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Edition of Friday, 16 October 2026 · Five Stories of Progress · Return to today's edition
Five learners at Cape Recife High School, a special-needs school in Gqeberha, built a machine that turns discarded plastic bottles into filament for 3D-printing sports equipment. Their team, the Brick Beasts, has delivered shin pads to schools and a children’s home and designed wheelchair foot cups for learners with cerebral palsy.
Source: Daily Maverick
Read the original story →Along Washington’s Lower Elwha River, 1,100 acres once submerged beneath a dam’s reservoir are recovering. Both houses of Congress have passed a bill to return the land to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, but the transfer still awaits executive signature.
Source: Good News Network
Read the original story →Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York, reports that 62% of nearly 40 participants in its supervised esketamine nasal-spray program reported improvements in depression symptoms. Participant Ellen Talmage described everyday activities becoming manageable again, although the small program's results do not establish a universal success rate or lasting recovery.
Source: nchstats.com
Read the original story →The Philippine Competition Commission imposed its largest-ever fine, a combined P1.76 billion, on onion cartel members for collusion in imports, cold storage and wholesale distribution. The decision demonstrates concrete enforcement against food-market manipulation, although it does not establish that shoppers will pay less.
Source: Rappler
Read the original story →In a randomised trial involving 223 formula-fed infants in Manila, 23 per cent receiving a supplement had parent-reported respiratory infections, compared with 40 per cent receiving formula alone. Babies receiving the supplement also recovered a few days faster on average, although larger, longer trials are needed to establish its broader benefits and possible risks.
Source: New Scientist
Read the original story →Five reasons to believe in progress, delivered once a day.