The Good Stuff

A six-year-old unearths a 1,300-year-old Viking sword on a school trip, an oral drug doubles survival for metastatic pancreatic cancer once considered undruggable, and Scottish wildcats see wild births for the third straight year after functional extinction.

An AI algorithm flagged early signs of breast cancer up to six years before radiologists detected it on mammograms. Also, Sequoyah single-handedly created an 85-character Cherokee syllabary in the 1800s, leading to mass literacy so rapid it was called sorcery. Meanwhile, a French nonprofit has provided 160,000 nights of shelter by turning empty offices into safe spaces after hours.

A Type 1 diabetes patient has been insulin-free for nearly two years after a single stem cell infusion. MacKenzie Scott donated $70 million to Meals on Wheels America, the largest gift in the organization's history. A gaming PC stopped a bullet discharged when a dog stepped on a loaded gun, saving its owner's life.

A nurse with Type 1 diabetes is insulin-free over a year after one dose of lab-grown stem cells. Researchers notice people unconsciously turn counterclockwise while navigating. Also, a Cherokee silversmith named Sequoyah single-handedly created a syllabary that brought near-universal literacy to his nation.

A modified virus stabilized pancreatic cancer in three patients by flagging tumors for immune attack. Zambia enshrined free education into law, bringing two million children back to school. A Massachusetts couple chose a parking meter as their engraved headstone.

Biotech engineers use micro-robots to guide stem cells and restore movement in a completely severed mouse spinal cord. A mislabeled 1955 recording of silent comedian Harpo Marx speaking at a dinner is discovered in an archive. A Chicago builder pauses construction to protect a killdeer nest until the eggs hatch.

A twice-yearly lenacapavir injection records zero new HIV transmissions in a large prevention trial. A community spends four days searching for an Australian shepherd lost after a crash on British Columbia's Highway 3. Seven years after writing it, a mother's chalk-drawing poem appears on her son's state exam.

The US cancer survival rate has crossed 70% for the first time, thanks to better screenings and therapies. MacKenzie Scott donates $70 million to Meals on Wheels to reduce waitlists. Plus, the Danish town of Middelfart installs a bronze devil statue, and a roundabout in Bordeaux becomes an imaginary house.

An mRNA cancer vaccine paired with Keytruda cuts melanoma recurrence risk by 49% after five years in a phase three trial. A woman in Canada receives shiny gifts from a murder of crows after nursing one back to health. Also, Connecticut forgives $100 million in medical debt.

A pancreatic cancer breakthrough nearly doubled survival in mice by targeting a previously undruggable protein. An 85-year-old AMC theater worker retired after a GoFundMe raised $146,000, allowing her to visit family. Also, a bull in Ireland was saved from slaughter by Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon after being deemed gay, and porphyria's link to vampire myths is discussed.

A recently approved sickle cell gene therapy costs $30,000, with 90% of patients symptom-free after two years. An Adélie penguin adopted a researcher in Antarctica, and a tiny Montana library was saved when all 73 residents became librarians, including a 91-year-old reading The Hobbit.

A targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer nearly doubled survival by attacking a once-untouchable mutation. Meanwhile, a neon orange shark was examined by a marine biologist named Naranjo, meaning orange. Also, a Rhode Island ice cream truck owned by a cancer survivor gives free scoops to all kids this summer.

A malaria vaccine reduces child deaths by one in eight, backed by four years of real-world data, now rolling out to 25 countries. Undue Medical Debt clears $6.5 million in hospital bills for 97,000 Connecticut residents. And Mount Erebus in Antarctica spews tiny gold crystals worth about $6,000 daily.

FDA approves first gene therapy for inherited deafness, with Regeneron providing it at no cost to US families. A Flint program giving direct cash to pregnant women leads to fewer premature births and higher birth weights. Also, Disney opens 1998 time capsule containing a gorilla's toothbrush.

A new gene therapy restores hearing in children with inherited deafness, and Regeneron is providing it free to all US patients. At a La La Land concert in Sydney, an audience member played the entire piano score from memory when the keyboardist fell ill. Also, the strange case of an Inuit village that vanished in the 1930s, with fires still smoldering.

A late-stage trial of the drug bepirovirsen functionally cured up to 26% of chronic hepatitis B patients. Meanwhile, a Derbyshire couple has spent two decades perfecting tree shaping to grow chairs from living willow and sycamore, with a waiting list years long. Also, Florida's Turnpike has the longest exit gap in the U.S. at 96 miles.

An experimental cancer vaccine eliminated tumors in patients with solid tumors who had exhausted other treatments. The US government subjected Oklahoma City to over 1,250 sonic booms in 1964 to test public tolerance. And Durham Pride was saved when the community raised full funding in days after the city council cut support.

A new genomic assay could spare millions of women from chemotherapy by identifying who can safely skip it. A declassified letter from Osama bin Laden's translator demanded LeBron James apologize for leaving Cleveland. Plus, a Girl Scout troop used cookie sale money to build a custom 3D-printed wheelchair for a boy in need.

The FDA approves a first-of-its-kind gene therapy targeting inherited deafness, enabling some profoundly deaf children to hear. A Girl Scout troop in Ohio 3D-prints a custom pediatric wheelchair with cookie money. Plus, the Beatles' unrealized plan to star in a Lord of the Rings film directed by Stanley Kubrick.

The FDA approved a gene therapy for congenital deafness caused by OTOF mutations, allowing children to hear after a single injection. A Colorado Girl Scout troop used cookie sale proceeds to 3D-print a custom pediatric wheelchair for a local boy. In Wales, a bronze statue of Terry Jones as Monty Python's nude organist was unveiled with a playable organ.

PFAS levels in seabird eggs have dropped 70% over 55 years, proving chemical regulations work. Daddy longlegs are hunting frogs in South America. A sesame-seed-sized sea slug was discovered through a Facebook post from Taiwan.

Guinea worm disease is down to just 10 cases worldwide, approaching only the second human disease eradication in history. 30,000 volunteers traveled to plant a million trees in China's Minqin County to fight desertification. Plus, researchers trace human blood cells back 700 million years.

A NASA spacecraft uses Mars as a gravity boost on its way to a metal asteroid that may be an exposed planetary core. Scientists discover a 100-million-year-old insect preserved in amber with crab-like pincers. Ohio considers naming the Loveland Frogman its official state cryptid.

An asthma medication shows promise treating triple-negative breast cancer by stopping tumors from evading immunotherapy. Researchers discovered 430,000-year-old carved wooden tools in Greece. Blue and fin whale populations are rebounding in the Atlantic decades after whaling ended.

A 19-day solar radio burst from a helmet streamer has NASA puzzled. A 43-foot mosasaur species discovered in Texas fossils reveals new insights into ancient ocean predators. Plus, researchers find the optimal temperature for mango storage.

AI thermal cameras protect gray whales from ship strikes in San Francisco Bay. A phone case company deploys an autonomous drone to collect ocean plastic off Taiwan. Plus, an 1870 graffiti discovery in a Bahamas cave system once used for sacred burials.