This past twelvemonth might have been a trying one , but among   the damaging news program stories were plenty of bright spots .

For every celebrity death , there was a scientific find . For every second of political nonsense ( well , possibly noteverybit of frill ) there were jump onward in uncontaminating Department of Energy .

In compositor’s case you ’re feeling down about 2016 , here ’s a reminder that , in a lot of ways , the universe really is generate beneficial .

Populations of tigers, pandas, and manatees all started growing for the first time in years.

1 . Populations of tigers , pandas , and manatees all get acquire for the first time in yr .

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2 . All of Portugal run on solar vigour for four days straight .

All of Portugal ran on solar energy for four days straight.

3 . scientist notice gravitational waving for the first time ever , further our discernment of the ancestry of the macrocosm .

4 . Funds raised by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from 2014 led to the discovery of a meaning cistron responsible for the disease .

5 . Sri Lanka was adjudge malaria - loose by the World Health Organization .

Scientists detected gravitational waves for the first time ever, furthering our understanding of the origins of the universe.

6 . Researchers discovered a special variety of strobe light light that temporarily reverses Alzheimer ’s damage in shiner .

7 . Facebook harbinger a partnership with five fact - checking organizations to prevent faux intelligence from appear on user ' News provender .

8 . Chevy debuted the first mass - market electric vehicle , the Bolt , which be less than $ 30,000 and can go further on a individual charge than Tesla ’s vehicles .

Funds raised by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from 2014 led to the discovery of a significant gene responsible for the disease.

9 . SpaceX landed a rocket smoothly on a ship , a world first that showed how expensive rockets could be fly more than once .

10 . rafts more memory board , include the entire Mall of America , stayed close up on Thanksgiving Day to give employees time with their families .

11 . Pakistan overtake a law outlawing ' purity killings ' — murders of relatives pardoned by other family member .

Sri Lanka was declared malaria-free by the World Health Organization.

12 . Harriet Tubman was announced as the replacement to Andrew Jackson on the $ 20 bill .

13 . A solar - powered plane , the Solar Impulse 2 , finish its year - long journeying around the world , taking off and touching down in Abu Dhabi .

14 . New York City became the first US city to pass on out detached tampon in schools , prisons , and homeless shelters .

Researchers discovered a special kind of strobe light that temporarily reverses Alzheimer’s damage in mice.

15 . Over 800 hostages held by Boko Haram were rescue by the Nigerian army .

16 . India planted 50 million trees in one day , set a newfangled world record book .

Read the original article onTech Insider . right of first publication 2016 .

Facebook announced a partnership with five fact-checking organizations to prevent fake news from appearing on users' News Feeds.

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Chevy debuted the first mass-market electric vehicle, the Bolt, which costs less than $30,000 and can travel further on a single charge than Tesla’s vehicles.

SpaceX landed a rocket smoothly on a ship, a world first that showed how expensive rockets could be flown more than once.

Dozens more stores, including the entire Mall of America, stayed closed on Thanksgiving Day to give employees time with their families.

Pakistan passed a law outlawing ‘honor killings’ — murders of relatives pardoned by other family members.

Harriet Tubman was announced as the successor to Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

A solar-powered plane, the Solar Impulse 2, completed its year-long journey around the world, taking off and touching down in Abu Dhabi.

New York City became the first US city to hand out free tampons in schools, prisons, and homeless shelters.

Over 800 hostages held by Boko Haram were rescued by the Nigerian army.

India planted 50 million trees in one day, setting a new world record.