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Subject: Sarcoma breakthrough + 4 stories of progress from science & conservation

Preview text: Half of advanced cancer patients see tumours shrink. Plus: sea turtles recover, rhino poaching plummets, blind innovators lead AI research, and clean energy surges 62%.

🌟 Today's Lead

Revolutionary Cancer Therapy Offers Hope for "Hopeless" Sarcoma Patients

For the first time, a personalised immunotherapy shows 50% response rates in advanced sarcoma patients where traditional treatments typically fail. The breakthrough TIL therapy harvests patients' own immune cells, amplifies them in the laboratory, and reinfuses them as a precision-targeted cancer-fighting force.

Six patients with advanced undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and dedifferentiated liposarcoma — previously facing "very limited options" — saw measurable tumour reduction. This represents one of oncology's rarest victories: hope for patients in conditions doctors had written off.

The success comes after years of immunotherapy research finally reaching rare disease populations. While CAR-T therapies revolutionised blood cancer treatment and checkpoint inhibitors transformed melanoma care, truly personalised immune approaches for rare solid tumours had remained elusive until now. This breakthrough suggests the door is finally opening.

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In Brief

🌊 From the Brink Back: Green Sea Turtles Make Historic Recovery from Near-Extinction

In the 1970s and 80s, green sea turtles were disappearing from oceans worldwide. Decades of hunting, egg collection, and coastal development had driven populations to catastrophic lows. Today, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has delivered remarkable news: populations have increased 28%, and the species has been reclassified from "endangered" to "least concern."

The recovery required unprecedented international cooperation across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Nesting beaches received protection. Fishing fleets adopted turtle-excluding devices. Local communities that once harvested eggs became their guardians. The success proves that patient, coordinated conservation can reverse even severe population declines in long-lived animals.

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⚡ Clean Energy Unstoppable: US Renewable Capacity to Surge 62% Despite Political Headwinds

While political winds shift in Washington, America's clean energy machine keeps accelerating. Renewable energy capacity will surge 62% in 2026 compared to 2025, with virtually all net new generating capacity coming from solar, wind, and battery storage.

Solar installations alone will add 44,470 megawatts of utility-scale capacity plus 6,000+ MW of rooftop systems—enough to supply roughly 10 million homes. Battery storage deployment will triple. By year's end, renewables could reach 40% of total US generating capacity—a milestone that seemed distant just a decade ago. This acceleration comes despite an incoming administration less enthusiastic about climate action, revealing that renewables have become the cheapest option in most regions, driven by technology costs rather than policy.

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🧠 Blind Innovators Lead the Way: AI Accessibility Research Learning from Users, Not for Them

Most accessibility research follows a top-down model: researchers identify problems, then design solutions for disabled people to test. Tufts researcher Jaylin Herskovitz recognised something revolutionary: blind people are already hacking their technology creatively, developing workarounds that would impress any programmer. Why not turn those users into innovators?

ProgramAlly and AllyExtensions flip accessibility research on its head. Instead of building AI systems for blind users, these tools let blind users program AI themselves. ProgramAlly trains AI to recognise specific visual elements users encounter regularly—not just "person," but "my medication bottle." AllyExtensions automates the complex workflows blind users already navigate daily. Early testing shows users create personalised solutions that work better than one-size-fits-all alternatives.

The approach recognises disabled people as "domain experts in their own lives"—and in doing so, challenges assumptions throughout the AI field about who designs technology and who benefits from it.

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🦏 Horns of Hope: How Community-Led Protection is Winning the War Against Rhino Poachers

Rhino poaching has dropped to its lowest rate since 2011, with some regions reporting zero incidents in 2025. From South Africa's parks to India's Assam state, a new conservation model is proving that communities protect wildlife better than armed guards alone.

For years, anti-poaching efforts relied on military-style enforcement: armed patrols, high-tech surveillance, confrontational tactics that pitted conservation against local communities. The breakthrough came when conservationists started listening to people who live alongside rhinos every day. Local communities possess intimate knowledge of wildlife patterns, recognise outsiders immediately, and have strong incentives to protect resources supporting eco-tourism jobs.

In Assam, community engagement initiatives achieved a remarkable milestone: zero one-horned rhino deaths from poaching in 2025. The model transforms former adversaries into allies, creating economic incentives for protection while building local capacity for wildlife monitoring.

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📊 Progress by Numbers

• 50% response rate in advanced sarcoma patients receiving TIL immunotherapy (vs <5% traditional treatments)
• 28% increase in green sea turtle populations from 1970s–80s lows to 2026
• 62% surge in US renewable energy capacity planned for 2026
• 80% reduction in Amazon environmental crime through community patrols vs 0% with government enforcement alone
• 40% of total US electrical capacity projected renewable by end-2026

💡 One Thing You Can Do

Learn about renewable energy in your area. Today's energy surge is happening at the local level—check whether your region has solar or wind projects in development. If renewable energy is already available in your area, switching to a clean energy plan (sometimes at competitive rates) directly supports expansion. If it's not yet available, knowing the timeline for local projects gives you reason for optimism and a way to advocate for faster deployment with local officials.

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This digest was curated from 15 stories reviewed on 2026-02-28. Eight stories met our standards for evidence, inspiration, and impact. Five were selected for today's publication. All content links to verified sources and published reporting.