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Pyrite May Be Known as Fool’s Gold, but It Actually Contains a Kind of Green Gold–Lithium

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Andy Corbley
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Pyrite, or 'fool's gold' - CC 3.0. Benjamint444, Wikimedia
Pyrite, or ‘fool’s gold’ – CC 3.0. Benjamint444, Wikimedia

Appalachian mining country seems an unlikely place to find a potential breakthrough in renewable energy, but samples of mine tailings in West Virginia have turned up plenty of lithium contained inside fool’s gold.

The team of scientists behind the discovery described it as “previously unheard of” and they hope that lithium extracted this way could mean a sustainable, steady supply of the rare earth element that currently has to be mined.

Because of its extreme reactivity, lithium is a great material for batteries, used for storing excess energy generated from solar panels and powering the millions of electric cars sold worldwide every year.

Demand for lithium has skyrocketed recently as countries attempt to transition to greener energy sources, and though massive deposits are present in the Lower 48, American lithium would still have to be extracted via environmentally harmful mining.

A research team from West Virginia University wanted to discover new stores of lithium. In particular, they were interested in whether waste streams from previous industrial operations such as mine tailings or drill cuttings could serve as a source of lithium without generating new waste.

This is already common in the gold mining industry, with companies like DRDGold and its subsidiary Far West Gold Recoveries, treating old slime dams and sand dumps around South Africa’s gold fields to extract gold that’s been missed, making over $1 billion net in the most recent fiscal year.

GREEN ENERGY IN THE BLACK COUNTRY: A Foundry Closure Devastated Tennessee Town but New Lithium Plant Brings Hope, Thanks to 2021 Infrastructure Bill

Scientists studied 15 middle-Devonian sedimentary rock samples from the Appalachian Basin in the US and found plenty of pyrite inside shale that contained lithium.

“This is unheard of,” said lead researcher and Ph.D. student Shailee Bhattacharya. “But it is promising because it hints at the possibility that certain shales could be a lithium source that doesn’t require new mines.”

The study, due to be presented at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) 2024 General Assembly, found that lithium was more likely to be found in sulfur-rich pyrite, although further research will be needed to establish why this is.

MORE LITHIUM FINDS: World’s Known Lithium Reserves Up 40% After Colossal Discovery in India Turns Up 5.9 Million Tons

“Organic-rich shale may show potential for higher lithium recovery because of the curious interaction between lithium and pyrite,” Ms Bhattacharya said.

“I am trying to understand this association, but the hope is, with lithium discovered in pyrite, we can talk about sustainable energy without using a lot of energy resources.”

SHARE This Remarkable Surprise Hiding In Old Mine Waste With Your Friends… 

Bioengineered Corneas Stand to Cure Blindness For Millions of People Around the World

By
Andy Corbley
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Professor Sutton at work - credit Stefanie Zingsheim, University of Sydney
Professor Sutton at work – credit Stefanie Zingsheim, University of Sydney

In an interview with the Brisbane Times, an Australian ophthalmologist and biotech entrepreneur lays out his vision for a world in which curing blindness in millions of people worldwide is easy and can be done with a bit of cell replication and a 3D printer.

Professor Gerard Sutton is co-founder of Bienco, which he claims now possesses a product—both physical and intellectual—that will soon be able to mass-produce natural corneas for transplantation into the blind.

Cornea transplantation is the most common way of restoring lost sight, but it’s a very technical procedure that relies on donors. The thin see-through “windscreen” of the eyeball, damage or disease to the cornea is a major cause of non-hereditary blindness worldwide.

In the interview, Sutton’s voice shrinks as he recalls a trip he took to Myanmar in 2004 when he was hoping to help the situation of blindness from the previous civil war by training surgeons to perform cornea transplants. On ice, he said, he had brought along four donated corneas from the NSW Eye Bank.

On his arrival at the clinic set to host him, 1,000 people were waiting, thanks to a small article in a local paper. Out of a thousand blind men and women, he had to select four who would be the most suitable for transplant: he picked young people.

This was a transformational experience, and when paired with a follow-up trip to Cambodia where a similar situation occurred, Professor Sutton realized he needed to do something more: something “out of left field” that would allow him to send as many corneas to these parts of the world as was needed.

“At present, there is only one donor cornea available globally to treat every 70 people requiring a corneal transplant,” said Professor Damien Harkin who is a part of Bienco’s staff based at the Queensland University of Technology. “Through laboratory cultivation we estimate that a single donor cornea could provide treatment for 30 people.”

One of Bienco’s manufactured corneas – credit Stefanie Zingsheim, University of Sydney

Bienco’s artificial corneas are based on collagen, the proteins that make hair, skin, nails, and connective tissue. This tends to create opaque tissue, like our skin, and so the first challenge was to make collagen see-through.

RESTORING EYESIGHT: Scientists Regrow Retina Cells to Tackle Leading Cause of Blindness Using Nanotechnology

Once this was done, Sutton and the other members of Bienco like Harkin had to figure out how to apply the many layers of collagen to make a cornea structure that could be transplantable.

MORE BIOENGINEERING: A Single Injection Reverses Blindness in Patient with Rare Genetic Disorder – Another RNA Success

In 2021, Sutton managed to convince the Medical Research Future Fund set up by the treasurer of Australia to back Bienco to the tune of AUD$35 million.

Armed with this unprecedented injection of cash, Sutton believes they are “three to four years” from achieving their goals and making Australia the center of bioengineering on Earth.

SHARE This Visionary Biotech Breakthrough On Social Media… 

In Time for Tax Day: 10,000 Ancient Bamboo Slats Reveal Meticulous Details of Governance from Famous Period

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Andy Corbley
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Jiandu, or bamboo slats. credit - Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Jiandu, or bamboo slats. credit – Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

An ancient trove of literary records, the kind that simply does not come about in Western archeology, was found in an old well in central China.

Dating back to the year 220 CE, 10,000 bamboo slats covered in Chinese characters reveal a wealth of information about how a nearby town was governed during the Three Kingdoms Period.

This was the backdrop upon which the greatest literary masterpiece of Chinese civilization was written: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which tells the story of the lords and soldiers of three Chinese states as they campaign against one another in a prolonged period of strife dating back to the end of the Qin Dynasty.

These bamboo relics were made in the kingdom of Wu, as they bear a reference to the name of the era Jiahe, which marked the rule of the first king of Wu, Sun Quan, a principal character in the book.

Discovered in a pair of old water wells, a press release from the Institute of Archaeology from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences details that the records contained on the bamboo include information about household registration, farming, mining, and other economic activities in the town of Dutou.

Known as Jiandu in Chinese, slats of bamboo were the primary instrument for writing in the region for thousands of years before the invention of silk paper and eventually rice and wood paper. 300,000 jiandu have been recovered from various periods of ancient Chinese history.

YOU’LL ALSO LIKE: 4,200-Year-Old Ceramic Storm Drains in Ancient Chinese Town Are the Oldest of Their Kind

Along with the fact that so much of ancient Chinese writing is recoverable and has been recovered, much of it is in a language that is still spoken today, and which can be read without much scholastic effort. It would be like reading Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform tablets, or Mayan carvings in Roman Latin or Shakespearean English.

MORE CHINESE ARCHEOLOGY: 76,000 Gold and Silver Artifacts Recovered from Chinese River Charts Infamous 17th Century Warlord’s Conquests

The Dutou slats record with meticulous detail the system of taxation levied on the town by the central government, and where those resources would be allocated. The settlement of Dutou is part of a multi-complex area of excavations carried out during recent road repair according to Kevin McSpadden for South China Morning Post.

Over 300 infrastructural elements were identified, including roads, moats, tombs, houses, and metallurgical workshops.

SHARE This Discovery With Your Friends Who Love A Bit Of Chinese History…

Hundreds of Strangers in Snowy North Give Free Car Rides to Southern Tourists Out of Their Element

By
Andy Corbley
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A sign referring to southerners as small potatoes - pulled from Douyin,
A sign referring to southerners as small potatoes – pulled from Douyin,

The Hong Kong South China Morning Post reports that Chinese social media is trending with stories of motorists in the farthest northern reaches of the country offering free rides to semi-tropical southerners coming to visit.

The spontaneously formed fleet of volunteer drivers cruises through the city when bad weather hits with signs on their windshields to alert lost or frozen tourists that the driver is willing to offer a free ride and ensure they feel warm and welcomed.

The northern city of Harbin and its province of Heilongjiang are only about 1,000 miles from the Arctic Circle, and decorated in snow and ice, with Russian architectural influences and a world-famous ice sculpture festival, it’s a tourist destination that offers a lot of what there’s not in southern China.

28 million domestic visitors came to Harbin over the winter season from the warm tropical southern megacities like Shenzhen, Nanjing, or Guangzhou.

SCMP reports that to the tall northern Chinese people who deal with extremely cold temperatures equivalent to those on the US Great Plains, these shorter, thinner southerners are affectionately termed “small potatoes.”

CHINA WINTER WEATHER: Hearts Melt as Truck Firm Transports Tons of Snow from North to South for Special Needs Kids to Have Fun

“Free rides. Please wave if any small potato fails to get a ride-hailing service, so I can offer you a lift,” the signs inside the windscreens of Harbin volunteer drivers say.

Social media in China often trends with stories of generosity and compassion, and many of the small potatoes shared their experiences in posts and videos.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Chinese Man Treats 5,000 People to Noodles After Ring is Recovered

On such driver, Mr. Hu, assured SCMP that “we are very happy to offer this help.”

“We do not go home until we’ve made sure there are no visitors left standing in the street,” he said, adding that it serves to demonstrate the warm and friendly hospitality of people in northeastern China.

SHARE This Cute Story Of Warmth In The Cold On Social Media… 

“Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.” – St. Augustine

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.” – St. Augustine

Photo by: Jr Korpa

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, April 16

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Good News Network
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Xuan Hua - CC BY SA 3.0. Kungming2

106 years ago today, Xuan Hua, also known by the dharma name An Tzu, was born. Xuan Hua founded The Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah, California, bringing Chan Buddhism and the fully ordained monastic order to the West. He also founded the Dharma Realm Buddhist University at CTTB, and the Buddhist Text Translation Society which works to translate Buddhist scriptures from Chinese into English, Vietnamese, Spanish, and many other languages. READ about his long efforts in the West… (1918)

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EPA Limits Carcinogenic Emissions at 218 US Plants–Including Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’

By
Andy Corbley
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule Tuesday that will require 218 chemical plants to reduce toxic and carcinogenic airborne pollutants, aiming to reduce the number of people with elevated cancer risk by 96% nationwide.

The rulings principally address chloroprene: used to make rubber products, and ethylene oxide, used primarily for sterilizing medical supplies. Long-term exposure to these chemicals and their manufacturing have been identified as possible carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents.

According to a report in the Washington Post, this can include lymphoma, leukemia, breast cancer, and liver cancer.

Across a strip of Louisiana and Texas where half of the 218 chemical manufacturing facilities set to be affected by the new regulations are located, cancer rates of these kinds are substantially higher than national averages, leading it to be colloquially called “Cancer Alley.”

EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited Cancer Alley during the open-comment period of the proposed ruling, and said that across the 85 miles dotted with communities, he failed to meet a single person who didn’t know a loved one or friend who had either developed cancer, died of it, or knew someone who had.

YOUR NEXT READ: Pollution in the Mississippi River Has Plummeted Since The 1980s, New Study Says

Once implemented, the ruling will reduce more than 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year, according to the Post.

SHARE This Strong Legislation With Your Friends Who Need A Pick-Me-Up…

In World First, Scientists Share What Was Almost Certainly a Conversation with a Humpback Whale

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Andy Corbley
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Photo by Christopher Michel, CC license
Photo by Christopher Michel, CC license

In a world first, marine biologists were able to have a discourse with a humpback whale, pushing out the boundaries of cooperation and understanding that could be possible between our two species.

An adult female humpback whale, known as Twain, in Southeast Alaska, was located along with a group of whales and called with a recording of another humpback’s “whup/throp” call.

The recording was made by whales of the same group the day before, but the team didn’t know if the calls recorded were made by the same whale or were part of an exchange between two or more whales. To find out, the researchers conducted the trial on two days, with the first to find out if the whup calls they had recorded would be socially acceptable.

It turned out that whatever the whale(s) had been saying the day before was appropriate as far as Twain was concerned, and after the team broadcast the playback, she drifted away from her group and participated both physically and acoustically in three phases of interaction with the crew and their boat including periods of engagement, agitation, and disengagement.

First she called back, then she circled the boat three times, surfaced, and dived again. After this interaction, she gradually left.

Twain’s whup calls on day 2 and the whup calls recorded on day 1 were acoustically analyzed for both spectral and temporal features, specifically the inter-call interval, or latency between calls as measured by the time difference between the preceding call’s offset and the subsequent call’s onset.

The scientists determined that this metric would be able to determine both arousal and valence, thereby allowing them to get some idea of the emotional content of the exchange. The results indicated that substantial variation was found among the latencies in Twain’s calling behavior, which they took to mean excitement or arousal.

WHALE NEWS TO WOW YOU: Kayaker Singing in Hopes of Attracting Beluga Whales Never Imagined They Were Actually Listening

“After playing the contact call three times, we got this huge response,” said Brenda McCowan told the BBC. “Then, to keep the animal engaged, I started trying to match the latency of her calls to our calls. So, if she waited 10 seconds, I waited 10 seconds. We ended up matching each other. We did this 36 times over a 20-minute period.”

Twain’s calls were significantly shorter during engagement than either during the period defined as agitation, when she was circling the boat ejecting air through her blowhole, or as she was leaving.

MORE ACOUSTIC BIOLOGY: Broadcasting Audio of Healthy Reef Sounds Can Spur Degraded Coral to New Life

The BBC reports that the songs of the humpback whale are thought to be among the most complex in the animal kingdom.

A strong point of the whole experiment was that the results were determined with a degree of blinding—via independent, uninformed observers reporting on surface behavior and respiratory activity of the interacting whale.

SHARE This Giant Leap For Earthling Communication Skills… 

Airport Keeps Wildlife Away From Runways with Robot Disguised as Predator

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Andy Corbley
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Aurora,' the wildlife safety robot. Photo Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
Aurora,’ the wildlife safety robot. Photo Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities

Across Alaska last year, there were 92 instances of animal strikes on the state’s runways.

This year, the Alaska Dept. of Transportation is rolling out a four-legged robotic guard animal that can be disguised as a fox or a coyote to deter animals from crossing or loitering on the runways.

The DoT and local airport managers have used all sorts of deterrents to try and keep runways clear of the state’s wildlife. These have included bringing pigs onto airport grounds to eat bird eggs in the 1990s, but also mounting speakers that produce loud noises, firing at animals with paintball guns, and even using drones that spray grape juice.

The robotic predator will prowl the runways at the Fairbanks airport, the state’s second-largest, and can move through snow and ice while being controlled at a console inside.

Panels of imitation fur print can be attached to make it appear like a fox or coyote, which the team behind the project decided on rather than fake fur.

MORE ROBOTIC INNOVATION: Robot Named Sorty McSortface Uses Mechanical Claws and AI to Sort Tons of Recyclables in Minutes

Named ‘Aurora’ the robot is a Spot model from Boston Dynamics’ commercial line of robots. It’s believed that Aurora will handle nesting and migratory birds easily enough, but an elongated testing period will also see if it can scare off larger animals like moose or bears.

If the tests are successful, Aurora may be replicated in other airports across the state. The robot cost $70,000 from Boston Dynamics.

WATCH the robot move across various Alaskan terrain… 

SHARE This Unorthodox Idea For Keeping Alaska Aviation Safe And Sound… 

The Violent History and Fiery Birth of the ‘Dragon’s Egg Nebula’ Solves Stellar Mystery

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Andy Corbley
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Credit - VLT Survey Telescope hosted at ESO's Paranal Observatory, ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgement: CASU
Credit – VLT Survey Telescope hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgment: CASU

Astronomers studying the origins of a strange and mysterious nebula deduced a turbulent history that shows how massive stars can become magnetized that otherwise wouldn’t be.

As well as showing this, they were able to capture a beautiful image of what is called the ‘Dragon’s Egg’ nebula in the constellation Norma.

Researchers at the European Southern Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert were focusing their attention on a binary star system called HD 148937, wherein one star was small and old, and the other star was massive, magnetic, and younger.

Abigail Frost, an astronomer at ESO in Chile and lead author of the study that eventually revealed the stars’ creation story, told Physics.org that one would expect a binary star pairing to be the same age, and certainly not asymmetrically magnetic.

Massive stars are almost never magnetized, unlike our own Sun which is relatively small. Adding to the enigma of HD 148937, a beautiful nebula surrounded the pair rich in hydrogen, nitrogen, and helium—compounds that one would expect to find inside a star, not outside.

“A nebula surrounding two massive stars is a rarity, and it really made us feel like something cool had to have happened in this system,” Frost said. “When looking at the data, the coolness only increased.”

As well as deepening the mystery, the nebula also helped solve it. The evidence pointed to the scenario in which HD 148937 was a trinary star system that saw two stars close enough together to eventually collide and merge, blasting out material that formed the nebula.

ALSO CHECK OUT: NASA Turns Light into Sound Frequency Creating a Milky Way Symphony (LISTEN)

The 1.5 million year age difference between the smaller, non-magnetic star, and the larger magnetic star, was due to the larger one restoring a bit of its volatile youthfulness having merged with the third star.

“Magnetism in massive stars isn’t expected to last very long compared to the lifetime of the star, so it seems we have observed this rare event very soon after it happened,” Frost adds.

MORE NEBULAE STORIES: Stunning Image of Lobster Nebula Captured by Chilean Telescope

The data to inform the hypothesis came from the PIONIER and GRAVITY instruments onboard the Very Large Telescope Interferometer in the Atacama Desert, as well as information from the archive of the FEROS instrument at ESO’s La Silla Observatory.

The Dragon’s Egg nebula is a catchy name, and its fiery origin befitting, but there isn’t likely to be any more hatching going on in this star system apart from Frost’s new theory on the formation of magnetism in massive stars.

SHARE This Interesting Story On The Birth Of A Massive Magnet Star… 

“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” – Mark Twain (Today is tax day in US)

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” – Mark Twain (Reminder: Today is tax day in the USA)

Photo by: nathan dumlao

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, April 15

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Good News Network
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Corrie ten Boom in 1921 - public domain.

136 years ago today, Corrie ten Boom was born in Haarlem. A Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, ten Boom assisted her father Casper and sister Betise to help many Jewish residents of the Netherlands escape the Nazis. Eventually, she was caught and imprisoned in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family’s efforts and how she found and shared hope in God while she was imprisoned. READ more… (1892)

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Bill Gates Filled a Pothole With Modern Asphalt Made of Carbon–Captured During Clean Hydrogen Process

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Good News Network
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Bill Gates has shared a video of himself filling a pothole with Modern Asphalt.

The road repair material is made with carbon that has been stripped out of natural gas to decarbonize it in the process of making clean hydrogen.

Gates was an early seed investor in Modern Hydrogen, the Seattle-based company founded in 2015 that makes the asphalt.

“I filled a pothole—and reduced greenhouse gas emissions—during my incredible visit to Modern Hydrogen,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

“With an innovative process that removes carbon from natural gas to get emissions-free hydrogen, Modern Hydrogen is decarbonizing the energy market.

“And by sequestering that carbon in asphalt used to build roads (and repair potholes), the company is decarbonizing the building materials market, too.”

WATCH the cool video or continue below to learn more…

 

Tony Pan, Co-founder and CEO of Modern Hydrogen explained the company’s strategy this way:

“There are 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines in the USA alone. And the delivered price of natural gas is much cheaper than that of delivered electricity—typically by a factor of 3 to 5 times.

“By stripping out the offending carbon atom from gas at the end of the pipe, before it has a chance to become CO2, Modern’s technology can deliver decarbonized gas—aka clean hydrogen—on location. Thus, Modern can deliver this hydrogen to the end consumer, without the decades and billions of dollars it would take to build out clean hydrogen infrastructure.

“Sidestepping the need for new pipes and transmission permits will be invaluable in achieving speed and scale in realizing the clean hydrogen economy.”

CLIMATE CELEBRITY: Former NBA Star Rick Fox is Manufacturing Concrete That Absorbs More CO2 Than it Creates

Modern Hydrogen Co-founder and CTO Max Mankin describes their process as a “negative emissions technology”, something the world sorely requires to meet its climate goals.

“We can generate net negative emissions by applying our pyrolysis technology on carbon-neutral gases such as biogas. The solid carbon we pull out from the gas is directly weighed, so every ton of solid carbon we put into products and building materials are verifiable emissions captured, avoided, and utilized.”

MEMORABLE: When Life Gives You Carbon… Make a Factory for Producing Carbon-Negative Concrete

Ever the optimist, Gates says he “can’t wait to see what’s next.”

DON’T BE NEGATIVE: Share the Carbon-Positive News on Social Media…

Three Castaways Stranded on Island Rescued After Spelling Out ‘HELP’ Using Leaves

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U.S. Coast Guard / SWNS
U.S. Coast Guard / SWNS

Castaways stranded on an island in Micronesia were rescued after spelling out ‘HELP’ in palm leaves.

The U.S. Coast Guard picked up the three sailors stranded on Pikelot Atoll after they got into trouble in their small 20-foot open skiff.

The men, all experienced in navigating local seas, reportedly embarked on a voyage from Polowat Atoll on Easter Sunday equipped with an outboard motor.

But six days later, the Joint Rescue Sub-Center Guam received a distress call from a relative of the three mariners reporting that her uncles were missing after they departed on a 100-nautical-mile voyage and had not returned.

Thanks to the coordination of the Coast Guard in Micronesia/Sector Guam and the U.S. Navy, the men were able to be located—with a “crucial factor” being their idea to spell out ‘help’ on the beach.

The breakthrough came when the U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft confirmed their presence on April 7 on Pikelot Atoll, and the crew successfully deployed survival packages to sustain the men until further assistance could arrive.

WATCH: Deputies Rescue 5-yo Girl With Autism Wandering in a Florida Swamp

“In a remarkable testament to their will to be found, the mariners spelled out “HELP” on the beach using palm leaves, a crucial factor in their discovery. This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location,” said Lt. Chelsea Garcia, the search and rescue mission coordinator on the day they were located.

The USCG Oliver Henry rescuing the sailors on April 9 – U.S. Coast Guard / SWNS

The crew aboard the USCG Oliver Henry rescued the relieved trio two days later on April 9.

HOLLYWOOD HELPFUL: Woman Reunited With Lost Teddy Bear Containing Late Mother’s Voice, Thanks to Ryan Reynolds

The U.S. Coast Guard added that they strongly recommend all mariners equip their vessels with an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) to enhance safety on the water.

SHARE The Life-Saving Good News With Sailors on Social Media…

Mysterious Rainbow-like ‘Glory Lights’ Observed on Planet Outside Our Solar System for First Time Ever

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EMBARGOED UNTIL 5 APRIL 9AM BST Astronomers have detected signs of the rainbow-like ‘glory’ effect on a planet outside our solar system for the first time. Spotted on a world 637 light years away from Earth, it may offer new information on how habitable distant planets could be. ‘Glory’ lights are concentric rings of light that only occur under specific conditions – namely, when light is reflected off clouds made up of a uniform, but so far unknown, substance. The effect, often seen on Earth and mistaken for a rainbow, is understood to happen when light passes between a narrow opening, such as between water droplets in clouds, causing it to diffract and create ring-like patterns.
‘Glory’ lights on WASP-76b – European Space Agency / SWNS

Astronomers have detected signs of the rainbow-like ‘glory’ effect on a planet outside our solar system for the first time.

Spotted on a planet that is 637 light years away from Earth, it may offer new information on how habitable distant planets could be.

‘Glory’ lights are concentric rings of light that only occur under specific conditions—namely, when light is reflected off clouds made up of a uniform substance (so far, unknown).

The effect, often seen on Earth and mistaken for a rainbow, is understood to happen when light passes between a narrow opening, such as between water droplets in clouds, causing it to diffract and create ring-like patterns.

The effect has only once been found on another planet – Venus – meaning that, if confirmed, this is the first ‘glory’ to be detected outside our solar system.

Scientists from the University of Warwick believe the ‘glory’ occurred on a planet called WASP-76b. First discovered in 2013, it’s nearly double the size of Jupiter, and known for its ‘hellish’ atmosphere.

One side always faces the sun, reaching unbearably hot temperature of 2,400 degrees Celsius, and one side always faces away from the sun, creating an ‘endless’ night where clouds drip iron molten rain.

However, observations from the European Space Agency’s Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS) suggest that between these two sides, there may be a ‘glory’.

“Never before have we seen these colorful, concentric rings on an extrasolar body,” said Dr. Thomas Wilson, who co-authored the research.

“So, if confirmed with future studies, this first exo-planetary glory would make WASP-76b a truly unique body—and give us a beautiful tool for understanding the atmospheres of distance exoplanets and how habitable they could be.”

LOOK: Scientists Reveal Incredible Image of Magnetic Fields Spiraling from Supermassive Black Hole

“There’s a reason no glory has been seen before outside our solar system – it requires very peculiar conditions,” said lead author Dr. Olivier Demangeon from the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal.

“First, you need atmospheric particles that are close-to-perfectly spherical, completely uniform, and stable enough to be observed over a long time.

“Then, the planet’s nearby star needs to shine directly at it, with the observer at just the right orientation.”

The discovery was made after scientists recorded 23 observations over three years as WASP-76b passed in front of and around its sun-like star.

MARS MARVEL: Incredible New Image Captures Evidence of Once-Flowing River on Mars

Data collected showed a surprising increase in the amount of light coming from the planet’s eastern ‘terminator’ – the boundary where night meets day. This allowed astronomers to determine the origin of the signal.

Dr. Demangeon explained, “This is the first time that such a sharp change has been detected in the brightness of an exoplanet.

“This discovery leads us to hypothesize that this unexpected glow could be caused by a strong, localized, and directionally-dependent reflection – the glory effect.”

He said that the next steps would be to use NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to officially confirm that this is the ‘glory’ effect.

STARGAZING SHOW: Incredible Pictures Show Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon Io in Stunning Detail

“Confirmation would imply that the temperature of WASP-76b’s atmosphere must be stable over time, enabling the presence of clouds made up of perfectly spherical water droplets crucial to glory formation.”

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Man Who Built Adorable Mouse Village to Cope With Depression Adds a Pub, Book Shop, and Hobbit Homes–LOOK

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Simon Dell / SWNS
By Simon Dell / SWNS

A British man who six years ago built an adorable mouse village to cope with depression has added a pub, a book shop, and Hobbit homes so he could capture even more heartwarming photos.

Simon Dell began creating the ‘mini shire’ when he spotted a wild mouse in his back garden and wanted to protect it from neighborhood cats.

Since then, the 50-year-old has attracted more mice to the luxury mouse town, constructed from recycled materials and repurposed trash.

Simon documents daily village activities across his social media channels (George the Mouse in a log pile house) with an impressive following of over 150,000.

“Without photography, and the fun of making little things for little things, I could soon sink back into deep depression,” said Simon.

“Photography gave me a reason to get up and out again and the mouse village gave me back my smile.

“I hope it gives others the same joy it gives me.”

The Log Pile Inn pub (with ‘No Cats’ sign out front) in Simon Dell’s mouse village – SWNS
A book shop in Simon Dell’s mouse village / SWNS

Back in 2018, Simon recalls sitting in his garden in South Yorkshire when he “could see cats sitting just feet away from this little mouse at the other side of a fence.”

He piled some small logs around a box as a home for the mouse and covered it with moss and straw to give him a little shelter, and wire fencing to keep the cats at bay.

SWNS

After erecting the shelter for the mouse, which he named George, he began adding more homes next door. Within days, a few mice pals had moved in, looking to get-in on the creature comforts.

Barrel outside the Log Pile Inn by Simon Dell / SWNS

The wildlife photographer began adding intricate detail to the tiny houses, fashioning dining tables and giving them props for hobbies like painting, boating, gardening, and photography.

By Simon Dell / SWNS
Simon Dell / SWNS
Simon Dell / SWNS

Today, Simon says there are around 20 mice, with possibly two family groups—and a lot has changed in the village.

“The only limit is my own imagination and skills at making the new buildings – as everything is made by hand from recycled bits of wood old logs or just about anything I can find in skips or the trash that could be given a new life.”

“They have two of my old boots converted into mouse homes and lots of other types of homes scattered around the village.

“In fact they have just about everything you would find in a village or even a town.”

The village in 2019 – SWNS

He has plans to add a train station, cafe and a theater or cinema.

Simon says the mouse village has given him—and many of his followers—immense joy amidst personal struggles.

The Village in 2019 – SWNS

“As I have always suffered with depression, insomnia, and anxiety, they are always there to support me in good or bad times—and many find my photos and videos help make them smile daily and lift their moods.

“That has always been my goal to make others smile along with keeping my mind and body active.”

LOOK: The Comedy Wildlife Photo Winners Are Here–And They’re Absolutely Adorable

You can follow George the Mouse in a log pile house across Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.

SHARE The Wondrous Photos With Friends on Social Media…

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.” – Victor Hugo

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Quote of the Day: “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.” – Victor Hugo

Photo by: Jonathan Mabey

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, April 14

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Good News Network
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David Bowie Let's Dance

41 years ago today, EMI released David Bowie’s 15th studio album Let’s Dance. The album became Bowie’s greatest commercial success, with 11 million albums sold and topping the charts in 9 countries. For many Bowie fans, his persona, lyrical content, and performance in Let’s Dance remain the most iconic of his long career, not least because of the substantial radio play it received. READ some quick facts about this timeless work of art… (1983)

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Teen Bullied Over Her Weight Goes On to Become Cheerleading Coach and Beauty Queen Finalist

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Sophie McGarva – via SWNS
Sophie McGarva – via SWNS

A student who was picked-on for being an overweight teenager has shut down the bullies by becoming a cheerleading coach and Miss England semi-finalist.

Sophie McGarva said she was mocked by cruel classmates after she reached almost 200 pounds during middle school by gorging on junk food and snacks before turning 13.

The Englishwoman suffered from low self-esteem but became determined to “prove everyone wrong” and went on to lose 49 pounds. Now 21, Sophie even made the semi-finals of the Miss England competition last weekend.

The English Literature degree student now keeps in shape by coaching cheerleading for the ‘YSJ Kats’ at York St John University and going to the gym three times a week.

“The issues with my weight first started once I got to secondary school,” explained the North Yorkshire woman. “I wasn’t very sporty then and I was eating a lot of bad food, like chocolates and sweets..

“But at that point you start to become more image aware and the girls around me were all really slim.

“I was never too concerned, but then a few girls started picking on me because of my size and saying mean and horrible things.

“I even reported it to teachers at one point, but it was sort of brushed under the carpet, which didn’t help matters.

LOOK: He Lost 210-lbs on Carnivore Diet Eating Just Meat and Eggs–After Fertility Became an Issue

“After about a year of this, I knew it was time for a change and I became determined to prove everyone wrong.

“I also wanted to prove to myself that if I put my mind to something I could do it. So I began watching my diet and exercising more.”

After getting into dance, swimming, and ice-skating, she lost almost 50 pounds.

“I have maintained this determined, strong-willed mindset in my adulthood and I still go to the gym.”

“Once I got to university I wanted to join a society as they say that’s the best way to meet people. I chose cheerleading and it just went from there. I now choreograph routines and teach up to a level two standard.

EVEN THE OLD CAN DO IT: Grandma Lost 250 Pounds and is Now a Bodybuilder

“We’re not competitive. We’re a varsity squad so do events and cheer on the football teams and things like that. I absolutely love it.”

Cheerleading gave Sophie the confidence to model on four occasions at York Fashion Week, giving her the belief that she could even compete in a beauty pageant.

“I entered Miss England after seeing it publicized on social media, thinking I wouldn’t stand a chance.

“I like the charity aspect and what they stand for—about beauty not being solely about what’s on the outside.

CHECK OUT: How Self-Compassion Can Help People Achieve Weight Loss Goals Despite Setbacks–and Resume Dieting Faster

“At school I was a young and impressionable girl who was taught by those around me that beauty was merely the reflection in the mirror—which, after the weight loss, I came to the realization that this is not entirely true.

“I entered Miss England to challenge myself again, in aims of gaining confidence within myself and to also make my younger self proud.”

Indeed, she became one of 44 women to make it through to the Miss England national finals last weekend.

“I wanted to gain a deeper connection with myself and those around me, proving to myself that I can succeed in things outside my comfort zone.”

SHARE The Confidence Booster With Angst-Ridden Youth on Social Media…

Teen with Incredibly Rare Genetic Condition is Cured in World First By British Doctors

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Kai Xue with her mom and team members from University Hospitals at North Midlands –  NHS Trust via SWNS
Kai Xue with her mom and team members from University Hospitals at North Midlands – NHS Trust via SWNS

A teen diagnosed with an incredibly rare genetic condition has become the first person in the world to be cured, thanks to a team of pioneering British doctors.

13-year-old Kai Xue is one of just 21 people in the world stricken with a disease called WILD syndrome, which impairs cells, causes lymphedema and warts, and leads to infections—but she was also diagnosed with severe chylous ascites, a potentially fatal illness that caused 28 liters of lymphatic fluid to collect within her abdomen.

It took over a decade to find a special team of doctors who could locate the cause of the fluid buildup from chylous ascites—and stop it for good.

Kai was born with an abnormal lymphatic system and her mother Ning Chen said they spent her daughter’s childhood in the UK visiting different hospitals and had even travelled to China to see if she could get treatment there.

But more than a decade later, Kai was finally cured after she was diagnosed by Dr. Mona Mossad, a national expert in lymphatic intervention.

The doctor went on to work alongside experienced surgeons to remove the excess fluid from Kai’s body, while also fixing a leak that had developed in her liver.

After a five-week stay at Staffordshire Children’s Hospital at Royal Stoke, which is run by University Hospitals at North Midlands NHS Trust, she was finally able to return home to her grateful family.

“Throughout her childhood, we were under the care of a number of different hospitals to try to find out what the matter was, but nobody knew the cause,” said her relieved mom.

AMAZING CURE: Belgian Boy is the First Child in the World to Have Been Cured of Brain Stem Glioma, a Brutal Cancer

“We tried everything, from restrictive diets to even flying to China for treatment. “We’re very excited to finally be going home, I still cannot believe it.”

When Dr. Mossad, a consultant interventional radiologist, was first introduced to Kai, there was still some debate over her diagnosis.

“Kai was in a very difficult situation. Nobody could diagnose the cause of the leak that was leading to the build-up of lymphatic fluid into her abdomen over the years.

“That leak caused two major problems. The first being the large amount of fluids which were leaking into her abdominal space causing severe abdominal distention and pressure on internal organs. The second was that if we drained these fluids to relieve the pressure, we would be removing all the nutritional fluid from her body- protein, fat, antibodies, electrolytes and white blood cells.

CANCER CURED: Kinder-Than-Chemo Cancer Drug Cured Boy of Leukemia–Available in the US

“These types of leaks are usually very difficult and multifactorial, there is not just one cause for it. So clinically and radiologically we tried to eliminate the causes starting with the least-invasive,” recalls Dr. Mossad.

After initially carrying out a procedure to improve her lymphatic drainage, they then embarked on more challenging surgery to block lymphatic vessels in her liver that measured less than one-tenth of a millimeter.

Dr. Mossad said that because of Kai’s age and size, they had to special order smaller needles that would work.

“We successfully managed to find a large leak that was going into her abdominal cavity from the left lobe in her liver and were able to repair the leak using a special surgical glue.”

ALSO SEE: Toddler Is First to Be Cured of Rare, Deadly Condition, Using New Versions of a Faulty Gene

Kai was also under the care of Dr. Yvonne Slater, a Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterologist at the teaching hospital, who was thrilled that the young teen had responded so well.

“We are all over the moon for Kai, who is the first child to undergo this treatment anywhere in the world.” said Dr. Slater.

“It was an extremely long, difficult, and specialized case, over the two procedures that (also) involved the skills and dedication of many teams at University Hospitals at North Midlands—including Radiology, Anesthetics, Children’s Intensive Care, Gastroenterology and Dietetics.

“Despite this, Kai has remained remarkably robust, and after coming to us very weak, she has left a completely different girl, smiling for the first time in a long time.

CHECK OUT: Vaccine that Could Cure and Even Prevent Brain Cancer Developed by Scientists

“I’m delighted that everybody has moved heaven and earth to do the right thing for them.”

Kai’s mother praised the doctors and surgeons following the successful outcome.

“I’m so happy for the excellent care, and everybody was so nice and helpful and they tried their best to help us. The whole team is amazing.”

SHARE The Breakthrough With Doctors and Families on Social Media…

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