In a world where the news-cycle is one, big, constant loop of doom and gloom, and in the spirit of International Week of Happiness in the Workplace, I wanted to highlight a few happy things that have happened this year.*
1. Artemis II flew around the Moon. On 6th April, four astronauts travelled 252,760 miles from Earth, further than any human before, beating a record that had stood for 55 years. As Orion passed behind the Moon, the crew watched a total solar eclipse from that vantage point. Christina Koch became the first woman, Jeremy Hansen the first non-American, and Victor Glover the first Black person to travel to the vicinity of the Moon.
2. Scotland made homes for birds a legal requirement. It became the first UK country to require a swift brick (a brick with a hollow nesting cavity inside) in every new house, after the RSPB reported a 66% fall in swift numbers over 25 years. Swifts spend so much of their lives airborne that they eat, sleep and bathe on the wing.
3. Knee cartilage regrew in a lab. A University of Stanford study found that blocking a protein called 15-PGDH reverses cartilage loss in ageing joints, and human samples taken from patients already having knee replacements started growing functional new tissue. If it holds up in trials, it could spare a lot of people joint replacement surgery.
4. A giant coral colony was discovered in the Great Barrier Reef. A diver with 35 years’ experience on the reef found a Pavona clavus colony spanning nearly 4,000 square metres (roughly half a football pitch) – likely one of the largest ever documented. It’s a slow-growing coral, so a colony this size has quietly survived storms, bleaching events and warming for centuries. She described the site as looking “like a rolling meadow” underwater.
5. The High Seas Treaty entered into force, protecting most of the ocean. After Morocco became the 60th country to ratify it in September 2025, the treaty took effect in January 2026. This treaty establishes a legal framework to protect marine biodiversity in international waters, aiming to safeguard nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans.
6. Humpback whales gathered in numbers not seen for over a century. Near Antarctica’s South Orkney Islands in early 2026, researchers watched groups of more than 100 humpback whales feeding together, their blows stretching from horizon to horizon – scenes that hadn’t been witnessed in over a hundred years, and a striking sign of the species’ large-scale recovery.
7. Researchers found Antarctic ice holds a trace of an exploded star. Scientists discovered that Earth is currently passing through the radioactive remnants of an ancient supernova, and Antarctic ice cores are helping preserve and reveal that cosmic evidence – a nice reminder that even the coldest, most remote place on Earth doubles as a window into deep space.
8. Veronika, a cow in the Austrian countryside, astonished scientists by using sticks, rakes and brooms to scratch herself. Researchers were especially surprised that she uses both ends of a broom for different purposes, using the bristles on tougher areas and the handle on sensitive spots. Scientists say this is the first documented case of a cow using tools, suggesting cows may be more intelligent than previously thought.
9. The UK government’s National Cancer Plan aims for 75% of patients to be cancer-free or living well five years after diagnosis by 2035, potentially saving 320,000 lives. A £2.3 billion investment will fund more tests, expand robot-assisted surgery and trial AI to detect hard-to-reach lung cancers earlier. The plan also supports cancer patients in work and tackles causes of cancer through measures such as a generational smoking ban and junk food advertising restrictions.
10. A study of more than 3,400 children found that London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was linked to improved lung growth, restoring capacity that had been stunted by pollution. Compared with children in Luton, which has no clean air zone, London children’s nitrogen dioxide exposure fell twice as fast, their lung function caught up over five years, and the share with clinically impaired lung function dropped from 14% to 9%.
And for my final point, I want to recognise something more uplifting than happy. For the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the New York Times did a profile on the man who spends eight hours every night cleaning the 9/11 memorial pools in downtown New York City. When I read and watched the story, I couldn’t help but smile and I hope you find it as endearing as I did. #neverforget
The New York Times – Who cleans the 9/11 Memorial Pools?
I hope these stories put a smile on your face! Here’s to being (trying to be) bright and shiny for the week.
*Stories gathered from various sources, ranging from national publications to blogs.