The year 2023 is coming to an end! While the news of the past few months has often been bleak, between wars and climate disasters, it has also brought its share of good news. Some are historic, some have brought relief, others are more anecdotal but all have made it possible to smile again. France 24 dug into its archives.
Europe's Euclid telescope has revealed its first images of the universe
This undated astronomical image shows the Horsehead Nebula released on 2 November 2023 by the European Space Agency (ESA) and taken during ESA's Euclid space mission. © AFP
An array of objects scattered throughout the universe and stunning shots. Launched into space in July, Europe's Euclid space telescope released its first images in early November. These revealed a dazzling nebula resembling a horse's head, distant galaxies never seen before... and even "indirect evidence" for the existence of elusive dark matter.
By 2029, the telescope, which has the widest 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 accurate 3D map of the universe. The next images are due to be released in January. A way to start 2024 with your head in the stars.
Read alsoSpace: Europe's Euclid telescope reveals its first pictures of the universe
Advances in Parkinson's disease research
Marc Gauthier, a 61-year-old Parkinson's patient, is walking again thanks to a neuroprosthesis. © Gabriel Monnet / AFP
The year 2023 has been marked by 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 was indeed linked to certain forms of the disease. A discovery that could pave the way for an early diagnosis of the disease. The breakthrough would then constitute a revolution, as this neurodegenerative pathology is currently only diagnosed on the basis of physical signs.
Then, in November, a 61-year-old Parkinson's patient was able to walk again thanks to a neuroprosthesis placed in his lower back. The way it works is simple: the prosthesis sends ultra-precise electrical stimulation to the motor nerves that control the leg muscles, allowing them to be activated. The Franco-Swiss research team behind the trial is expected to include six new patients in an upcoming clinical trial in 2024. Although the results are conclusive, it will be several years before this neuroprosthesis is found on the market.
Second malaria vaccine to be rolled out for children
A child gets vaccinated against malaria on September 13, 2019 in Ndhiwa, Kenya. © Brian Ongoro, AFP
"Safe and effective". In early October, the WHO gave the green light to roll out a second malaria vaccine for children, R21/Matrix-M. This very old disease, which causes fever, headaches and chills, and can become a serious – even fatal if left untreated – disease had caused the death of 2021,619 people worldwide in 000, mostly in Africa.
The WHO estimates that 60 million doses of this vaccine could be ordered each year, in addition to the millions of doses of the first vaccine released in 2021, RTS,S. A big step forward in the prevention of the disease.
Saiga antelopes, rhinoceroses, monk seals or giant squirrels... Animal species are doing better
A young saiga antelope in the steppe in Kazakhstan, May 8, 2022. © Abduaziz Madyarov, AFP
Endangered species are often in the news. It must be said that year after year, their number, as compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), continues to grow. But the report also reveals some good news.
Two species of antelopes, the oryx and the saiga antelopes, are recovering and seeing their populations increase. The same is true of the Mediterranean monk seal and the plantain squirrel, a species that lives in Indonesia and is no longer considered vulnerable. The African rhino population has increased by 5% in one year, exceeding 23,000 individuals.
A new species from the time of the dinosaurs has been discovered
A fossil of Archaeopteryx, considered "the first bird in history", photographed in 2010. © AFP
Inspiration for the next "Jurassic Park"? A fossil of a new dinosaur was discovered in September in northeastern China. And with its half-dino, half-heron characteristics, this Fujianvenator prodigiosus could well turn the history of bird evolution upside down.
Because birds are closely related to dinosaurs. These are, in short, those who survived the extinction of the species. Until now, their large family was thought to have appeared at the end of the Jurassic period, 150 million years ago. And the theories of evolution were based on the discovery in Bavaria of Archaeopteryx, the "first" bird in history, in 1860. Except that he looked, in a way, like a big pigeon. By digging up Fujianvenator prodigiosus, with its very different characteristics but dated to the same period, the scientists realized that several types of dinobirds must have existed in different places on the globe at the same time.
A significant drop in deforestation in the Amazon
Deforestation in the Amazon fell by 22.3% year-on-year in 2023 to its lowest level in five years. AFP - MICHAEL DANTAS
This was a promise made by President Lula when he was elected president of Brazil: to reduce deforestation in his country to zero by 2030. While the target has not yet been met, deforestation in the Amazon has fallen by 22.3% in one year to its lowest level in five years, according to figures from the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE) published in November.
This is 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 between August 2022 and July 2023 avoided the emission of 133 million tons of CO2, or 7.5% of the total emitted by the country.
The Loss and Damage Fund set up at COP28
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber announces the vote on the final agreement on December 13, 2023, in Dubai. AFP - GIUSEPPE CACACE
COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, got off to a flying start. From the first day of this major international round of climate negotiations, states agreed on the establishment of the loss and damage fund. This tool, decided at COP26, is intended to compensate for the damage caused by disasters or irreversible losses linked to climate change in the most vulnerable countries.
"The launch of the loss and damage fund will finally help populations affected by the worst impacts of climate change," said Fanny Petitbon, spokesperson for the NGO Care France.
In the aftermath, several developed states have multiplied their pledges amounting to $655 million (the equivalent of €596 million). Less than the necessary sums, but a first step forward.
LGBT+ rights continue to advance around the world
Ram Bahadur Gurung, a transgender woman, and Surendra Pandey, during a press conference after making their marriage official, on December 1, 2023, in Kathmandu, Nepal. © Navesh Chitrakar, Reuters
Things are moving in Asia for LGBT+ rights. In Japan, a landmark ruling was handed down in July in favor of a transgender woman who sued the government for access to toilets at her workplace. Earlier this year, the country also passed its first law to protect the LGBT+ community from discrimination.
For its part, Nepal recognized in late November, for the first time in the country's history, a marriage between a transgender woman and a cisgender man - the word "cisgender" describing a person who identifies with the gender assigned to them at birth. The couple tied the knot in 2017 in a Hindu ceremony and had to fight for five years to have their union officially recognized. "This is a victory after a decades-long battle for marriage equality. [The couple] made history. This is a major event for us," said former MP and activist Sunil Babu Pant, who campaigns for LGBT+ rights in the country.
Two-century-old letters to French sailors found in England
A letter from Anne Le Cerf to her husband, written in the 18th century, 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 eighteenth century to French sailors during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) between France and Great Britain have been found and eventually opened, offering both intimate and historical testimonies.
"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," Marie Dubosc wrote in 1758 to her husband Louis Chambrelan, first lieutenant of the French frigate Galatea, captured by the British. Written mostly by women, these letters bear witness to the experience of these wives, mothers and fiancées in times of war. Small stories in the big one.
The Egypt of the Pharaohs Reveals New Mysteries
Two mummies were discovered a month apart, several meters underground, in the necropolis of Saqqara, in the Memphis region of Egypt. © Khaled Desouki, AFP
Two mummies were discovered a month apart, several meters underground, in the necropolis of Saqqara, in the Memphis region of Egypt. They are covered in gold and are believed to date back about 4,300 years. This makes them one of the oldest ever found.
The necropolis of Saqqara, used continuously for more than 3,000 years, is arguably one of the most important historical places in ancient Egypt. Over nearly 20 kilometres, what was the last resting place of the kings contains several hundred tombs. And the discovery of these two mummies is a reminder that the necropolis is far from having revealed all its secrets.
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