In today's Good News, problems faced by wildlife are solved with creative solutions. Norman Smith, the "Owl Man of Logan Airport," uses his winning formula to keep Arctic snowy owls out of harm's way on a busy tarmac, while Australian children hit the kitchen to make biscuits for hungry mountain pygmy possums.

Catherine Garcia
The Week Digital

Weight-loss injections could cut the risk of obesity-related cancers nearly in half, a new study published in eClinicalMedicine suggests. Researchers found that GLP-1 drugs like Saxenda and Trulicity were as effective as bariatric surgery at reducing cancer risk, despite less weight loss. Experts say the findings could revolutionize cancer prevention, and trials are planned to test these drugs' efficacy against breast, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Researchers also want to ensure the drugs do not increase the risk of other cancers.

Students in Australia helped the mountain pygmy possum population bounce back by making them "bogong biscuits" to eat. The endangered species lives in Kosciuszko National Park, which was hit hard by drought in 2017 and brushfires in 2020. Both events decimated their food source, the bogong moth, so local kids stepped in with homemade biscuits of mealworm, macadamia nuts and oils. Supplementing their diet boosted the population, and today there are 950 possums in the area, up from 700.

Not enough vacation days? No problem.

Over the last 44 years, raptor researcher Norman Smith has caught 900 Arctic snowy owls at Boston's Logan Airport, keeping them — and planes — out of danger. The airport is on the Atlantic Flyway and its landscape looks like tundra to owls. After Smith captures the birds, he checks their health, tags them and releases them from Cape Cod or the North Shore. Smith learned an important lesson early on: grab an owl "before it grabs you," he told The Washington Post.

Bill Gates has pledged to give away 99% of his $108 billion fortune within 20 years, accelerating his charitable giving through the Gates Foundation. Inspired by Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth," Gates said he refuses to "die rich" and is aiming to help eliminate poverty, preventable diseases and deadly infections. His foundation has already disbursed $100 billion and plans to donate another $200 billion, focusing on urgent global health and development challenges, before closing down by 2045.

Nighttime is the right time to get excited about going to bed

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