It wasn’t all bad

Britain’s Arctic tern population is booming, thanks to intense conservation efforts. In 2016, only two of the birds that hatched in one of their largest breeding grounds, on the Northumberland coast, left their nests: the rest fell victim to high tides, marine pollution and predators. But last year, the National Trust bought a further 200 acres of land, at Tughall Mill. Rangers set up tents on the site, monitored the birds around the clock – and this year, 500 left their nests unscathed.

A 13-year-old who died of a brain aneurysm has helped save a record number of lives by donating her organs. Just two weeks before she suddenly collapsed in 2012, Jemima Layzell (pictured), from Horton in Somerset, had told her parents that were she to die, she would want to donate her organs. Her organs had eight recipients, five of whom were children. According to the NHS Blood and Transplant Unit, no donor in the UK has helped more people: typically, a donation results in one or two transplants. “Everyone wants their child to be unique,” said Jemima’s mother, Sophy. “This, among other things, makes us very proud.”

A crater on Pluto has been named after the British woman who christened the dwarf planet, 87 years ago. The Burney crater honours Venetia Burney, who was 11 when her grandfather, an Oxford librarian, mentioned that the newly discovered planet still didn’t have a name. Venetia, who died in 2009, suggested to him that Pluto, the god of the underworld, would be an apt fit for such a dark and remote place. He passed the idea to an Oxford astronomer, who in turn sent a telegram to Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto.