© Provided by The GuardianPhotograph: Keith mindham/Alamy
One of the things the Upside has always celebrated is people making a difference. In a world beset by things going wrong and dominated by news about rogues and villains, it's easy to forget the unsung heroes in our midst.
So over the past three years, we've done what we can to shout about them. There was our alternative New Year honours lists. Our heroic teachers of lockdown. Female entrepreneurs, carbon champions, and our favourite Iranian cleric.
Now, as part of the Guardian's 200th anniversary, we are launching a new series focusing on individuals who are devoting their lives to taking on some of the world's greatest challenges and injustice, sometimes at great personal cost.
© Photograph: Keith mindham/AlamyHear ye! Good things have happened too
In the first instalment, Amelia Gentleman interviews a man who used his own experience of being threatened unjustly with deportation to help fellow Windrush victims secure their status.
Anthony Brown is an inspiring individual. You can read about him here. And every week we'll be publishing a new article in the series.
Otherwise, this week we found plenty of Upside in:
. 'mindwriting' - a hopeful new technology for quadraplegics. 90-second read
. ever cheaper electric cars. Two-minute spin
. meatless meat and tasty bugs: the future of food? Five-minute read
Meanwhile, this will make you chuckle: the worst Guardian typos over the past 200 years.
Also, don't forget the second round of our 200th anniversary prize competition.
Lucky numbers
Globally, an area of forest the size of France has regrown over the past 20 years. That's a lot of trees. Also growing: the global renewable industry, which expanded at its fastest rate since 1999 last year.
For the first time in more than a year, zero Covid deaths were reported in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland this week. Six adults in 10 are thought to have Covid antibodies.
© Provided by The GuardianWind turbines on the outskirts of the village of Klein Buenzow, north-east Germany. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
What we liked
Ever wondered why placebos work? This piece from Vox does some investigating.
Cryptocurrencies may be utterly incomprehensible, but this is pretty easy to get your head around: a crypto-pioneer gives more than $1bn to India's Covid relief fund.
And this was gently optimistic: a once in a lifetime chance to start over. From Arthur C. Brooks in the Atlantic
What we heard
This week's amusing anecdote comes from Kat Rowland in northern England
My dad thought that the Covid swab test was a urine test. So he didn't go to the toilet all morning then drove to the test site. He parked up and went to get out of the car, but the volunteer told him to do it inside the car. He was understandably pretty surprised by this. Then once he realised he said, well could I please go to the loo? And they said you can't leave your car! So he was absolutely bursting whilst he did his swab test, and then drove home frantically to finally get to a toilet.
Monica Kalcsics got in touch from public radio in Vienna:
We are running an initiative called Fixing the Future - Casting new ideas. We are looking for projects that work on solutions for the society of tomorrow. Last year, we invited local projects (from Austria) to submit their concepts to our video platform. This year, we are looking for innovative ideas from all over the world. Covid has reminded us how interconnected the world is, and the ways in which we rely on each other. Therefore, we seek exchange, to motivate each other and pool our ideas.
Where was the Upside?
On a peaceful, gorgeous 25,000-mile trip, along the old Silk Road.
Get in Touch
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