Goodable

D-Day, June 6, 1944, marks one of the most pivotal moments in history when Allied forces launched a massive invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France, turning the tide in World War II. This daring operation, known as Operation Overlord, saw over 156,000 troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other Allied nations bravely storming the beaches to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation. Their courage and determination on that day paved the way for the end of the war and the restoration of peace.

The success of D-Day was a monumental achievement, showcasing incredible coordination and heroism. Soldiers faced immense obstacles, from rough seas to heavily fortified German defenses. Yet, their unwavering spirit and teamwork led to the establishment of a crucial foothold in Europe. This victory ignited a series of events that ultimately led to the downfall of the Nazi regime and the restoration of freedom across Europe.

The story of D-Day is not just about military strategy and bravery but also about the power of unity and sacrifice. The operation brought together diverse nations and individuals, all united by a common goal. Their collective efforts demonstrated that when people come together for a noble cause, they can achieve the extraordinary. The legacy of D-Day continues to inspire generations, reminding us of the resilience and strength that can arise in the face of adversity.

Remembering D-Day is a celebration of the human spirit's triumph over tyranny. It stands as a testament to the heroes who fought for freedom and justice, leaving a lasting impact on the world. Their bravery and sacrifice remind us that even in the darkest times, hope and determination can lead to a brighter future.

80 Years Since D-Day: A Look at One of the Most Important Moments in History

A dog that fell into a canyon in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains has been rescued after a dramatic airlift by sheriff’s deputies.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the dog was seriously injured near Battleship Rock and unable to walk when his owner called for help. The sheriff’s Aviation Division dispatched a rescue team by helicopter to reach the remote area.

“He suffered injuries while out with his owner, and they called us to help get him out of the area so he could receive veterinary care,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

When the crew arrived, they found the dog surrounded by several hikers who had stayed by his side. Authorities said he had been there for about two hours. “He is a very loved pet and companion,” the post said.

Video footage from the scene shows the dog being carefully secured in a harness before being hoisted into the helicopter.

Thanks to the quick work of the rescue team, the dog was reunited with his owner and taken to an emergency veterinary clinic for treatment.

“Thanks to the crew’s compassion and care,” the sheriff’s office said, “the brave pup was reunited with his owner and taken to an emergency vet.”

A “brave pup” was airlifted to safety by a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) helicopter crew after it was injured on a hike, the office said.MCSO said, “Aviation crews responded to a call after a camper’s dog was seriously injured after a fall and could no longer walk.”The dog was rescued using a “a special K9 rescue harness,” before being taken to a vet, the office said.

'Brave Pup' Airlifted to Safety After Sustaining Injury on Hike

For Giorgio Rizzo, a childhood spent exploring the natural landscapes of Sicily sparked a lifelong fascination with plant chemistry. Now, as a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, he’s using that passion to tackle one of agriculture’s biggest challenges: making fertilizers more sustainable.

Rizzo works in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering under Professor Benedetto Marelli, where he’s designing next-generation fertilizers that could reduce pollution, cut production costs, and make farming more resilient to climate stress. His goal is simple but ambitious — help farmers grow stronger crops without harming the environment.

“We are working on new formulations of fertilizers that aim to reduce the huge environmental impact of classical practices in agriculture based on NPK inorganic fertilizers,” Rizzo said. While nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizers are essential for crop growth, they’re also incredibly energy-intensive to produce and can degrade soil quality over time.

Rizzo’s approach leans on nature for solutions. By studying how plants respond to stress like drought, heat, and UV radiation, his team is developing seed coatings and fertilizers that boost crop resilience from the ground up. The new formulations use chitin and chitosan — natural compounds found in crustacean shells — which are abundant and much cheaper to process than traditional synthetic fertilizers.

“It is mandatory to reshape our conception of fertilizers and try to rely, at least in part, on alternative products that are safer, cheaper, and more sustainable,” he said.

That work recently earned him a Kavanaugh Fellowship, which gives MIT researchers entrepreneurial training and resources to help them bring scientific breakthroughs out of the lab and into the real world. For Rizzo, it’s a chance to turn research into something that farmers can actually use — and afford.

“Through the Kavanaugh Fellowship, I will spend this year trying to bring the technology outside the lab to impact the world and meet the need for farmers to support their prosperity,” he said.

Cost remains one of the biggest barriers to adoption. Farmers working season to season can’t afford to take a chance on new products unless they’re proven to work — and proven to be affordable. That’s where Rizzo believes the natural ingredients in their fertilizers give them a competitive edge.

The research also explores how rare earth elements might improve plant stress tolerance, a field that’s only beginning to be understood. It’s all part of a wider vision to make agriculture not just more efficient, but smarter and more adaptive in the face of climate change.

Mentorship has been a key part of Rizzo’s time at MIT. He credits Professor Marelli with giving him the freedom to follow his ideas and build collaborations across disciplines.

“He is an incredible mentor who supports me through every stage of my work,” Rizzo said.

The Marelli Lab takes on a wide array of projects — everything from wastewater treatment to precision chemical delivery and vaccine development for fish. It’s the kind of intellectually charged environment that Rizzo says keeps him inspired and curious.

That curiosity is something he tries to pass on to younger scientists in the lab, too. He enjoys mentoring students and says their questions and energy help keep his own work sharp.

“It is one of the greatest qualities you can have as a scientist because you must be driven by curiosity to discover the unexpected,” he said.

Outside the lab, Rizzo keeps a balance with literature, history, and art. He rarely reads science books in his free time, preferring classic novels, historical essays, and museum visits. His favorite art styles include the Renaissance and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Looking ahead, Rizzo hopes to transition into startup or private-sector roles where he can bring scientific innovation directly to the people who need it.

“I want to pursue the option of being part of a spinout process that would enable my research to have a direct impact in everyday life and help solve agricultural issues,” he said.

It’s a long way from the moment that first sparked his interest — watching a researcher in a lab separate glowing compounds from a rare plant. But the mission remains the same: understanding nature deeply enough to solve human problems more intelligently.

MIT Postdoc Develops Sustainable Fertilizers to Revolutionize Modern Farming

ABC - Australia

Once nearly wiped out by commercial whaling, the eastern Australian humpback whale population has staged an extraordinary comeback—so much so that it now exceeds pre-whaling numbers by tens of thousands.

Marine scientists estimate there were more than 50,000 humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrating along Australia’s east coast in 2024, according to a preliminary report submitted to the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. That’s about 20,000 more whales than existed in the early 1900s, before large-scale industrial whaling began.

“The recovery of the group is a near miracle,” said Wally Franklin, a marine scientist and co-founder of the Oceania Project, who co-authored the report and has studied the population for over 30 years.

Before the rise of commercial whaling, humpbacks were considered plentiful. In early 1800s Hobart, sailors had to carefully steer through pods of whales in the Derwent River. Waterfront homeowners even complained about the noise of constant whale song. But by the early 1960s, only around 150 humpbacks remained from an estimated population of 30,000. Blue and southern right whales were the initial targets, but when their numbers dwindled, whalers turned to humpbacks, especially those that passed up and down the Australian coast each year to breed in warmer waters.

In 1963, the International Whaling Commission banned humpback hunting in the Southern Hemisphere. Since then, their numbers have rebounded dramatically. By the 1990s, there were around 1,000 individuals. That number jumped to 25,000 by 2015, and now, new estimates suggest the total population is well above 50,000—possibly even approaching 60,000.

The latest estimates are based on a massive dataset built over four decades, using contributions from nearly 700 scientists, tour operators, and citizen scientists who submitted photos to the HappyWhale tracking catalogue. More than 15,000 individual whales have been identified and resighted over the years, allowing researchers to create robust population models.

What’s made the eastern Australian group so successful when other whale populations haven’t bounced back as quickly? Scientists aren’t entirely sure.

Other species like the southern right whale have plateaued at much lower numbers, and even other groups of humpbacks—like those in the South Pacific—aren’t recovering at the same pace.

Dr Franklin believes Australia's long coastline could be part of the reason. It offers multiple habitats ideal for mothers to spend time with their calves during those early, vulnerable years.

Adelaide Dedden, a marine scientist at the University of New South Wales who wasn’t involved in the report, said humpbacks also appear to be more adaptable than other species. Unlike southern right whales, which rely on sheltered bays to rest with their young and are more sensitive to coastal disturbances, humpbacks can give birth in a wider range of environments.

Humpbacks also breed more frequently—every two to three years—compared to every four years for southern right whales, which may help boost their numbers more rapidly.

However, Dedden warned that the population boom won’t last forever. As the whales approach what’s known as “carrying capacity”—the maximum population the environment can support—the growth is likely to slow or stop.

That many whales also means more potential for close encounters with humans, especially boats. Dedden stressed the importance of respecting the minimum approach distances: 100 metres for adult whales, and 300 metres when a calf is present.

“People might think, ‘I'm just going to get a bit close and have a look … it's not going to have an impact,’” she said. “But whales exert additional energy from their precious energy reserves to swim away when they're feeling disturbed.”

She suggests a better strategy: stay back and let the whales approach you, if they choose.

“There are so many opportunities to have close encounters with them, but when it’s on the whale’s terms, that’s when it’s good.”

The eastern humpback’s story is a rare conservation success. From near-extinction to a thriving population, their comeback is a powerful example of what happens when protective policies, long-term data, and public participation align.

But as their numbers rise, the next challenge will be learning how to live alongside them—without setting them back again.

Humpback Whales Make Remarkable Comeback, Now Well Above Pre-Whaling Levels

People

A Florida teen earned a perfect score on the SAT in September
Sergio Attento achieved a total of 1600, the highest possible mark
"When I walked out of it, I actually thought that I had gotten a couple questions wrong," the 17-year-old said
A Florida teen has a bright future ahead of him — with an exciting achievement already under his belt.
Sergio Attento recently earned a perfect score on the SAT, achieving a total of 1600, the highest possible mark, NBC 6 reported.
Attento, a senior at MAST Academy at Florida International University (FIP) — a public magnet school — didn't initially think he had scored that high.
"I was surprised," the 17-year-old told NBC 6. "When I walked out of it, I actually thought that I had gotten a couple questions wrong."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After Attento learned of his perfect SAT score, the first people he contacted were his mother and father.
"Immediately, he called us, and was like, 'I don't know if this is real,' " Maria Paula Nuñez Attento told NBC 6 of Attento, her eldest son, adding: "We freaked out."
The teenager took the SAT for the third time in September. His past attempts at the test, as well as several practice exams, are what he credits with getting him to now earn the perfect score.
"By the last one, the mistakes that I was making were no longer things," he said, per NBC 6. "Me not understanding the material, but now it was things that, if you double-check that, you could get it right. So once you get to that point, that's when any score is possible."
Attento is currently taking seven Advanced Placement (AP) courses at his school. He has also attended college courses at FIU's north campus.
When he graduates from the Master of Science in Athletic Training institution, Attento will already have an associate's degree.
The 17-year-old is currently sharing his knowledge and tutoring other students for the SATs. "You are now on the other end, asking it to somebody else," he told NBC 6. "When you're in that position, you get a better idea of the people writing the questions, what they're asking of you, what they want out of you."
As for what the future holds, Attento told the local Florida outlet he is interested in pursuing a law career.

A Florida Teen Scored a Perfect 1600 on the SAT Exam, Eyes Future in Law

In a world where misinformation spreads faster than facts, a geophysicist is teaching people how to think more clearly—by embracing failure and asking better questions.

Philip Heron, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus, has created a short but impactful course called Think Like a Scientist. Originally developed in the UK, Heron brought the program to Canada with a focus on teaching the scientific method not just to students, but also to people often left out of traditional academic spaces: incarcerated individuals.

It’s only seven weeks long. But for some, the impact has lasted a lifetime.

Dalton Harrison, who joined the first prison session of the course, says the experience reshaped his future. After his release, Heron invited him to give a talk at Durham University.

“That moment changed my life,” Harrison said. “Standing in the front of that lecture hall, in a life I never dreamed was possible … that made me want to keep going in academia.”

Today, Harrison is pursuing a master’s degree in criminology.

Heron’s day job is in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at U of T Scarborough, but every summer he brings Think Like a Scientist into Canadian prisons. His approach is simple: teach the scientific method in a way that doesn’t feel like a traditional classroom.

“A lot of the folks I meet in prison have had really negative experiences with education,” Heron said. “So the first thing I try to do is take away the barriers.”

That means no lectures, no tests, and no judgment. Instead, Heron focuses on open discussion. Participants explore topics like climate change, robotics, earthquakes, the science of sleep, and space missions—while constantly returning to one core idea: failure is not the end of the road. It’s the beginning.

“Behind the scenes, scientists fail so often that it's just commonplace,” Heron told Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald. “What I want to teach students in prison, as well as students at the University of Toronto, [is] that failure is part of the process and it's something that should be accepted. We don't just fail and stop, we fail and move forward.”

That message hits home for many incarcerated learners, who often come from backgrounds where early academic setbacks snowballed into life-altering consequences. Heron says many participants struggled in school due to systemic issues tied to race, class, learning differences, or neurodiversity.

The program also draws unexpected connections between science and prison life. In one session, Heron shares a quote from Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques about managing mental health in space. The astronaut describes the psychological strain of being confined, isolated, and far from loved ones.

“After I finish … the whole room is like, ‘That’s prison! Throw in terrible food and you’ve got prison. I could be an astronaut!’”

It’s a moment that sparks laughter—but also reflection.

For Phoenix Griffin, a former participant in the UK, the course opened the door to a completely new way of thinking.

“The biggest thing I took away from it was the confidence to try new things,” said Griffin, who is now in her third year of university. “You learn from your mistakes so if you get it wrong it's fine. So that was really big for me.”

Heron isn’t trying to turn everyone into scientists. His goal is to help people think like one. Ask questions. Challenge assumptions. And most of all, accept that progress doesn’t happen without missteps.

He says the scientific method—observe, hypothesize, test, fail, and try again—is just as useful in daily life as it is in the lab.

And in the most unlikely of places, that idea is taking root.

Think Like A Scientist Program Transforms Lives Through Critical Thinking

There’s a tiny, furry reason to celebrate at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.

A Matschie’s tree kangaroo joey has been born at the Nebraska zoo, one of just three born this year across all AZA-accredited zoos in the United States, according to an announcement shared on October 16.

The joey, whose sex has not yet been determined and who hasn't been named, was born in April to parents Judie and Bexley. Right now, it’s still spending most of its time tucked away in its mother’s pouch, but keepers say visitors may start seeing it poke its head out more often in the coming months.

“This is one of only three born this year in AZA-accredited zoos,” the zoo wrote in a Facebook post, referring to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “The joey currently spends most of its time inside mom's pouch, but will start to venture outside of the pouch more and more over the next few months.”

Matschie’s tree kangaroos, native to the Huon Peninsula of Papua New Guinea, are classified as endangered by the World Wildlife Fund. Their population in the wild is shrinking due to habitat loss, hunting, and deforestation. With only small pockets of them remaining in their native rainforest habitat, each birth in captivity is a significant step toward protecting the species.

The Lincoln Children’s Zoo is no stranger to tree kangaroo conservation. The zoo participates in the AZA’s Species Survival Plan and supports the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, which partners with local communities in Papua New Guinea to protect wild habitats and help preserve the species.

“This joey is not just a big deal for us — it’s a big deal for the future of this species,” the zoo said.

Matschie’s tree kangaroos are known for their mahogany-brown fur, cream-colored bellies, and strong limbs that help them navigate trees — an unusual trait for a kangaroo. Unlike their Australian cousins, they spend most of their time off the ground. In the wild, they typically live up to 14 years, though in captivity, they can live closer to 20.

As herbivores, they feed mostly on leaves, fruits, and flowers. And like other marsupials, their young are born tiny and underdeveloped, spending several months growing in the mother’s pouch before fully emerging.

The Lincoln Children’s Zoo hasn’t announced when the joey might make its first public appearance, but for now, fans can follow along for updates as the little one continues to grow.

It’s a rare and welcome sign of hope for one of the planet’s most elusive and threatened animals.

A Rare Kangaroo Joey Was Born at a Children's Zoo in Nebraska, Just the 3rd Born This Year

The Guardian

A new drug that can be delivered by a simple injection is showing powerful early results in treating patients with advanced head and neck cancer, offering new hope where few options remain.

Doctors say the triple-action therapy, known as amivantamab, shrank or halted tumour growth in 76% of patients who had already tried both chemotherapy and immunotherapy without success. The results were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference in Berlin.

“To see this level of benefit for patients who have endured numerous treatments is incredibly encouraging,” said Professor Kevin Harrington, a professor of biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. “This could represent a real shift in how we treat head and neck cancer – not just in terms of effectiveness, but also in how we deliver care.”

A tough cancer to treat

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer globally. Once it recurs or spreads, treatment options are limited, especially after standard therapies stop working.

In the Orig-AMI 4 trial, funded by pharmaceutical company Janssen, researchers tested amivantamab on 86 patients across 11 countries, including the UK. All participants had recurrent or metastatic HNSCC and had already undergone immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

The new treatment is a "smart drug" that targets cancer in three ways:

It blocks EGFR, a protein that helps tumours grow.

It inhibits MET, a pathway often used by cancer cells to resist treatment.

And it stimulates the immune system to attack the tumour.

Fast-acting and easy to deliver

Unlike many cancer treatments that require long hospital infusions, amivantamab is administered as an under-the-skin injection. That makes it not only faster and more convenient, but potentially usable in outpatient clinics or even at home.

“Unlike many cancer treatments that require hours in a hospital chair, amivantamab is given as a simple injection under the skin,” said Harrington. “This makes it faster, more convenient, and potentially easier to deliver.”

On average, patients in the trial began responding to the treatment within six weeks. The average progression-free survival was 6.8 months. Most side effects were mild or moderate.

One of the patients on the trial, Carl Walsh, a 59-year-old from Birmingham, had been living with tongue cancer that didn’t respond to previous treatments. He joined the trial in July.

“I’m now on my seventh cycle of treatment. It’s working well so far and I’m very happy with the progress,” Walsh said. “Before starting the trial, I couldn’t talk properly and eating was difficult. But the swelling has gone down a lot, and I’m not in the same amount of pain I used to be in. Sometimes I even forget that I have cancer.”

Researchers say it’s the first time a triple-action therapy like this has been tested for advanced head and neck cancer, and while more research is needed, early signs are promising.

“This could be a breakthrough for patients who previously had few, if any, options left,” Harrington said.

New Cancer Treatment Shrinks Head And Neck Tumors In Six Weeks, Study Reveals

Science Daily

A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Johann Riemensberger at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has developed a new type of laser that could dramatically improve technologies ranging from autonomous vehicles to air quality monitoring.

The laser, detailed in a study published in Nature Photonics, is powerful, compact, affordable — and far easier to control than most existing models.

“Our results can give us a new type of laser that is both fast, relatively cheap, powerful and easy to use,” said Riemensberger.

The project is a collaboration between NTNU, the Swiss École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and the Swiss tech company Luxtelligence SA.

Smaller, smarter, and more adaptable
Today’s precision lasers often come with trade-offs: they can be bulky, expensive, or tricky to tune. The NTNU team’s laser sidesteps those problems using advanced materials and micro-sized optical circuits, allowing it to emit a stable and powerful beam with precise frequency control — all on a chip small enough to be mass-produced.

“You can also easily control it with just one control instead of many,” said Riemensberger.

The frequency can be adjusted quickly and smoothly, without the jumpiness seen in many conventional systems. That combination of simplicity and precision could unlock new use cases and significantly cut costs.

How this helps self-driving cars and gas detection
The new laser could be particularly useful in Lidar systems, the light-based sensing technology that self-driving cars use to detect their surroundings.

By measuring the time it takes for a laser beam to bounce off nearby objects, or subtle changes in the beam’s wave phase, Lidar builds a detailed 3D picture of the environment. The new laser improves the accuracy of those measurements to within just four centimeters — a major leap for a system that often must navigate at high speeds in complex environments.

In addition to mapping, the laser can be used to detect hazardous gases in the atmosphere. In one test, researchers showed that it could accurately identify hydrogen cyanide — a deadly compound even in small doses — in the air.

Affordable innovation, ready to scale
One of the most promising aspects of the new laser is that it’s built using existing chip fabrication technologies, making it feasible to produce at scale without needing new infrastructure.

“Our findings make it possible to create small, inexpensive and user-friendly measuring instruments and communication tools with high performance,” Riemensberger said.

The research builds on work that began when Riemensberger was a postdoctoral fellow at EPFL. The partnership continues under a European Innovation Council Pathfinder OPEN grant known as ELLIPTIC.

With potential uses in communications, environmental safety, autonomous tech, and more, this could mark a major step forward for laser-based systems — one that doesn’t require sacrificing cost or convenience.

New Laser Breakthrough Promises Cheaper, More Efficient Tech for Cars and Air Quality Detection

Yahoo

Scientists in South Korea have developed a game-changing new way to turn seawater into clean drinking water — and it’s powered entirely by the sun.

A team from the Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST) has unveiled a solar desalination breakthrough that not only produces freshwater efficiently, but does so without the carbon emissions typically associated with traditional desalination methods.

Their technology, detailed in the journal Advanced Energy Materials, uses oxide perovskites — advanced materials that capture and convert heat into usable energy. That means the desalination process runs on solar power, sidestepping the need for fossil fuels and significantly lowering the environmental cost.

"This work demonstrates a breakthrough approach to enhancing the efficiency and durability of solar desalination through advanced material engineering and smart design," the research team told Interesting Engineering.

One of the most persistent problems in desalination is salt buildup, which can clog systems and reduce efficiency. The team tackled this by designing a one-directional fluid flow system that creates a salt gradient, essentially pushing the salt to the edges of the panel. As salt crystals accumulate, they’re moved out of the way, allowing sunlight to better reach the surface and maintain high evaporation rates.

In lab tests, the system managed an evaporation rate of 3.4 kilograms of freshwater per hour — about 7.5 pounds — and maintained performance even in extremely salty water containing 20% salt, far more concentrated than typical seawater.

“This breakthrough provides a practical and scalable solution to the global water scarcity crisis,” said Professor Ji-Hyun Jang, one of the lead researchers.

That scarcity is growing. More than four billion people face water shortages at least one month a year, and climate change is only making things worse. Droughts, extreme weather, and shifting rainfall patterns are putting even more pressure on freshwater supplies.

Desalination has long been seen as one possible answer, especially in coastal areas, but it comes with drawbacks. Traditional methods are expensive and energy-intensive, often powered by polluting fuels. This new solar-powered approach could change that.

It’s not a silver bullet — experts, including those at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, warn that desalination needs to be carefully managed to avoid environmental harm. But the use of clean energy and improved design makes this approach a major step in the right direction.

If scaled effectively, the technology could offer affordable, sustainable access to drinking water for communities facing chronic shortages.

In a world where water is becoming increasingly precious, this might just be the kind of breakthrough the planet needs.

Scientists Achieve Breakthrough In Extracting Clean Drinking Water From Sea

BBC News

Claire Lomas captured hearts across the UK when she completed the London Marathon in 2012 over 17 days — while paralysed — using a robotic suit. More than a decade later, the legacy she built has officially topped £1 million, thanks to two of the people who knew her best.

On Sunday, Claire’s husband Dan Spincer and her best friend Stuart Hall completed the 10-mile Great South Run in Portsmouth — in wheelchairs — pushing the total she raised for spinal injury research past the £1 million mark.

“I just want to keep Claire’s legacy alive and keep spreading the word that she was spreading and doing the great job that she was doing,” said a tearful Spincer at the finish line.

Hall, speaking after the run, added, “I just think of her walking into a room or wheeling into a room with a massive smile and she just lit up a room. That’s my best friend. That’s who I’m missing now.”

Claire Lomas, from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, became a high-profile advocate for spinal injury research after a 2007 horse riding accident at the Osberton Horse Trials left her paralysed from the chest down. She was 27 at the time.

Refusing to let her injury define her, she began fundraising for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation and quickly became a symbol of resilience and determination. Her use of a ReWalk robotic suit — a device with mechanical legs powered by motors, braces, and sensors — made her the first person in the UK to walk again with the aid of such technology.

She used it to complete the London Marathon in 2012 and the Great North Run in 2016, earning the nickname “bionic woman.” She was chosen to light the Paralympic flame that same year and was appointed MBE in 2017.

Claire died in 2024, five weeks after a tragic microlight crash in Jordan. At the time, she had raised £952,000 for spinal injury research. Spincer and Hall vowed to finish what she started, setting their sights on reaching £1 million in her memory.

They launched a campaign involving three running events — all completed in wheelchairs. After successfully taking on the Great Manchester Run and the Great North Run earlier in 2025, Sunday’s final 10-mile effort in Portsmouth marked the end of their tribute series. Organisers confirmed that the £1 million milestone was officially reached before the event began.

Family and friends joined in, with Claire’s daughters also taking part in the Junior and Mini Great South Run events on Saturday. Family friend Linda Nicol called it a “very emotional” day, saying, “Claire was just such a presence.”

Hall says the work won’t stop now. “The campaigning will continue to the next million,” he said.

For those who followed her journey from hospital bed to marathon course, Claire Lomas wasn’t just a fundraiser — she was a force of nature. Thanks to those who loved her most, that force is still very much in motion.

Download the world's only news app designed to spread joy and happiness.

What's Good Now!