The week's good news: January 31, 2019

1. Without using modern instruments, 73-year-old French sailor wins first solo race

For Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, it was a race like no other. The 30,000-mile Golden Globe yacht race — last held 50 years ago — has participants sail alone without using modern equipment, with the exception of being able to sometimes use a short-wave radio to communicate. Armed with just a sextant and paper maps, the 73-year-old Frenchman set off last July, along with 18 other competitors; when he arrived in Les Sables d'Olonne in western France on Tuesday, just five people were still in the race. "Rediscovering the real roots of navigation like 50 years ago is what excited me about the race," he told AFP. Van Den Heede has circumnavigated the globe six times, but this is his first victory. "What I've done is a big question of mental strength," he said. "It's more useful to have strong mental strength than physical strength."

AFP

2. Man saves woman's life by giving her CPR — a skill he picked up from watching The Office

When Cross Scott found himself in front of a woman who had stopped breathing, he knew he had to do something — fast — to save her life. The Tucson resident was driving when he came across a sedan with its hazard lights flashing and its driver slumped over the steering wheel. He got into the car and checked for a pulse, but couldn't find one. Scott has never been trained in CPR, but did watch an episode of The Office where Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, used the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" as the correct rhythm for chest compressions. For about a minute, Scott sang the chorus aloud, doing chest compressions the entire time. "I had no idea what I was doing," he told The Arizona Daily Star. Finally, the woman took a breath, and paramedics soon arrived. She recovered, and Scott now plans on taking a certified CPR class.

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The Arizona Daily Star

3. Doctors hope breakthrough gene therapy will lead to a cure for sickle cell disease

Researchers in Boston are hopeful that a new gene therapy will help people with sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease causes red blood cells to become rigid; due to their irregular shape, the cells can get stuck and block blood flow, causing pain and serious conditions. A team of doctors and researchers at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center recently held a clinical trial that was able to "flip the switch" in red blood cells, The Boston Herald reports. They removed a patient's blood stem cells, which went through several months of gene modification so they would be able to produce fetal hemoglobin, which does not sickle. Via infusion, the gene-modified cells were given back to the patient. Dr. Erica Esrick, co-principal investigator of the trial, told the Herald the team feels optimistic about the results.

The Boston Herald

4. New Jersey 10-year-old becomes one of the youngest bowlers to score a perfect game

Kai Strothers accomplished something that most adult bowlers only dream of: He scored 300, a perfect game. The 10-year-old lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, and last Saturday, he became the youngest person in the state and the second youngest person in the U.S. to hit the milestone. "Calm, cool, collected, laid-back, reserved, that's him," his dad, Kenny Reece, told ABC 7 New York. His family loves to bowl, and at 4, Kai joined his first bowling league. He got serious at 8, and started practicing four times a week. School always comes first, though, and if his homework isn't done, he can't go to the lanes. Kai wants to go pro when he turns 18, and already, colleges are calling, hoping he'll one day bring his talents to their team.

NJ.com ABC 7 New York

5. Indian woman makes history with her climb up sacred mountain

For the first time, a woman has climbed the summit of Agasthyakoodam, a sacred mountain in India. Before, only men could scale the peak; there is a statue of a Hindu sage on the mountain, and local tribespeople believe women should not go near it because he was celibate. In November, a court ruled that women could climb the mountain, and the first to sign up was 38-year-old Dhanya Sanal. It's not an easy task — the mountain terrain is rocky and steep, and it takes three days to get to the top. Sanal was part of a group of about 100 climbers that went up earlier this month, the only woman on her trek. Already, 100 other women have registered to scale the mountain in the coming weeks. "We have moved one step ahead in ending gender discrimination in Kerala," activist Divya Divakaran told BBC News.

BBC News