Quote of the Day: “Obstacles are a natural part of life, just as boulders are a natural part of the course of a river.” – I Ching (the ancient Chinese book)
Photo by: Külli Kittus
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These ducklings were so tiny, they fell through the gaps in a street’s drain cover while waddling toward an English park.
Neil McIvor was cleaning up litter with his volunteer group in Stamford, Lincolnshire, when he raised the alarm.
“We saw these ducklings in trouble after hearing them ‘cheeping’,” recalls the 53-year-old who telephoned the fire department.
Firefighters were then able to pry open the heavy drain and scoop up the brood, before giving them a rinse in a metal bucket.
“The area is well known for ducks to hangout or wonder. They all live in the stream that runs opposite.”
Because there are many potholes that fill with water, the mother duck “sometimes takes her ducklings for a wash in the puddles.”
LOOK: Firefighters Get Creative to Help Baby Raccoon With its Head Stuck in a Sewer Cover
“One must have fallen off the curb and into the drain,” Neil said.
“Once one goes, the rest follow.”
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Saving fuel, slashing emissions, and cutting pollution are just some of the benefits of installing solar panels on public transportation buses—and the city of Munich is buying a ticket to the future by doing just that.
Founded by a trio of German friends in 2016, Sono Motors went public in 2021, selling their Sion solar-paneled car, which is also a home energy storage system.
Now, in partnership with the Munich Transport Company (MVG), a novel solar bus trailer will soon hit the roads, carrying passengers in daily operation.
The Sono Solar Technology is offering possible savings—per bus—of up to 2,500 liters of diesel each year and a reduction of 6.5 metric tons local CO2.
The bus trailer will be pulled by a conventional bus, to provide extra capacity on busy routes. Normally, these huge trailers are powered by diesel fuel.
“In summer, when the air conditioning is in full use, the trailer consumes more electricity than the towing vehicle can supply,” a Sono spokesperson told GNN.
The 20 photovoltaic modules on the roof provide over 2,000 watts to power the vehicle’s battery and electrical loads such as heating and air conditioning, as well as the trailer’s steering system.
“In addition to saving diesel, the additional electricity ensures the stabilization of the battery’s energy supply, thus extending its service life and reducing maintenance costs.”
“Apart from this specific case, Sono Motors Solar Technology can also be integrated into the Bus itself—for supporting the high voltage battery of an electric bus.”
This is the first time that Sono’s solar systems have been used on public transport.
“Especially in times of rising energy prices and increasing urban area emission regulations, our solar technology offers great added value for public transport operators,” says Laurin Hahn, Sono Motors co-founder and CEO.
For a medium-sized fleet of around 300 buses, calculations show the possibility of savings of up to 2,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per year. Further increases are conceivable in the future, as both the solar cells and the power electronics are expected to become more efficient. This solar solution’s so-called ‘CO2 backpack’, i.e., emissions caused in production, amounts to a one-off of approximately 1.5 metric tons of CO2 per bus or bus trailer and could be offset after a short runtime of just less than one year.
The concept for the customized solar bus trailer was developed in collaboration with MVG, specifically for use on buses, to ensure maximum space utilization and efficiency.
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Due to the ultra-fast optimization in the millisecond range and the multi-channel system, the PV yields can be transferred to the battery of the bus in the best possible way. The modules cover a total area of 130 sq-feet (12 sq-meters) and supply the 24 V battery with over 2,000 watts—and the energy generated can be monitored online using integrated software.
“The question of what energy savings can be achieved by using solar energy are, of course, particularly exciting against the background of current fuel and energy prices,” said a spokesperson for MVG.
Sono Motors’ patented solar technology has been developed so that it can be integrated and licensed into a wide range of vehicles. “When e-buses are factory-equipped with our solar technology, additional range can immediately be generated through solar energy on the roof and sides. This not only reduces the standstill times for charging processes, but also protects the battery through a constant charging process. As a result, the e-bus can be operated longer,” explains Hahn.
“I am convinced by the idea, as a lot of fuel can be saved here, and CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced… and this also has a direct impact on air quality,” said Munich’s vice mayor, Katrin Habenschaden.
Munich is already working to completely convert their bus fleet to electric drives. Harnessing the power of the sun makes the process even more sustainable, while extending the range of the e-buses.
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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 April 16, 2022
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
“I have lived my life according to this principle: If I’m afraid of it, then I must do it.” Aries author Erica Jong said that. Since I’m not an Aries myself, her aspiration is too strong for me to embrace. Sometimes I just don’t have the courage, willpower, and boldness to do what I fear. But since you decided to be born as an Aries in this incarnation, I assume you are more like Erica Jong than me. And so, it’s your birthright and sacred duty to share her perspective. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to carry out another phase of this lifelong assignment.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
“Sometimes suffering is just suffering,” writes novelist Kate Jacobs. “It doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t build character.” Now is your special time to shed suffering that fits this description, Taurus. You are authorized to annul your relationship with it and ramble on toward the future without it. Please keep in mind that you’re under no obligation to feel sorry for the source of the suffering. You owe it nothing. Your energy should be devoted to liberating yourself so you can plan your rebirth with aplomb.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
“I am very much afraid of definitions, and yet one is almost forced to make them,” wrote painter Robert Delaunay (1885–1941). “One must take care, too, not to be inhibited by them,” he concluded. He was speaking of the art he created, which kept evolving. In his early years, he considered his work to be Neo-Impressionist. Later he described himself as a “heretic of Cubism,” and during other periods he dabbled with surrealism and abstract art. Ultimately, he created his own artistic category, which he called Orphism. Everything I just said about Delaunay can serve you well in the coming months, Gemini. I think you’ll be wise to accept definitions for yourself, while at the same time not being overly bound by them. That should ultimately lead you, later this year, to craft your own unique personal definition.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
As a postgraduate student in astronomy, Cancerian-born Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered radio pulsars in 1967. Her supervisor, who initially dismissed her breakthrough, was awarded the Nobel Prize for her work in 1974—and she wasn’t! Nevertheless, she persisted. Eventually, she became a renowned astronomer who championed the efforts of minority researchers. Among the 25 prestigious awards and honors she has received is a three-million-dollar prize. I urge you to aspire to her level of perseverance in the coming months. It may not entirely pay off until 2023, but it will pay off.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
“One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards,” wrote author Oscar Wilde. Let’s make that your motto for the next six weeks. If life could be symbolized by a game of poker, you would have the equivalent of at least a pair of jacks and a pair of queens. You may even have a full house, like three 10s and two kings. Therefore, as Wilde advised, there’s no need for you to scrimp, cheat, tell white lies, or pretend. Your best strategy will be to be bold, forthright, and honest as you make your moves.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
“In all the land, there is only one you, possibly two, but seldom more than 16,” said comedian and actor Amy Sedaris. She was making a sardonic joke about the possibility that none of us may be quite as unique as we imagine ourselves to be. But I’d like to mess with her joke and give it a positive tweak. If what Sedaris says is true, then it’s likely that we all have soul twins somewhere in the world. It means that there are numerous people who share many of our perspectives and proclivities; that we might find cohorts who see us for who we really are. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Virgo, because I suspect the coming months will be an excellent time for meeting and playing with such people.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
A team of biologists unearthed a fascinating discovery in Costa Rica. When the group planted a single tree in pastureland that had no trees, biodiversity increased dramatically. For example, in one area, there were no bird species before the tree and 80 species after the tree. I suspect you can create a similar change in the coming weeks. A small addition, even just one new element, could generate significant benefits. One of those perks might be an increase in the diversity you engage with.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Smallpox has been eliminated thanks to vaccination, but it was once among the most feared diseases. Over the course of many centuries, it maimed or killed hundreds of millions of people. For 35 percent of those who contracted it, it was fatal. As for the survivors, their skin had permanent scars from the blisters that erupted. As disfiguring as those wounds were, they were evidence that a person was immune from future infections. That’s why employers were more likely to hire them as workers. Their pockmarks gave them an advantage. I believe this is a useful metaphor for you. In the coming weeks, you will have an advantage because of one of your apparent liabilities or imperfections or “scars.” Don’t be shy about using your unusual asset.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Sagittarian author Pearl Cleage sets the tone for the future I hope you’ll seek in the coming weeks. The Black feminist activist writes, “We danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and we kissed too sweet, and howled just as loud as we wanted to howl.” Are you interested in exploring such blithe extravagance, Sagittarius? Do you have any curiosity about how you might surpass your previous records for rowdy pleasure? I hope you will follow Cleage’s lead in your own inimitable style.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“I can never rest from tenderness,” wrote author Virginia Woolf. I won’t ask you to be as intense as her, Capricorn. I won’t urge you to be constantly driven to feel and express your tenderness. But I hope you will be focused on doing so in the coming weeks. Why? Because the astrological omens suggest it will be “in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender.” (That’s a quote by aphorist Jenny Holzer.) For inspiration, consider trying this experiment proposed by Yoko Ono: “Try to say nothing negative about anybody: a) for three days; b) for 45 days; c) for three months.”
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
“I gamble everything to be what I am,” wrote Puerto Rican activist poet Julia de Burgos, born under the sign of Aquarius. Her gambles weren’t always successful. At one point, she was fired from her job as a writer for a radio show because of her progressive political beliefs. On the other hand, many of her gambles worked well. She earned awards and recognition for her five books of poetry and garnered high praise from superstar poet Pablo Neruda. I offer her as your role model, Aquarius. The rest of 2022 will be a fertile time to gamble everything to be what you are. Here’s a further suggestion: Gamble everything to become what you don’t yet know you must become.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Piscean jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman was a trailblazer. He created the genre known as free jazz, which messed with conventional jazz ideas about tempos, melodies, and harmonies. In the course of his career, he won a Pulitzer Prize, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grant. He was a technical virtuoso, but there was more to his success, too. Among his top priorities were emotional intensity and playful abandon and pure joy. That’s why, on some of his recordings, he didn’t hire famous jazz drummers, but instead had his son, who was still a child, play the drum parts. I suggest you apply an approach like Coleman’s to your own upcoming efforts.
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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Massive new marine parks will now protect and preserve the Australian oceans surrounding Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands—home to life found nowhere else on earth.
These two parks in the Indian Ocean will protect over 287,000 square-miles of spectacular seascapes (744k square km), an area greater in size than Texas, and twice as large as the Great Barrier Reef.
Australian Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley called it a “globally significant contribution to marine conservation and a further demonstration of Australia’s leadership in ocean protection”.
“The region, which is often described as Australia’s Galapagos Islands, supports unique underwater reefs and rare aquatic species which act as a natural laboratory, helping us to understand more about the evolution of the oceans.”
60 Commonwealth marine parks around Australia are now protecting 45 percent of the island country’s territorial waters.
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Officials wanted to ensure that island fishermen could maintain their sustainable local food source and way of life.
“The offshore parts of these parks will be placed under the highest level of protection, while the inshore areas important to island communities will continue to enable sustainable fishing to occur,” said Nola Marino, the Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories.
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Gaze at the local wildlife in this beautiful video from Australian Parks…
The government allocated $5.4 million to manage the marine parks—which is 99% offshore, and one percent inshore to support local fisheries.
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Quote of the Day: “How do you know what’s going on in the world? Everything’s going on! A far better question is what do you want to focus on?” – Peter Sage (chooses not to look at any news from mainstream media)
Photo by: awar kurdish
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?
A German renovation firm is raising a lot of interest in their ability to make old buildings really energy efficient simply by putting a big ‘coat’ on them.
Taking a 3D scan of a house, they prefabricate wood panels of identical shape and scale to be attached to the outside, and have turned the most inefficient buildings in Germany into net-energy producers.
Called Ecoworks, the panels they make come with built in solar panels and insulation, meaning they can be installed on the host building in as little as 20 minutes.
They’re made from wood that’s been harvested after its achieved optimal carbon capture.
In a demonstration, an apartment block from 1930s that used 450 kilowatt-hours per square meter of space (catastrophically inefficient, even by American standards) was equipped with Ecoworks panels while the company monitored the changes in energy consumption.
It became so inexpensive to heat, cool, and power, that the solar panels in the roof made it a carbon-negative building, where before it was listed as one of the least efficient in the whole nation.
This summer the startup has another seven projects lined up, identifying which structures will be best suited for the technology by using AI.
Soulless apartment blocks work best, but they’re trying as fast as possible to adapt the panels for use in family homes, schools, and even buildings in other countries.
In Germany alone, writes Adele Peters at Fast Company, 30 million buildings are in need of renovation over the next five years to meet prescribed climate targets.
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A new study shows for the first time that the striking iridescent colours seen in some animals increase their chances of survival against predators by acting as a means of camouflage. Rather than reveal it seems these dynamically changing shades are used to conceal, according to a University of Bristol study.
Until now, it was assumed that the iridescent colours seen in nature have two main purposes: they can help animals find mates, or act as a warning to predators that a prey item may be poisonous.
Researchers at Bristol’s Camo Lab wanted to find out why this vivid metallic coloration has evolved in so many different species of animals by investigating its biological function.
They chose to test this theory on the vividly coloured jewel beetle (Sternocera aequisignata) because both sexes of this species are iridescent which makes sexual signalling somewhat less likely as a function of the colour.
They tested the idea of iridescence-as-camouflage by placing iridescent and non-iridescent beetle models on leaves in the forest and noted their survival against attacks by wild birds.
They found that the models with biological iridescence, survived best against birds, providing evidence that iridescence can increase prey survival and that these bright metallic colours could have evolved in beetles to confuse birds, their primary predator.
Dr Karin Kjernsmo, the study’s lead author at the University of Bristol School of Biological Sciences, said, “Iridescent colours are most likely familiar to you from everyday objects such as soap bubbles and CDs, but this striking form of structural colour is also very common in nature.
Iridescence has evolved independently in everything from jewel-like insects to shimmering birds and can even be spotted in your garden in insects such as Rose Chafers and Rosemary beetles.
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“Although an iridescent insect might be easy to spot in a well-lit museum case, these spectacular colours may not shine as brightly in the dappled light of a natural environment, and so an iridescent beetle on a shiny leaf could be much more difficult to detect. If iridescence is to work as a form of protective coloration, it needs to work against birds, because birds are likely to be the most important predators of many iridescent insects.”
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However, the team wanted to investigate why the birds didn’t attack the iridescent models and whether the increase in prey survival was due to camouflage or a warning colour effect.
To test this, the researchers conducted a final experiment in which they asked human participants to search for the beetle models in the same environment. Warning colours should be easy to see, whereas if the beetles survived due to camouflage, the humans would not be able to detect them.
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Dr Karin Kjernsmo said of the study, published in 2020 in Current Biology, “I think that the biggest surprise to us was that when we carried out the same experiment with humans even they really struggled to spot the iridescent beetles. Both birds and humans really do have difficulty spotting iridescent objects in a natural, complex, forest environment.
“While the idea of ‘iridescence as camouflage’ itself is not new, our study is the first solid evidence for the idea that iridescence can work as highly-effective form of camouflage, and ultimately this could explain why iridescence has evolved in so many different species of animals.”
Source: University of Bristol
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From now until early July, the five nearest planets to Earth will slowly join a celestial conga line across the pre-dawn sky.
These rare, but not once-in-a-lifetime conjunctions offer an excellent opportunity to learn what planets look like, find them with a telescope or binoculars, and introduce some children to stargazing.
In what was the fourth such conjunction this century, it all kicked off in late March, when Venus, Mars, and Saturn began to cluster in the southeast.
This Sunday, April 17th, Jupiter will move into position closest to the eastern horizon, and almost on top of Venus. A bit south and above will be Mars looking very red, and then Saturn further up and further south.
For most people in North America, the ideal time will be to go out and look southeast about 45 minutes before the sun begins to rise. On April 23rd, the Moon will appear in conjunction with the other spheres, appearing to the right and above Saturn, before moving off again by April 29th.
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In mid-June, due to its rapid orbiting around the Sun, Mercury will fall into position. Seeing all five of these together will depend on where one lives. With a long unobstructed view of the eastern horizon, Mercury will be visible as early as June 10th, but for those in hilly, urban, or mountainous areas, it will be better to wait until the beginning of July.
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A thin crescent moon, due on June 17th, will make Mercury easy to find by looking just below and to the right. Uranus and Neptune will also both be in the sky, but will require the use of binoculars or a telescope.
To know for sure you’re looking at a planet and not a star, look for constant light, which can be confirmed by any pair of binoculars and not just those used for stargazing. Stars twinkle, planets don’t.
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Three-fifths of Pink Floyd have reunited to release a protest song against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, their first new track in 28 years.
Entitled Hey Hey, Rise Up! David Gilmour described the track as a show of “anger at a superpower invading a peaceful nation,” and features a Ukrainian musician singing the chorus refrain.
David Gilmour is joined by drummer Nick Mason, long-time bassist Guy Pratt, and a new entry as Nitin Sahwney joins up with keyboard.
Work began on the song seven weeks ago, after Gilmour saw Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the band Boombox standing in Kyiv’s Sofia Square armed and dressed for battle against the Russian army. In an Instagram video Khlyvnyk was singing The Red Viburnum In The Meadow, a song from the First World War.
“It just struck me that, as it is a capella, one could turn this into a beautiful song,” Gilmour told BBC 6 Music’s Matt Everitt.
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In a strange coincidence, Gilmour had shared a stage many acts removed with Boombox when they played a London benefit gig for the Belarus Free Theatre. The great guitarist wanted to sample his singing in Hey Hey, Rise Up!
“I spoke to him, actually, from his hospital bed, where he had a pretty minor injury from a mortar,” the star said. “So he’s right there on the front line. I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing.”
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Protest is all well and good, but the band hopes it will also be a morale booster to the people of Ukraine, and a call to peace.
(LISTEN to the New Pink Floyd song below.)
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Quote of the Day: “I want you to have big dreams, big goals… But I don’t want to see you beating yourself up every time you make a mistake.” – Kelley Armstrong (The Gathering)
Photo by: @felipepelaquim
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?
Do you have the “ulti-mutt” tips for navigating travel with a pup? To celebrate your pets, Baymont by Wyndham has launched a nationwide search for the best pup-friendly travel tips.
In exchange, 10 pup parents will receive a free weekend hotel stay for two while their tips, and their pups, are featured in an upcoming travel planner helping first-time owners navigate the ins and outs of traveling with a pet.
According to a survey by the ASPCA, more than 23 million American households acquired a pet during the pandemic. Now, many first-time pet owners are figuring out how to travel with their furry friends on their next vacation. Lucky for them, Baymont is here to help make their travel planning experience a little less “ruff.”
“When planning a trip, there are number of things to consider. Add a pet to the mix, especially for the first time, and it may feel a little overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be,” said David Unger, brand leader and vice president of Operations, Baymont by Wyndham.
“At Baymont, we want to make travel easy, especially when our furry friends are involved. It’s why we offer no-cost perks like dog treats and water bowls at our front desks. This initiative builds on those efforts, helping ensure our guests—the two or four-legged kind—have a great trip, even before they arrive.”
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Amongst all the tips received, Baymont by Wyndham will select the 10 best and feature them in its upcoming pet-friendly travel planner, debuting later this year, alongside a corresponding photo of each winning pup.
In exchange for their help, each proud pup’s parent(s) will receive two free nights at the Wyndham Rewards hotel of their choosing, along with a complimentary one-year upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Diamond membership which includes perks like free WiFi, early check-in, late checkout, suite upgrades, rental car upgrades, and more.
Think you’ve got what it takes to lead the pack? Parents are invited to submit their best pup-friendly travel tip in 100 words or less, as well as two high-resolution photos of their pup—one headshot and one travel-themed photo—to [email protected].
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If you’re looking for ideas of the kinds of tips to send? GNN has been given word such a: What should you do before hitting the road with your pet; the one must-have item that no pet-parent should travel without; and which pet-friendly places should be on your itinerary.
You can also encourage contestants to check out tips from the ASPCA for inspiration.
with more than 500 hotels across North America, nearly two-thirds of which are pet friendly
Baymont has more than 500 hotels across North America—nearly two-thirds of which are pet-friendly—and they are committed to making travel easy for the entire family.
Pet-friendly hotels, along with their policies, are easily searchable on www.BaymontInns.com while the brand’s Baymont Buddy program—available at more than 300 locations—lets guests request a complementary water bowl and dog treats upon arrival.
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For more information about Baymont’s latest pup-centric program, including official rules, visit www.baymontinns.com/petfriendly.
Submissions will be accepted up until 11:59 PM ET on May 11, 2022. The winning candidates will be selected on or about June 7, 2022.
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A spray of common bacteria and fungi has been developed to rapidly biodegrade agricultural waste in the fields of India, enriching degraded soils and saving thousands in material and labor costs.
Furthermore, it’s eliminating the practice of burning post-harvest waste, a large contributor to one of India’s most infamous societal problems: smog.
Set amidst a sea of burning agricultural waste, New Delhi, has the most polluted air of any world city, while India has 26 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities measured by air quality.
This is in large part due to the richness of the farmland in the for north-Indian states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Producing rice and wheat for much of the country and the world, after harvest most farmers simply burn all the stalks and leaves left over to quickly clear the fields for the next planting.
This “stubble burning,” takes place on 5.7 million acres of rice paddy, and despite being illegal for decades, continues mostly unabated.
Nurture.farm is an ag-services company that’s pioneered a groundbreaking solution to the stubble burning/air pollution problem. Called the PUSA Decomposer, it’s nothing more than 7 species of fungi and bacteria present in India’s soils. Developed by the Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi, this microbial spray breakdowns all leftover stubble in just 3 weeks. After just 8 days, knee-high rice stalks simply disappear.
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Nurture works with mostly small farms, and the reduction of burning by their clients has prevented 141,000 tons of ash from entering India’s air, another 2,000 tons of other particulate matter, and 1 million tons of CO2.
The best part is all decomposed stubble is fully-reintegrated into the soil. Depletion of soil matter is a world-threatening problem, and so Nurture is just one of 12 ag-tech companies that have been licensed to try and integrate the PUSA decomposer into Indian society.
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The stubble represents the largest, and by far easiest ways of restoring soil nutrients; much cheaper than buying artificial fertilizer. One study from the International Maize and Wheat Center found that if rolled into bails and stacked atop one another, the stubble from India’s fields would arrive at the moon, and that if there could only be an alternative found for burning, India could reduce her ag-related emissions by 78%.
Farmers registered with Nurture can avail themselves of a totally free mechanized spraying service to apply the PUSA decomposer to their fields, removing most of the use barriers for the 25,000 farmers who use Nurture for their 5 million total acres.
Compared to burning, Nurture’s data on the initial harvests has been dramatic. There’s been a 25% reduction in costs from the need to buy artificial fertilizer, and a 20% increase in farmers’ income due to the ability to rotate in short term crops between the rice and wheat cycles.
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“It was exhilarating to see that in all the fields where the spraying protocol was followed, the stubble started to decompose within just eight days,” said COO Dhruv Sawhney. “This garnered the farmer’s trust and appreciation, which was highly motivating for us.”
“We’ve emerged more confident and determined post phase-1 of the initiative and will
continue our efforts to develop the product and our tech capabilities to eliminate the
environmental hazard of crop stubble burning in the coming three years.”
(WATCH the video for this story below.)
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People consistently underestimate others’ desire for constructive feedback and therefore don’t provide it, even when it could improve another person’s performance on a task, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
“People often have opportunities to provide others with constructive feedback that could be immediately helpful, whether that’s letting someone know of a typo in their presentation before a client presentation, or telling a job candidate about a stained shirt before an interview,” said lead author Nicole Abi-Esber, a doctoral candidate at Harvard Business School. “Overall, our research found that people consistently underestimate others’ desire for feedback, which can have harmful results for would-be feedback recipients.”
Constructive feedback is instrumental for aiding learning and performance, and research has shown that people commonly report wanting this type of feedback, according to the researchers.
However, despite wanting constructive feedback themselves, people often avoid giving it to others. In a pilot study conducted by the researchers, only 2.6% of participants informed a tester of a visible smudge on his or her face (e.g., chocolate, lipstick or red marker) during a survey.
Previous research suggests that people avoid giving feedback for fear of negative outcomes, such as the other person’s becoming embarrassed or upset. Abi-Esber and her colleagues theorized there might be another reason people withhold feedback: They simply do not fully recognize the potential of their input to improve others’ outcomes, leading them to underestimate others’ desire for such feedback.
To test their theory, the researchers conducted a series of five experiments involving 1,984 participants to measure how much people underestimate others’ desire for constructive feedback.
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In one, participants were presented with 10 hypothetical awkward social situations at work, where they could either give or receive constructive feedback. In another experiment, participants were asked to recall a situation where they could either have given or received constructive feedback. In the final experiment, participants were paired, with one practicing a speech for a competition and the other assigned to listen and provide feedback.
Across all five experiments, people in a position to give feedback consistently underestimated potential receivers’ desire for it. The more consequential the feedback (e.g., telling someone they need to improve their presentation skills), the more likely participants were to underestimate the other’s need for feedback and the less likely they were to offer it. The gap was smaller in more everyday, less consequential scenarios, such as when the other person had food on their face or a rip in their pants.
The researchers were surprised to find that the simple intervention of perspective taking could increase the likelihood someone would recognize the need for and provide feedback. Simply asking people to quickly reflect, “If you were this person, would you want feedback?” helped participants recognize the value of feedback to the other person and helped close the giver-receiver gap.
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“Even if you feel hesitant to give feedback, we recommend that you give it,” said Abi-Esber. “Take a second and imagine you’re in the other person’s shoes and ask yourself if you would want feedback if you were them. Most likely you would, and this realization can help empower you to give them feedback.”
“Feedback is key to personal growth and improvement, and it can fix problems that are otherwise costly to the recipient,” said coauthor Francesca Gino, PhD, also of Harvard Business School. “The next time you hear someone mispronounce a word, see a stain on their shirt or notice a typo on their slide, we urge you to point it out to them—they probably want feedback more than you think.”
The research was published in APA’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Source: American Psychological Association
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Researchers in the UK have developed a method to ‘time jump’ human skin cells by 30 years, turning back the aging clock for cells without losing their specialized function.
The epigenetics research program has been able to partly restore the function of older cells, as well as rejuvenating the molecular measures of biological age in other cells.
While in the early stages of exploration, this breakthrough from the Babraham Institute could revolutionize regenerative medicine.
As we age, our cells’ ability to function declines and the genome accumulates marks of aging. Regenerative biology aims to repair or replace cells including old ones. One of the most important tools in regenerative biology is our ability to create ‘induced’ stem cells. The process is a result of several steps, each erasing some of the marks that make cells specialized. In theory, these stem cells have the potential to become any cell type, but scientists aren’t yet able to reliably recreate the conditions to re-differentiate stem cells into all cell types.
The new method, based on the Nobel Prize winning technique scientists use to make stem cells, overcomes the problem of entirely erasing cell identity by halting reprogramming part of the way through the process. This allowed researchers to find the precise balance between reprogramming cells, making them biologically younger, while still being able to regain their specialized cell function.
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In 2007, Shinya Yamanaka was the first scientist to turn normal cells, which have a specific function, into stem cells which have the special ability to develop into any cell type. The full process of stem cell reprogramming takes around 50 days using four key molecules called the Yamanaka factors. The new method, called ‘maturation phase transient reprogramming’, exposes cells to Yamanaka factors for just 13 days.
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At this point, age-related changes are removed and the cells have temporarily lost their identity. The partly reprogrammed cells were given time to grow under normal conditions, to observe whether their specific skin cell function returned. Genome analysis showed that cells had regained markers characteristic of skin cells (fibroblasts), and this was confirmed by observing collagen production in the reprogrammed cells.
To show that the cells had been rejuvenated, the researchers looked for changes in the hallmarks of aging. As explained by Dr Diljeet Gill, a postdoc in Wolf Reik’s lab at the Institute who conducted the work, “Our understanding of aging on a molecular level has progressed over the last decade, giving rise to techniques that allow researchers to measure age-related biological changes in human cells. We were able to apply this to our experiment to determine the extent of reprogramming our new method achieved.”
Researchers looked at multiple measures of cellular age. The first is the epigenetic clock, where chemical tags present throughout the genome indicate age. The second is the transcriptome, all the gene readouts produced by the cell. By these two measures, the reprogrammed cells matched the profile of cells that were 30 years younger compared to reference data sets.
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The potential applications of this technique are dependent on the cells not only appearing younger, but functioning like young cells too. Fibroblasts produce collagen, a molecule found in bones, skin tendons and ligaments, helping provide structure to tissues and heal wounds.
The rejuvenated fibroblasts produced more collagen proteins compared to control cells that did not undergo the reprogramming process. Fibroblasts also move into areas that need repairing. Researchers tested the partially rejuvenated cells by creating an artificial cut in a layer of cells in a dish. They found that their treated fibroblasts moved into the gap faster than older cells. This is a promising sign that one day this research could eventually be used to create cells that are better at healing wounds.
In the future, this research, which was published in eLife, may also open up other therapeutic possibilities; the researchers observed that their method also had an effect on other genes linked to age-related diseases and symptoms. The APBA2 gene, associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and the MAF gene with a role in the development of cataracts, both showed changes towards youthful levels of transcription.
The mechanism behind the successful transient reprogramming is not yet fully understood, and is the next piece of the puzzle to explore. The researchers speculate that key areas of the genome involved in shaping cell identity might escape the reprogramming process.
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Diljeet concluded, “Our results represent a big step forward in our understanding of cell reprogramming. We have proved that cells can be rejuvenated without losing their function and that rejuvenation looks to restore some function to old cells. The fact that we also saw a reverse of aging indicators in genes associated with diseases is particularly promising for the future of this work.”
Professor Wolf Reik, a group leader in the Epigenetics research program who has recently moved to lead the Altos Labs Cambridge Institute, said, “This work has very exciting implications. Eventually, we may be able to identify genes that rejuvenate without reprogramming, and specifically target those to reduce the effects of aging. This approach holds promise for valuable discoveries that could open up an amazing therapeutic horizon.”
Source: Babraham Institute
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Quote of the Day: “Love alone is not enough. Without imagination, love stales into sentiment, duty, boredom.” – James Hillman
Photo by: Brett Meliti
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Quote of the Day: “Love alone is not enough. Without imagination, love stales into sentiment, duty, boredom.” – James Hillman
Photo by: Brett Meliti
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?
Ed Sheeran stunned pub-goers when he turned up at an inner-city Birmingham pub and started pulling pints and having a sing-a-long with customers.
The 31-year-old singer left revelers gobsmacked when he appeared without any security at The Roost in Small Heath, Birmingham on Sunday.
Punters said Ed happily joined in a game of pool as he mingled with the crowds and enjoyed a pint with rapper pal Jaykae.
Cell phone footage shows the Shape Of You star clutching a beer and enjoying a singalong around the pool table to No Games by Serani.
He can also be seen pulling pints behind the bar wearing a North Face jacket and joking with the manager, “You’re paying me.”
Pub manager Ian Connors, a dad-of-two, said, “It was a bit crazy.
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“He is good pals with Jaykae, who sometimes comes in here, and he called me up and said can I bring someone along.
“We were having a pool tournament last night and we had a DJ on so it was pretty busy and I said of course bring whoever you like.
“All of a sudden, this guy walks in and everybody starts going ‘Is that Ed Sheeran?’ We were thinking ‘surely not’.
“We couldn’t understand what a megastar like him would be doing in a pub in Small Heath.
“But he was brilliant, really laid-back and he mingled with customers. He was just a gentleman. Really down-to-earth and was having a good laugh.
“I’ve spoken to Jaykae to check they were happy with us sharing the videos because they turned up with no security.
“He checked with Ed and they were fine with it, so it shows what type of man he is that he’s happy to give our little pub in Brum some publicity.
“We’re still in a bit of shock to be honest, this is the last place you’d expect him to turn up.
“But he was fantastic with everybody and it was night everyone will certainly remember.”
(WATCH the video for this story below.)
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A Japanese-American interment camp from the Second World War in Colorado, preserved for years by local students, has been folded into the care of the National Park Service.
As a new National Historic Site, the Amache Internment Camp is now part of the Service’s commitment to tell the entire story of American history, good and bad.
But the real story lies in the work of the Amache Preservation Society (APS), a group of volunteer students from the local school district of Granada RE1, in southeast Colorado, led for 30 years by John Hopper.
A social studies teacher in 1993, Hopper, who doesn’t have Japanese ancestry, was teaching some “really bright students” who turned a one-time class project speaking with a survivor of the camp, whom Hopper’s family knew, into an-always operational preservation society, and focused on giving class presentations, operating a museum, and maintaining the site—a large collection of government-issue barracks where thousands of innocent Japanese Americans were detained.
“It is a heavy, heavy topic, especially when you talk about civil liberties,” Hopper told Christian Science Monitor. “But that’s part of my job I enjoy talking about—needs to be talked about.”
The APS works on presentations to other schools; in recent years it also began organizing trips to Japan to stay with host families and do their presentations in Japanese high schools.
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“I can’t think of any group that does more for Amache,” Calvin Taro Hada, an Amache descendant and Japanese community leader, told CS Monitor.
In 2006, Amache was designated a historic landmark, and last month, President Biden designated the camp a National Historic Site—announcing the intention to transfer responsibility and ownership of the town of Granada to the National Park Service.
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Though Hopper is now Dean of Students and not in the classroom, students from the same school still run tours of the site, mow the lawns, and even pursue occasional excavations under the supervision of the University of Denver.
“It is our solemn responsibility as caretakers of America’s national treasures to tell the whole story of our nation’s heritage for the benefit of present and future generations,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “The National Park Service will continue working closely with key stakeholders dedicated to the preservation of Amache, [including the APS…] to preserve and interpret this significant historic site to the public.”
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A new Yale study shows that one in three patients with a severe skin disease were able to regrow hair after being treated with a common arthritis drug.
The study is based on Phase 3 clinical trials using baricitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, to treat alopecia areata, an often disfiguring skin disease characterized by rapid loss of scalp hair, and sometimes eyebrows and eyelashes.
Phase 3 clinical trials are the final testing hurdle before a new treatment can be considered for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
“This is so exciting, because the data clearly show how effective baricitinib is,” said Dr. Brett King, an associate professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the new study “These large, controlled trials tell us that we can alleviate some of the suffering from this awful disease.”
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles. More than 200,000 new cases emerge each year in the United States. Although alopecia areata can develop in patients of any age, it typically occurs in people under the age of 40.
There is currently no FDA-approved treatment for the disease.
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For the new study, King and his colleagues conducted two large, randomized trials involving a total of 1,200 people. The participants were adults with severe alopecia areata, who had lost at least half of their scalp hair; many had lost all of their scalp hair.
For 36 weeks, participants were given a daily dose of either 4 milligrams of baricitinib, 2 milligrams of baricitinib, or a placebo. One-third of the patients who received the larger dose grew hair back.
The researchers said baricitinib thwarts the disease by disrupting the communication of immune cells involved in harming hair follicles. Baricitinib and other JAK inhibitors are routinely used to treat autoimmune forms of joint disease.
“Alopecia areata is a crazy journey, marked by chaos, confusion, and profound sadness for many who suffer from it,” King said. “It will be incredible to have a medicine to help people emerge on the other side, normalcy restored, recognizable again to themselves and those around them.”
Co-authors of the study included researchers from the Kyorin University Faculty of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Stanford University, the University of California-Irvine, the University of Minnesota, Eli Lilly and Company, and Sinclair Dermatology.
The results of the study were made public during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. For the past decade, King has developed methods for using JAK inhibitors to treat a variety of skin diseases—including eczema, vitiligo, granuloma annulare, sarcoidosis, and erosive lichen planus.
King noted that the clinical trials involving baricitinib are ongoing, which will enable researchers to assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of the treatment.
This research has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Source: YaleNews
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