🌞 New monkey species

I think one of the easiest ways to bring a little joy to your everyday life is a fun nail polish colour, though it does have a downside.

Pro: Every time I look at my hands I see my cute chrome magenta mani and get a little buzz.

Con: As soon as I see one chip it’s all over.

Luckily, today’s newsletter is all pros, no cons, and I didn’t chip a nail while typing it. Win!

A new monkey species has been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Great news for people who think monkeys are cute! (Not me but I love it for you ☺️)

In an article published in the journal PLOS One, an international team of scientists described the “rare and cryptic monkey” species known to local communities as Likweli.

It’s distinguished by an orange patch around its mouth and lower nose on its otherwise dark face.

The article includes a reminder of how long good research takes. Researchers think the monkey was first spotted back in 2008 in a photograph that only included part of its body. There was no sign of it for another 10 years, when a 2018 expedition resulted in a new photo of a monkey with a pale patch around its mouth.

Linda Nosková of Czechia celebrates winning the championship point in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon, one of the four annual tennis grand slams. Photo: Matthew Stockman via Getty.

Smoking and vaping rates have dropped significantly in Australia across the last three years.

The National Drug Strategy Household Survey asks 17,500 Australians aged 14 and over about drug and alcohol use every three years.

Its latest results show the number of Australians who smoke dropped from 8.3% to 5.6% from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

It also shows the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are regularly vaping fell from 20.6% in 2022-23 to 14% in 2025-26.

Public Health Association of Australia President Professor Caroline Miller called the results “extremely positive news”.

Cancer Council Australia CEO Jacinta Reddan said smoking rates are historically low because Australia has “consistently… invested in measures that prevent uptake, encourage quitting and reduce demand for tobacco.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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How long could you spend surfing? Not long? What about 12 hours?

Australian Olympian Valentino Guseli and mental health advocate Blakey Johnston just spent 12 hours in and out of a wave pool in the middle of Sydney’s winter.

Guseli is a snowboarder who has competed at two Winter Olympics, while Johnston holds the record for the longest surfing session, a massive 40 hours. Guseli claimed his own world mark in 2024 for the highest air on a snowboard, launching himself 11.5 metres.

Johnston said the duo’s “surfathon” was “about reminding us of what we are capable of. How we grow when we expose ourselves to big things and how this shows people they too are more capable than they believe.”

I love Phoebe Bridgers, but I’d never thought of her as being good news newsletter material. Her songs are typically beautiful, sad, and/or beautifully sad.

This performance of her new song ‘Lost Boys’ really sparked joy for me, though. Bridgers was joined by a band made up of kids to perform the song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Reminds me of the best movie of all time: ‘School of Rock’.

Watch it here.

Another bit of good news from the health world – hospitalisations for RSV in infants are down by more than 40% in NSW since the State Government rolled out a vaccination program.

The respiratory disease is one of the leading causes of death for babies in Australia.

Pregnant mothers can get the vaccine from 28 weeks gestation for free to protect their babies. If babies are born within two weeks after their mothers get the jab, they can get the vaccine before they are six months old.

NSW Health executive director of health protection Kerryn Coleman told the ABC the reduction in hospitalisations was “fantastic” to see.

I’ve never thought much about the humble Eastern rosella until this week, when TDA co-founder Sam shared this song from Miles, the son of Australian actor and presenter Joel Phillips. 

There’s not much more to say, except that it starts like this, the rosellas on a twist 🎶

A new immunotherapy trial has shown promising results for children with certain terminal brain tumours.

The expected survival for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is less than a year. One child who received the new treatment at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. is still alive after receiving it, almost two years down the track.

Another small group of children and young adults with similar terminal cancers who had previously not responded to chemo and radiation received the immune treatment. Three are still alive up to five years after the new treatment and are completely free of disease.