A Welsh photographer incidentally found that a familiar harbor area bore an uncanny resemblance to a dolphin.
Photographer Rhys Jones was amazed to see the likeness in the photograph he took with his camera drone over Pwllheli in Wales.
Rhys says he has taken his drone over the marina many times but this was the first time he noticed the aquatic appearance of the landscape.
“Once seen, it cannot be unseen,” said the 37-year-old, who has been taking drone photos as a hobby for the past two years. “In all my flight time over the Pwllheli harbor, I have never noticed this as much as last night, spectacular!”
“I have taken many photos of the beautiful area we live in. I have been over the marina many times but only just noticed this amazing landscape on this occasion.”
The pictures have gained a lot of interest from locals on his Facebook page, Pwllheli Drone Photos, where he does his cultural duty to showcase the insane beauty of the Welsh landscape.
“Was this created on porpoise?” one commenter asked.
It’s a completely appropriate coincidence because that area of the sea has a pod of around 300 dolphins who occasionally visit the harbor.
Drone photo by Rhys Jones-SWNS
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In 2020, GNN celebrated the hard work of 18-year-old Rehan Staton, who worked for years as a garbage man to support a charge into Harvard Law School via classes at the University of Maryland.
Now, after years of a different sort of hard work, Staton has graduated and has a job lined up in a New York law firm.
A long journey of sweat and tears, and literal blood preceded his walk out onto the stage in a cap and gown, one in which he gave as good as he got.
The boxing analogies come from the fact that Rehan Staton excelled in the martial arts including boxing, winning several competitions until a rotary cuff injury put an end to that permanently. With grades so bad he was rejected from every college he applied to, the part where he took a job as a sanitation worker wasn’t rock bottom as one might expect.
“It was the first time in my life a group of individuals that weren’t my father or my brother just came around me and… really just empowered me, uplifted me, told me I was intelligent,” he said in 2020.
The sanitation team helped him to enroll, successfully this time, at Bowie State University, after which his grades improved from terrible to 4.0—landing him a spot at Maryland State U. His father would suffer a stroke years later, requiring Rehan to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to haul trash for payment of the medical bills and ensure he still had time for his studies.
This story, as NBC news reports, went viral on social media which attracted celebrity Tyler Perry to pay his tuition. He was accepted into Harvard for the 2020 semester. After that, he began to give back, befriending all the school janitors and other staff who were surprised he wanted to speak to them.
“She said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, students don’t talk to me. Students would rather look at the wall than talk to me,’” he recalled one worker telling him.
Starting a non-profit called the Reciprocity Effect that works with support staff affiliated with educational institutions, he was able to give out several prizes at organized ceremonies to honor them with recognition and awards. The non-profit helps to crowdfund financial assistance for these hard-working folks in the case of personal tragedies.
English media is gushing over the news of the first “de-extinction event” that saw a yellow wildflower unique to northeast England brought back to life.
Extinct since 1991, the York groundsel managed to carry on thanks to a handful of seed that was shed from three potted specimens on a windowsill at the University of York.
Stored at the Millennium Seed Bank in the Kew Gardens, botanists at Natural England organized a resurrection for the York groundsel after they received word the seeds were reaching the end of their lifespan.
A plastic greenhouse was constructed for the experiment at the Rare British Plants Nursery in Wales, and thanks in no small part to its excellent fecundity, 98 of the 100 seeds germinated, and soon, those three survivors on a windowsill had passed their genes on to literally thousands of offspring, three whole decades after they died.
“It’s a smiley, happy-looking yellow daisy and it’s a species that we’ve got international responsibility for,” said Alex Prendergast, a vascular plant senior specialist for Natural England. “It’s also got an important value as a pollinator and nectar plant in the area because it flowers almost every month of the year.”
“It only lives in York, and it only ever lived in York. It’s a good tool to talk to people about the importance of urban biodiversity and I hope it will capture people’s imagination,” he told the Guardian.
This groundsel is the only known species to have evolved in England within the last 50 years as it dumped all its evolutionary vigor into figuring out how to live successfully in urban environments.
It grew out of every crack in the pavement during the stagflationary recession of the 1970s, but soon fell prey to widespread weedkiller application.
Prendergast said that this de-extinction event is likely to be a one-off because of the unique nature of the York groundsel, but added that it nevertheless demonstrated the immense importance of the Millennium Seed Bank.
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Archaeologists working in Spain’s most famous archaeological site have uncovered a 5,400-year-old tomb that perfectly aligns to the summer solstice sunrise in such a way as to be described as “domesticated sunlight”.
That strange term is used because of the rich variety of designs that appear in shadow on a stone stele on the right-hand side of the tomb when hit by the light of the rising sun on June 21st, producing an effect not unlike Newgrange in Ireland.
The tomb was discovered in the Antequera Dolmens UNESCO World Heritage Site near the town of Antequera, southern Spain. The 6,100-acre (2,446-hectare) site contains a mix of megalithic and dry stone Neolithic burial architecture unsurpassed in all of Europe, many of which contain archaeo-astronomical alignments.
“Newgrange is much bigger and more complex than the tomb we have discovered [in Spain], but they have something in common — the interest of the builders to use sunlight at a specific time of the year, to produce a symbolic—possibly magic—effect,” Leonardo García Sanjuán, an archaeologist at the University of Seville, told Live Science reporting on the discovery.
In the case of this tomb, called Piedras Blancas, or “White Stones” the base had exposed bedrock layers that tilted away from the sunrise, and so workers deliberately carved out a channel for light to enter and dance with shadows upon the walls inside.
The tomb was found quite near a remarkable limestone formation called La Peña de los Enamorados—the Rock of the Lovers—named after a legend that says two star-crossed lovers once killed themselves by jumping off it. It’s even closer to the Matacabras rock shelter, which is adorned with pictographs thought to be painted about 5,800 years ago.
“Antequera illustrates the power by which nature presided over the Neolithic worldview, inspiring and guiding the creation of monuments,” Sanjuán and his colleagues wrote in a paper on the site, published in Antiquity. “Is it mere chance that the largest and most sophisticated Neolithic monumental landscape in Iberia is in a region with not one but two remarkable natural formations?”
“Due to their different textures and carbonate content, processes such as dissolution, gelation, and wind action have differentially dissolved the limestones to form corridors, sinkholes, and caves. Neolithic settlers in the region may not have understood the formation processes that created El Torcal, but for a millennium and a half they lived among geological towers, corridors, and chambers that very much resembled a natural architecture”.
A side-by-side view of the oldest strata of the tomb (left) and a second period of use dating to about 500 years later (right) that began with a filling in with sediment of the earlier surface. credit – M. Ángel Blanco de la Rubia, Cambridge University Press.
What was found inside
Built probably around 3,400 BCE, or 5,400 years ago, the site was still regularly inhabited or at least visited 1,400 years later at the onset of the Bronze Age in Andalusia, highlighting its importance in local culture.
The tomb contained a large “assemblage” of human remains, compared to other megalithic tombs at Antequera whereby no human bones have ever been found.
At White Stones, the entrance to the tomb was free of all cut rock and human remains, and in fact played host to funerary offerings, to which 10 complete ceramic vessels bear witness. Further towards the back of the chamber, a complex arrangement of medium-sized stones tightly bonded with mud appears to have acted as a platform on which to place bodies and/or bones.
All this was recorded in the layer of earth closest to the bedrock, and dates to the oldest period of use around 3,000 BCE. Then about 500 years later, a dramatic transformation occurred which saw all these features buried with a layer of sediment.
In this layer were discovered two adult skeletons, one male, one female, of about 75% completeness, but nothing that could be construed as grave goods. The tomb was then subject to yet another renovation, with yet more skeletons.
Perhaps more interesting than anyone found inside were two slabs of rock that made up the right-hand side wall. The first, covered in undulating wave or scale-like shapes, was taken from an area that used to make up the shallow seabed. It was on this rock that the light from sunrise on the summer solstice would fall.
Just below it, two flat stones were affixed to the bedrock of the tomb’s floor with mud mortar, which point directly to the rising sun on the solstice circ. 3,400 BCE. The orientation of the pointing stone passes exactly through the gap between the eastern end of the wall and two stones placed there, perfectly channeling the light onto the stone with the wave patterns.
“These people chose this stone precisely because it created these waving, undulating shapes,” Sanjuán told Live Science. “This was very theatrical… they were very clever in producing these special visual effects”.
A European thing
The authors note in their study that Neolithic Europeans in Spain, Ireland, England, and even Sweden, have aligned megalithic structures to solar movements, such as sunrise or sunset during the solstices, or the vernal and autumn equinox.
Sanjuán notes that the importance of the sun is of obvious focus: the sun was the center of the worldview for Neolithic Europeans. It kept them warm, allowed them to see, grew plants, melted the snow, and guided the changing of the seasons.
The Dolmen de Menga pictured above is one of the largest in Europe, but it isn’t aligned with any astronomical event. Instead, its opening points directly at La Peña de los Enamorados, with White Stones at its base.
Clearly, the hill was of great importance to the people of Neolithic Antequera, but why such an enormous megalithic monument would be made to point at a much smaller one, by comparison, was not something the archaeologists could answer at this time.
At the end of their work, they had nevertheless proven once again the incalculable value of Antequera for understanding the history of Europe.
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Quote of the Day: “Nothing would be done at all if you waited until you could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.” – Cardinal Newman
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A window cleaner has become an online sensation after pressure washing his hometown’s filthy pavement and sidewalks in his spare time.
Andrew Carr has been dubbed a hero by TikTok users for his efforts and his videos that have attracted thousands of followers from around the world.
Carr, who owns ABC Cleaning Services, says he was fed up with the paths and cobbles in Alnwick, Northumberland, being covered in chewing gum and dog poo.
One day he simply couldn’t take it anymore, and after finishing a job washing windows and gutters in a town shop, the 32-year-old turned his powerful pressure washer on the path outside and was amazed to see patterns on the paving slabs that had been hidden under decades of dirt.
Satisfied with his efforts he contacted the local council and offered to spruce up the rest of the historic town in his spare time, and they agreed.
Now, every Sunday morning, Carr blasts the paths and pavements around the town center until they sparkle.
“I was cleaning windows and gutters and just looked down and was really disappointed at the state of the pavements,” recounts Carr. “I looked further up the high street and every paving slab was covered in chewing gum and there was a dog mess. It was a sad sight.”
“Right there and then I set myself a goal of cleaning the center of town up. I thought to myself that everyone complains about dog mess and chewing gum but no one does anything about it.”
“I contacted the town council and said I wanted to clean the paths up and they were delighted. It’s really lifted the spirits of people living here.”
He now wants to tackle the pavements around the edges of the town, including the rundown bus station and nearby residential streets, elated with the feedback he hears from people, especially from visitors.
For example, 60-year-old life-long Alnwick resident Angela Davies said that she “never knew the paving slabs had patterns before they were washed.”
“It may seem a small thing to be excited about but the clean pavements have transformed the place,” she said.
“The work clearing chewing gum is very time-consuming but the results are a revelation,” said town Councillor Gordon Castle. “On behalf of the town, I thank him for his public-spirited work.”
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There are poisonous books—the Communist Manifesto, or Mein Kampf for example—and then there are books that are literally poisonous.
Covered in vibrant green bookcloth, hundreds of 19th-century volumes are actually laced with a toxic pigment, and one researcher who’s used to creating databases of volumes for research, has instead created one as a public health service; aptly named the Poison Book Project.
Emerald green, also known as Paris green, Vienna green, and Schweinfurt green, is the product of combining copper acetate with arsenic trioxide—yes, that arsenic.
Arsenic can cause permanent organ damage and death in the worst of cases, but even minimal exposure can cause fatigue, cramps, and diarrhea as your body works to purge the heavy metal.
“The toxic pigment was commercially developed in 1814 by the Wilhelm Dye and White Lead Company in Schweinfurt, Germany,” reports National Geographic. “It was used everywhere, from clothing and wallpaper to fake flowers and paint.”
But arsenic was just the start, as Poison Book Project explains.
Over 50% of the 19th-century, cloth-case bindings analyzed for this project to date contain lead in the bookcloth, across a range of colors. Analysis of a range of bookcloth colors has identified… the following highly toxic heavy metals: arsenic, chromium, lead, and mercury.”
Volumes used to be bound in leather until bookcloth became a more affordable substitute. The bookcloth also meant that publishers could use dyes and more heavy pigments to color the exteriors.
One such emerald green book, Rustic Adornments for Homes and Taste, was the subject of examination by Melissa Tedone at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Delaware, and founder of Poison Books Project.
Examining the volume, she found a black excretion on the damaged part of the 162-year-old cover, which led her to a laboratory for testing. She discovered the substance was a mix of copper and arsenic, with the latter averaging a concentration of 1.42 milligrams of arsenic per square centimeter.
That’s 1.4% of a lethal dose for an adult. However, the risk is essentially limited to those who would handle books like these regularly—such as conservationists, librarians, literature professors working in historic libraries, or museum curators, for whom Poison Books Project has important safefty information.
But the next time you think to buy a shiny blue, red, or especially green set of antique books, make sure you stop by the pharmacy for some latex gloves before hand.
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Nelson Mandela University / University of Leicester (SWNS)
Nelson Mandela University / University of Leicester (SWNS)
A 153,000-year-old footprint found in South Africa could be the world’s oldest ever made by our species.
Older footprints from the Homo genus have been found in Spain, but it’s not perfectly clear which species they belonged to as they pre-date the earliest evidence of neanderthals in Europe.
Scientists working in Africa identified the track made by Homo sapiens in the Garden Route National Park, west of the Cape Coast town of Knysna, and that it’s older than the two previously oldest tracks in Nahoon and Langebaan by 25,000 years.
“Just over two decades ago, as the new millennium began, it seemed that tracks left by our ancient human ancestors dating back more than about 50,000 years were excessively rare,” explained Charles Helm, Research Associate at Nelson Mandela University, and Andrew Carr, Senior Lecturer at University of Leicester, who together published a paper on their findings in the journal Ichnos.
“In 2023 the situation is very different. It appears that people were not looking hard enough or were not looking in the right places. Today the African tally for dated hominin ichnosites (a term that includes both tracks and other traces) older than 50,000 years stands at 14.
That count includes 4 from East Africa and 9 from South Africa. Another 10 ichnosites are spread across the world and can be found in places such as the UK and Arabian Peninsula.
“The footprints are ‘natural casts’, i.e. they are from the layer of sand that filled the footprints in,” says Dr. Helm.
“The South African hominin track sites are globally unusual in that this is a common mode of preservation. It means that, counterintuitively, we look on cave ceilings and rock overhangs for such footprints.”
Nelson Mandela University / University of Leicester (SWNS)
The South African sites on the Cape Coast, attributed to Homo sapiens, bear tracks that tend to be fully exposed when they’re discovered, in rocks known as aeolianites, which are the cemented versions of ancient dunes.
Excavation is therefore not usually considered, and because of the sites’ exposure to the elements and the relatively coarse nature of dune sand, they aren’t usually as well preserved as East African sites.
“They are also vulnerable to erosion, so we often have to work fast to record and analyze them before they are destroyed by the ocean and the wind,” said Dr. Helm. “A key challenge when studying the palaeo-record—trackways, fossils, or any other kind of ancient sediment, is determining how old the materials are.”
In the case of the Cape Coast aeolianites, the dating method of choice is often optically stimulated luminescence.
This method of dating shows how long ago a grain of sand was exposed to sunlight; in other words, how long that section of sediment has been buried.
“Given how the tracks in this study were formed—impressions made on wet sand, followed by burial with new blowing sand—it is a good method as we can be reasonably confident that the dating “clock” started at about the same time the trackway was created,” the researchers write.
When a struggling Californian attempted to alleviate his financial stress by robbing a bank, Michael Armus Sr. recognized it was out of sadness and not malice.
Stepping in with words, and eventually a hug, 69-year-old Michael diffused a situation potentially explosive situation, as the bank robber claimed he was carrying a bomb.
Everything seemed a normal day for Armus, who walked into the Bank of the West in Woodland, California when he noticed a former neighbor of his speaking to the teller with irritation and depression in his voice.
Unbeknownst to Armus, the neighbor, Eduardo Placensia, had passed a note to the teller claiming he was armed with explosives and demanded money to avoid detonation. However, the fact that Placensia’s shirt was pulled over his nose and mouth mixed with the teller’s frightened expression and quickly alerted Armus to the fact that all was not well.
“So, I just approached him, and I asked him, I said, ‘What’s wrong?… You don’t have a job?'” Armus told Good Morning America. “He said, ‘There’s nothing in this town for me. Nothing in this town for me. I just want to go to prison.'”
Quote of the Day: “Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn.” – Neil Gaiman
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What makes a vacation truly memorable? There may be a reliable formula, at least for younger people.
A poll of 2,000 travelers between 18 and 34 identified some of their favorite ingredients.
Traveling with a group of at least four people, enjoying a minimum of four new experiences, and doing something “unexpected” were among the most essential.
36% felt stepping out of your comfort zone was necessary for an unforgettable trip, wanting to push their boundaries at least four times during any given adventure.
32% believe making new friends is desirable, with a memorable vacation defined as meeting three new people.
At least three new dishes should also be tried.
Conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Contiki, a social travel company, the survey recipients pointed to a successful vacation as including 45 photos and 15 videos to capture the “perfect moments” they want to remember.
Respondents have been on an average of seven memorable trips. Almost 30% of those who’ve traveled solo feel that those vacations created more memories than any other.
“Exploring a new destination and culture is opening yourself up to the unknown with the potential to create memories that can last a lifetime,” said Rachel Storey, Brand Director of Contiki.
The research also found that 34% feel they need to make every moment count when traveling due to increased work pressure. Nearly half (47%) feel so strongly about this that they would quit a job that didn’t allow them to take time off needed for a meaningful trip.
36% have a vacation bucket list that they want to tick off.
But 53% prefer a perfect moment to happen naturally or organically, rather than be something that is engineered—and 81% believe it’s the imperfect or unexpected moments that can make a vacation the most memorable.
“When you reflect on trips from the past, it’s often the moments you couldn’t have imagined, that leave the deepest impact,” continued Rachel. “Whether it’s a moving encounter with a local, making a new friend, ordering an unusual item in a restaurant, or taking a leap of faith on a new activity – the ultimate souvenir is the memories you make along the way.”
TOP PERFECT MOMENTS TO EXPERIENCE ON VACATION
Watching a sunrise or sunset with friends or family
Some kind of joke or funny event that becomes a running joke
Something that becomes a story to tell for years to come
Doing something that takes you out of your comfort zone
Drinks or food with a view
Making a connection with a local or group of locals
Trying the local delicacy which is considered unusual at home
Taking a detour or getting lost and finding an empty beach or amazing view
Seeing a famous landmark
Swimming in the sea
Doing something adrenaline-spiking, such as bungee jumping or parachuting
Ticking something off your bucket list
Getting a full tour of a beautiful city
Seeing animals in their natural habitat
Finding the ideal souvenir or gifts
Getting a tour around a local town or village
Marriage proposed or witnessing a proposal
A romantic kiss
Climbing a mountain
An extra fertile mother was overjoyed when she discovered she was pregnant again—while already pregnant—after apparently conceiving her ‘twins’ 28 days apart.
Sophie Small conceived Holly and Darcy one month apart due to an incredibly rare phenomenon known as superfetation, where a new pregnancy occurs after the first one.
Sophie and her accountant husband Jonathan, who already have a 6-year-old son named Oscar, were trying for another baby.
Although the 30-year-old had an inkling that she was pregnant, the couple decided to keep trying just in case. The swimming instructor was thrilled when she took a pregnancy test and discovered it was positive. But, after extreme morning sickness landed her in the hospital 7 times, a seven-week scan showed she was pregnant with twins.
The two babies were different sizes and doctors were stumped as to why, until they realized she’d ovulated twice.
The couple only discovered the tots weren’t conceived at the same time after the birth in August 2020 when Darcy was born weighing 4lbs 2oz and her sister followed two minutes later weighing 6lbs 1oz.
“I was carrying two babies who were growing at different stages, but we didn’t know that,” explained Sophie, from Herefordshire, England.
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“They couldn’t work out why I was so sick. I had a scan at seven weeks and they said they could tell something wasn’t right. They couldn’t work out why one twin was bigger than the other.
“They had their own sacs and placentas so they could feed when they wanted to.
“When they were born there was a 35 percent growth difference between the two of them, which is massive and they [the staff] realized they’d been conceived four weeks apart.
“Darcy was a 32-week baby and Holly was a 36-week baby. I said it couldn’t be right, I’d never heard of it. I didn’t know how it happened.”
She says although the tots are twins, they couldn’t be more different: girly-girl Holly still weighs 6lbs more than tomboy Darcy.
The mum says she likes to confuse strangers in the street who stop to ask how many minutes are between the girls. Many don’t believe her when she says they’re twins.
“I say Darcy is two minutes older and four weeks younger, while Holly was born two minutes after but is four weeks older.
“They don’t even look like sisters, you wouldn’t even know,” said Sophie. “Holly has blonde hair, big beautiful blue eyes and wants to be a princess or a jockey.
“Darcy’s hair is a mousey brown hair, she’s a tomboy and wants to be a train driver.
Flo is a devoted cow who’s nurtured several calves in her lifetime. But for this newborn, she gave birth too close to the fence dividing her pasture from the nearby highway.
The slope of the ground and the small space under the wires combined to form a unique spot that allowed a slippery newborn calf to slide under the wires.
The problem for Flo and her baby was that the fence was electrified to keep the cows from wandering onto the road, and to keep out predators like coyotes that would devour a baby calf.
Flo couldn’t reach the newborn, which was lying down silently in the grass.
A motorist who lived nearby came along soon after the calf was born. He often watched the cows as he drove past, but he was particularly interested in the herd at this time of year because calves were being born.
Dave stopped in the sunshine to watch the cows in the pond, but noticed that Flo looked distraught. Dave put his GoPro camera on the fence and started recording while he walked toward Flo. He knew very little about cows but he knew she was agitated.
He found the newborn and immediately knew he needed to take action, with the cars buzzing by presenting a real danger. The farmer’s house is at the top of the hill across the meadow and his truck was gone, so Dave tried to push the calf back under the fence.
Not knowing that some of the wires were live and some were not, he got himself a few shocks in the process.
Flo was encouraging Dave with a few “moos” as he worked—and soon she and her baby were reunited for the all-important first milk feeding, which contains colostrum for a healthy immune system.
Because the calf had received a few shocks himself, he was known as “Sparky” from that day forward.
Later that day, as Dave walked over to see how Sparky was doing, the baby peeled off from the herd to come give the man a sniff and a soulful look.
Denise Catacutan, graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Science at McMaster University and co-author of the paper.
By DeepMind
An antibiotic that could be used to treat one of the world’s most drug-resistant superbugs has been discovered by a supercomputer using AI.
Artificial intelligence is proving to be a great tool for combating antimicrobial resistance, which the World Health Organization named as one of the top ten global public health threats facing humanity.
In this case, Canadian and US scientists used ‘deep learning’ to identify an antibiotic molecule that can kill Acinetobacter baumannii, one of the most dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Notoriously difficult to eradicate, A. baumannii causes infections in vulnerable hospital patients—like premature babies and those with compromised immune systems.
The bug can survive on surfaces such as door handles, cupboards and beds for long periods, and can cause pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis—all of which are potentially fatal.
The superbug’s ability to pick up DNA from other species of bacteria in its surroundings —including antibiotic-resistance genes—makes it uniquely invincible. But the AI algorithm predicted a compound that can beat it.
The researchers named the newly discovered compound abaucin, and proved its effectiveness in experiments on mice with infected wounds and bacterial cells grown in the lab.
The AI process used could also speed the discovery of treatments for other potentially fatal diseases—including MRSA—because it can access hundreds of millions, possibly billions, of molecules that have potential antibacterial properties.
Conventional molecule screening techniques are time-consuming, costly, and limited in scope.
Denise Catacutan, graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Science at McMaster University and co-author of the paper.
“Using AI, we can rapidly explore vast regions of chemical space, significantly increasing the chances of discovering fundamentally new antibacterial molecules,” said lead author Dr. Jonathan Stokes, of McMaster University, in Ontario.
Co-author Professor James Collins, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), agreed. “We know algorithmic models work. Now it is a matter of widely adopting these methods to discover new antibiotics more efficiently and less expensively.”
The study, published this week in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, describes abaucin as especially promising because it only targets A. baumannii—a crucial finding which means the pathogen is less likely to rapidly develop drug resistance.
Most antibiotics are broad spectrum in nature, meaning they kill all bacteria, but they also disrupt the gut microbiome, which opens the door to a host of serious infections, including C difficile.
“We know broad-spectrum antibiotics are suboptimal and that pathogens have the ability to evolve and adjust to every trick we throw at them,” added Stokes. “AI methods afford us the opportunity to vastly increase the rate at which we discover new antibiotics, and we can do it at a reduced cost.”
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Quote of the Day: “The gift of patience opens when our body, heart, and mind slow enough to move in unison.” – Mark Nepo
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“One of my favorites is the glass sponges. They have these little spines, and under the microscope, they look like tiny chandeliers or little sculptures.”
The CCZ is almost as big as Australia – and one of the most pristine wildernesses on Earth. It has been divided up for future deep-sea mining, so biologists are compiling the first ‘CCZ checklist’ to shed light on what might be at risk if companies start drilling.
It includes a total of 5,578 different species found in the region—up to 92 percent of which are entirely new to science.
They were collected during cruises by the Royal Research Ship, James Cook. Remote-controlled robots traversed the ocean floor, picking up samples and placing them in a simple box.
“In every single box core sample, we would see new species,” said Ms. Rabone, who co-ordinated the data.
Only six of the creatures described in over 100,000 records have been seen in other areas of the planet—suggesting the CCZ hosts a unique ecosystem.
New species from Cape Range Canyon and Cloates Canyon off Ningaloo (Credit: Greg Rouse / Scripps Oceanography), Nerida Wilson (Chief Scientist) and the FK200308 team.
Therefore, it is vital to learn more about the newly-discovered species, and how they are connected to the environment around them, they said. Additionally, they urge researchers to delve into the bio-geography of the region to better understand, for example, why certain species cluster in particular geological regions.
“There are so many wonderful species in the CCZ, and with the possibility of mining looming, it’s doubly important that we know more about these really understudied habitats.”
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An American nonprofit is celebrating a huge milestone after helping to unite three brothers at risk of separation—into a new forever family.
The Illinois-based Gift of Adoption Fund has facilitated the placement of 5,000 children since its founding 26 years ago—with over $15 million in grants awarded.
They provide grants of up to $15,000 to help families complete adoptions of kids in vulnerable circumstances—including, most recently, three brothers born in Ecuador.
“Gift of Adoption is elated to mark this milestone by helping to keep together three siblings at risk of separation,” said Gift of Adoption CEO Pam Devereux. “We’re incredibly grateful to our donors, volunteers and the families with a heart for adoption – we all reached this milestone together.”
Eleven-year-old Josue is the 5,000th child whose adoption was completed with assistance from the nonprofit. He was adopted along with biological brothers Darwin, 9, and Abraham, 6. The siblings were in an orphanage in Ecuador for five years—and at risk of separation—before Nicole and David gave them a new forever family in Wisconsin.
The couple had always sought to adopt older siblings, knowing how much it means to grow up together in the bonds of family—and the negative life outcomes that often await children who age-out of orphanages.
“Although international sibling adoptions can be complex and expensive, once we saw their faces, we knew we would make it work in any way we could,” Nicole said. “We are so happy that we can provide a permanent home for these brothers, and they can now grow up together in a stable environment.”
While a reported one-third of Americans have considered adoption, fewer than 4% complete the process- with many citing the high expense as a barrier. Gift of Adoption prioritizes grants for children facing what might be their only chance at adoption, such as those at risk of separation from siblings, entering foster care, aging out of a care system or with medical needs.
The 5,000th child milestone also marks a full circle moment for the organization, originally founded by Gene and Lucy Wyka, also of Wisconsin. Since 1996, the Wykas have opened 27 chapters across the U.S. to ensure more children can find families.
Learn more about how you can help children in need—including how to donate, volunteer or apply for a grant—at www.giftofadoption.org.
Nine different lottery victors with winnings that would total $20 million banded together and restored an historic lido to its former glory in West Yorks, England.
A lido is an open-air swimming pool open to the public—and Ilkley Lido is regarded as one of the best in the country, but the landscape has been left to turn almost ‘threadbare’ in recent years.
Now, thanks to the team of lottery winners, the grounds were transformed by new planter boxes full of eye-catching color and glorious flower blooms.
They spent the day building the boxes, then positioning them to line the driveway from the café to the mushroom-shaped pool, where thousands of bathers walk throughout the summer.
Inspired by a photograph of the Lido from the 1930s, they also installed hanging baskets to put on display around the café area to recreate the scene.
Duty officer Jodie King was amazed by the difference.
“I was taking a look at the pictures from the past. It looked amazing… and having that link to the past with a modern twist is breathtaking.”
Bathers at the Lido in the 1950s
“A lot of our older generation customers will have seen it when we had the flowers so it will be a great link to their childhood.
The Lido, which was built in 1935, is one of only 127 Lidos still remaining in England and can attract up to 4,000 visitors a day during the busy summer months.
Ilkley Lido (after) – SWNS
The unheated pool is 46 meters wide (150 feet) and boasts views of the famous Ilkley Moors.
The lido, with the changing rooms and cafe on its grounds, is a grade II listed historic building, noted for its unusual timber-framed vernacular style.
Past Lottery winners celebrate finished planters in West Yorks, May 24, 2023 – SWNS
Sarah Ibbetson, from nearby Leeds, scooped up £3.1million in the National Lottery in 2002, and numbers as one of the regular visitors when her children were younger.
“This is such an amazing local facility,” said Sarah who pitched in with her husband. “We frequently brought our children here and have so many happy memories.
“It is wonderful to be back here, bringing color and creativity and restoring the Lido to how it would have looked in its heyday.”
67-year-old Elaine Thompson, from Newcastle, who won £2.7M on her wedding anniversary in 1995, said she had “a brilliant time” contributing to the community.
“I’ve always said it’s not about the win, it’s about what you do with it and it’s great to give back. I’m 28 years into the win and, it’s been a great 28 years.”
Planter boxes installed – SWNS
“It will certainly be a very special and ‘colorful’ welcome this 2023 season.”
The Lido was designed by Archibald Skinner, the town’s surveyor and water engineer at the time, as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations for King George V.
Joining Sarah, Aldan and Elaine on the project were: Gary Henry, from County Durham, who won £4.4M in 2008; Susan and Michael Crossland, from Mirfield, who won £1.2M in 2008; Trish Emson and Graham Norton, from Rotherham, who won £1.7M in 2003; Elaine and Rob Leason, from East Riding of Yorkshire, who scooped a £1.4M share of a win in 2005; Alex Best, from Leeds, who won £1M in 2018; Margaret Storey, from Baildon, who won £1.4M in 1998; and Darren and Kate Donaghey, from Newcastle, who won £1M in 2018.
See some drone footage of their work day—no speakers needed…
DON’T FORGET TO SHARE This Shining Example of Generosity on Social Media…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of May 27, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Your meandering trek through the Unpromised Land wasn’t as demoralizing as you feared. The skirmish with the metaphorical dragon was a bit disruptive, but hey, you are still breathing and walking around—and even seem to have been energized by the weird thrill of the adventure. The only other possible downside was the new dent in your sweet dream. But I suspect that in the long run, that imperfection will inspire you to work even harder on behalf of your sweet dream—and this will be a blessing. Here’s another perk: The ordeal you endured effectively cleaned out stale old karma, freeing up space for a slew of fresh help and resources.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Testing time is ahead, but don’t get your nerves in an uproar with fantasy-spawned stress. For the most part, your challenges and trials will be interesting, not unsettling. There will be few if any trick questions. There will be straightforward prods to stretch your capacities and expand your understanding. Bonus! I bet you’ll get the brilliant impulse to shed the ball and chain you’ve been absent-mindedly carrying around with you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Biologist Edward O. Wilson said that the most social animals are ants, termites, and honeybees. He used the following criteria to define that description: “altruism, instincts devoted to social life, and the tightness of the bonds that turn colonies into virtual superorganisms.” I’m going to advocate that you regard ants, termites, and honeybees as teachers and role models for you. The coming weeks will be a great time to boost your skill at socializing and networking. You will be wise to ruminate about how you could improve your life by enhancing your ability to cooperate with others. And remember to boost your altruism!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Jack Sarfatti is an authentic but maverick physicist born under the sign of Virgo. He suggests that if we make ourselves receptive and alert, we may get help from our future selves. They are trying to communicate good ideas to us back through time. Alas, most of us don’t believe such a thing is feasible, so we aren’t attuned to the potential help. I will encourage you to transcend any natural skepticism you might have about Sarfatti’s theory. As a fun experiment, imagine that the Future You has an important transmission for you—maybe several transmissions. For best results, formulate three specific questions to pose to the Future You.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I have five points for your consideration. 1. You are alive in your mysterious, endlessly interesting life, and you are imbued with the fantastically potent power of awareness. How could you not feel thrilled? 2. You’re on a planet that’s always surprising, and you’re in an era when so many things are changing that you can’t help being fascinated. How could you not feel thrilled? 3. You have some intriguing project to look forward to, or some challenging but engaging work you’re doing, or some mind-bending riddle you’re trying to solve. How could you not feel thrilled? 4. You’re playing the most enigmatic game in the universe, also known as your destiny on Earth, and you love ruminating on questions about what it all means. How could you not feel thrilled? 5. You never know what’s going to happen next. You’re like a hero in an epic movie that is endlessly entertaining. How could you not feel thrilled?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
“Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn,” advises Scorpio author Neil Gaiman. Let’s make that one of your mantras for the coming weeks. In my astrological understanding, you are due to cash in on favors you have bestowed on others. The generosity you have expressed should be streaming back your way in abundance. Be bold about welcoming the bounty. In fact, I hope you will nudge and prompt people, if necessary, to reward you for your past support and blessings.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
So many of us are starved to be listened to with full attention. So many of us yearn to be seen and heard and felt by people who are skilled at receptive empathy. How many of us? I’d say the figure is about 99.9 percent. That’s the bad news, Sagittarius. The good news is that in the coming weeks, you will have an exceptional ability to win the attention of good listeners. To boost the potential healing effects of this opportunity, here’s what I recommend: Refine and deepen your own listening skills. Express them with panache.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Because you’re a Capricorn, earthiness is probably one of your strengths. It’s your birthright to be practical and sensible and well-grounded. Now and then, however, your earthiness devolves into muddiness. You get too sober and earnest. You’re bogged down in excess pragmatism. I suspect you may be susceptible to such a state these days. What to do? It may help if you add elements of air and fire to your constitution, just to balance things out. Give yourself a secret nickname with a fiery feel, like Blaze, or a crispy briskness, like Breezy. What else could you do to rouse fresh, glowing vigor, Breezy Blaze—even a touch of wildness?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I love to use metaphors in my writing, but I hate to mix unrelated metaphors. I thrive on referring to poetry, sometimes even surrealistic poetry, but I try to avoid sounding like a lunatic. However, at this juncture in your hero’s journey, Aquarius, I frankly feel that the most effective way to communicate with you is to offer you mixed metaphors and surrealist poetry that border on sounding lunatic. Why? Because you seem primed to wander around on the edges of reality. I’m guessing you’ll respond best to a message that’s aligned with your unruly mood. So here goes: Get ready to surf the spiritual undertow all the way to the teeming wilderness on the other side of the cracked mirror. Ignore the provocative wasteland on your left and the intriguing chaos on your right. Stay focused on the stars in your eyes and devote yourself to wild joy.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
“The gift of patience opens when our body, heart, and mind slow enough to move in unison.” So says Piscean poet Mark Nepo. I feel confident you are about to glide into such a grand harmony, dear Pisces. Through a blend of grace and your relaxed efforts to be true to your deepest desires, your body, heart, and mind will synchronize and synergize. Patience will be just one of the gifts you will receive. Others include: a clear vision of your most beautiful future; a lucid understanding of what will be most meaningful to you in the next three years; and a profound sense of feeling at home in the world wherever you go.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
My reading of the astrological omens inspires me to make a series of paradoxical predictions for you. Here are five scenarios I foresee as being quite possible in the coming weeks. 1. An epic journey to a sanctuary close to home. 2. A boundary that doesn’t keep people apart but brings them closer. 3. A rambunctious intervention that calms you down and helps you feel more at peace. 4. A complex process that leads to simple clarity. 5. A visit to the past that empowers you to redesign the future.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Do you want a seed to fulfill its destiny? You must bury it in the ground. There, if it’s able to draw on water and the proper nutrients, it will break open and sprout. Its life as a seed will be over. The plant it eventually grows into will look nothing like its source. We take this process for granted, but it’s always a miracle. Now let’s invoke this story as a metaphor for what you are hopefully on the verge of, Taurus. I invite you to do all that’s helpful and necessary to ensure your seed germinates!
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
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