United States

This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and milestones from the United States — covering policy wins, community-led efforts, scientific advances, and social progress happening across the country. Each entry highlights what’s working and why it matters.

Artwork of path into mind, for article on Colorado psychedelic decriminalization

Colorado voters pass historic psychedelic decriminalization act

By / / Good News For Humankind

Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act goes further than any previous U.S. state psychedelic law, removing criminal penalties for personal use of psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline — and building a licensed therapy clinic system alongside it. The FDA has already granted psilocybin “breakthrough therapy” status for treatment-resistant depression, giving this reform unusual clinical credibility. Colorado helped pioneer cannabis legalization in 2012, and advocates are watching to see whether psychedelic reform follows a similar path outward. For people who haven’t found relief through conventional treatments, this law opens a genuinely new door.

Blood cells under microscope, for article on smart insulin, for article on lab-grown blood cells

First human patients receive transfusions of lab-grown blood cells

By / / Good News For Humankind

Lab-grown blood cells have reached a genuine turning point: manufactured red blood cells grown from stem cells have been safely transfused into human patients for the first time. What makes these cells special is their freshness — unlike donated blood, every lab-grown cell is the same age, meaning they should last closer to the full 120-day lifespan and reduce repeat transfusions. Early participants completed the process with no adverse effects. For millions worldwide living with blood disorders or rare blood types, this science crossing into human trials is the kind of progress that quietly changes everything.

Cancer cells, for article on radioactive implant pancreatic cancer

Radioactive implant wipes tumors in unprecedented pre-clinical success

By / / Good News For Humankind

Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest diseases medicine has ever faced, and a new implant from Duke University is producing results that researchers say have no match in the existing scientific record. The device injects a radioactive gel directly into tumors, trapping iodine-131 so it radiates from the inside out before safely dissolving into harmless amino acids. Combined with chemotherapy, it eliminated tumors in the majority of mouse models tested. Human trials remain ahead, but for a disease where survival gains have been painfully slow, this early signal is genuinely remarkable.

School of tuna, for article on tuna recovery

Vast marine protected area in the Pacific Ocean has led to significant rebound in tuna stocks

By / / Good News For Humankind

Marine protected areas can do more than guard what’s inside their borders — and Papahānaumokuākea is proving it. This vast Hawaiian reserve, spanning over 580,000 square miles, was created to protect biodiversity and culturally sacred Indigenous sites, not to boost commercial fishing. Yet catch rates for yellowfin tuna in surrounding waters rose 54%, a spillover effect driven by the monument’s sheer scale. The findings strengthen the global case for ambitious ocean protection, arriving just as momentum builds toward safeguarding 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.