United Kingdom | Good News For Humankind

Scientists in the U.K. developing world’s first vaccine to prevent ovarian cancer

By Peter Schulte / October 4, 2024 / Good news links

Researchers at the University of Oxford are working on the world’s first ovarian cancer vaccine, aiming to prevent the disease that kills nearly 26,000 women in the European Union every year. The vaccine, called OvarianVax, would train the immune system to recognize and fight back against the earliest stages of ovarian cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer among women which often isn’t detected until a later stage when it’s harder to treat. Cancer Research U.K. will fund the OvarianVax research with up to £600,000 for the effort.

Britain becomes the world’s first major economy to close all coal-fired power plants

By Peter Schulte / September 4, 2024 / Good news links

The U.K. was home to the world’s first coal-fired power station, opened in London in 1882. Now, it is the world’s first major economy to stop using coal to generate electricity, after closing the lone remaining coal-fired plant in the country, a station known as Ratcliffe, near the city of Nottingham.

World-first lung cancer vaccine trials launched across seven countries

By Peter Schulte / August 23, 2024 / Good news links

Lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of cancer death, accounting for about 1.8 million deaths every year. Now experts are testing a new jab that instructs the body to hunt down and kill cancer cells – then prevents them from ever coming back. Known as BNT116 and made by BioNTech, the vaccine is designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease. The phase 1 clinical trial, the first human study of BNT116, has launched across 34 research sites in seven countries: the U.K., U.S., Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain, and Turkey.

U.K. fee leads to 80% drop in plastic bag litter on beaches

By Peter Schulte / July 29, 2024 / Good news links

A new survey, undertaken by the Marine Conservation Society, found just one plastic bag, on average, for every 100 meters of coastline, down from five plastic bags in 2014. It was roughly a decade ago that governments began requiring retailers to charge consumers for single-use plastic bags.

Big Ben with bridge over Thames and flag of England against blue sky in London

British voters elect record number of women to Parliament

By Peter Schulte / July 5, 2024 / Good news links

After the recent elections, there will now be at least 242 female Members of Parliament in the new U.K. government. The previous record was set in 2019 when 220 women were elected to the House of Commons. Before that in 2017, it was 207 and 196 in 2015. New Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet will also have the highest number of female ministers in history, as Rachel Reeves became the first female chancellor ever.

World’s biggest geothermal power purchase agreement completed in western U.S.

By Peter Schulte / July 4, 2024 / Good news links

It’s only been one year since Fervo Energy unveiled a novel concept in geothermal energy harvesting at its Project Red pilot plant in Nevada. Now the company has signed a 15-year agreement with Southern California Edison to provide 320 MW of power to the utility, which will power about 350,000 homes. The power will be provided by Fervo’s Cape Station project that is currently being built in southwest Utah, with the first 70 MW coming online in 2026 and the balance clicking on in 2028.

U.K. researchers identify and treat major cause of inflammatory bowel disease

By Peter Schulte / June 6, 2024 / Good news links

For the first time, a major trigger in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related conditions has been identified, and existing drugs can stamp it out, in what scientists call a “massive step” in successfully treating these debilitating chronic conditions. Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London (ICL), have uncovered a problem gene enhancer that stimulates action along a specific biological pathway that causes IBD inflammation.

New bowel cancer drug is found to be 100% effective

By Peter Schulte / June 4, 2024 / Good news links

An immunotherapy drug could spare bowel cancer patients the need for surgery and chemotherapy after results showed it was effective in 100% of cases. Jemperli from British pharmaceutical company GSK showed “unprecedented results”, the firm said, with no evidence of disease in all patients treated. The data showed all 42 patients in a trial led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the U.S. had a complete response to treatment, with no evidence of tumors on scans.

New blood test can predict breast cancer return

By Peter Schulte / June 2, 2024 / Good news links

An “ultra-sensitive” new blood test developed and tested by Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) London can predict if breast cancer will return years before the disease shows up on scans, researchers say. It picks up traces of a tumor’s DNA before a full relapse and was found to be 100% accurate at predicting which patients would see their cancer return. It is hoped that the test can allow treatment to start earlier and improve survival rates.

Thousands in the U.K. to trial breakthrough personalized cancer vaccines

By Peter Schulte / May 31, 2024 / Good news links

Under the new scheme from the U.K. National Health Service, the first of its kind in the world, patients who meet the eligibility criteria and agree to have a blood test and sample of their cancer tissue analyzed will gain immediate access to clinical trials for the new vaccines that experts say represent a new dawn of treatments for cancer. While research into cancer vaccines is at an early stage, trials have already shown they can be effective at killing off any remaining tumor cells after surgery and dramatically cut the risk of cancer returning.