Despite political challenges in the United States, 2025 produced several positive science developments worldwide: species recoveries and the UN High Seas Treaty advanced conservation, the Antarctic ozone hole narrowed, gene‑editing trials achieved major medical milestones, renewables overtook coal while emissions rose, rapid Ebola containment showed improved outbreak response, new malaria treatments and infant formulations moved closer to approval, and early infant feeding guidelines helped cut childhood food allergies.
Seven Uplifting Science Wins From 2025 That Restore Some Faith in Progress
Despite political setbacks for science in the United States, 2025 delivered a number of encouraging global advances in conservation, climate recovery, medicine and public health. From species recoveries and a shrinking Antarctic ozone hole to breakthrough gene‑editing trials and faster renewable deployment, here are seven science stories that offer reasons for optimism.
1. Conservation Successes: Species Recoveries and a Global Ocean Pact
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), long listed as endangered, was reassessed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature after decades of protection for nesting sites and measures to reduce bycatch. In Australia, the ampurta (Dasycercus hillieri), a rat‑sized marsupial, moved from near‑extinction to Least Concern after surveys showed its range expanded by more than 48,000 km² between 2015 and 2021 despite drought and food shortages.
At the international level, more than 60 countries approved the United Nations High Seas Treaty in September, creating a legal framework to protect biodiversity in international waters and aiming to conserve at least 30% of the planet’s land and sea areas when it enters into force.
2. Ozone Layer Continues to Heal
The Antarctic ozone hole shrank in 2025 to its smallest measured size since 2019, a sign that the Montreal Protocol’s phase‑out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) continues to have long‑term benefits. Scientists say the ozone layer remains on track for recovery by the late 2060s if climate‑friendly alternatives to ozone‑depleting substances are maintained.
3. A Breakthrough Year for Gene Editing
Researchers described 2025 as a breakthrough year for gene‑editing medicine. A gene therapy for Huntington’s disease slowed cognitive decline in trial participants by about 75%. A new CAR‑T base‑editing approach induced remission in the majority of 11 children and adults with T‑cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Other milestones included the first use of a CRISPR treatment tailored to an individual and early trials for chronic granulomatous disease and pathogenic mutations that cause lung and liver damage. Scientists say these advances point toward mutation‑specific strategies for rare diseases and demonstrate productive collaboration between academia and industry.
4. Renewables Overtake Coal — But Emissions Still Rise
For the first time, renewable energy surpassed coal as the largest global source of electricity. China led the surge, becoming the first country to reach 1 terawatt (TW) of installed solar capacity in May after adding 256 gigawatts (GW) of new solar systems in the first half of 2025 — roughly double the capacity added by the rest of the world over the same period. The European Union sourced around half of its electricity from renewables in Q2–Q3 of 2025, and global renewable capacity is projected to grow by nearly 4,600 GW between 2025 and 2030. However, greenhouse‑gas emissions from fossil fuels still reached a new high in 2025, leaving open the question of how quickly renewables can displace fossil fuels entirely.
5. Rapid Containment of Ebola in the DRC
Coordinated responses by health workers and governments contained a Zaire ebolavirus outbreak in Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in just 42 days. Confirmed on 4 September, the outbreak resulted in 64 reported cases, with the final case recorded on 25 September. Rapid vaccine deployment, monoclonal‑antibody treatments, improved contact tracing and community engagement all helped limit the spread and prevent severe outcomes.
6. New Malaria Tools for Vulnerable Infants and Drug‑Resistant Parasites
In November, the World Health Organization approved an infant formulation of the antimalarial Coartem (artemether–lumefantrine), providing a safe, age‑appropriate treatment for babies and very young infants — a group that accounts for a disproportionate share of malaria deaths. Separately, a phase III trial showed the new combination ganaplacide–lumefantrine (GanLum) cured 97.4% of participants and cleared parasites resistant to artemisinin. If approved, GanLum would represent the first new class of malaria medicine in more than 25 years.
7. Policy Changes Cut Childhood Food Allergies
Public‑health guidance to introduce peanut products early in infancy — based on a landmark 2015 trial — continued to show community‑level benefits. In the United States, the prevalence of peanut allergy in children under three fell by about 43% compared with 2012, and introducing infants to a variety of allergens was associated with a 36% reduction in other food allergies. Experts say this is a clear win for evidence‑based policy translating into improved outcomes.
This article was first published on December 17, 2025, and is reproduced with permission.
