwealth Fund.
• 21 things that made the world a better place in 2021. Wired.
• China has eliminated malaria. The New York Times.
• Executions dropped to lowest level in three decades. The Wall Street Journal.
• 56 cities, counties, and states will raise minimum wage rates on January 1. NELP.
• White House unveils plan to replace every lead pipe in the U.S. NBC News.
• Is 70 the new 60? People are aging better. Scientific American.
• 13 animals that made a comeback in 2021. The Progress Network.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

• Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds. The Guardian.
• Millions of people a year are hospitalized by respiratory syncytial virus and tens of thousands die. After decades of failure, four vaccines are now in late-stage trials. Nature.
• New FDA-approved eye drops could replace reading glasses for millions. CBS News.
• Botswana lowers its mother-to-child HIV transmission rate to under 5%. VOA.
• The world has experienced a 59% decline in deaths of children under five since 1990. Good Good Good.
• As a Logic song topped the charts, helpline saw more calls and fewer suicides. STAT.
• Vehicle emission declines decreased deaths, study finds. AP News.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

• Between 2000 and 2020 the annual number of measles deaths fell by 94%, from 1,072,800 to 60,700, averting an estimated 31.7 million deaths. WHO (PDF).
• New Canadian Cancer Statistics report reveals 50% decline in prostate cancer death rate since peak in 1995. Newswire.
• After 35 years of conservation, the population of the endangered Burrowing Parrot in Chile has increased from 217 in 1986 to over 4000. Evolve to Ecology.
• Coastal marine species carried out to sea on debris are not only surviving, they’re colonizing the high seas and making new communities on the floating plastic detritus that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an accumulation of trash stuck in ocean currents that’s estimated to be about twice the size of Texas. NBC News.
• After more than 15 years of fear and intimidation, Mosuli musicians in Iraq can finally play music in public again. New Lines.
• There’s been a massive decrease in global deaths from disasters over the last hundred years. Our World in Data.
• Thousands of farmworkers will see pay raises in 2022. The Counter.
• Renewable energy has ‘another record year of growth’ says IEA. The Guardian.
• Hackney man first to receive 3D-printed prosthetic eye. BBC.
• Unique effort reopens girls’ schools in Afghan province. AP News.
• 200 years ago, everyone lacked democratic rights. Now, billions of people have them. Our World in Data.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, Future Crunch, and Reasons to be Cheerful.

• Seven amazing trends the media ignores that’ll make you feel great about the future. Upworthy.
• The number of tobacco smokers worldwide is falling by about 5 million people a year. Euronews.
• mRNA vaccine against tick bites could help prevent Lyme disease. New Scientist.
• Green Jobs offer ex-offenders a career path after prison. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• As cities wrestle with how to reform policing to reduce the use of lethal force, Albuquerque has created a new kind of responder on the streets. It sends behavioral specialists to deal with calls that involve emergencies like mental health issues and homelessness. Christian Science Monitor.
• Virginia will expand Medicaid coverage up to a year after pregnancy. Virginia Mercury.
• New HIV jabs taken two months apart hailed as huge step forward. The Guardian.
• After record low, monarch butterflies return to California. NBC News.
• Nurse salaries rise as demand for their services soars during Covid-19 pandemic. The Wall Street Journal.
• New law in Kenya allows refugees to work. VOA.

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• This injectable gel reversed paralysis in mice. Humans could be next. Daily Beast.
• Water chlorination has cut mortality rates for children under five in certain Kenyan villages by 63%. Vox.
• Cancer deaths in U.S. fall overall by 27% over last 50 years. UPI.
• Presumed extinct, the tentacled butterfly ray comes back from the dead. Hakai.
• Airless puncture-proof tires may be on your car by 2024. Big Think.
• Beavers return to Nottinghamshire for first time in 400 years. BBC.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, Future Crunch, and Reasons to be Cheerful.

• In 2021, 147 countries have improved their overall score on the Social Progress Index since previous indices. Social Progress Imperative.
• HPV vaccine saves thousands of women from cervical cancer, UK study shows. The Guardian.
• Tucson OK’s measure to gradually raise minimum wage to $15 AP.
• Hiring grows in U.S. as employers add 531,000 jobs, beating expectations. NBC News.
• Firefighting robots go autonomous. Scientific American.
• A father and son in remote Siberia are trying to engineer an ice age ecosystem. Peer-reviewed scientific papers show they are slowing global warming. Reuters.
• Japan start-up designs wind turbine that can harness typhoon energy. Reuters.
• 20 recent justice reform measures to celebrate. The Innocence Project.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, Future Crunch, and Reasons to be Cheerful.