We're going to get sentimental here, so just bear with us. Today marks three years since Nice News sent out our very first newsletter. In some ways, it was a shot in the dark — we believed that Nice News filled a gap in the media landscape, that people needed more reminders of the good in the world, and that a dose of positivity in the inbox could create ripple effects of optimism. But who knew if it would work? Thankfully, we needn't have worried. Back then, we had tens of thousands of readers, and now there are more than 1 million of you (we're still pinching ourselves over that number). So whether you've been with us since March 2022 or you just signed up yesterday: Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Must Reads
And just like that, awards season has come to an end: See who won at last night's Oscars ceremony
A college professor given a terminal diagnosis decided to use his time left to teach a "once-in-a-lifetime" course on cancer
Environment
Baby Polar Bears Emerge From Arctic Den in First-of-Its-Kind Footage
Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
A baby's first outing in the world is quite the milestone — and in the case of polar bears, it's a major scientific feat to capture that milestone. With the help of satellite tracking collars and remote cameras,researchers documented polar bear cubs emerging from their den in Svalbard, Norway, for the first time, per a study published Thursday (aka International Polar Bear Day). The young animals proceeded to meet up with mom and slip and slide around the snow. Baby polar bears spend their first few months in the den, snuggling with their mother, getting stronger, and growing fur. Those dens are in very frigid, remote locations, which is why the new footage is so exceptional. "It's a pretty special thing to see polar bear cubs emerge into this vast, white landscape that appears so inhospitable," lead study author Louise Archer told Live Science. She added: "Watching them sliding, tumbling, and even climbing up on their mother was truly remarkable." The adorable footage is also a boon for polar bear protection initiatives. "This study provides a rare glimpse into one of the most vulnerable and critical periods in a polar bear's life, offering insights that can help guide our collective conservation efforts," co-author Megan Owen added in a statement. Watch a clip of the baby bears.
Together With Honeycomb
This New Toilet Paper Just Might Save the World
Every 24 hours, 27,000 trees are cut down just to make toilet paper. We think that's far too many, and Honeycomb agrees, which is why the brand created luxury three-ply made from bamboo. It feels just like regular high-end toilet paper, but doesn't harm trees. Why bamboo? It grows insanely fast — almost 100 times faster than the average tree — making it a sustainable option to save forests. Bamboo also has uniquely short fibers, which are perfect for creating soft toilet tissue you can feel good about. It's biodegradable, 100% plastic-free, and Honeycomb delivers straight to you. The best part? Nice News readers can use code NICE30 to get 30% off your first shipment until midnight.
Artist's Nature-Inspired Murals Give Cancer Patients a Room With a View
Courtesy of Colleen Wall
At Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, patients receive lifesaving care in the institution's treatment rooms. And in some of those rooms, behind the medical equipment and practitioners bustling in and out, a special sort of health care intervention works its own magic: bright, inspirational murals depicting wide open windows to the outside world. The murals are painted and installed by artist Colleen Wall, whose decades-long journey with health and the arts began with her own cancer diagnosis. The mother of two was diagnosed in 1995 while pregnant with her second daughter, and found that the only way she could escape from the all-consuming anxiety surrounding her condition was through creating art. "My older daughter handed me a crayon and asked me to color with her one day," Wall shares with Nice News. "And as we were sitting there coloring for 15, 20 minutes, I realized for the first time since my diagnosis, I hadn't thought about cancer." So she began coloring a little bit every day to "get her mind into a better place." Read our interview with Wall to learn how that experience led to the murals at Roswell Park (and see more photos of them).
Science
Machine Learning Could Help Scientists Design New Enzymes to Tackle Disease and Climate Change
Design Cells/iStock via Getty Images Plus
This article was written by Sam Pellock, a postdoctoral scholar in biochemistry at the University of Washington, for The Conversation. Enzymes are molecular machines that carry out the chemical reactions that sustain all life, an ability that has captured the attention of scientists like me. Consider muscle movement. Your body releases a molecule called acetylcholine to trigger your muscle cells to contract. If acetylcholine sticks around for too long, it can paralyze your muscles — including your heart muscle cells — and, well, that's that. This is where the enzyme acetylcholinesterase comes in. This enzyme can break down thousands of acetylcholine molecules per second to ensure muscle contraction is stopped, paralysis avoided, and life continued. Without this enzyme, it would take a month for a molecule of acetylcholine to break down on its own — about 10 billion times slower. You can imagine why enzymes are of particular interest to scientists looking to solve modern problems. What if there were a way to break down plastic, capture carbon dioxide, or destroy cancer cells as fast as acetylcholinesterase breaks down acetylcholine? If the world needs to take action quickly, enzymes are a compelling candidate for the job — if only researchers could design them to handle those challenges on demand. Designing enzymes, unfortunately, is very hard. It's like working with an atom-sized Lego set, but the instructions were lost and the thing won't hold together unless it's assembled perfectly. Newly published research from our team suggests that machine learning can act as the architect on this Lego set, helping scientists build these complex molecular structures accurately: Learn more.
In Other News
More than 140 countries agreed on a $200 billion plan to protect nature at the U.N. biodiversity conference (read more)
For the first time in nine years, there's been a bump in the number of babies born in South Korea (read more)
A blood test could leadto better ALS detection and management plans, per a recent study (read more)
To better protect birds, offshore wind farms in the U.K. will get a coat of black paint (read more)
Head tilt-worthy: An astronaut snapped a surreal shot of the Milky Way (read more)
Something We Love
Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer This tiny printer makes it easy to send photos from your phone to be printed — no ink needed. You can add fun customizations to each print, and the sticky paper backing means you can place your memories wherever you want (think: water bottles, notebooks, phone cases, and wherever else your heart desires). – Sean Devlin, Founder and General Manager
Two sisters, one dream, and a lot of sprinkles. That's the recipe for Little Sistas Treats, a baking business whipped up by Zyaire and Char'Les Hawkins. "This isn't just a passion … it's a dream came true," said Char'Les. Meet the sister CEOs.
Photo of the Day
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
It was a year to remember when it comes to movies, and last night's Academy Awards certainly reflected that. Hollywood's best and brightest came together to celebrate the films that had us laughing, crying, debating, and defying gravity over the past year. But before all that, the stars (like Ariana Grande and Elle Fanning, pictured above) walked the red carpet — and their outfits were almost as memorable as the flicks they starred in. Scroll through some of the top looks.
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