Caption and credit for image: Camera-trap image of a flat-headed cat photographed in Thailand. Image courtesy of DNP/Panthera.

7 Hopeful Wildlife Sightings That Researchers Celebrated In 2025

by Shreya Dasgupta, Mongabay

Colossal squid recorded for the first time in its deep-sea home, Eurasian otter reappears in Malaysia after a decade, First elephant sighting in a Senegal park since 2019, Rare Javan leopard sighting, First-ever sighting of critically endangered right whales spotted in the Bahamas, New population of rare douc langurs in Vietnam, Flat-headed cats ‘reappear’ in Thailand  and more.

Norway Zips Ahead In EV Race As Car Sales Hit 96% Electric

by Marie Mannes, Reuters

Almost all new cars registered in Norway last year were fully electric, official data showed on Friday, headed by booming Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab sales as the Nordic country cements its global lead in phasing out petrol and diesel-powered vehicles. Oil-producing Norway’s rapid switch to battery-powered vehicles contrasts with the rest of Europe, where weak demand for EVs prompted the European Union last month to reverse its planned 2035 ban on internal combustion engine cars.

‘We Were Sitting With Our Calculator Saying “We Can Afford That!”’ Joy For Families As Cystic Fibrosis Drug Prices Fall Within Reach

by Kat Lay, The Guardian

Seven-year-old Grant Leitch had an important question for his mother. He asked if his little brother, Brett, who has cystic fibrosis (CF), was going to die. The South African family, like tens of thousands around the world, have been priced out of access to modern cystic fibrosis therapies, and if Grant had asked at the start of 2025, he might have received a less optimistic answer. But as the new year begins Carmen Leitch has fresh hope to offer her sons. A “revolutionary” treatment sold by pharmaceutical company Vertex for $370,000 (£274,000) a year will be available for as little as $2,000 a year from a generic manufacturer.

Veteran Becomes First Double-Amputee To Climb Highest Peak On Every Continent: Conquering The 7 Summits

by Good News Network

A British war veteran who lost both his legs in Afghanistan has become the first above-the-knee double amputee to reach the summit of the highest peaks on every continent in the world. On Tuesday, 46-year-old Hari Budha Magar summited the highest mountain in Antarctica—Mount Vinson, the final peak in his epic mission—after a grueling three-day climb that saw him battle through 13-below-zero temperatures. The summit not only marked another mountaineering ‘world’s first’ for the climber but also a major landmark in Hari’s mission to boost disability awareness.

Ontario Teen Says He’ll Live In ‘Modular Home’ Invention For A Year To Prove It Can End Homelessness

by Erik Barnes, Upworthy

Ribal Zebian, a student from the city of London in Ontario, Canada, already made headlines last year when he built an electric car out of wood and earned a $120,000 scholarship from it. Now, he’s in the news again for something a little different. Concerned with homelessness in his hometown, Zebian got to work creating a different kind of affordable housing made from fiberglass material. In fact, he’s so confident in his idea that the 18-year-old plans on living in it for a year to test it out himself. Currently an engineering student at Western University, Zebian was concerned by both the rising population of the unhoused in his community and the rising cost of housing overall.

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