Scientific discoveries, social progress, protection of biodiversity… The year that is coming to an end was also marked by positive events. Yes / Yes. France 24 lists some.
The year 2023 is coming to an end! Although the news of recent months has often been bleak, between wars and climate catastrophes, it has also brought some good news. Some are historical, some have brought relief, some are more anecdotal, but all have made us smile again. France 24 has rummaged through its archives.
The European Euclid Telescope has released its first images of the universe
This undated astronomical image shows the Horsehead Nebula broadcast by the European Space Agency (ESA) on November 2, 2023 and captured during ESA's Euclid space mission. © AFP
A series of objects scattered across the universe and breathtaking shots. The European space telescope Euclid, which was launched into space in July, delivered its first images at the beginning of November. These revealed a blinding nebula that resembled a horse's head, never-before-seen distant galaxies… and even “indirect evidence” of the existence of elusive dark matter.
By 2029, the telescope, which has the largest field of view in the history of astronomy, will be tasked with mapping a third of the sky, or two billion galaxies, to create the most visible 3D map of the universe with the highest precision. The next pictures should be published in January. A way to start 2024 with your head in the stars.
Read alsoSpace: European Euclid Telescope reveals its first photos of the universe
Advances in Parkinson's research
Marc Gauthier, a 61-year-old Parkinson's patient, can walk again thanks to a neuroprosthesis. © Gabriel Monnet / AFP
The year 2023 will see several promising advances in Parkinson's disease. In April, a study published in The Lancet Neurology showed that the accumulation of a protein – alpha-synuclein – in the brain is actually linked to certain forms of the disease. A discovery that could pave the way for early diagnosis of the disease. The progress would then represent a revolution, since this neurodegenerative pathology is currently diagnosed only based on physical signs.
Then, in November, a 61-year-old Parkinson's patient was able to walk again thanks to a neuroprosthesis in his lower back. It is easy to use: the prosthesis sends high-precision electrical stimuli to the motor nerves that control the leg muscles and activates them. The French-Swiss research team behind the experiment is scheduled to enroll six new patients in a future clinical trial in 2024. However, if the results are conclusive, we will have to wait a few more years before we find this neuroprosthesis on the market.
A second malaria vaccine is being introduced for children
A child is vaccinated against malaria in Ndhiwa, Kenya, September 13, 2019. © Brian Ongoro, AFP
“Safe and effective”. In early October, the WHO gave the green light to the introduction of a second childhood malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M. This ancient disease, which causes fever, headaches and chills and can lead to serious illness – or even death without treatment – led to the deaths of 619,000 people worldwide in 2021, mostly in Africa.
The WHO estimates that 60 million doses of this vaccine could be ordered each year, adding to the millions of doses of the first RTS released in 2021. A major advance in disease prevention.
Saiga antelopes, rhinos, monk seals or giant squirrels… The animal species are doing better
A young saiga antelope in the steppe in Kazakhstan, May 8, 2022. © Abduaziz Madyarov, AFP
Endangered species often make headlines. It must be said that their number, compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), continues to grow every year. But the report also reveals some good news.
Two antelope species, the scimitar antelope and the saiga antelope, are thus recovering and their populations are increasing. The same observation also applies to the Mediterranean monk seal and the plantain squirrel, a species living in Indonesia that is no longer considered endangered. The population of African rhinos has grown by 5% to over 23,000 individuals within a year.
A new species from the era of dinosaurs has been discovered
A fossil of Archeopteryx, considered “the first bird in history,” photographed in 2010. © AFP
An inspiration for the next “Jurassic Park”? A fossil of a new dinosaur was discovered in northeast China in September. And with its half-dinosaur, half-heron characteristics, this Fujianvenator prodigiosus could well turn the history of bird evolution on its head.
Because birds are closely related to dinosaurs. In short, these are those that survived the extinction of the species. Previously it was assumed that their large family appeared at the end of the Jurassic, 150 million years ago. And the theories of evolution were based on the discovery of Archeopteryx, the “first” bird in history, in Bavaria in 1860. However, in some ways he looked like a large pigeon. By discovering the Fujianvenator prodigiosus, which has very different characteristics but dates from the same time period, scientists realized that multiple species of dino-birds must have existed at the same time in different places on Earth.
A significant decrease in deforestation in the Amazon
Amazon deforestation fell by 22.3% in one year in 2023, reaching its lowest level in five years. AFP – MICHAEL DANTAS
It was a promise made by President Lula when he was elected president of Brazil: to reduce deforestation in his country to zero by 2030. If the target has not yet been met, deforestation in the Amazon has fallen by 22.3% in a year, according to data published in November by the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), the lowest level in five years.
Good news for the planet and for the tens of thousands of animal and plant species that live in this “green lung”. According to the Brazilian government, this reduction in deforestation avoided the emission of 133 million tons of CO2 between August 2022 and July 2023, representing 7.5% of the country's total emissions.
The Loss and Damage Fund established at COP28
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber announces the vote on the final agreement on December 13, 2023 in Dubai. AFP – GIUSEPPE CACACE
COP28, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, began with great fanfare. From day one of this major international rally of climate negotiations, states agreed to establish a loss and damage fund. This instrument, adopted at COP26, aims to offset the damage caused by disasters or irreversible losses related to climate change in the most vulnerable countries.
“The introduction of the Loss and Damage Fund will finally make it possible to help the populations affected by the worst effects of climate change,” welcomed Fanny Petitbon, spokesperson for the NGO Care France.
Several industrialized countries have increased their donation commitments, which amount to 655 million dollars (equivalent to 596 million euros). Below the necessary amounts, but a first step forward.
LGBT+ rights continue to advance worldwide
Ram Bahadur Gurung, transgender woman and Surendra Pandey during a press conference after formalizing their marriage on December 1, 2023 in Kathmandu, Nepal. © Navesh Chitrakar, Portal
There is a lot happening in Asia for the rights of LGBT+ people. In Japan, a landmark ruling was handed down in July in favor of a transgender woman who sued the government over access to toilets at her workplace. Earlier this year, the country also passed its first law protecting the LGBT+ community from discrimination.
Nepal, in turn, recognized at the end of November for the first time in the country's history a marriage between a transgender woman and a cisgender man – the word “cisgender” describes a person who recognizes themselves in the gender they were given at birth assigned. The couple married in a Hindu ceremony in 2017 and had to fight for five years to have their marriage officially recognized. “This is a victory after a decades-long fight for marriage equality. [Le couple] wrote history. “This is a big event for us,” said former MP and activist Sunil Babu Pant, who advocates for LGBT+ rights in the country.
Two centuries-old letters to French sailors found in England
An 18th-century letter from Anne Le Cerf to her husband was finally opened and read more than 250 years later, in 2023. © AFP
A letter from an officer's wife, another from a mother reproaching her son for not writing to her more often… Letters written in the 18th century to French sailors during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) between France and Britain were written Britain was found and eventually opened, offering both intimate and historical accounts.
“I would very well spend the night writing to you (…), your faithful wife for life. Good evening, my dear friend. It's midnight. I think it's time to rest,” wrote Marie Dubosc in 1758, for example, to her husband Louis Chambrelan, first lieutenant of the French frigate Galatea, was captured by the British. These letters, written primarily by women, testify to the wartime experiences of these wives, mothers, and fiancés. Small stories on a large scale.
The Egypt of the Pharaohs reveals new secrets
Two mummies were discovered a month apart several meters underground in the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt's Memphis region. © Khaled Desouki, AFP
Two mummies were discovered a month apart several meters underground in the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt's Memphis region. They are plated with gold and are around 4,300 years old. They are among the oldest ever found.
In continuous use for over 3,000 years, the Saqqara Necropolis is arguably one of the most important historical sites in ancient Egypt. There are several hundred graves in the former resting place of the kings over a length of almost 20 kilometers. And the discovery of these two mummies is a reminder that the necropolis is far from revealing all its secrets.