The good news of 2022 (because, even if it doesn't seem like it, it wasn't all bad)

If we were to look back at the news that dotted the front pages of newspapers in 2022, war, controversy and sadness would undoubtedly be the main themes. Fortunately, 2022 wasn't all bad news, and the good stuff deserves to be remembered too. Join us as we take a look at some of the good news from 2022.

He had been arrested when he was only 13 and charged with terrorism for events that occurred when he was only 10: participating in a demonstration by the Shiite minority on his bike and attending the funeral of his brother Ali, killed by the security forces. Finally, in June 2022 Murtaja Qureiris, the youngest political prisoner of Saudi Arabia, was released.

In 2022 Canada finally lifted the old ban that prevented gay men from donating blood.

Photo: Testalize me / Unsplash

"The death penalty is not functional and it is immoral," Kate Brown, governor of Oregon, announced the commutation to life imprisonment in favor of all 17 individuals sentenced to death in the state prisons.

On the subject of the death penalty, it has been abolished in Zambia, Malaysia, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Papua New Guinea. With these added, more than 70% of the world's countries have eliminated the death penalty (legally or in practice).

Colombia and India have finally addressed the legal issue of abortion. And they did it from a women's point of view. Colombia has decriminalized it, while the Indian Supreme Court has confirmed the right of single women to choose (we are talking about 73 million people).

In early 2022 came an official ban on marrying people under the age of 18 in the Philippines. Until then, one in 6 'women' married before coming of age.

Spain approved "menstrual leave" and recognized the absence from work as justified  for 3 days a month for women suffering from painful periods.

Photo: Saranya7 / Pixabay

For the first time in history, a woman has refereed a match in the men's World Cup: it was the Frenchwoman Stéphanie Frappart in Costa Rica's match against Germany.

There was also another first for women in 2022. This year the Italian Samantha Cristoforetti has been chosen as commander of the International Space Station.

A directive has been approved by the European Parliament, which demands that all European companies listed on the stock exchange, in a period of three and a half years, will have to include at least 33% female representation on their boards of directors.

Photo: Christina @ wocintechchat.com / Unsplash

The Netherlands is one of the first countries to recognize the right to work flexibility and smart working. The lower house of the Dutch parliament decreed it on 5 July.

British companies have tested the 4-day workweek, with positive results. A result that brings us ever closer to a future that makes it easier for us to reconcile family and work.

Photo: Unsplash - Jason Goodman

Meta, Alphabet (parent company of Google) and other Big Tech companies have released databases of hundreds of millions of protein structures, most of which were not known, opening the door to the development of new drugs for the treatment of some diseases.

Breakthrough for controlled nuclear fusion: For the first time, scientists have produced more energy from fusion than what was consumed during the process.

A team of researchers at Stanford University has recreated a synthetic microbiome from scratch, which includes 100 bacterial species normally found in the human intestine. The hope is to understand the mechanisms by which bacteria influence metabolic processes in the human body, offering scientists a good working model for future experiments and disease treatments.

In 2022, the results of a clinical trial arrived on a new drug, the experimental molecule lecanemab, which, administered to about 2000 patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's, was found to be able to reduce its progression by 27%.

Doctors and researchers have claimed that a patient living with the disease was cured of HIV in the 1980s. 2022 saw the 5th (and oldest) person declared fully cured (and oldest).

In 2022, the first human transfusion of laboratory-grown blood was carried out, a major achievement in studies in treatments for people with rare blood types.

Research, conducted by a team of scientists from Yale University, has led to an exceptional result that could one day bring great benefits in the field of organ transplants: the preservation of the functions of various pig organs (brain, liver, kidneys and heart, among others) for one hour after the death of the animal. This is very important, if we consider that thousands of organs to be transplanted each year are discarded because they are not preserved.

Photo Sasin Tipchai / Pixabay

At the beginning of 2022, the results of a study were published in Science which established the link between the Epstein-Barr virus, the virus that causes mononucleosis, and multiple sclerosis.

In 2022, (possibly) the oldest victims of the Black Death were discovered, apparently to have come from Kyrgyzstan, and by conducting an analysis of 500 victims and survivors, the reason why some people contracted the disease and others did not was identified .

In 2022, the first images of NASA's new telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, were transmitted. Among other things, in July 2022 it allowed us to observe images of very distant galaxies magnified in a way that was impossible before and to clearly see the rings of Neptune.

Photo: NASA

The DART spacecraft modified the motion of an asteroid through space on Sept. 27, changing its orbit and demonstrating that using this technique to deflect an asteroid is indeed feasible.

Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The exploration of Mars and the collection of information on the red planet with the Perseverance Rover continued in 2022. This year this NASA rover has identified in the Jezero crater a curious purple layer on the rocks, a patina similar to the so-called "desert varnish" . It could be a strong sign that the red planet has hosted (or hosts) life.

Protected by mud and thermal waters for 2300 years, 24 bronze states, 5 of which are almost one meter high, were found in San Casciano dei Bagni, in Tuscany. Datable to between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, they have the potential to rewrite history.

A glimmer of light amidst the destruction: this is what a team of archaeologists witnessed excavating the ruins of an archaeological site destroyed by ISIS. Behind a door that has been closed for over 2,500 years they have found priceless works of art, including panels dating back to 700 BC that could belong to the ancient city of Nineveh.

The remains of a 17th-century Spanish galleon have been found in Oregon, USA. It is most likely believed to be the galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos, which sailed from the Philippines in 1693 and was bound for Mexico.

The fossil remains found in January 2022 in an ancient Australian rainforest are decidedly more dated, testifying to ecosystems dating back to between 11 and 16 million years, therefore dating back to the Miocene era.

A probably Denisovan molar was found in Laos, which will allow us to increase what we know so far about Neanderthal man. With this discovery, it seems increasingly clear that Neanderthals were capable of surviving harsh climates… like us.

Signed in August 2022, the US government's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has already invested approximately $397 billion in incentives for energy-efficient technologies (for example, electric cars) and clean energy-focused projects.

In 2022, the SB 1383 law began to be applied in California, which responds to two major environmental and social needs: the reduction of pollutant emissions and the recovery and use of food surpluses.

The British companies Rolls-Royce and EasyJet have confirmed that they have successfully completed the testing of an aircraft engine powered by a green fuel, originating from wind and tidal energy. An absolute novelty for the aeronautical sector and one more hope for the environment.

In the Pyrenees, between Spain and France, the highest number of brown bears has been recorded in the last 100 years. This species was almost extinct.

Photo: Pexels / Pixabay

After more than 400 years, beavers have returned to the banks of the River Otter in Devon, South East Britain. Beavers are a key species for biodiversity and for the environment: the natural dams built by these animals, for example, make it possible to protect the territory from 60% of floods.

Photo: Elli Stattaus / Pixabay

The bison are back in South Dakota, reintroduced after more than a century by the Native Americans of the Sioux people as part of a project born from collaboration with the WWF.

Photo: WikiImages/Pixabay

It seems almost impossible that there are still species that we have not identified or even knew existed! In Ecuador, three new species of colored snakes belonging to the genus Atractus were discovered by chance, these snakes usually live .... near cemeteries.

Photo: Rey Movida / Pixabay

Pollution and climate change had hit them hard, yet this year, after a long time, coral returned to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and did it in a big way, with the highest growth in 36 years. .

2022 also taught us that age is just a number. It certainly is for Ángela Álvarez, the 95-year-old crowned best new artist at the Latin Grammys. This inspiring woman began her career at 90.

We conclude this list with the perhaps predictable results of a study conducted over 26 years on more than 150,000 people: according to the data collected, women with a positive outlook on life were more likely to live beyond 90 years. Let us then strive to find the positive side of things, even if we know that it is often difficult to do so: optimism lengthens life and science confirms it!

Photo Anastasia Borisova / Pixabay