Wright State campus | Photograph by Soham Parikh | The Wright State Guardian
With the Covid-19 pandemic and this year’s election season, it is easy to see why 2020 may go down as many people’s worst year ever.
But for everything negative that happened this year, it's important to always be seeking out the positives. So today, let’s take a look at the good things that came out of 2020.
A cure for diseases
Harvard University scientists have been working on turning back the clock of old eyesight causing blindness in mice. The scientists' work allows the complex eye tissue to be reprogrammed to an earlier age, fixing damaged eyesight and blindness developed over time.
This method does not fix blindness from birth, but it is a huge step in the right direction for millions of people around the world that develop blindness through aging.
The way their technique treats blindness can be used in humans and could also work toward eliminating other diseases that come from aging, such as dementia.
For HIV, a breakthrough has occurred in that the second person in history has been cured of the disease. Adam Castillejo, also known as The London Patient, revealed his identity this year in order to give hope to others suffering from the disease.
Drug advancements in 2019 and 2020 have now allowed those affected by HIV to prevent transmission of the disease as well as live a longer life.
For the coronavirus, the U.S. has begun its first wave of vaccine doses given to political figures as well as frontline medical workers. Around the world, eight countries have been declared coronavirus free, including New Guinea and New Zealand.
Improvements for the Earth and beyond
With the whole world inside because of quarantine, pollution levels around the world plummeted as travel and commerce were slowed. The damage quarantine did to businesses and employment were massive but for every big negative, there is a little positive.
In 2019, air quality levels were the worst in history, but so many people sitting at home improved air quality drastically. In India, pollution levels were slashed by 50% in just the first week of quarantine.
Our Oceans are getting cleaner, and our land is becoming greener due to efforts around the globe, and wildlife protection is becoming more prominent than ever.
In space exploration, Japanese scientists recovered fragments from an asteroid almost 190 million miles from the earth. China and the U.S. have both launched missions to Mars, and Elon Musk launched 2 missions to the International Space Station as well as put in place new high speed satellite internet networks.
While 2020 was a terrible year in almost every aspect of our lives, there are always positives. From cures to diseases being discovered, cleaning of our world, and searching beyond, there are always things to be thankful for in this holiday season.
