North & Central America milestones | Good News for Humankind

Child getting hearing test, for article on gene therapy for deafness

U.S. FDA approves first gene therapy for inherited deafness, offered free to U.S. patients

By Peter Schulte / May 22, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Gene therapy can now restore hearing to children born deaf — and Regeneron is giving it away free to U.S. families. In a trial of 20 children with rare OTOF mutations, 16 gained meaningful hearing within about five months, and several were brought to essentially normal hearing. One toddler covered his ears when an ambulance siren passed — his first sign of sound. Instead of charging up to $4 million per child, as is common for rare-disease therapies, Regeneron chose a different path entirely. Beyond the families it directly helps, the decision hints at a quietly radical idea: that breakthrough medicine for rare conditions doesn’t have to come with a breathtaking price tag.

Seabird, for article on PFAS levels in Canadian seabird eggs

Banned ‘forever chemicals’ fell up to 74% in Canadian seabird eggs over 55 years

By Peter Schulte / May 22, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Toxic “forever chemical” levels in northern gannet eggs from Canada’s largest seabird colony have dropped 74% from their peak, according to a new peer-reviewed study tracking 55 years of data. Researchers on Bonaventure Island watched PFOS concentrations climb through the late 1990s, cross the threshold considered dangerous to the birds themselves, and then steadily fall as governments and manufacturers began phasing the chemicals out. Because gannets sit near the top of the marine food chain, their eggs essentially record the chemical health of an entire ecosystem — and what they’re recording now is recovery. It’s a rare, clearly documented case of environmental regulation working on a timescale humans can actually see, offering a hopeful blueprint as countries weigh broader PFAS restrictions today.

University of Chicago campus, for article on University of Chicago free tuition

University of Chicago expands free tuition to families earning under $250k

By Peter Schulte / May 14, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Free tuition at the University of Chicago will soon reach families earning up to $250,000 a year — a ceiling roughly two to three times higher than most peer programs. Starting in autumn 2027, qualifying students pay nothing toward tuition, and those from households under $125,000 also get room, board, and fees covered. The move directly addresses the middle-income squeeze, where families often earn too much for traditional aid but too little to absorb a tuition bill north of $65,000 without serious debt. UChicago says it will also simplify the aid process itself, which trips up many families. As elite universities face growing pressure on access, commitments like this one reshape what affordability can look like at the top of American higher education.

Little Free Pantry, for article on little free pantry app

University of Washington researchers map little free pantries with new app

By Peter Schulte / May 12, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Little free pantries across Seattle quietly move an estimated 4 million pounds of food a year — more than the state’s largest food bank — and a new University of Washington app called PantryMap is helping that grassroots web run smarter. Users can check stock levels, post wish lists, and log donations in real time, while four pilot pantries now use privacy-preserving sensors that track weight and door activity without any cameras. Volunteers are already putting it to work, recently distributing 25,000 pounds of donated food to micropantries by bicycle. It’s a hopeful glimpse of how neighbor-to-neighbor sharing, paired with thoughtful technology, can tackle hunger and food waste together — one cupboard at a time.

Female protester with megaphone, for article on rape kit reform

All 50 U.S. states now have rape kit reform laws after 16-year campaign

By Peter Schulte / May 9, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Rape kit reform just hit a milestone 16 years in the making: with Maine’s new law on May 1, 2026, all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico now have at least one pillar of reform on the books. The campaign began when survivors started writing letters to actress Mariska Hargitay, whose Joyful Heart Foundation later built a research-grounded framework called the Six Pillars — covering mandatory testing, dedicated funding, and a survivor’s right to know what happened to their own kit. Before this wave, a person could endure an hours-long exam and never learn if the evidence was tested. Laws on paper aren’t justice in practice yet, but the distance covered shows what survivor-led advocacy can accomplish when it refuses to quit.

Minneapolis skyline, for article on nudification app ban

Minnesota passes ban on fake A.I. nudes

By Peter Schulte / May 6, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Minnesota’s nudification app ban just cleared the state Senate with a 65-0 vote, and it carries real teeth: fines up to $500,000 per fake image, with the money flowing directly to services for survivors of sexual assault and abuse. The bill targets the tools themselves — apps built specifically to strip images of real people without consent — while exempting general-purpose software like Photoshop. It exists because survivor Molly Kelley spent two years organizing after a man in her social circle used a nudifying service to fabricate images of more than 80 women he knew. Her advocacy turned a legal void into unanimous bipartisan action, offering a template other states are already studying as AI-enabled abuse outpaces older laws.

Scientist filling tubes, for article on reversible male contraception

Cornell researchers achieve first reversible male birth control in mice

By Peter Schulte / April 30, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Reversible male birth control just cleared a major hurdle: in a new Cornell study, male mice stopped producing sperm entirely after three weeks of treatment, then bounced back to full fertility within six weeks of stopping. The approach skips hormones altogether, targeting a specific window of sperm development in the testis so libido and other traits stay untouched. Even better, the mice went on to father healthy pups who were themselves fertile. The researchers are now testing new molecular targets and hope to launch a company within two years to move toward human trials. If the science holds up across species, it could finally give men a real long-acting option — and ease a contraceptive burden women have shouldered alone for generations.

Salmon in river, for article on coho salmon recovery

Coho salmon returns surge 10x on California’s Mendocino Coast over last decade

By Peter Schulte / April 28, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Coho salmon are back on California’s Mendocino Coast in numbers no one alive expected to see: more than 30,000 endangered adults returned to spawn this past season, roughly ten times the count from a decade ago. Biologists who once walked miles of empty stream are now finding fish tucked under their boots and spawning in channels barely a foot and a half wide. The turnaround follows decades of patient work — over 100 restoration projects, removed culverts, and rebuilt floodplains — meeting a rare stretch of favorable ocean conditions. It’s a reminder that endangered species can come back when communities commit to the long, unglamorous work of healing the places they depend on.

A nurse in a rural Mexican clinic checks a patient's blood pressure, for an article about Mexico universal healthcare

Mexico launches universal healthcare for all 133 million citizens

By Peter Schulte / April 17, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Mexico universal healthcare is now officially a reality, with the country launching a system designed to cover all 133 million citizens through the restructured IMSS-Bienestar network. Before this reform, an estimated 50 million Mexicans had no formal health insurance, with rural and Indigenous communities bearing the heaviest burden of untreated illness and medical debt. The new system severs the long-standing tie between employment and healthcare access, providing free consultations, medicines, and hospital services regardless of income. If implemented effectively, Mexico’s move could serve as a powerful model for other middle-income nations still navigating fragmented, inequitable health systems.

Researcher examining brain scan imagery for an article about Alzheimer's prevention trial results

U.S. researchers cut Alzheimer’s risk by half in first-ever prevention trial

By Peter Schulte / April 14, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Alzheimer’s prevention may have reached a turning point after a landmark trial showed that removing amyloid plaques before symptoms appear can cut the risk of developing the disease by roughly 50%. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine studied people with rare genetic mutations that make Alzheimer’s nearly inevitable, finding that early, aggressive treatment can genuinely alter the disease’s course. The results, published in The Lancet Neurology, mark the first time any intervention has shown potential to prevent Alzheimer’s from appearing at all, not merely slow its progression. That distinction matters enormously, since amyloid begins accumulating in the brain two decades before symptoms emerge.