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Researchers Overcome ‘Major Hurdle’ in Reversing Deafness, Discovering Gene Responsible for Crucial Cells

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MIT, Christine Daniloff
MIT, Christine Daniloff

Scientists can now create new hearing cells that can overcome deafness caused by aging.

Considered a “major hurdle” to reversing hearing loss, the gene discovery allows the production of inner or outer ear hair cells.

Hearing loss due to aging, noise, and certain cancer therapy drugs and antibiotics has up until now been seen as irreversible when there is the death of such cells—which develop in the embryo and do not reproduce.

But scientists have discovered a single master gene, TBX2, that can change ear cells into either outer or inner sensory hair ones.

The outer hair cells expand and contract in response to the pressure of sound waves and amplify sound for the inner hair cells. The inner cells transmit those vibrations to the neurons to create the sounds we hear.

RELATED: Researchers Discover Proteins That Could Soon Restore Damaged Hearing and Irreversible Deafness

Currently, scientists can produce an artificial hair cell, but it does not differentiate into an inner or outer cell, which provide different essential functions to produce hearing.

About 8.5 percent of adults aged 55 to 64 in the U.S. have disabling hearing loss—so this discovery could be revolutionary to many.

Hearing works

“We have overcome a major hurdle,” Professor Jaime Garcia-Anoveros, of Northwestern University explained in a statement. Describing the coordinated movement of the inner and outer cells, he said, “It’s like a ballet… The ear is a beautiful organ. There is no other organ in a mammal where the cells are so precisely positioned with micrometric precision. Otherwise, hearing doesn’t occur.”

MORE: College Student Has Been Sewing Free Face Masks For Communicating With Hearing-Impaired Folks

The study was published in the journal Nature, and complements recent research by MIT which has a new drug candidate that stimulates the growth of hair cells in the inner ear.

GIVE an Ear of the Good News to Your Friends…

Lucky Rescue for 5 Sheep Stuck on English Rooftop

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Andy Corbley
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West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

It was a case of ‘all’s wool that ends wool’ for five sheep who found themselves on the rooftop of a house in Yorkshire—and were successfully rescued by local firemen.

While goats are famous for appearing on all fours in places that boggle the mind, these five farm sheep had apparently leapt from a nearby field onto the roof, where they then found themselves quite stuck.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called to Barnsley Road in Newmillerdam, England— where rescue officer Damian Cameron worked with a local landowner to create a makeshift bridge the sheep could use to escape from the roof.

Cameron reckoned that one sheep noticed that he could make the leap from the paddock to the roof.

This Rambo then dragged the other four there instinctually, as the flock animals prefer to stay as a team.

Fortunately it all turned out well, as all five sheep alighted the bridge and back into the paddock.

RELATED: Owl Immediately Adopts Two Rescue Chicks the Moment She Meets Them – After Her Own Eggs Failed

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue tweeted that “it wasn’t quite the night on the tiles those sheep were hoping for!”

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

We’re just hoping the animals weren’t feeling too ‘sheepish’ after their adventure.

SHARE The Woolly Rescue Story With Your Pals…

Livin’ Good Currency Ep. 9: Bidhan Roy on Light Shining From Prisons and Restorative Justice in the Soul

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Andy Corbley
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The Lesson: Prisons in the U.S. bury people. And they rely on the burying of those people to sever the connection they have with society’s knowledge that they exist, which in turn allows the prisons to bury them in a vicious cycle. But it turns out that even if it’s mere voices that escape those walls; poems, songs, art, all escaping without a person on stage or on the street attached to them, that’s enough to create a two-way connection with society that leads to a life and a voice beyond prison, and restorative justice, and not justice by diminishment.

Notable Excerpt: “I would say ‘yeah I’m starting this program in a prison,’ and the first question everyone asks is ‘are you scared?’ and I’m like ‘why would I be scared?’ So seeing this disjunction between what people were thinking about what I was doing, and what I was experiencing in there, for me I started to think this whole system of burying people, like “the disappeared”, depends on people not knowing who these people are in a deeper way, and so it became a kind of calling really to say ‘how can I play some small part in, not shining a light on, but allowing this light to come out?”

The Guest: Bidhan Roy received his Ph.D. at Goldsmith College, University of London, where he studied English literature and post-colonialism He is the founder of Words Uncaged, an organization which provides a platform for incarcerated artists and writers to engage with the public through book publishing, art exhibits and digital media. Words Uncaged has programs in 5 prisons and on death row in the U.S., serving more than 2,000 men and women, and uses storytelling to foster empathy for and understanding of, others, and to promote collective and individual healing. Dr. Roy is also the director of the Calstate Prison Graduation Initiative, which allows incarcerated men and women to receive BA degrees while serving time.

The Podcast: Livin’ Good Currency explores the relationship of time to our lives. It gives a simple, straight-forward formula that anyone can use to be present in the moment—and features a co-host who knows better than anyone the value of time (see below). How do you want to spend your life? This hour can inspire you, along with upcoming guests, to be sure you are ‘Livin’ Good Currency’ and never get caught running out of time.

The Hosts: Good News Network fans will know Tony (Anthony) Samadani as the co-owner of GNN and its Chief of Strategic Partnerships. Co-host Tobias Tubbs was handed a double life sentence without the possibility of parole for a crime he didn’t commit. Behind bars, he used his own version of the Livin’ Good Currency formula to inspire young men in prison to turn their hours into honors. An expert in conflict resolution, spirituality, and philosophy, Tobias is a master gardener who employs ex-felons to grow their Good Currency by planting crops and feeding neighborhoods.

Subscribe to the Pod:  On iTunes… On Spotify… On Amazon Music… Or Google Play.

The Red Planet Has a New Zen Garden After Mars Rover Leaves Peaceful Tracks

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SWNS
SWNS

The Red Planet just got even more peaceful, as the Mars rover made an accidental Zen garden.

NASA’s Perseverance rover left some picturesque track marks around a rock—creating a scene resembling a meditation landscape in Japan.

Zen gardens usually feature carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees, and bushes, and use gravel or sand that is raked to represent ripples in water.

They are intended to imitate the essence of nature, not its actual appearance, and to serve as an aid for meditation.

MORE: Watch a Stunning Solar Eclipse on Mars in Video Captured By NASA’s Perseverance Rover

What is NASA’s latest rover actually up to there on the Red Planet? Its mission is to look for signs of past microbial life, cache rock and soil samples, and prepare for future human exploration.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

That’s exciting indeed—and GNN will continue to update you with its latest positive developments.

BRING Your Chums Closer to a Zen State of Mind; Share This Story…

Tiny Bomb-Sniffing Jack Russell is a National Hero, Sporting a Presidential Medal

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Andy Corbley
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NEXTA TV Ukraine - Twitter

Helping to sweep 200 explosive devices in Ukraine, Patron the Jack Russel recently received a presidential medal from President Zelenskyy.

Meaning “Ammo” in Ukrainian, Patron’s handler, Mykhailo Iliev of the Civil Protection Service, accepted the medal on the two-year-old pooch’s behalf in a news conference that included Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

“Today, I want to award those Ukrainian heroes who are already clearing our land of mines. And together with our heroes, a wonderful little sapper—Patron—who helps not only to neutralize explosives, but also to teach our children the necessary safety rules in areas where there is a mine threat,” Zelenskyy said in a statement after the ceremony.

Patron has become well-known since the conflict began, appearing in dozens of stories across a variety of news networks and outlets. His Instagram boasts 220,000 followers.

RELATED: Florida Chihuahua is World’s Oldest Living Dog Setting Guinness Record

As a Jack Russel terrier, he’s one of the ultimate workhorse breeds. Bred for fox catching, and later for rat catching and travel, his powerful snout, endless energy, and smaller appetite make him ideal for mine sweeping—yet that wasn’t supposed to be his destiny, as NPR reports that Iliev bought him originally to be nothing more than a loyal friend for his young son.

(WATCH Paton in action in the video below.)

RAISE a Paw for This Hero’s Story; Share It On Social Media…

“Don’t ever go with the flow. Instead, be the flow.” – Jay-Z

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Quote of the Day: “Don’t ever go with the flow. Instead, be the flow.” – Jay-Z

Photo by: Mor Shani

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?

New Dimension for Coral Restoration: 3-D Printed Reefs Recreate Natural Diversity

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Haim Zinger site almog 3d Bar-Ilan University released
3D Printer printing the reef; Ofer Berman, Bar-Ilan University

An innovation interface tailors 3D-printed reefs to their marine environment and may curb reef devastation plaguing global coral ecosystems.

In a new paper, researchers from four of Israel’s leading universities highlight a 3D printing method they developed to preserve coral reefs. Their innovation is based on the natural structure of coral reefs off the southern coastal Israeli city of Eilat, but their model is adaptable to other marine environments.

The 3D process begins by scanning underwater photographs of coral reefs. From this visual information, a three-dimensional model of the reef is assembled with maximum accuracy. Thousands of images are photographed and sent to the laboratory to calculate the complex form of the reef and how that form encourages the evolution of reef species diversity.

Next, the researchers use a molecular method of collecting environmental genetic information which provides accurate data on the reef’s organisms. This data is incorporated with other parameters and is fed into a 3D technology algorithm, making it possible to build a parametric interactive model of the reef. The three-dimensional model can be designed to precisely fit the designated reef environment.

The final stage is the translation and production of a ceramic reef in 3D printing. The reefs are made of a unique ceramic that is naturally porous underwater and provides the most ideal construction and restoration needs to the affected area, or for the establishment of a new reef structure as a foundation for the continuation of life. “Three-dimensional printing with natural material facilitates the production of highly complex and diverse units that is not possible with the usual means of mold production,” says Prof. Ezri. Tarazi.

CHECK OUT: When Fish Species Get Frisky, Their Motion Causes Earth’s Waters to Move–Just Like a Major Storm

The process combines 3D scanning algorithms, together with environmental DNA sampling, and a 3D printing algorithm that allows in-depth and accurate examination of the data from each reef as well as tailoring the printed model to a specific reef environment.

Haim Zinger; Bar-Ilan University

In addition, data can be re-fed into the algorithm to check the level of effectiveness and efficiency of the design after it has been implemented, based on information collected in the process.

RELATED: John Kerry’s Global Ocean Conference Raises 400+ Commitments Worth $16 Billion to Protect Ocean Health

“Existing artificial reefs have difficulty replicating the complexity of coral habitats and hosting reef species that mirror natural environments. We introduce a novel customizable 3D interface for producing scalable structures, utilizing real data collected from coral ecosystems,” explains Natalie Levy, a Ph.D. student at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

Ofer Berman adds, “The use of three-dimensional printing allows extensive freedom of action in reality algorithm-based solutions, and the assimilation of sustainable production for the development of large-scale marine rehabilitation.”

This study meets two critical needs to save coral reefs, according to the researchers. The first is the need for innovative solutions that facilitate large-scale restoration that can be adapted to support coral reefs worldwide.

The second is the recreation of the natural complexity of the coral reef—both in size and design—that will attract reef species such as corals, fish, and invertebrates that support the regrowth of natural coral reefs. The researchers are currently installing several 3D printed reefs in the Gulf of Eilat. They believe that the results they obtain will help them apply this innovation to other reef ecosystems around the world.

MORE: World’s Largest Oyster Restoration Is Big Success – Fulfilling Virginia’s Promise to Chesapeake Bay Rivers

The joint research was led by Prof. Oren Levy and Ph.D. student Natalie Levy, of the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University, Prof. Ezri Tarazi and Ph.D. student Ofer Berman, from the Technion’s Architecture and Town Planning Faculty, Prof. Tali Treibitz and Ph.D. student Matan Yuval from the University of Haifa, and Prof. Yossi Loya of Tel Aviv University. Their study has been recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Source: Bar-Ilan University

Regrow the Hope; Share This Good News for the Oceans…

Helicopter Successfully Catches Earth-Bound Rocket in a ‘Supersonic Ballet’

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SWNS
SWNS

A space company has successfully caught an Earth-bound rocket—by helicopter.

The launch, last Monday, saw Rocket Lab deploying 34 satellites to orbit before the ‘Electron booster stage’ was successfully snagged on its return to Earth.

The mission eventually saw the helicopter release the booster into the sea after the “pilot detected different load characteristics than previously experienced,” and is being counted as a success.

The launch originated from Rocket Lab’s complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

Rocket Lab reports, “At 6,500 ft, Rocket Lab’s Sikorsky S-92 helicopter rendezvoused with the returning stage and used a hook on a long line to capture the parachute line.

“The mid-air capture is a major milestone in Rocket Lab’s pursuit to make Electron a reusable rocket to increase launch frequency and reduce launch costs for small satellites.

MORE: Pluto Has Giant Ice Volcanoes that Could Hint at Existence of an Underground Ocean With Life

“After the catch, the helicopter pilot detected different load characteristics… and offloaded the stage for a successful splashdown.

SWNS

The big launch

The There and Back Again mission was Rocket Lab’s 26th Electron launch and deployed satellites to a sun-synchronous orbit for a variety of customers.

The mid-air capture comes after successful recovery operations from Rocket Lab’s 16th, 20th, and 22nd missions, which saw Electron’s first stage execute a controlled ocean splashdown before being returned to Rocket Lab’s production complex.

RELATED: Key Building Block For Life Discovered on a Planet 444 Light-Years Away

Like those missions, a reaction control system re-oriented the first stage to an ideal angle for re-entry during the  mission, enabling the stage to survive the incredible heat and pressure during its descent back to Earth.

A drogue parachute was deployed to increase drag and to stabilize the first stage as it descended, before a large main parachute was deployed in the final kilometres of descent.

There and Back Again is the first time a helicopter catch attempt was introduced to recovery operations, and today’s mission will inform future helicopter captures.

“Bringing a rocket back from space and catching it with a helicopter is something of a supersonic ballet,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck.

CHECK OUT: Artist’s Painting is the First to Be Curated on the Moon: ‘It Will Last Forever’

“A tremendous number of factors have to align and many systems have to work together flawlessly, so I am incredibly proud of the stellar efforts of our Recovery Team and all of our engineers who made this mission and our first catch a success.

“From here we’ll assess the stage and determine what changes we might want to make to the system and procedures for the next helicopter catch and eventual re-flight.”

SWNS

Rocket Lab’s next mission is scheduled for this month, with more details to be released very soon.

(WATCH the Al Jazeera video for this story below.)

MAKE a Splash; Capture the Far Out News and Share It With Pals…

Owl Immediately Adopts Two Rescue Chicks the Moment She Meets Them – After Her Own Eggs Failed

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Andy Corbley
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Robert Fuller

A wildlife artist in Britain captured on film the very moment when, seeing a pair of owlets in her nest, a tawny owl whose eggs had failed immediately adopts them with a cuddle and a clean.

Raptors are often some of the animal kingdom’s most devoted parents, spouses, and homemakers—and the video is a touching reminder of that.

Robert Fuller is one of the UK’s premier painters of wild creatures, and a devoted observer of their behavior.

His website contains blog articles written about the wildlife that visit his garden and the area around it, which includes several tawny owls who nest in boxes and hollows which Fuller has rigged with nest cams.

Over the years he has documented the relationship between Luna and Bomber, a tawny owl mating pair that have raised several owlets in his makeshift hollows.

Fuller has seen Bomber and Luna raise six owlets at once before, and rates them as highly devoted parents. Bomber, in particular, will attack anything that comes close to his nest.

MORE: Watch the Moment of Rescue for a Little Dog Trapped Down Hole And Missing For Days

“Not only did her eggs fail to hatch this year, but she also lost her clutch last year,” Fuller explains on his YouTube video. “Luna the tawny owl is finally a mom.”

Luna herself is a rescue owl, and her story therefore completes the circle in many ways.

(WATCH Robert Fuller’s video for this story below.)

HOOT the Good News Our For All To Hear…

Bronx Housing Complex Comes With Giant Machine Stomach to Turn All Food Waste Into Fertilizer

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Andy Corbley
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Rendering; Gilbane Development Company
Rendering; Gilbane Development Company

A new community housing development in the Bronx will feature a cool piece of kit: an on-site aerobic digester that can turn 1,100 pounds of food scraps into 220 pounds of high-quality fertilizer every single day.

Built by Harp Renewables, it’s basically a big stomach filled with bacteria that breaks down food scraps and wasted food into their component parts, and in the future could be a standard part of all apartment units as the amount of food waste in American reaches 30% of the total mass of all trash collection.

The Peninsula, organized by Gilbane Development Company, will feature 740 units of affordable housing, 50,000 square-foot light industrial space and equal sized green space, and 15,000 feet of commercial space, all of which will send their castaway comestibles right into the digester.

Fast Company reports that Christina Grace, founder of a zero-waste food management company, helped plan the design and implementation of the digester into The Peninsula, and helped organize a 40% grant from the city to pay the $50,000 upfront cost.

“The goal is for this material to work its way into the community garden network in the Bronx,” Grace told the magazine, adding that she expects it to pay for itself over just a few years. “We see this as highly replicable in both commercial and residential venues. We know there’s a need for fertilizer.”

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Producing fertilizer right there in the city reduces the need for it to be trucked in from afar, chipping away, even if just a bit, at NYC traffic.

Big problem solver

Rendering; Gilbane Development Company

Perhaps uniquely beneficial to New York City compared to other spots in the U.S. is that the digester will have a significant impact on the Bronx’s share of the city’s rodent problem.

Those who’ve watched the Morgan Spurlock documentary Rats will understand why that’s significant—while those that haven’t will have to imagine what living in a megacity where rats outnumber people by around 8 or 10 to 1 looks like.

Another big problem the bio-digesters could potentially help is pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilizer is a big emitter of all three of the most-targeted GHGs. Fertilizer, like quarry dust and ammonia is, like so many commodities, often imported from countries who specialize in its production, such as Norway, but also Russia and Ukraine, whose conflict has recently highlighted the fragility of the supply chain with sharp increases in prices.

LOOK: Carbon-Negative Plant Opens in Turkey Turning Algae Into Bio-Jet Fuel and So Much More

This importation means thousands of tons of CO2 gets emitted during transportation, while producing ammonia is also one of the larger CO2 emitting processes due to the use of fossil fuels to create it. Also produced in huge amounts from natural fertilizer production and landfill decomposition is methane.

Bio-digesters by design keep the CO2 and methane in the fertilizer produced, rather than it entering the atmosphere.

For these reasons and more, the aerobic bio-digester is slowly making its way into residential and industrial spaces around the country.

GNN reported on an enormous bio-digester at the heart of the D.C. advanced resource (sewage) recovery center outside the capital, and on the use of bio-digesters on Australian pig farms which are helping reduce the environmental and psychological impact of the effluent produced from such operations.

Harp Renewables tweeted how happy they were to have installed their bio-digester in the town of Cashel, Ireland.

Expect to see more stories like this pop up around the globe.

POWER the Progress by Sharing With Green Friends on Social Media…

“Just because things hadn’t gone the way I planned didn’t necessarily mean they had gone wrong.” – Ann Patchett

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Quote of the Day: “Just because things hadn’t gone the way I had planned didn’t necessarily mean they had gone wrong.” – Ann Patchett

Photo by: Elena Koycheva

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?

Watch the Rescue Moment for Little Dog Trapped Down a Hole And Missing For Days

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Bracken Jelier / SWNS
Bracken Jelier / SWNS

Flossie the pooch suddenly vanished from her home in Devon, England—and several days went by before anyone heard anything.

On Monday, Bracken Jelier posted a plea on Facebook, telling friends and family to keep an eye out.

Finally, on Thursday afternoon, Flossie was located—but she was stuck down a rabbit hole in a neighbor’s garden in Crediton.

The video below shows the little pup being dug out with a spade and reunited with her grateful owner, thanks to the work of a member of the Mid Devon Hunt club.

Bracken posted on social media that her beloved dog had been returned, after being buried underground for two nights.

“We are over the moon,” wrote Bracken on Facebook. “It’s a very long story with some unbelievable coincidences that led to her being discovered after 56 hours buried underground.”

LOOK: Woman Ensures Safety of Passengers By Waving Her Red Sari to Stop a Train After Spotting Broken Track

“We are incredibly pleased to have her home. Other than being a little dehydrated and underweight, she is absolutely fine.”

Watch the moment she was saved…

More Than Half of Americans Think They Handle Their Finances Better Than Their Parents

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SWNS OnePoll
OnePoll

More than half of Americans feel they handle their finances better than their parents, according to a surprising new survey.

The poll of 2,000 adults looked at how different generations perceive money and found that 58% believe they’re better financial managers than their parents.

But 65% admitted being uncomfortable when talking to their parents about money. This may be because nearly 60% believe their parents had previously judged their financial habits.

But that hasn’t hindered people in achieving their financial goals or teaching others about their tips, hits, and misses.

Regardless of age, almost six in 10 respondents said they’re confident enough in their financial habits to pass them down to their children.

RELATED: Americans Are Almost Twice as Likely to Be Satisfied With Their Lives If They Give Back

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of BOK Financial, the survey revealed that 77% of people are generally confident in their ability to save money—especially millennials (86%).

Meanwhile, a majority of Gen Xers (60%) admitted they lacked the skills when it comes to saving money.

Saving money during the pandemic proved tougher for most everyone, with 58% saying they spent money more casually than in previous years. (Perhaps on interior upgrades and renovations to their home?) But a previous poll showed that 60% are more financially confident than before the pandemic.

Despite inflation, it’s not all bad news: younger workers are more likely to see their wages rise to keep pace with inflation

ALSO: More Americans Now Consider Themselves to be ‘Thriving’ Than at Any Point in 13 Years: Gallop

Seven in every 10 respondents believe that their age group has the most responsibility to make good financial decisions, but 78% of Gen Z reported feeling the most need to be financially responsible to help look out for generations to come.

“The best day to start saving for tomorrow is today,” said Brandy Marion, of BOK Financial. “Most of us wish we had started saving sooner.”

CHECK OUT: These 30 Life Hacks Have Saved People Up to Four Hours Every Week Around the House

Call of Duty Game Hits Milestone of 100,000 Veterans Placed in Meaningful Jobs–And Blizzard Gives $30 Mil More

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Call of Duty Endowment website
Call of Duty Endowment website

In 2003, video gamers began learning about World War II battles from the realistic launch of Call of Duty. Released to universal acclaim, the ongoing series holds the Guinness World Record as the best-selling games of their kind.

But the charity work done by the game’s publisher Activision Blizzard is also deserving of a Congressional medal.

Last month the Call of Duty Endowment reached its goal of placing 100,000 veterans into meaningful employment two years ahead of schedule.

To mark the occasion—and the start of Military Appreciation Month—Activision Blizzard has committed an additional $30 million in funding to support the program moving forward.

LOOK: The US Army Replaced a Cake it Stole From Italian Girl in 1945

Over the last twelve years, the Call of Duty Endowment says it has partnered with the most effective nonprofit veterans organizations in both the US and UK to deliver high value job placements—which is the service most requested by veterans.

“To put 100,000 placements in perspective, the entire active-duty Marine Corps is made up of more than 178,000 people,” said General James Jones, United States Marine Corps (retired) and Co-Chair of the Endowment. “While reaching 100,000 placements two years earlier than our goal is an accomplishment to be proud of, there is much more we can and should be doing to support our veterans as they transition to civilian employment.”

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“To date, we have invested over $60 million in support of veterans employment initiatives,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard and Co-Founder of the Endowment. “With our even more efficient programs we expect to generate another 50,000 job placements through Call of Duty Endowment grants.”

With its first donation of $125,000, presented to the Paralyzed Veterans of America in 2009, the Endowment created thousands of career opportunities for veterans returning from the Middle East.

One of the leading charities supported by the grants is VetJobs. Their mission has received funding that led to more than 48,000 of its 77,000 placements.

RELATED: US Honors 98-yo Irish Woman Whose Storm Forecast Fortuitously Delayed D-Day Landings, Changing Course of WWII

“There is no better, more supportive resource for veteran job placement than the Call of Duty Endowment,” said ​​VetJobs CEO Rear Admiral Dan Kloeppel, U.S. Navy (retired).

The Endowment also released a white paper in April detailing veteran employment over the organization’s 12-year history. “Lessons Learned for the Future of Veteran Employment” contains recommendations for veterans, employers, policy makers, and philanthropic donors.

It shows that modest, individualized assistance such as improving interview skills and resume coaching have a dramatic impact, as veterans are nearly three times more likely to find a job if they practice interviewing with a coach or mentor. Veterans are also twice as likely to find a job if an experienced mentor or coach helps them with resume writing.

LOOK: 98-Year-old D-Day Veteran Recreates Photo With Belgian Boy Who Befriended Him During WWII

To help get veterans back to work or learn more, please visit the Call of Duty Endowment.

LEVEL UP More Vets By Sharing This Resource on Social Media…

Friday Funny: Watch a Dog Help Teach the Baby How to Say ‘Mom’

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Today in the USA, we are celebrating Mother’s Day—so there’s no better time for this sweet video.

It’s the perfect day to meet Oswald, the 150-pound Colorado Rottweiler who loves talking to his mom—and anyone else who will listen.

Watch two-year-old ‘Ozzy’ becomes a teacher’s assistant, stepping up to show his baby sister Amy how to say ‘Mama’.

And check out the bonus video, which will melt any baby-lover’s heart… Wallace giving his baby sister some snuggles.

SHARE the Sweet Moment With All the Mamas on Social Media… 

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill (Happy Mother’s Day!)

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Quote of the Day: “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill (Happy Mother’s Day!)

Photo by: ketan rajput

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?

$35 Thrift Store Purchase Turns Out to be Priceless 2000-Year-old Roman Bust

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Laura Young's bargain bust - SWNS
Roman bust purchased at Goodwill shop in Austin, Texas, by Laura Young / SWNS

A chipped marble statue bought for $35 from a thrift store has turned out to be a priceless 2,000 year-old Roman bust.

When Austin, Texas-based art collector Laura Young purchased the marble bust at a local Goodwill store in 2018, she didn’t know that she had accidentally stumbled upon a centuries-old sculpture that once belonged in the collection of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

At the time, the find was hilariously pictured buckled into the seat of Laura’s car—complete with price sticker on its cheek.

The work, which was initially identified by Sotheby’s consultant Jörg Deterling and further authenticated by the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens, and Lakes, is now on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) through May 2023.

Once installed in the courtyard of the Pompejanum (a replica of a Roman villa in Pompeii built by the King in Aschaffenburg, the Roman bust, which dates from the late 1st century BC to the early 1st century AD, disappeared following World War II.

Young, who actively looks for unexpected or undervalued artworks and antiques, discovered the Roman bust on the floor beneath a table at a Goodwill charity store.

After purchasing it, she noticed how old and worn the sculpture looked and began a multi-year journey to determine its authenticity and origin.

LOOK: A Chair Bought for $5 in a Junk Shop Sells at Auction for over $16,000

She met with experts in the University of Texas-Austin art history department, as well as several auction houses. After Deterling made the identification, he supported the process of connecting Young with the German authorities. As part of the agreement to return the sculpture to its rightful home in Germany, the Bavarian agency agreed that the work could go on view at SAMA to engage the public with its history and story.

“My husband and I were on a road trip when I got an email confirming the head was indeed ancient Roman. Soon after that, Sotheby’s got in touch,” Young said. “There were a few months of intense excitement after that, but it was bittersweet since I knew I couldn’t keep or sell the (bust). Either way, I’m glad I got to be a small part of (its) long and complicated history.”

“He looked great in the house while I had him,” she added.

It’s also a wonderful example of international cooperation.

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But, the mystery continues…

How the Roman bust arrived in Texas remains a mystery. In January 1944, during World War II, Allied bombers targeted Aschaffenburg and seriously damaged the Pompejanum, where the work had been installed. Authorities began a restoration of the Pompejanum in 1960 and it opened as a museum in 1994.

The bust, however, disappeared after the war, and its location remained unknown until Young’s discovery. After the end of World War II, the US Army established various military installations in Aschaffenburg, many of which remained until the end of the Cold War, and most likely a returning soldier brought the sculpture to Texas.

“We are very pleased that a piece of Bavarian history that we thought was lost has reappeared and will soon be able to return to its rightful location. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the San Antonio Museum of Art for their support in returning the ancient portrait,” said Bernd Schreiber, president of the Bavarian administration.

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Inspired by the excavations in Pompeii, King Ludwig I had the Pompejanum built by the architect Friedrich von Gärtner in 1840-1848, to support engagement with ancient cultures. The Roman bust was among many works housed in the replica villa.

The bust may portray a son of Pompey the Great (106–48 BC), who was defeated in civil war by Julius Caesar. Some unusual details of the bust resemble other portraits of the famous general, including the curling lock of hair on his forehead, his furrowed brow, and the creases on his neck, but with the addition of the traditional beard of mourning worn by his sons after Pompey’s death.

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Scientists Discover Genetic Cause of Lupus, a Chronic Autoimmune Disease

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An international team of researchers has identified a cause of the autoimmune disease lupus within the DNA mutations of a gene that senses viral RNA—findings that will lead to the development of new treatments.

Currently there is no cure for the chronic autoimmune disease which causes inflammation in organs and joints and affects movement and the skin—sometimes with debilitating symptoms and complications that can be fatal.

Lupus affects around a quarter-million people in the US and UK, and current treatments are predominantly immune-suppressors which work by dialing down the immune system to alleviate symptoms.

But scientists recently reported carrying out whole genome sequencing on the DNA of a Spanish child named Gabriela, who was diagnosed with severe lupus when she was 7 years old. Such a severe case with early onset of symptoms is rare and indicates a single genetic cause.

In their analysis published April 27 in Nature, the researchers report finding a single point mutation in the TLR7 gene. Via referrals from the US and the Shanghai Renji Hospital in China, they identified other cases of severe lupus where this gene was also mutated.

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To confirm that the mutation causes lupus, the team used CRISPR gene-editing to introduce it into mice. These mice went on to develop the disease and showed similar symptoms, providing evidence that the TLR7 mutation was the cause. The mouse model and the mutation were both named ‘kika’ by Gabriela, the young girl being treated at the Centre for Personalised Immunology at the Australian National University.

“It has been a huge challenge to find effective treatments for lupus, and the immune-suppressors currently being used can have serious side effects and leave patients more susceptible to infection,” said Carola Vinuesa, senior author, principal investigator, and leader of the new Autoimmunity Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute where she will continue the research. “There has only been a single new treatment approved by the FDA in about the last 60 years.”

“This is the first time a TLR7 mutation has been shown to cause lupus, providing clear evidence of one way this disease can arise.”

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It might be a small number of people with lupus who have variants in TLR7 itself, but many patients have signs of overactivity in the TLR7 pathway. By confirming a causal link between the gene mutation and the disease, researchers can start to develop more effective treatments.

The mutation the researchers identified causes the TLR7 protein to bind more easily to a nucleic acid component called guanosine and become more active. This increases the sensitivity of the immune cell, making it more likely to incorrectly identify healthy tissue as foreign or damaged and mount an attack against it.

Interestingly, other studies have shown mutations that cause TLR7 to become less active are associated with some cases of severe COVID-19 infection, highlighting “the delicate balance of a healthy immune system”.

10x More Likely in Females

The work may also help explain why lupus is about 10 times more frequent in females than in males.

As TLR7 sits on the X chromosome, females have two copies of the gene while males have one. Usually, one of the X chromosomes is inactive in females, but in this section of the chromosome, silencing of the second copy is often incomplete. This means females with a mutation in this gene can have two functioning copies.

“Identification of TLR7 as the cause of lupus in this unusually severe case ended a diagnostic odyssey and brings hope for more targeted therapies for Gabriela and other lupus patients likely to benefit from this discovery,” says Dr. Carmen de Lucas Collantes, a co-author of the study.

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The researchers are now working with pharmaceutical companies to explore the development of, or the repurposing of existing treatments, which target the TLR7 gene. And they hope that targeting this gene could also help patients with related conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and dermatomyositis, which belong to the same broad family as lupus.

Now a teenager who stays in contact with the research team, Gabriela expressed hope that the discovery will make people with lupus feel like they are not alone in fighting their battle. “Hopefully the research can continue and end up in a specific treatment that can benefit so many lupus warriors who suffer from this disease.”

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Hi-Tech Archaeology Reveals Extraordinary Cave Art Carvings Beneath 2000 Years of Sediment in Alabama

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Anthropomorph in regalia from 19th Unnamed Cave in Alabama by S. Alvarez-illustration by J. Simek
Anthropomorph in regalia from 19th Unnamed Cave in Alabama by S. Alvarez-illustration by J. Simek

New details of our past are coming to light, hidden in the nooks and crannies of the visible world.

Digital analysis of rock surfaces reveals how ghosts of the deep past—this time from almost 2,000 years ago in North America—have been coaxed into the light.

Writing in the journal Antiquity, Professor Jan Simek of the University of Tennessee and colleagues have published images of giant glyphs carved into the mud surface of a low ceiling of a cave in Alabama.

The motifs, which depict human forms and animals, are some of the largest known cave images found in North America and may represent spirits of the underworld.

In the first image below, a drawing of a diamondback rattlesnake, an animal sacred to indigenous people in the south-eastern US, stretches almost 3 meters long.

The next one down shows a human figure just over six feet (1.8m) in length.

Serpent figure with diamond-shaped body markings by S. Alvarez-illustration by J. Simek

In terms of dating the findings, ancient people rejuvenated a light in the cave (a flaming torch of American bamboo) by stubbing it against the cave’s wall. This left a residue that the researchers were able to date with radiocarbon to 133-433 AD. This was also in accord with the age of pottery fragments ancient artists left in the cave.

The problem is seeing the paintings. The cave ceiling is only 60cm high (24 inches), which makes stepping back to view the large images impossible. They were revealed only through a technique called photogrammetry, in which thousands of overlapping photographs of an object or place are taken from different angles and digitally combined in 3D.

Anthropomorph in regalia photographed in Alabama cave by S. Alvarez-illustration by J. Simek

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Photogrammetry is a cheap technique increasingly used in archaeology to record artifacts, buildings, landscapes, and caves. It allowed Professor Simek’s team to “lower” the cave floor up to 4 meters, enough for the complete motifs to come into view for the first time.

Ancient art in other places

Rock art is found on almost every continent, and the earliest is at least 64,000 years old. It is likely that we know of only a tiny percentage of the rock art created in the past. Pigments can dull and disappear; thin engravings can erode to nothing; and cave walls can crumble or be covered over by crusts of carbonate deposits or mud. Assuming more art does survive, the chances are we may never see it unless we invest in research and new technologies.

Rock art in the dark zone of caves beyond the natural light in cave mouths was only discovered in North America in 1979, more than a century after its discovery in Europe (at Altamira in northern Spain). Some 500 European caves are known to contain rock art from the Pleistocene era between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago.

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One example critical to our own research only came to light through digital manipulation of images that we took of it. A hand stencil in the cave of Maltravieso (Estremadura, western Spain) was not immediately apparent when we were searching the cave for suitable samples to date its art.

The stencil had been obscured by the build-up of calcium carbonate deposits. We photographed the area and then used digital image enhancement software which revealed the hand stencil very clearly. Until it re-emerged on our computer screen, the 64,000 year old hand stencil remained undiscovered despite 70 years of intensive study in the cave.

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Light engravings – a very common Pleistocene technique – are notoriously difficult to see. Parts of them may come to light using light shone at an oblique angle, which we refer to as raking light. But with a technique known as reflectance transformation imaging (RTI), which is similar to photogrammetry, 3D models can be illuminated from any angle. These can reveal far more complete and complex images. It’s not easy to show this in a couple of stills, but hopefully the two shots below of an engraved bison in a cave in El Castillo in northern Spain give a flavor.

Future archaeological searches for rock art will probably benefit from recent developments in airport security. Full body scanners use far infra-red frequency light that safely penetrates clothing to reveal concealed weapons or contraband, and similar techniques have been used to “see through” layers of prehistoric wall plaster to paintings underneath. When these scanners become small and cheap enough to take into caves, who knows what further ghosts will come to light?

By Paul Pettitt, Professor of Archaeology at Durham University and Alistair Pike, Professor of Archaeological Sciences, University of Southampton. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. (Read the original article and see more photos)

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Your Inspired Weekly Horoscope From Rob Brezsny: A ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of May 7, 2022
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z tells us, “Don’t ever go with the flow. Instead, be the flow.” Here’s what I think he means: If we go with the flow, we adjust and accommodate ourselves to a force that is not necessarily aligned with our personal inclinations and needs. To go with the flow implies we are surrendering our autonomy. To claim our full sovereignty, on the other hand, we are wise to be the flow. We should create our own flow, which is just right for our unique inclinations and needs. I think this is the right approach for you right now, Taurus. Be the flow.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
The Italian language used to be a dialect spoken in Tuscany. That area comprises less than eight percent of the country’s territory. How did such a dramatic evolution happen? Why did a local dialect supersede other dialects like Piedmontese, Neapolitan, Sicilian, and others? In part, it was because three potent 14th-century writers wrote in the Tuscan dialect: Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio. Another reason: Because Tuscany is centrally located in Italy, its dialect was less influenced by languages in France and other nearby countries. I offer this as a metaphor for you in the coming months. One of your personal talents, affiliations, or inclinations could become more influential and widespread—and have more authority in your life.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
“Always strive to be more interested than interesting,” said actor and activist Jane Fonda. That may not be easy for you to accomplish in the near future, dear Cancerian. Your curiosity will be at peak levels, but you may also be extra compelling and captivating. So I’ll amend Fonda’s advice: Give yourself permission to be both as interested and as interesting as you can imagine. Entertain the world with your lively personality as you go in quest of new information, fresh perceptions, and unprecedented experiences.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
“When in doubt, act like God,” proclaimed Leo singer-songwriter Madonna. I wouldn’t usually endorse that advice. But I’ll make an exception for you Leos during the next three weeks. Due to a divine configuration of astrological omens, you are authorized to ascend to new heights of sovereignty and self-possession—even to the point of doing a vivid God impersonation. For best results, don’t choose an angry, jealous, tyrannical deity to be your role model. Pattern yourself after a sweeter, funnier, more intimate type of celestial being.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
My Virgo friend Amanda told me she felt tight and overwrought. She was overthinking and on the verge of a meltdown. With a rueful sigh, she added, “I adore anything that helps me decompress, unwind, simmer down, stop worrying, lighten up, compose myself, and mellow out.” So I invited her to take deep breaths, close her eyes, and visualize herself immersed in blue-green light. Then I asked her to name influences she loved: people, animals, natural places, music, books, films, art, and physical movements that made her feel happy to be alive. She came up with eight different sources of bliss, and together we meditated on them. Half an hour later, she was as relaxed as she had been in months. I recommend you try a comparable exercise every day for the next 14 days. Be proactive about cultivating tranquil delight.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Author Anne Lamott is renowned for her tender approach to expressing her struggles with addiction, depression, and other tribulations. One of her supreme tests was being a single mother who raised her son Sam. In this effort, she was her usual plucky self. Anytime she hosted playdates with Sam’s young friends at her home, she called on the help of crayons and paint and pens and clay and scissors. “When we did art with the kids, the demons would lie down,” she testified. I recommend a comparable strategy for you in the coming days, Libra. You will have extra power as you tame, calm, or transform your demons. Making art could be effective, as well as any task that spurs your creativity and imagination.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
“My heart has developed a kind of amnesia, where it remembers everything but itself,” writes Scorpio poet Sabrina Benaim. If you suffer a condition that resembles hers, it’s about to change. According to my astrological analysis, your heart will soon not only remember everything; it will also remember itself. What a blissful homecoming that will be—although it may also be unruly and confounding, at least in the beginning. But after the initial surprise calms down, you will celebrate a dramatic enhancement of emotionally rich self-knowledge. You will feel united with the source of your longing to love and be loved.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
“Just because things hadn’t gone the way I had planned didn’t necessarily mean they had gone wrong,” writes Sagittarian author Ann Patchett. Her thought may be helpful for you to meditate on. My guess is that you will ultimately be glad that things didn’t go the way you planned. God or your Higher Self or the Mysterious Forces of Destiny will conspire to lead you away from limited expectations or not-big-enough visions so as to offer you bigger and better blessings.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Novelist Jane Austen (1775–1817) confessed she was a “wild beast.” Really? The author who wrote masterfully about the complex social lives of wealthy British people? Here’s my theory: The wild beast in her made her original, unsentimental, humorous, and brilliant in creating her stories. How is your own inner wild beast, Capricorn? According to my reading of the astrological omens, now is an excellent time to give it fun, rich assignments. What parts of your life would benefit from tapping into raw, primal energy?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Aquarian poet Jack Gilbert wrote, “I lie in the dark wondering if this quiet in me now is a beginning or an end.” I don’t know how Gilbert solved his dilemma. But I suspect you will soon be inclined to pose a similar question. In your case, the answer will be that the quiet in you is a beginning. Ah! But in the early going, it may not resemble a beginning. You might be puzzled by its fuzzy, meandering quality. But sooner or later, the quiet in you will become fertile and inspirational. You will ride it to the next chapter of your life story.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The genre of poetry known as haiku often relies on unexpected juxtapositions. Critic R. H. Blyth observed, “In haiku, the two entirely different things that are joined in sameness are poetry and sensation, spirit and matter.” I suspect your life in the coming weeks will have metaphorical resemblances to haikus. You will be skilled at blending elements that aren’t often combined, or that should be blended but haven’t been. For inspiration, read these haikus by Raymond Roseliep. 1. in the stream / stones making half / the music. 2. horizon / wild swan drifting through / the woman’s body. 3. birthcry! / the stars / are all in place. 4. bathwater / down the drain / some of me. 5. grass / holding the shape / of our night. 6. campfire extinguished, / the woman washing dishes / in a pan of stars.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Poet Jennifer Willoughby writes, “I am so busy. I am practicing my new hobby of watching me become someone else. There is so much violence in reconstruction. Every minute is grisly, but I have to participate. I am building what I cannot break.” I wouldn’t describe your own reconstruction process during recent months as “violent” or “grisly,” Aries, but it has been strenuous and demanding. The good news is that you have mostly completed the most demanding work. Soon the process will become more fun. Congratulations on creating an unbreakable new version of yourself!

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

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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