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New Electric Boat Just Levitated Boating to a New Level, While Ending Fuel Leaks

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Andy Corbley
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Candela
Candela

A Swedish shipwright has unveiled successful tests for a new fully-electric hydrofoil speed boat which it says will change the face of recreational boating forever.

The C-8, by Candela, can do 20 knots of speed and accommodate a half-dozen passengers while eliminating fuel leaks, motor noise, wake, and expensive trips to the fuel dock.

Electric boating has been far behind electric cars as a result of the far-denser resistance encountered when a vehicle attempts to push its way through water as compared to air.

Using hydrofoils to lift the C-8 out of the water, that most critical roadblock is avoided, resulting in 80% less energy consumption per knot traveled than an internal-combustion engine boat.

This allowed Candela to mount an electric motor and battery pack as the form of thrust and actually deliver range and speeds comparative to a fossil-fuel speed boat.

MORE: Solar Panels Built From Waste Crops Can Make Energy Without Direct Light

Candela has designed C-8 to fit right into the industry options. Capable of being mass produced at 400 units per year, the C-8 prices in at €290,000, equal or in some cases lower than other fossil-fuel speed boats in its size class of 28 feet (8.5 meters).

The C-POD motor is rated for 3,000 hours of service-free use, which is equivalent to 50–100 years of a person’s average recreational boating time, reports Clean Technica, adding that after being unveiled in February, its 100 preorders mean it outsold almost all other conventional speed boats of its size.

“It’s basically free boating, and hassle-free boating, for the first time in history,” says company founder Gustav Hasselskog.

The boat sleeps two kids and two adults, while the above deck cockpit has room for eight people.

RELATED: Scientists Develop Breakthrough Method for Recycling Industrial Plastics at Room Temperature in 20 Minutes

“Candela C-8 is designed to do away with all the bad aspects of powerboating: no slamming, no harmful wake, no pollution, no maintenance, no noise, and no more expensive trips to the fuel dock,” Candela’s head of PR, Mikael Mahlberg told Clean Technica. “It’s just a smooth, silent, and fun ride. After the first ride last week, it’s clear we’re right on target. This will be a pivotal moment for electric boats.”

(WATCH the video for this story below.)

SPEED UP Knowledge of the Good News; Share This Innovation…

Livin’ Good Currency – Ep. 3: She Makes GOOD Happen, By Investing in Women-Led Companies

By
Andy Corbley
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The Lesson: Investing in people is investing in the future. Putting money behind women-led companies can lead to great financial returns, and even better social ones. Better still, investing in early-stage companies led by minorities or women builds a power base where before there wasn’t one.

Notable Excerpt: “I’m really proud also, [that] we picked our bucket and we said women. And because we said women, instead of this traditional Silicon Valley road where these kids come from Harvard or Stanford, we started getting companies from all across the country, all different backgrounds, we have 50% minority-led companies, and we look at age, race, and gender in terms of every founding team, and when you invest in those early stages, that’s when you can make the change.”

The Guest: Jesse Draper is a mother of three and General Partner of Halogen Ventures, a financial management company that allows investors to grow their financial, cultural, and spiritual capital by backing funds which diversify along lines of gender, race, and age. Their portfolio consists of 70 companies with an emphasis on female leadership and consumer technologies, and have seen strong returns over short periods.

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.

Livin’ Good Currency cohosts Tony Samadani and Tobias Tubbs

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.

DON’T Forget to Share the New Podcast With Friends and Family on Social Media… (Featured photo by Kevin Abosch)

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” – Arthur Yorinks

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” – Arthur Yorinks

Photo by: Rowan Heuvel

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?

He Quit His Job to Offer Scottish Highland Trips in New York School Bus – A ‘Hostel on Wheels’

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS

A business graduate is taking tourists on adventure trips amidst the Scottish Highlands – in a New York school bus.

The 24-year-old came up with the idea after watching Expedition Happiness on Netflix, about a couple traveling across North America in a refurbished school bus.

Angus Luff, who graduated in 2019, quit his job as a management consultant in Leicester, England, to live out his dream of creating the hostel on wheels.

He only worked in his job for three months before he decided, ‘I don’t want to do this’.

Dubbed ‘The Bonnie Camper’, the bus has been converted into a ‘glamping’ RV mobile home, with beds, seating areas, and a kitchen, for up to six people.

He hosts road trips across the Highlands, arranging outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, kayaking, and swimming in lakes along the way.

Serving as the tour guide, Angus does all the driving, cooking, and cleaning, before pitching a tent outside to give the guests full privacy in the bus.

The 1999 model vehicle was originally used to take students to and from school in New York. He bought it in 2019, and had it shipped over from the US.

“The buses are so iconic,” said the Edinburgh entrepreneur. “I think it’s the novelty of the school bus—it’s very rare you see them in real life.”

The Bonnie Camper – SWNS

He used lockdown to refurbish the bus, stripping it and furnishing it with the help of his dad—making sure it met UK regulations.

LOOK: Camping Travelers Can Rent Old, Empty Churches in UK to Help Pay for Historical Upkeep

Angus then earned his HGV driving license and tried out his tour on friends before setting out on his first money-making trip in June, 2021. “It was great fun, everyone loved it.”

“Everyone’s always beeping and waving at us. You feel like a celebrity.

“It was amazing, I had a group of four women from London come up and hired it out privately.

“I love seeing people’s reaction to the bus, they get so excited.”

The Bonnie Camper – SWNS

The five day tour costs £595 ($780) per person and includes all the activities and food.

CHECK OUT: These Beautiful Italian Towns Will Pay You to Move There if You Work Remotely

“I host the whole week and organize whisky tasting tours, hiking, mountain biking, watersports, and stops at local bars and pubs.”

“There’s no other company that does something similar in the UK.

With its high vantage point and large windows, the school bus is a unique way to experience some of Scotland’s most rugged and beautiful scenery. It even has a sunroof.

The Bonnie Camper – SWNS

“It’s a completely different viewpoint of everything,” he says. “You are quite engrossed in all the landscapes.

The Bonnie Camper – SWNS

This year he will also be trying individual bookings, where people can just book themselves a spot on the bus and take part in the activates for a tour group.

Travelers board the bus in Edinburgh, where Angus keeps the bus, before driving to the Cairngorms, then on to Glencoe, and arriving back by way of Stirling.

POPULAR: Rather Than Slip into Depression, Man Quits Job, Sells Possessions, and Travels the World With a Ferret

“I basically go on holiday every week, I’m very fortunate to be able to do this.”

WATCH a montage video from The Bonnie Camper…

START Planning Your Trip With Friends By Sharing on Social Media…

University Gives Unexpected Bonus To All Employees Saying Thanks for Their Service During Covid

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Good News Network
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Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University

The Chancellor of Vanderbilt University is recognizing all the school’s employees for their diligent work over the past two years with a surprise bonus in their paychecks.

All the eligible faculty, staff, and postdocs, will receive a $1,500 bonus in their paychecks at the end of March.

That’s around 9,000 workers, including part-time employees, who are getting the generous bonus.

In announcing the Chancellor’s Recognition Award—which coincided with the March 17 anniversary of the university’s founding 148 years ago—Chancellor Daniel Diermeier expressed gratitude for the extraordinary efforts of those at the heart of Vanderbilt’s educational mission.

“It has not been easy, especially during the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” Diermeier said.

“However, your dedication to our vision and goals enables our university to operate at its highest level. I am indeed grateful as we approach Vanderbilt’s 150th anniversary in a position of strength and with optimism about our path forward.”

RELATED: University Cancels Debt for Graduates Hit By Pandemic

More than 7,000 undergraduate students, and 6,400 graduate students, were enrolled in the Nashville, Tennessee university last Fall.

Watch his announcement video below…

THANK Vanderbilt—and Encourage Other Schools—by Sharing on Social Media…

‘Exciting’ Head-Tongue Controller Lets Paralyzed Patients Operate Smart Phones And Drive Wheelchairs

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Good News Network
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Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech

A new controller that works using head and tongue movements is one of the only options for patients with paralysis to not only control their own power wheelchairs but to use smartphones and computers.

Georgia Tech unveiled the results of a study that showed how their engineers were able to transform research prototypes into a user-ready version that was tested by 17 power wheelchair users living with tetraplegia—a spinal cord injury that affects the arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs.

They described it as a first-of-its-kind, innovative application for individuals living with disabilities.

Collaborating with physicians and clinical therapists at Brooks Rehabilitation, the team was able to show how useful and easy the MagTrack technology worked for patients.

“To see where the MagTrack project has advanced even just since the early stages of this study is incredible,” said Geneva Tonuzi, medical director of the spinal cord injury program at Brooks Rehabilitation.

MagTrack enables power wheelchair users to control their connected devices (e.g., smartphone, computer) and drive their power wheelchairs using an alternative, multimodal controller. In addition, the assistive device is designed to be wearable, wireless, and adaptable to the user’s specific condition.

Unlike other devices, you wouldn’t have to be sitting in a chair or at a desk to use it. The controller travels with you.

RELATED: Justin Timberlake Buys Wheelchair-Accessible Van for Teen With Cerebral Palsy: ‘It’s a blessing’

Testing the performance of the Head-Tongue Controller (HTC), an earlier version of the MagTrack technology, demonstrated its ability to perform complex human-machine interactions that will enhance users’ quality of life, through the use of tongue and head movements, which are detected by eyewear and a tiny tracer that is temporarily glued onto the tongue using a bio-compatible adhesive.

Commands are generated from these motions using advanced data processing and machine learning models. This combination of head and tongue movements allows the user to perform a variety of daily functions with customizable control, from mouse navigation, scrolling, or drag-and-drop to advanced driving maneuvers when connected to a power wheelchair.

MagTrack’s tracers can stick to the face for many hours thanks to a transparent bio-compatible adhesive.

Georgia Tech

LOOK: 10 Lawmakers Accept Teen’s ‘Eye-Opening’ Challenge to Spend a Day in His Wheelchair

The test results, published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, showed that new users of MagTrack can complete these tasks as fast, and sometimes even faster, with the MagTrack’s HTC rather than their personal, alternative controller. Since the study session lasted less than 3 hours and used a power wheelchair that wasn’t their own—it is anticipated that participants would be more proficient as time went on.

“It was amazing to see how their faces lit up when they saw they were able to control their wheelchair with such ease and comfort,” said Jesse Milliken, speech-language pathologist in the spinal cord injury program at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital. “They all said they can see this improving their day-to-day lives if it were available to them.”

At its core, MagTrack is a new type of body motion tracking—and these new, alternative controllers will enable them to be active members of an interconnected digital world.

“The trajectory of the MagTrack study shows an unprecedented possibility for the advancement of independent function as well as mobility for electric wheelchair users,” said Omer T. Inan, a Georgia Tech researcher and professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“Our team and partners are energized and motivated by the recent patient trials to continue to push this technology and its capabilities as far as possible (as) this technology can significantly improve people’s lives.”

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“The development of our wearable alternative controller eliminates the need for having multiple assistive technologies, replacing them with a single multimodal and integrated system,” said Nordine Sebkhi, a postdoctoral researcher and co-creator of the MagTrack assistive technology.

As a result of these studies, MagTrack has been refined to offer a fully integrated, all-in-one experience so that a user can seamlessly switch between driving their wheelchair and controlling connected devices in their surroundings (e.g., smartphone, computer, automated door opener, smart TV). The system can be used anywhere since it is wearable, and its built-in wireless connectivity facilitates portability.

The team at Georgia Tech is already working on a new version of MagTrack that is not only more inconspicuous, but also includes detection of facial gestures which could significantly augment its control capabilities.

In the coming year, the team plans to make MagTrack available to early adopters for at-home validation testing, to further improve the technology.

HERO: Pawn Shop Owner Gives Motorized Wheelchairs to 580 People –Some Who Haven’t Been Outside in Years

The team is also working on various designs of MagTrack to be used as a wearable articulograph for motor speech disorders, as a hand and joint tracking system for physical rehabilitation, and even as a finger tracking for VR/AR applications. The MagTrack team will be partnering with the Global Center for Medical Innovation to assist in regulatory strategy and project planning to transition the technology from the lab to the market.

DRIVE This With a Gesture to SHARE on Social Media…

Anxiety Can Be a Habit – Which Means We Can Stop it, If We Know How

By
Andy Corbley
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The Lesson: Worry and anxiety can establish themselves, through feedback loops, as actual habits, instead of being simply transient emotional states. People with anxiety disorders can try and prevent these habitual loops from developing by mapping out the sequence of thoughts, i.e. first, anxious feelings lead to these thoughts, then thoughts reinforce anxious feelings, and so on. Disrupting this flow can be the key, not only for breaking out of the anxious habit, but curtailing many other downstream affects of anxiety such as over-eating, poor sleep, and more.

Notable Excerpt: “Fear plus uncertainty leads to anxiety, and that anxiety makes the thinking and planning part of the brain go offline—so I would postulate that worrying is not only not helpful, it actually makes things worse because we can’t think and plan…. If we change our relationship with our emotions we can stop feeding them, and at the same time when they do show up we don’t resist them, because that resistance is part of the feeding: ‘what we resist persists.'”

The Guest: Dr. Judson Brewer is a psychiatrist, deep dharma practitioner, and author of Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. He’s also the creator of the Unwinding Anxiety app, which can be downloaded onto your tablet or smartphone. He says the app requires 10 minutes to walk you through the unwinding of your anxiety habit that has built up in the mind. Watch Dr. Jud’s TED Talk, “A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit”, viewed over 18 million times.

The Podcast: Believing people can be trained in happiness, the fidgety, skeptical journalist and author of 10% Happier, Dan Harris, ventures into the diverse ends of the mental health swimming pool—from science-based techniques for issues such as anxiety, productivity, and relationships, to the concept of enlightenment and the use of psychedelics. His Ten Percent Happier podcast is available where all podcasts are found.

SHARE The Wisdom With Anxious Folks on Social Media…

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou

Photo by: Saulo Mohana

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?

COVID is Now Less Deadly Than The Flu in England, as Mask Requirements End

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Good News Network
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The Covid virus has gradually become less lethal over the two years since the pandemic began in early 2020—so much so that, now seasonal influenza is currently more deadly in England, according to analysis from The Financial Times.

“For every 100,000 Omicron infections, 35 will result in death, while the equivalent number of flu infections will lead to 40 fatalities,” John Burn-Murdoch and Oliver Barnes wrote in the article on FT.com.

They point to the high degree of immune protection from either vaccinations or previous infections as being the main reason for the recent parity with the flu.

“The proportion of people infected with Covid-19 in England who go on to die has dipped below that of seasonal flu, which has an infection fatality rate of roughly 0.04 percent,” wrote Burn-Murdoch and Barnes.

In the chart below, you can see that the blue line toward the bottom is the infection fatality ratio for seasonal flu. The ratio of fatalities from the Omicron variant recently dipped below that mark of 0.04 percent.

Reported hospitalization rates in England are on the rise this month, but that can be a bit misleading, because, according to the article, “more than two-fifths of Covid-19 patients in England’s hospitals are being treated primarily for something else, having incidentally tested positive upon admission.”

Getting back to normal

Many countries have started relaxing their COVID restriction rules, bolstered by dropping infection rates and studies suggesting that COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant is less severe.

In the UK, all legal restrictions related to the pandemic, including mask requirements in public and self-isolation following a positive test, have been retired.

CHECK OUT: Researchers Find Potential Cause of ‘Long Haul’ COVID-19 Symptoms

In Switzerland, people no longer need to wear masks in most public places. And although those who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for five days, all other restrictions have disappeared.

“We’re in a different place now,” says Müge Çevik, who researches infectious diseases and medical virology at the University of St Andrews, UK. “It’s clear now we can’t prevent infections, so the focus needs to be on preventing severe outcomes.”

Joël Mossong, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Luxembourg’s Health Directorate, supports lifting restrictions in his country. “We’ve seen some deaths, but nothing of the sort that we witnessed last winter, even last spring,” he says in Nature. “The argument for keeping up the restrictions has really gone, and I think we were we’re now in a phase where the strategy to remove restrictions is the right way to go.”

RELATED: Promising Results From Antiviral Pill May Change the Game for COVID-19 Effects, Finds Clinical Trial

However, Çevik also believes that targeted populations should continue to be tested. Although, the benefits of general testing for asymptomatic people aren’t worth the trouble, she thinks regular testing is crucial in high-risk settings such as hospitals, care homes, and prisons.

SHARE The Uplifting Positive Numbers With Everyone on Social Media… (Featured image by Project Morpheus, CC license)

UK’s Most Premature Twins Finally Go Home 5 Months After Being Given 0% Chance of Survival

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS

‘The UK’s most premature twins’ have finally headed home from the hospital—five months after their birth when they were given a zero percent chance of survival.

Little Harley and Harry Crane were conceived via IVF and were born at 22 weeks and five days.

Babies born after only five months of development are not classed as legally viable but the tough siblings clung to life, and have amazed doctors.

The 39-year-old mother, Jade, has spent the last five months at the side of her brave babies in the newborn intensive care unit at Queens Medical Hospital in Nottingham.

After trying to get pregnant naturally for three years, Jade suffered an ectopic pregnancy before the couple decided to start IVF in 2010.

The miracle pair headed home to Derby this week with their proud mum and dad just two and a half weeks after their original due-date.

“They’re doing absolutely amazing. They’re doing all the things that we were told they wouldn’t do—they’re crying, they’re surviving.

“It’s really emotional,” said father Steve, 52. “140 days ago we didn’t think we’d be here.”

LOOK: Premature Baby Born So Small She Was Kept Alive in a Sandwich Bag Has Defied the Odds to Start School

SWNS

They experienced three heartbreaking miscarriages on IVF, too. “Steve and I have been together for 14 years, and 11 of those have been spent doing IVF,” says Jade.

“The few bits of clothes that I did buy made me think that I better keep the tags on just in case – you just don’t want to let yourself believe.”

When she was checked into the hospital on October 26, at 22 weeks pregnant, the doctor kept saying it was a miscarriage—but Jade said it couldn’t be because she could feel the babies moving.

A nurse explained after the birth why Jade couldn’t hear the baby cry—because it was born far too early.

“But then I heard this little cry. Harry did the same when he was born an hour later.”

“Their little cries sounded like a tiny kitten.

The couple was told that the twins weren’t going to survive.

“After they were born, I was Googling twins who survive at 22 weeks and trying to find any to give me hope,” said Jade. “I found a set of twins in America who had survived—they’re four now. I’ve connected with their mum on Instagram and she guided me through the first few days of being in the unit and what to ask for.

POPULAR: Premature Baby Becomes a Prodigy at 3, Joining Mensa After They Run Out of Questions For the Toddler

SWNS

The babies were born with lung and other problems. They were also diagnosed with a serious gastrointestinal problem, which can be fatal, and Jade was told to prepare to say goodbye.

Thankfully, the newborns have defied the odds and Harley finally joined her brother at home on Monday.

CHECK OUT: Scientists Found Flute Music That Helps to Build the Brains of Premature Babies

“They’ll go down in medical history – I’m pretty sure they’ll be having one of the wards named after them because everyone is just amazed by them!”

SHARE the Hope With Other Moms on Social Media…

Resetting Clock on Aging Cells Safely Reversed Signs of Decline in Mice

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Good News Network
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Age may be just a number, but it’s a number that often carries unwanted side effects, from brittle bones and weaker muscles to increased risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute have shown that they can reverse the aging process in middle-aged and elderly mice, leading to a variety of benefits.

The technique works by partially resetting their cells to more youthful states, which impact skin, eyesight, muscles, and the brain.

“We are elated that we can use this approach across the life span to slow down aging in normal animals. The technique is both safe and effective in mice,” says co-corresponding author Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory.

When injured, the youthful skin of the treated mice had a greater ability to heal and was less likely to form permanent scars.

Both the kidneys and blood of treated animals more closely resembled epigenetic patterns seen in younger animals.

RELATED: Molecule Combo Actually Reverses Arthritis in Human Cartilage, Says ‘Exciting’ New Study

As organisms age, it is not just their outward appearances and health that change; every cell in their bodies carries a molecular clock that records the passage of time. Cells isolated from older people or animals have different patterns of chemicals along their DNA—called epigenetic markers. Scientists know that adding a mixture of four reprogramming molecules—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and cMyc, also known as ‘Yamanaka factors’—to cells can reset these epigenetic marks to their original patterns.

Scientists have used this approach in experiments to improve the function of other tissues like the heart, brain, and eyesight.

At Salk, they tested three groups of mice at varying ages equivalent to humans being 35, 50 and age 80, and found after seven or 10 months, the mice resembled younger animals in both appearance and ability.

CHECK OUT: Fountain-of-Youth Pill Could Be on Horizon After Scientists Dramatically Extended Longevity in Mice Using Flavanoid

This youthfulness was observed in the animals treated with the Yamanaka factors for seven or 10 months, but not the animals treated for just one month. What’s more, when the treated animals were analyzed midway through their treatment, the effects were not yet as evident. This suggests that the treatment is not simply pausing aging, but actively turning it backwards—although more research is needed to differentiate between the two.

Metabolism remained stable showing no form of age. Furthermore, there were no blood cell alterations or neurological changes in the mice that received the treatment, and no cancers or other health problems in any of the groups.

“At the end of the day, we want to bring resilience and function back to older cells so that they are more resistant to stress, injury and disease,” says co-author Dr Pradeep Reddy, of the Salk Institute.

POPULAR: 4 Common Medicines Have Reversed Alzheimer’s in Mice

“In addition to tackling age-related diseases, this approach may provide the biomedical community with a new tool to restore tissue and organism health by improving cell function and resilience in different disease situations, such as neurodegenerative diseases.”

The study, published in the journal Nature Aging, shows that, at least in mice, “there’s a path forward to achieving that.”

YOU ARE Not Getting Any Younger… SHARE This on Social Media..

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

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Good News Network
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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 March 19, 2022
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
“Never underestimate the wisdom of being easily satisfied,” wrote aphorist Marty Rubin. If you’re open to welcoming such a challenge, Pisces, I propose that you work on being very easily satisfied during the coming weeks. See if you can figure out how to enjoy even the smallest daily events with blissful gratitude. Exult in the details that make your daily rhythm so rich. Use your ingenuity to deepen your capacity for regarding life as an ongoing miracle. If you do this right, there will be no need to pretend you’re having fun. You will vividly enhance your sensitivity to the ordinary glories we all tend to take for granted.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Singer, dancer, and comedian Sammy Davis Jr. disliked the song The Candy Man, but he recorded it anyway, heeding his advisors. He spent just a brief time in the studio, finishing his vocals in two takes. “The song is going straight to the toilet,” he complained, “pulling my career down with it.” Surprise! It became the best-selling tune of his career, topping the Billboard charts for three weeks. I suspect there could be a similar phenomenon (or two!) in your life during the coming months, Aries. Don’t be too sure you know how or where your interesting accomplishments will arise.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
I love author Maya Angelou‘s definition of high accomplishment, and I recommend you take steps to make it your own in the coming weeks. She wrote, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” Please note that in her view, success is not primarily about being popular, prestigious, powerful, or prosperous. I’m sure she wouldn’t exclude those qualities from her formula, but the key point is that they are all less crucial than self-love. Please devote quality time to refining and upgrading this aspect of your drive for success.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
“I’m not fake in any way,” declared Gemini actor Courteney Cox. On the face of it, that’s an amazing statement for a Gemini to make. After all, many in your tribe are masters of disguise and shapeshifting. Cox herself has won accolades for playing a wide variety of characters during her film and TV career, ranging from comedy to drama to horror. But let’s consider the possibility that, yes, you Geminis can be versatile, mutable, and mercurial, yet also authentic and genuine. I think this specialty of yours could and should be extra prominent in the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
“Sometimes I prayed for Baby Jesus to make me good, but Baby Jesus didn’t,” wrote author Barbara Kingsolver about her childhood approach to self-improvement. Just because this method failed to work for her, however, doesn’t mean it won’t work for others. In saying that, I’m not implying you should send out appeals to Baby Jesus. But I suggest you call on your imagination to help you figure out what influences may, in fact, boost your goodness. It’s an excellent time to seek help as you elevate your integrity, expand your compassion, and deepen your commitment to ethical behavior. It’s not that you’re deficient in those departments; just that now is your special time to do what we all need to do periodically: Make sure our actual behavior is in rapt alignment with our high ideals.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Leo classicist and author Edith Hamilton specialized in the history of ancient Greece. The poet Homer was one of the most influential voices of that world. Hamilton wrote, “An ancient writer said of Homer that he touched nothing without somehow honoring and glorifying it.” I love that about his work, and I invite you to match his energy in the coming weeks. I realize that’s a lot to ask. But according to my reading of the astrological omens, you will indeed have a knack for honoring and glorifying all you touch.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Blogger Starhawk reminds us that “sexuality is the expression of the creative life force of the universe. It is not dirty, nor is it merely ‘normal’; it is sacred. And sacred can also be affectionate, joyful, pleasurable, passionate, funny, or purely animal.” I hope you enjoy an abundance of such lushness in the coming weeks, Virgo. It’s a favorable time in your astrological cycle for synergizing eros and spirituality. You have poetic license to express your delight about being alive with imaginative acts of sublime love.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
English poet John Milton coined the phrase “silver lining.” It has become an idiom referring to a redemptive aspect of an experience that falls short of expectations. Over 350 years later, American author Arthur Yorinks wrote, “Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” Now I’m relaying his message to you. Hopefully, my heads-up will ensure that you won’t miss the silver lining for any reason, including the possibility that you’re fixated on gold.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
“This is the most profound spiritual truth I know,” declares author Anne Lamott. “That even when we’re most sure that love can’t conquer all, it seems to anyway. It goes down into the rat hole with us, in the guise of our friends, and there it swells and comforts. It gives us second winds, third winds, hundredth winds.” Lamott’s thoughts will be your wisdom to live by during the next eight weeks, Scorpio. Even if you think you already know everything there is to know about the powers of love to heal and transform, I urge you to be open to new powers that you have never before seen in action.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Witty Sagittarian author Ashleigh Brilliant has created thousands of cheerful yet often sardonic epigrams. In accordance with current astrological omens, I have chosen six that will be useful for you to treat as your own in the coming weeks. 1. “I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent.” 2. “I have abandoned my search for truth and am now looking for a good fantasy.” 3. “All I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power.” 4. “Do your best to satisfy me—that’s all I ask of everybody.” 5. “I’m just moving clouds today, tomorrow I’ll try mountains.” 6. “A terrible thing has happened. I have lost my will to suffer.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“All experience is an enrichment rather than an impoverishment,” wrote author Eudora Welty. That may seem like a simple and obvious statement, but in my view, it’s profound and revolutionary. Too often, we are inclined to conclude that a relatively unpleasant or inconvenient event has diminished us. And while it may indeed have drained some of our vitality or caused us angst, it has almost certainly taught us a lesson or given us insight that will serve us well in the long run—if only to help us avoid similar downers in the future. According to my analysis of your current astrological omens, these thoughts are of prime importance for you right now.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
“Life swarms with innocent monsters,” observed poet Charles Baudelaire. Who are the “innocent monsters”? I’ll suggest a few candidates. Boring people who waste your time but who aren’t inherently evil. Cute advertisements that subtly coax you to want stuff you don’t really need. Social media that seem like amusing diversions except for the fact that they suck your time and drain your energy. That’s the bad news, Aquarius. The good news is that the coming weeks will be a favorable time to eliminate from your life at least some of those innocent monsters. You’re entering a period when you’ll have a strong knack for purging “nice” influences that aren’t really very nice.

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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“Sometimes, being true to yourself means changing your mind.” – Vera Nazarian

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Credit: Shad Meeg

Quote of the Day: “Sometimes, being true to yourself means changing your mind.” – Vera Nazarian

Photo by: Shad Meeg

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Researchers Make ‘Giant Leap’ to Produce Affordable Renewable Hydrogen

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Andy Corbley
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An Australian company has invented a totally new electrolyzer to expand use of hydrogen fuel, which they say represents the first real revolution in the technology in 200 years.

Separating water into hydrogen gas and oxygen through electrical current, known as “electrolysis,” is both the chief method behind green hydrogen energy, and expensive and inefficient.

Yet for long-haul trucking, steel manufacturing, and more, hydrogen could be the only input available in green energy’s arsenal to replace petroleum products. The Swedish company SSAB is already making steel a bit greener by using hydrogen power to replace coal as a carbon input.

The Australian firm Hysata has changed the design of the major component to make the cost of pure hydrogen fuel competitive with fossil fuels by decreasing the heat and resistance generated through separating hydrogen.

“What we did differently was just to start completely over and to think about it from a very high level,” Gerry Swiegers, Hysata’s chief technology officer and a professor at the Univ. of Wollongong, New South Wales, told the Guardian. “Everyone else was looking at improving materials or an existing design.”

RELATED: Scientists Develop Breakthrough Method for Recycling Industrial Plastics at Room Temperature in 20 Minutes

In a scientific paper, published in Nature, demonstrating their new electrolyzer’s potential, they first outline the problem with the old ones—namely that even state-of-the-art water electrolyzers typically require ~53  kilowatt-hours of electricity to produce 1 kg of hydrogen, which contains 39.4 kWh of energy: a deficit of ~12.

Bubble Trouble

University of Wollongong

Before we can understand why that deficit exists, it bares a short explanation of how these devices work.

An electrolyzer consists of an anode and a cathode separated by a sponge-like membrane. H2O is sent into the anode, where its electrons are stripped and turned into electricity, powering whatever it’s connected to. Its positively charged protons then cross through the membrane into the cathode, where oxygen is pulled into. There, the protons, reunited with their electrons post-electricity harvest, combine with the oxygen to form water and heat: the only emissions.

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Where Hysata break from long tradition is that in their electrolyzer’s circular shape, the hydrophilic membrane sits immersed only a little in an electrolyte reservoir in the same place as where the water enters. The membrane continuously pulls up the water and the electrolyte in steady amounts that allow electrolysis to occur without the formation of hydrogen gas bubbles typical of electrolyzers which house the anode and cathode entirely within the hydrogen reservoir.

These gas bubbles block physical access to the catalyst on the anode and cathode, reducing efficiency. The elimination of the gas bubble problem results in Hysata’s efficiency rate of 95%, or 41.5 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen.

Hysata aren’t just scientists however, and the economics of their electrolyzer make sense. The membranes are easy to manufacture and the process can be automated at scale.

The International Renewables Energy Agency set a target of 2050 to invent new methods of electrolysis that will reduce the kWh required per kilogram produced to 42. Hysata are now the only entity on Earth to have achieved that, and if a long-haul trucking sector required 1 million tons of hydrogen per year, generating that with Hysata’s technology would save $3 billion.

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Strangers are Leaving Strollers, Diapers, and Toys at the Border for Ukrainian Refugee Moms (LOOK)

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Andy Corbley
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GMA on YouTube
GMA/YouTube

An image recently shared around social media of empty strollers on a Polish rail border crossing has inspired a mountain of donations for Ukrainian refugees.

Now at Przemyśl Station, women, children, and infants fleeing the war are being greeted by mountains of clothes, stuffed animals, strollers, diapers, and more after they step off the train.

ABC reports that the number of spare carriers and strollers from Polish mothers have been particularly inspiring, with many donators leaving handwritten notes behind, with words of support.

“We see on the television and hear on the radio what happened, and we say ‘okay we can help,'” one Polish mother and volunteer told ABC.

The effort has become more organized over the weeks, which CNN details has spread like wildfire mostly by word of mouth. The Medyka border crossing from Ukraine involves taking a train to Przemyśl Station, which has become the center of the relief effort.

RELATED: Ukraine Receives Truckload of Starlink Terminals From Elon Musk For Uninterrupted Internet

The rooms of the train station are now being transformed from waiting rooms into warehouses, for food, diapers, and clothes.

MORE: UPDATE: Airbnb and its Community Raise More Than $40 Million and Offers 150,000 Temp-Homes for Ukraine

Beyond the station, people from across Europe have been seen waiting in cars offering to drive incoming refugees to wherever they have relations, or a place to stay.

(WATCH the GMA video for this story below.)

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Video-Game-Based Stroke Therapy is as Effective as In-Person Rehab

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MU
MU

After a stroke, patients may lose feeling in an arm or experience weakness and reduced movement that limits their ability to complete basic daily activities.

Traditional rehabilitation therapy is very intensive, time-consuming, and can be both expensive and inconvenient, especially for rural patients travelling long distances to in-person therapy appointments.

That’s why a team of researchers, including one at the University of Missouri, utilized a motion-sensor video game, Recovery Rapids, to allow patients recovering from a stroke to improve their motor skills and affected arm movements at home while checking in periodically with a therapist via telehealth.

The researchers found the game-based therapy led to improved outcomes similar to a highly regarded form of in-person therapy, known as constraint-induced therapy, while only requiring one-fifth of the therapist hours. This approach saves time and money while increasing convenience and safety as telehealth has boomed in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As an occupational therapist, I have seen patients from rural areas drive more than an hour to come to an in-person clinic three to four days a week, where the rehab is very intensive, taking three to four hours per session, and the therapist must be there the whole time,” said Rachel Proffitt, assistant professor in the MU School of Health Professions.

“With this new at-home gaming approach, we are cutting costs for the patient and reducing time for the therapist while still improving convenience and overall health outcomes, so it’s a win-win. By saving time for the therapists, we can also now serve more patients and make a broader impact on our communities.”

MORE: Coffee and Tea Drinking May be Associated With Reduced Rates of Stroke and Dementia

Traditional rehab home exercises tend to be very repetitive and monotonous, and patients rarely adhere to them. The Recovery Rapids game helps patients look forward to rehabilitation by completing various challenges in a fun, interactive environment, and the researchers found that the patients adhered well to their prescribed exercises.

“The patient is virtually placed in a kayak, and as they go down the river, they perform arm motions simulating paddling, rowing, scooping up trash, swaying from side to side to steer, and reaching overhead to clear out spider webs and bats, so it’s making the exercises fun,” Proffitt said. “As they progress, the challenges get harder, and we conduct check-ins with the participants via telehealth to adjust goals, provide feedback and discuss the daily activities they want to resume as they improve.”

Nearly 800,000 Americans have a stroke each year according to the CDC, and two-thirds of stroke survivors report they cannot use their affected limbs to do normal daily activities, including making a cup of coffee, cooking a meal or playing with one’s grandchildren.

RELATED: In Learning to Use Her Left Hand Following a Stroke 60-Year Old Chen Lie Discovers She’s an Expert Painter

“I am passionate about helping patients get back to all the activities they love to do in their daily life,” Proffitt said. “Anything we can do as therapists to help in a creative way while saving time and money is the ultimate goal.”

This research was recently published in eClinicalMedicine, an open-access journal from The Lancet.

Source: University of Missouri

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Endangered Baby Rhino Born in a Czech Zoo is Named After Kyiv (PHOTOS)

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Andy Corbley
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rhino Safari Park Dvůr Králové facebook social media embed 2
Dominika Stempa; Safari Park Dvůr Králove/Facebook 

A baby rhino named “Kyiv” in honor of the Ukrainian defenders was born in a Czech zoo exactly a week after Russia began its invasion of the country.

Belonging to the Eastern black rhinoceros subspecies, Kyiv’s birth is another success for one of the few zoos in the world with a successful breeding program for these rare rhinos.

Kyiv is the 47th rhino of this critically endangered subspecies born in the Dvur Kralove Zoo since they received their first one back in 1971, and the first one born in about four years.

Safari Park Dvůr Králove/Facebook 

The young rhino’s mother, Eva, has been taking extremely good care of him and is very calm, even allowing some of her milk to be taken for the feeding of other youngsters, per an update from the zoo itself.

Sans horn, the little one is nevertheless growing fast—2.2 pounds per day usually.

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AP reports that Kyiv is one of four baby rhinos of this species born so far this year.

Safari Park Dvůr Králove/Facebook 

The zoo’s animals have, over the years, been transferred to other zoos to help genetic diversity of other breeding programs, and nine of their rhinos have been reintroduced into the wilds of Rwanda and Tanzania, and have since reproduced there.

RELATED: Tiny New Species of Chocolate Frog is Discovered After Scientists Follow its Unique ‘Beep’ Sound

The latest update to the IUCN’s Red List found that the rhino numbers are increasing faster than they are decreasing.

Furthermore, the population remains largely intact, with animals able to reach each other easily, and there is a normal percentage of healthy mature animals among them.

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“True piety” is “loving one’s destiny unconditionally.” – Isak Dinesen

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Quote of the Day: “True piety” is “loving one’s destiny unconditionally.” – Isak Dinesen

Photo by: Brunno Tozzo

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Tiny Marine Microbe ‘Could Turn Out to be Secret Weapon in Battle Against Climate Change’

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SWNS
SWNS

A tiny marine microbe which could turn out to be a ‘secret weapon’ in the battle against climate change has been discovered.

The single-celled microbe has potential to absorb carbon naturally, even as oceans become warmer and more acidic, say scientists.

It is abundant around the world and can photosynthesize as well as hunt and eat prey.

The tiny organism, discovered by researchers in Sydney, Australia, secretes a carbon-rich exopolymer that attracts and immobilizes other microbes.

Then it eats some of the prey trapped inside before emitting the mucus-like, carbon-rich substance.

Once other microbes are trapped inside it, it becomes heavier and sinks, pumping carbon back into the oceans.

RELATED: City Trees and Soil Are Sucking More Carbon Out of the Atmosphere Than We Thought

Marine microbes govern the natural environment through a range of processes, including the vertical export and sequestration of carbon, which ultimately regulates the world’s climate.

While the role of plankton in helping store carbon dioxide is well understood, the role of other microbes in this process is less well known about, the scientists say.

This is especially true for organisms that can photosynthesize and eat other organisms.

They say their findings are hugely significant for how we see the ocean balancing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

It is estimated that the species, christened prorocentrum cf. balticum, has the potential to sink 0.02-0.15 gigatons of carbon each year.

Experts believe that, to meet climate goals, 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide will need to be removed from the atmosphere every year from now until 2050.

The findings imply there is more potential for carbon sinking in the oceans than it was previously believed, and that the seas could capture carbon in unexpected places.

The process could form part of a nature-based way of enhancing carbon capture in the ocean.

Lead study author Dr Michaela Larsson said, “Most terrestrial plants use nutrients from the soil to grow, but some, like the Venus flytrap, gain additional nutrients by catching and consuming insects.

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“Similarly, marine microbes that photosynthesize, known as phytoplankton, use nutrients dissolved in the surrounding seawater to grow.

“However, our study organism, prorocentrum cf. balticum, is a mixotroph, so is also able to eat other microbes for a concentrated hit of nutrients, like taking a multivitamin.

“Having the capacity to acquire nutrients in different ways means this microbe can occupy parts of the ocean devoid of dissolved nutrients and therefore unsuitable for most phytoplankton.”

The study’s senior author Professor Martina Doblin said, “This is an entirely new species, never before described in this amount of detail.

“The implication is that there’s potentially more carbon sinking in the ocean than we currently think, and that there is perhaps greater potential for the ocean to capture more carbon naturally through this process, in places that weren’t thought to be potential carbon sequestration locations.

MORE: Climate-Resilient Coral Offers Hope to World’s Reefs, Able to Cope With 2ºC of Global Warming

“The natural production of extra-cellular carbon-rich polymers by ocean microbes under nutrient-deficient conditions, which we’ll see under global warming, suggest these microbes could help maintain the biological carbon pump in the future ocean.

“The next step before assessing the feasibility of large-scale cultivation is to gauge the proportion of the carbon-rich exopolymers resistant to bacteria breakdown and determine the sinking velocity of discarded mucospheres.

“This could be a game changer in the way we think about carbon and the way it moves in the marine environment.”

The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.

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

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Andy Corbley
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biorefinery makes bio-fuel from algae released-İMBİYOTAB Bogazici University
İMBİYOTAB Bogazici University

Europe’s first large-scale biorefinery for turning algae into fuels and feedstocks has been completed on the Black Sea shore of Istanbul.

Set to head up a new “bio-economy,” the refinery, powered entirely by wind energy, will turn microalgae and macroalgae species into carbon-negative jet fuel, feedstocks, supplements, and fertilizers.

They are carbon negative because algae absorbs CO2 as plants do, but far faster and in much greater amounts than woody plants like trees. Once processed into products, more of that carbon pulled from the atmosphere remains imprisoned than is released during production, hence it being carbon negative.

The project was funded in partnership by the government of Turkey and the European Union, and is just one of a number of initiatives dubbed Project INDEPENDENT. The biorefinery, located at Boğaziçi University’s Sarıtepe Campus, can process 1,200 tons of algae per year.

Reporting on the refinery says that the algae will be used to produce jet fuel that, when mixed with 5-10% fossil fuels, will power a flight leaving Istanbul by the end of the year.

The plant of 1,000 uses

İMBİYOTAB Bogazici University

The coconut palm is sometimes called the tree of 1,000 uses, well algae is certainly the plant of 1,000 uses. Algae-based supplements have been trialed in both Brazil and Australia as ways to diminish the methane emissions from ruminant grazers like cows and sheep.

Algae, as Project INDEPENDENT details, also can be used to absorb phosphorus and nitrogen: two normal and important agricultural inputs that due to topsoil erosion from industrialized farming have greatly polluted freshwater and coastal resources.

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Algae is eaten as a vegetable in many parts of the world. Wakame and nori especially, are delicious, and as far as carb stocks go, they are far more nutritious than grains.

Algae supplements are also excellent chelators, or compounds which attract and dispose of heavy metals in the blood, such as cadmium, lead, mercury, and excess levels of less harmful metals. Other benzine-based particulates such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can be released from the burning of fossil fuels in power plants, car engines, or fireplaces, can also be taken up by algae-sourced chemicals like spirulina and chlorella before being excreted in the urine.

LOOK: This Plant-Based Jet Fuel Can Reduce Emissions by 68% – Without Displacing Crops

Lastly, synthetic fertilizers are produced with large amounts of CO2 emissions contributions to the agriculture sector.

Non-synthetic fertilizer often comes from fish or shellfish waste like oyster shells, being that they’re rich in nitrogen. Producing fertilizer with algae produced in a carbon negative biorefinery could revolutionize the sector, and return attention of legislatures and environmentalists to the real sources of emissions in the world, namely transport, energy, and manufacturing.

(WATCH the video for this story below.)

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