Weekly Progress Roundup
Sea turtle recovery, new Waymo safety data, a turnaround in US public health, and more.
New data show Waymo taxis are incredibly safe
On Thursday, the self-driving taxi company Waymo published new safety research on its vehicles: “Across 25.3 million miles, the Waymo Driver was involved in just … two bodily injury claims.” This injury rate is 92 percent lower than that of the overall driving population and 90 percent lower than those driving vehicles with advanced safety technologies like automatic braking.
The United States is getting healthier
The journalist Derek Thompson recently pointed out that four particularly American afflictions—drug overdoses, traffic deaths, obesity, and murders—have all recently dropped in the United States. There are many tentative explanations, one being that the country is simply returning to normal after the pandemic. In any case, it’s excellent news, and examining these trends more closely might reveal valuable lessons for improving public health.
Sea turtles are recovering worldwide
The sea turtle, a symbol of environmental destruction, is now rebounding.
A recent study found that out of 61 datasets on sea turtle abundance worldwide, just five showed a decline in population. Splitting the results by species is even more hopeful: for four of the six endangered sea turtle species, every dataset showed an upward or stable trend. For the remaining two, the leatherback and loggerhead, 75 percent and 92 percent of the datasets did, respectively.
Economics:
Energy & Environment:
“Murder Hornets” Eradicated in the US, Agriculture Officials Say
Fusion Start-Up Plans to Build Its First Power Plant in Virginia
Health & Demographics:
First Live Birth Using Procedure That Matures Eggs Outside Body
Micro-Robot Will Navigate Fallopian Tubes to Treat Infertility
Great site😊. I look forward to the positive news 👍🙏