Welcome to the Good News Roundup for August 11, 2025
Finland’s Capital Achieves One Year Fatality-Free
Helsinki has gone an entire year without a traffic-related fatality, following a targeted road safety strategy that deprioritises cars in transport planning.
The approach has included redesigning streets for safer walking and cycling, lowering speed limits – more than half the city is now at 30 kilometres an hour – and working to increase the proportion of cyclists on daily commutes.
Finland also operates a speeding fine system based on a driver’s income, which has resulted in some eye-watering penalties for high-earners.
Read more here.
The Australian silo artist painting murals across the US
An Australian muralist is bringing his celebrated ‘silo art’ to the American Midwest, transforming a collection of 1950s-era silos in North Dakota into vibrant 360-degree murals.
Known for turning concrete structures into large-scale artworks across Australia and overseas, Guido van Helten’s latest piece has been commissioned to reflect the region’s ranching heritage and Native American people.
The project is entirely donation-funded to the tune of more than $300,000.
See some of van Helten’s art here.
Extreme weather deaths hit record low
Despite an increase in extreme weather around the world, 2025 is on track for the lowest global death toll ever recorded from weather related events.
These events, including storms, heat waves, and major disasters, are said to be responsible for around 2,200 deaths so far this year, a big decline from the around 10,000 by mid‑2024.
This drop – in part – is being attributed to better early warning systems, strengthened infrastructure, and improved disaster preparedness.
Learn more here.
Could snails help unlock a cure for blindness?
The humble apple snail is being studied in United States for its ability to completely regenerate its eye – including a lens, retina, and optic nerve – within a month of damaging it.
University of California researchers have uncovered that these snails share not only anatomical similarities with human eyes but also vital genes that drive eye development.
Read how the development could offer hope for eye regeneration therapies in humans.
