In today’s Good News, scientists could be on the cusp of perfecting a groundbreaking fertility treatment that takes human skin cells and turns them into functional eggs. And in Southern California, a prison graduation initiative is giving incarcerated women the chance to earn their college degrees, preparing them for a better future on the outside.

Catherine Garcia
The Week Digital

Researchers have created human eggs from skin cells, raising hopes of new fertility treatments for women unable to produce viable eggs and for same-sex male couples seeking to have children genetically related to both partners. With this successful proof of concept, the team at Oregon Health and Science University “achieved something that was thought to be impossible,” said lead researcher Shoukhrat Mitalipov. He cautioned that it could be a decade before safe, effective treatments become available.

To keep its language and traditions alive for future generations, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun in Canada’s Yukon Territory is using holographic displays to bring the tribe’s stories to life. The joint project with Carleton University in Ottawa involves interviewing elders, including some of the last speakers of the Northern Tutchone language. Each recording is then transformed into a talking “virtual presence” that is “very engaging” and “realistic,” Carelton professor Ali Arya told CBC News.

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Discipline problems in school go down after the implementation of phone bans

The United Nations has added 26 new Biosphere Reserves — protected land and sea areas where conservation is balanced with human activity — to its network, bringing the total to 785 sites across 142 countries. Angola and Iceland are among the six nations receiving their first designation, while the African island nation São Tomé and Principe became the first country to be fully covered by a reserve. Biosphere Reserves now safeguard 5% of the Earth’s landmass, with a global goal of conserving 30% of nature by 2030.

Nearly two dozen incarcerated women graduated last week after earning their degrees through California State University Los Angeles’ Prison Graduation Initiative. This is the first cohort of women to complete the program, which involves taking in-prison classes for a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. Billie Jean King delivered the commencement address in a ceremony at the California Institution for Women. One graduate told ABC 7 she is “beyond grateful” for her education and the opportunities it will bring.

Millennials and Gen Z find peace and respite in platonic companionship

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