117 years ago today, Roger Tory Peterson, the inventor of the modern field guide, was born. The American naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator published his groundbreaking Guide to the Birds in 1934, at age 25, and its first printing sold out in one week. The Peterson Field Guide series eventually included topics ranging from rocks and seashells to reptiles and edible or medicinal plants. He won numerous awards, like the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, after igniting in our hearts a curiosity and love for the natural world. READ a bit more about Peterson and his books… (1908)
‘Cheaper, More Humane’ Drones Emerge as Key Weapon in Mosquito Control from Poland to Africa
Reprinted with permission from World at Large
In Ghana, Kenya, Japan, Poland and probably other countries as well, it’s now the mosquitos who fear the sound of buzzing—from drones built to detect and destroy them.
Economies of scale and widespread adoption has reduced the price of drones by around 20% since 2018, putting them under the cost of malaria medication and mosquito-proof bed nets, said one Kenyan malaria policy advisory.
Mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, yellow fever, and West Nile virus kill around 700,000 people every year, and it was recently estimated that 60 billion Homo sapiens have been killed by these diseases since we first evolved—an estimation of half of all the human beings to ever live.
The vast majority of these deaths will have occurred in the tropics, particularly in the countries located in Africa’s malaria belt. These nations are the focus of intense mosquito control efforts, and recently, Japan’s SORA Technologies has been impressing locals with their system of drone-based mosquito eradication.
Kenya sees more than 5 million malaria cases per year and 12,000 deaths from the disease. It’s been a heartbreaking, almost insurmountable impediment to child survival and economic growth for generations.
“I was shocked at how many children still die from malaria, which can be prevented and cured. We thought that if we could add AI and aerial monitoring to the mix, we could end the cycle,” SORA Technology co-founder and CEO Yosuke Kaneko told French outlet RFI. “Drones allow us to access areas that health personnel often have difficulty reaching in a timely manner, safely and with accuracy that does make a real difference”.
The SORA operators send the drones out to scan areas like riverbanks and fields on the lookout for standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs. When an infestation is found, the drone descends to drop a larvicide agent, ending the potential outbreak before it breaks out.
Kaneko says ministries of health, community leaders, and local drone pilots are always involved in training and dispersal of the method to ensure it has support at both a grassroots and administrative level.
“The technology only works if the people it’s supposed to help trust it”.
Dr. Peter Okeke, a malaria policy advisor who is based in Kenya’s Abuja, believes drones are firmly ensconced in the future of malaria control.
“It’s smart prevention–cheaper than treatment, more humane than reacting to outbreaks and, ultimately, more sustainable,” he told RFI.
Battlefield Europe
It isn’t just Africa where mosquito control is done by drone. Every summer in the humid city of Wroclaw, drones patrol the area’s numerous reservoirs, identifying high risk sites of of mosquito breeding and spraying a non-toxic larvicide to quell their numbers.
This has been ongoing for 27 years, where monitoring is undertaken at 300 sites between March and October.
“The drone allows us to reach places where humans have no chance – oxbow lakes, rushes or backwaters. Thanks to this, we can perform procedures faster and more accurately,” says the drone operator, Dr. Piotr Jawień, at ECO Dron. “The preparation we use works only on mosquito larvae and is completely safe for other organisms”.
Both West Nile and chikungunya, two diseases spread by mosquitoes, have “become the normality” in Europe, said Pamela Rendi-Wagner, the director of the European Center for Disease Control.
Record numbers of cases have been reported this year, including 274 in Italy and 35 in Greece. 335 total cases were reported across Europe, resulting in 19 deaths. As a result, efforts to control mosquito populations have increased. A similar phenomenon is occurring in the United States as well.
One drone-based startup is suggesting that their system is perfectly adapted to European lifestyle by avoiding chemicals and working in tight confined areas like private gardens and small towns. Tornyol claims their system is 25x better than CO2 traps, and can protect 14 football fields of space with a single drone.
It uses an array of 380 microphones to detect mosquitoes via sonar. It recognizes the specific wing beat pattern that differentiates mosquitoes from other insects, and then uses AI to detect their flight path; intercepting and ramming the pest. The device is currently available for pre-order for the cost of your average lawnmower.
It’s suspected that rising global temperatures are permitting the spread of tropical diseases beyond the tropics, which if true would mean this is not a temporary problem but one which multiple future generations will face. Indeed, SORA isn’t focusing exclusively on Africa.
The Japanese home islands—hardly tropical—are also experiencing mosquito-borne viral infections which a press release from the company mentioned was potentially due to climate changes.
At the Osaka-Kansai Expo, SORA deployed their drones for mosquito control around the convention center. The operating team of 5 were able to not only to map the locations of drainage systems, but also detect puddles on the rooftops of national pavilions and other structures, thereby identifying potential mosquito breeding sources. WaL
SHARE This Great Revolution In Mosquito Control With Your Friends…
Newly-Uncovered Roman Mosaic Depicts What Appear to be Flip-Flops at the Bottom of a Pool
A Roman mosaic at the bottom of a bathing pool has come to light after 1,600 years, and seems to show that the modern “flip-flop” sandal has an archaic origin story.
Far from being invented by Havianas, it seems they were long-established as standard bathhouse footwear during the late imperial period.
In a statement by the Villa Romana del Casale archaeological park and museum, recent excavation activity has brought back to light a rich mosaic in one of the villa’s bathing rooms that “enriches the already vast patrimony of the site.”
“The mosaic reminds one of the modern infradito,” or ‘between toe,’—the Italian word for flip-flop. “It wasn’t treated like simple decoration, but as a refined work of art from a master mosaic artist,” the statement added.
It was found by Isabella Baldini, reports Smithsonian, an archeologist at the University of Bologna, who was leading the fourth edition of the Summer Series ARCHlab, which takes up to 40 archaeology students from 11 countries and brings them to Italy for field work.
The Villa Romana of Casale, located in central Sicily, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and described by the organization as “one of the most luxurious of its kind… especially noteworthy for the richness and quality of the mosaics which decorate almost every room.”
The flip-flops were found at the bottom of the pool in the villa’s frigidarium, or cold room—a space typical to wealthy Roman bathing complexes. Once believed to be owned by royalty, it was later confirmed to be the property of a wealthy citizen. In addition to the frigidarium, the bathing area contains a massage room, lavatory, and gymnasium—the latter of which sporting the famous “bikini girls” mosaic.
The mosaics are believed to not only have been installed as art works, but also as representative, inspirational instructions for the purpose of each room. For example, in the massage room, an athletic man is depicted receiving an oil massage.
THE MAJESTY OF ROME: Archaeologists Stumble Onto Sprawling Ancient Roman Villa During Construction of a Road in France
Evidently, just as the sandals depicted 1,600 years ago are reminiscent of the modern flip-flop, their placement in the pool area is reminiscent of modern Italian gym regulations of never going barefoot in or around pools and bathhouses.
Yet the discovery, while brilliant, isn’t the only time such sandals have been depicted.
MORE ROMAN STORIES LIKE THIS: Students Decipher Title of Burnt Scroll from the Famous Library Buried by Vesuvius–Called ‘On Vices’
“The flip-flop is a recurring motif in late Roman baths, also attested in Spain, Cyrenaica, Cyprus, Jordan and Asia Minor,” Baldini tells Artnet. “As in other cases, the depiction of such a subject serves to characterize the building in question within its aristocratic and international dimension.”
Nor is it the first time in recent memory that Italy saw a Roman-era depiction of something suspiciously modern. In 2023, a fresco was unearthed in Pompeii that showed a banquet table which included an unmistakably Italian food item.
SHARE This Awesome Reason To Go To Sicily Or Study Archaeology…
Corgi Race Causes Cuteness Overload in Lithuania at its 5th Annual Event – (WATCH)
In Lithuania, Welsh Corgi owners from around Europe came to celebrate the breed “and life in general” at the annual Corgi Race.
Held in Vilnius for the fifth time, the Corgi Race is about as joyful an event as one could hope to see.
The race is followed by a costume contest, if the cute-o-meter wasn’t overloaded during the race event.
As the gates open, most of them dash down a short green course toward their owners, although some get totally distracted.
“Today is a big day for corgis in all Baltic countries,” said Jekatirina Ivitska, “and every year were are going here to take part in the performance, to run, to join other corgis, and to show how beautiful my corgi is!”
“It’s cherishing the breed of the corgis and its just celebrating life in general,” Edvinas Miskas, the 2025 edition event organizer, told Reuters. “Dogs are our best friends—they’ve always been and this is just a testament to that.”
WATCH Reuters’ coverage below…
SHARE This Adorable Story With Dog Lovers And Corgi Owners You Know…
Scientists Engineer Yeast to Create Honey Bee Superfood – Colonies Grew 15-Fold
A study team from Oxford University has identified a fermentation method that creates the perfect balanced diet for honey bees who can’t get enough natural pollen.
Synthetic pollen substitutes are often fed to bees as a dietary supplement to natural pollen, but until now it’s been difficult to replicate the blend of lipids, called sterols, found in pollen that they need to thrive.
But with Oxford’s bees rearing 15-times more larvae, the scientists from England and Denmark are confident they’ve perfected this sterol recipe.
While it would obviously be preferable for bees to get all their essential nutrients from wildflowers, declines in flowering native plants across Europe are making this harder and harder. At the same time, honey bees aren’t exactly native either, in fact they often crowd native, solitary bee species and other pollinators out of local ecosystems.
If humans are going to unleash thousands of extra pollinators on a pollen-deficient landscape, it’s only right we help provide for their nutrition.
Scientists from Oxford, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the University of Greenwich, and the Technical University of Denmark, engineered the yeast species Yarrowia lipolytica to produce the 6 essential sterols bees need to thrive, and fed it to a study colony enclosed in a greenhouse.
A control colony was fed a commercially-available synthetic diet.
Oxford University news reported that by the end of the study period, colonies fed with the sterol-enriched yeast had reared up to 15 times more larvae to the viable pupal stage, compared with colonies fed control diets.
Colonies fed with the enriched diet were also more likely to continue rearing larvae up to the end of the three-month period, whereas colonies on sterol-deficient diets ceased brood production after 90 days.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Pollen Replacement Food for Honey Bees Brings New Hope for Struggling Colonies and the Crops They Support
“For bees, the difference between the sterol-enriched diet and conventional bee feeds would be comparable to the difference for humans between eating balanced, nutritionally complete meals and eating meals missing essential nutrients like essential fatty acids,” said study lead author Dr. Elynor Moore. “Using precision fermentation, we are now able to provide bees with a tailor-made feed that is nutritionally complete at the molecular level.”
In order to understand which sterols were missing from the bees’ diet, the team had to employ surgical dissection of individual bees. The authors were then able to identify 24-methylenecholesterol, campesterol, isofucosterol, β-sitosterol, cholesterol, and desmosterol.
MORE POLLINATOR-POSITIVE NEWS: European Orchard Bee is Now a Valuable Pollinator in UK–Since the Weather Got Warmer
Using CRISPR gene editing, they altered a strain of Yarrowia lipolytica yeast to produce these compounds in a sustainable, economic way. Y. lipolytica is already used to produce food-grade products for the supplement industry.
Many commercially-grown fruits require bees and other pollinators to reproduce, and they play a critical role in the supply chains of fruit and nut orchards. Sustaining them with high-quality bee supplement will help guarantee hive resilience and preserve fruit and nut production into the future.
SHARE This Positive News For Bees Hard At Work In Our Orchards…
“You will never be able to experience everything. So, please, do poetical justice to your soul and simply experience yourself” – Albert Camus
Quote of the Day: “You will never be able to experience everything. So, please, do poetical justice to your soul and simply experience yourself” – Albert Camus
Photo by: KAL VISUALS
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, August 27
Happy 86th Birthday to Osage-American travel writer William Least Heat-Moon. His debut novel, Blue Highways, (1982) is a chronicle of a three-month-long road trip that Least Heat-Moon took throughout the United States in 1978 after he had lost his teaching job and been separated from his first wife. He tells how he traveled 13,000 miles, as much as possible on secondary roads, and tried to avoid cities. His second work was River-Horse during which he traveled across the US entirely on waterways. READ more about what he encountered… (1939)
Australian Woman Shocked When Ohio Social Media Helps Reunite Her with iPad Lost 2 Years Ago
From the popular social media platform Reddit comes the incredible story of a young woman recovering her iPad lost two years before while traveling in the US.
It started on a forum, called a sub-Reddit on the site, for Columbus Ohio—a 23-year-old Australian woman shared a bizarre personal situation “in hopes of, [I don’t know], a miracle.”
An iPad which she said carried hundreds of photos and a 2D animation project she was working on had suddenly sent an alert to her phone, showing her that it was in Columbus, and had just been turned on for the first time in over a year.
It told her with pretty good precision where the iPad was: an address in Hilliard, a suburb of the state’s capital.
“I’m not sure what to do, I’d feel pretty silly calling the local police as I live in Australia,” she wrote, before adding that she did really want to have it returned to her if possible, because she was still upset about losing it. “I’m wondering if anyone has any advice.”
Humor, good advice, words of encouragement, and friendly welcomes began to flood the post. The early general consensus would be that the “OP” or “original post” author, should file a police report with non-emergency services.
Then, a breakthrough. A local in Hillard found the address. Someone suggested it might be in the self-storage facility nearby that location.
Then, people began to suspect that with the address in Hilliard, the iPad had been found by and was now sitting at e-Cycle, a local repair and recycling shop for devices.
Then, 7 days ago, Kylee, an employee at e-Cycle, found the post.
“My company works with used technology and our office is located right there. I can almost guarantee its in my office,” she said.
“Hey guys update! IM SO OVERWHELMED, I can’t believe the response this has gotten…” the Australian woman said. “An employee (@kyleetheshinystealer) saw this post because apparently it’s a used electronics shop and I’ve sent them through my serial number, who they in turn have sent through to their boss, so my fingers are crossed that they will find it and hopefully we can sort something out that it can get posted and make its way back home!!!! Feels very finding Nemo to me right now.”
E-Cycle came through for her. Their employees found the device, confirmed it to be hers with the serial number, and organized its return.
“It is not uncommon for people to email us, having seen their device show up at our location,” said e-Cycle in a statement to an NBC affiliate. “In those situations, we always work with each person to reunite them with their missing devices whenever we can.”
SHARE This Great Example Of Internet Community Lending A Helping Hand…
He Beached an Old Cruise Ship and Turned it into $18 Million Beachfront Hotel with Love
It was the oldest passenger ship still floating: he turned it into an unforgettable terrestrial hotel experience.
Long since declared unseaworthy, the MV Doulos Phos is now the 5-star Doulos Phos Ship Hotel at the Bintan resort reclamation project in Indonesia.
But if you’re imagining the ship to be merely a prop, thank again. Her new owner, as nautically enthused as an interview with CNN demonstrated him to be, endeavored to keep intact every ounce of heritage that was possible to preserve, from the defunct engine room to the porthole windows.
“If I didn’t have this project, maybe I’d have a Ferrari and a Lamborghini at home, and I’d be sailing around the world every year with my family,” 74-year-old Eric Saw, a devout Christian Singaporean multi-millionaire, and the owner (captain, maybe?) of the boat and the hotel told CNN.
That project took 15 years and $18 million to complete, along with countless headaches and many inches of nails bitten down in anxiety. It was journey that barely holds a candle to the vessel’s long history.
It was 1914, just two years after Titanic sunk when SS Medina rolled off the shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. Over a career spanning 100 years, she transported agricultural goods, then military personnel during the First World War, then passengers again under the name SS Roma. In the mid-20th century, she swapped her steam engine for a diesel one, and her name (again) to MS Franca C. and set sail as a cruise liner.
Her final conversion came when she was purchased as a missionary vessel and floating library in 1977, and renamed the MV Doulos. She docked at over 100 countries, sailed hundreds of thousands of nautical miles, and was at one point the oldest operating passenger vessel on the seas.
But time ends all romances, and with a mountain of maintenance needs that no one would pay for, she was drydocked in Singapore to await bids for new ownership, 4 years shy of her 100th birthday.
Eric Saw already ran a three-story restaurant inside a Mississippi-style paddle steamer, and felt “a calling from god” to buy and repurpose the ship into a new line of work.
After three years of paying dock fees for the vessel, Saw zeroed in on a place of rest on Bintan island in Indonesia. He was offered 3 acres of reclaimed land; he requested that it form the shape of an anchor.
In October 2015, at 101 years-of-age, the newly-renamed MV Doulos Phos, or “servant of light” in Greek, embarked upon her final voyage from the island of Batam to Bintan. There she would rest upon a bed of concrete undergirded with piles extending 130 feet into the bedrock below the seabed.
OTHER UNFORGETABLE HOTELS: Plan a Trip to Alaska and Stay in These Classic Airplanes Converted into Luxury Accommodations (LOOK)
Inside, the small crew and passenger cabins which were crammed and poorly lit were expanded, but some were left as-is for adventurous visitors. Elevators and fire escapes and other modern building requirements were installed to meet building codes and regs, along with modern electrical and plumbing.
Yet every vestige of heritage possible to save was retained, including the four life boats, which still hang from chains along her midship, and tons of material including the original rivets which held her hull together as welding hadn’t been pioneered in shipbuilding in 1914.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Planned Resort Boasts Tents Suspended in the Air Surrounded by Gorgeous Mountains
Perhaps because he saw it as a mission from god, Saw takes a salary of $1.00 a year, while all operating profit is donated to charitable causes—a servant of the light, in name and nature.
WATCH a tour below…
SHARE The Story Of The Creation Of This Unique Hotel With Your Friends…
Polish Officers Looking for Teen Hero Who Saved Woman from Bus Stop Attacker
Police in the Polish town of Rybnik are calling this teenager a hero after he reacted when no one else did to a random act of violence and allowed the victim to escape.
Located in the Silesia region, the young man—found through his characteristic ‘Hello Kitty’ t-shirt—was standing at a bus stop along with a woman and another man.
Suddenly the 36-year-old man entered into a state of wild aggression.
“The woman, who was sitting on a bench, was first kicked in the vicinity of her head and then punched multiple times,” a statement from the police read.
“The only person to react was a young man who ran up and pulled the attacker off, giving the woman a chance to escape. In the course of his rescue action, the anonymous hero was himself attacked by the assailant.”
One wouldn’t guess that out of everyone on the street that day, it would be the individual in the ‘Hello Kitty’ shirt to save the day, but it goes to show the old adage about heroes wearing or not wearing capes.
MORE NEWS FROM POLAND: 4 National Guardsmen Save a Man’s Life After Stopping for Lunch in Poland
When police officers arrived on the scene, the teenager was gone, and only this street camera photo of him was available.
According to TVP World, the local prosecutor’s office took the decision to publicize the image, albeit with a blurred face, to see if they could locate the young hero and confirm he was uninjured.
SIMILAR STREETWISE HEROES: New Jersey Teacher Uses Body as Human Shield to Protect Teen from Group Attack
Rybnik police hailed the intervention as a shining example of a recent social campaign by the department dubbed ‘See—react,’ aimed at assisting law enforcement through civilian engagement.
SHARE The Story Of This Small Town Hero In Poland With Your Friends…
WHO Declares Kenya Free of This Deadly Tropical Parasite After Decades of Suffering
A deadly tropical disease known as sleeping sickness has been eliminated from Kenya in a significant public health triumph.
The East African nation is the 10th on the continent to achieve the milestone, but also the most populous to do so.
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) results from the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, that spreads to humans through the bites of the tsetse fly. As with many neglected tropical diseases, its hunting ground is rural areas or poor communities with limited access to medical services.
Replicating in the bloodstream and lymphatic system, the mature parasite causes personality changes, confusion, poor coordination, and disrupted sleep cycles that give the disease its name.
“I congratulate the government and people of Kenya on this landmark achievement,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Kenya joins the growing ranks of countries freeing their populations of HAT. This is another step towards making Africa free of neglected tropical diseases.”
Sleeping sickness is often fatal if untreated and was a scourge in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s. 40,000 cases were being diagnosed in a year, but an impressive mobilization of human and development capital has seen that number fall 40-fold.
SAFER AND SAFER:
- Egypt Has Finally Been Declared Malaria-Free After 4,000 Years of Infections—Even the Pharaohs
- Cape Verde Becomes the First African Country in 50 Years to Eradicate Malaria
- Cancer Plummets, Guinea Worm Eradicated, Bye-Bye Ebola—3 Huge Wins for Humanity
Safer treatments, simpler diagnostic methods, and community awareness building to help villagers detect early signs of the parasite all contributed to the eradication in Kenya, which joins Uganda, Rwanda, Benin, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and Togo which have also eliminated sleeping sickness.
“This validation marks a major public health milestone for Kenya, as we celebrate the elimination of a deadly disease in our country,” said Dr. Aden Duale, Kenya’s Secretary for Health. “The achievement will not only protect our people but also pave the way for renewed economic growth and prosperity.”
SHARE This Impressive Accomplishment With Your Friends…
“Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” – Edward Abbey
Quote of the Day: “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” – Edward Abbey
Photo by: Edu Bastidas for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, August 26
234 years ago today, John Fitch was granted a US patent for a boat propelled by steam power which used mechanical paddles to propel it atop lakes and rivers—an invention that revolutionized commercial transportation of both passengers and freight. The American inventor, clockmaker, silversmith, surveyor, entrepreneur, and engineer, also provided beer, rum, and other supplies in 1778 to General Washington’s troops at Valley Forge. READ more about the first steam ship and its inventor… (1791)
Type 1 Diabetic Produces His Own Insulin After Gene-Edited Cell Transplant
A patient with type 1 diabetes has become the first in the world to produce his own insulin via transplanted cells edited with CRISPR.
The edits halted his own immune system from attacking the cells, leading to production of insulin in the pancreas as if he never had the disease in the first place.
Unlike the rampant type 2 diabetes, type 1 manifests as an autoimmune disorder whereby the patient’s immune system attacks and destroys a type of cell created in the pancreas to produce insulin, known as islet cells. 9.5 million people worldwide suffer from type 1 diabetes and there is no cure.
The standard of care beyond daily insulin injections involves using donated islet cells to allow a patient’s metabolism to function normally, followed by medications used to prevent the immune system from attacking those cells. These medications have harmful side effects.
A team of biomedical researchers primarily from Uppsala University, Sweden, in collaboration with UC San Francisco, successfully used the CRISPR gene-editing method to take a donor’s islet cells and modify them so as to evade prosecution by the patient’s immune system.
Three changes in total to the genetic code were needed to ensure the transplanted donor cells didn’t trigger an immune response, including changes to cell membrane signal proteins used as a sign of attack by white blood cells.
CRISPR TO THE RESCUE:
- Infant With Incurable Disease is First to Successfully Receive Personalized Gene Therapy Treatment
- Aggressive Leukemia Disappears in 13-Year-old Girl Who was First to Receive New CRISPR Treatment
- First Patient to Receive Gene Therapy ‘Cure’ for Beta-Thalassemia Living Pain-Free
As a preliminary study, the man received only a small amount of the donated, modified cells, meaning he still requires daily insulin injections. However the results show that the cells produced their own insulin and remained unperturbed by the immune system.
After 12 weeks, the cells were still producing endogenous insulin, setting the stage for longer-term and more robust experiments in the future.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
SHARE This Big Step Forward To A Potential Cure With Your Friends…
Arizona Suburb Turned into Mediterranean-style Walking Town Where Temperatures Stay Low
A planned community in Arizona has used time-honored Mediterranean strategies to keep temperatures down and attitudes high.
Western civilization has grown remarkably climate conscious over the last 20 years, but not when it comes to building, civic planning, and especially zoning. Perhaps the interiors of buildings are becoming more climate adapted, and in some cases the facades as well, but in a way that’s a little like inventing a freezer designed to keep ice cream frozen while sitting next to a fire.
Wooden or concrete boxes arranged side-by-side across leveled ground with sprawling, largely treeless gardens and concrete sidewalks alongside wide, blacktop roads is simply a culture of construction that has to be abandoned if living in a world of 2°C or higher annual temperatures is to be tolerable.
Fortunately for Arizonans, change may have finally arrived in the form of a carless, planned community that looks and feels like a Greek island village.
In the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Culdesac has arisen as a 17-acre mixed-use neighborhood from the ground up to stay cool and local, taking the concept of the 15-minute city, where anything a resident might need is only 15 minutes away, and putting a Mediterranean spin on it.
Buildings are tall, thick, and totally white. The residential areas look like they were built atop of the ashes of the Phoenix zoning code burnt in effigy. Crammed together, they create narrow streets and alleys that are almost constantly shaded, through which wind is channeled and accelerated in passing.
Windows open towards each other, allowing wind that enters one building to exit into another, while the total lack of asphalt means that the ground temperatures are a staggering 50-60°F lower than pavements beyond the limits of Culdesac.
No privately-owned cars are allowed to enter the neighborhood, in which electric bikes, robotic mini taxis, and light rail shuttle people around town, to downtown Phoenix, or out to the airport.
The street life is lively—there are no cars to bisect movement between the 21 different businesses and eateries, among which is a James Beard Award-winning Mexican restaurant, DIY ceramic business, and some stores run out of apartments—a big no-no under Phoenix zoning laws.
ARIZONA NEWS: Arizona Teen Returns Lost Wallet Containing $300, Receives Electric Bike He Had Been Saving for
“Once you pull the cars out,” Architect Daniel Parolek who designed Culdesac, told BBC, “there’s so much more opportunity to make a vibrant, thriving community.”
His inspiration was sun-soaked locales like Italy, Greece, and Croatia, where town centers were designed before the automobile and before air conditioning.
Technically speaking, the entire Culdesac neighborhood is one apartment complex, but the paseos, or little alleyways, open up into plazas of open space exactly liked one would expect in a little village in the Cyclades.
LOOK AT OTHER PLACES LIKE THIS: A New Neighborhood is Being Built in Utah That Looks Like a European ‘One-Car Town’
Because no one has to jump in a car to get from place to place, people run into each other, sparking conversations, relations, and breaking through the counterintuitive phenomenon of big city loneliness, which in Phoenix hits particularly hard.
“Culdesac Tempe has shown that people do want to live car-free in the US, even in a metro area like Phoenix that’s often seen as the poster child for car dependency,” says Erin Boyd, Culdesac’s government relations and external affairs lead. “This success has shifted the conversation around what’s possible in American development.”
SHARE This Great Idea For A City With Your Friends On Social Media…
Postman’s Unusual Act of Kindness Makes Him a Rainy Day ‘Laundry Hero’
From Australia comes the story of a Sikh’s kindness caught on camera when he thought no one was looking.
With the heavens having opened, the man, a postal worker who had arrived at a house to deliver a package, took “one minute” to pull down the client’s laundry and put it next to the door and out of the rain.
Verrity Wandel, the homeowner from the town of Logan, south of Brisbane, came home and felt bewildered as to the absence of the laundry.
“I just had visions of my washing being wrapped round and round the line, or embedded in the garden, and I drove in and there was no washing on the line. And I thought, that’s odd,” she told CNN affiliate 9 News, after the story of her discovery stormed Australian (and Indian) national media.
“Doubting myself I got out of the car and checked the mailbox because I had received notification that one of my orders had been delivered,” she wrote on an Instagram post that went viral in which she revealed the story of the postman’s deed.
“Locked the car, headed down the stairs and there on the bench out of the rain is sitting my parcel and my 99% dry washing.”
“What tha?
How did?”
ALSO CHECK OUT: Massachusetts Mailman Scoops Toddler Away from Traffic After Day Care Escape: ‘Right place at the right time’
“We head in to check the surveillance system and this is what we find. 1 in a million this guy is so cool.”
Gurpreet Singh works for Australia Post, and seemed “genuinely bewildered,” CNN reports, by the attention and focus on his good deed. He summoned up a simple explanation that he thought for a moment about “whether” he could do it, then he did it.
MORE KIND STORIES: Sikh Gas Station Owner Sells Gas 50 Cents a Gallon Cheaper than What it Costs to Help Customers
“It took one minute,” he said.
The story took off across Indian media as well, with the Indian Tribune quickly labeling Singh a “laundry hero,” and the attention catching the eye of Indian megastar Priyanka Chopra who called him a “real life hero.”
WATCH the video below…
KEEP The Spotlight On This Good Guy Mailman Through Your Own Social Media…
Historic Church – All 672 Tons – Is Being Moved Down the Road in Arctic Town
In a “unique in the world” event, a Swedish town is moving its entire historic church, all 672 tons of materials, down the road to a new address.
The move is necessary to protect it from falling into a sinkhole, the result of the expansion of an underground iron mine. The church won’t be alone in its relocation, and in fact dozens of buildings will be moved over the next 10 years.
Kiruna Kyrka was built in 1912 for the Lutheran community of Kiruna. It was designed to look like a “lavvu” or a hut of the Sami People, Europe’s only recognized indigenous group who graze reindeer in the surrounding grasslands.
The state-owned mining company LKAB was granted approval for the mine’s expansion over 20 years ago, and part of the agreement was either the compensation or physical relocation of every building within the part of the town that would be undermined.
For the Kyrka, workers tunneled under the floorplan to place a grid of beams that would fit onto a series of trailers. When it came time to move the first few feet, a remarkable turnout had arrived.
10,000 people lined recently-widened roads to watch the Kyrka inch forward at 0.2 miles per hour, including the King Carl Gustav XVI. Inside, the 2,000-pipe-church organ was specially wrapped and packaged in situ, as was a large pastel centerpiece painted by the king’s great uncle, Prince Eugen.
The bell tower, which is a separate structure, is due to move tomorrow.
An operator stands in front of the church as it moves to control the 224 wheels on the trailers below, a little like a man with a giant, incredibly slow, remote-controlled car.
Although the central part of the move, the Kyrka is just one of 24 cultural buildings in the Arctic town that will be moved. Tens of millions of dollars have been allocated by LKAB for moving and compensation for buildings that remain.
SWEDISH STORIES: Sweden Is Trying to Build a Whole City Borough Out of Wood to ‘Show What is Possible’
The company’s chief executive told local reporters that without its historic church, which the Guardian described as one of Sweden’s most beloved antique buildings, there could never be a town of Kiruna. Moving it was the best, only, and imperative option.
SHARE This Wild Exercise In Preservation With Your Friends…
“All wisdom is rooted in learning to call things by their right names.” – Confucius
Quote of the Day: “All wisdom is rooted in learning to call things by their right names.” – Confucius
Photo by: J Amill Santiago
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A Policing Act of Kindness After Little Boy in Detroit Calls 911 to Chat About Soccer
After doing laundry last Saturday, Ken Porter noticed a missed call on his phone from the local police department.
“When I returned the call, I learned that my 4-year-old had called 911 and struck up a conversation about soccer and swimming,” Micah’s father told GNN.
“What sounded like the start of a crisis turned into one of the most unforgettable moments of my two sons’ lives.”
18 police vehicles ended up at their home in Farmington Hills, Michigan, over the next day—a parade of kindness sparked by the child’s enthusiasm.
“Instead of treating it as a misuse of 911, the officers invited my sons, Micah and Mitch, to tour their patrol cars, test the sirens, and speak on the loudspeaker.
During the visit, Micah proudly mentioned that the next day would be his big brother Mitch’s 7th birthday, and one of the officers mentioned he might stop by to celebrate.
“The next morning, as we were leaving for Mitch’s birthday breakfast, nearly ten police cars filled our street.
“Officers were waiting in the yard with gifts, and made Mitch an honorary officer with a sticker badge and a toy police hat. Every single officer wished him a happy birthday.”
And the kindness didn’t stop there.
Later that evening, a second shift of officers returned—this time with a soccer goal net that they purchased, ready to play a game. They even introduced Mitch and Micah to the police K9 dog named Kane.
“This simple act of kindness transformed into a story of empathy, joy, and community my sons will never forget,” said Mr. Porter.
“We are deeply grateful to the Farmington Hills Police Department for showing what good policing looks like at its very best.
KUDOS TO THIS OFFICER: Canadian Mountie Sits Down With a Senior–And The Conversation Saved His Life
PASS ON THE KINDNESS By Sharing on Social Media…
Retooled Cancer Drugs Eliminated Aggressive Tumors in ‘Remarkable’ New Trial
Cancer drugs that have been used for two decades were retooled until they were able to eliminate aggressive tumors in a “remarkable” clinical trial.
Two of the patients—one with the deadliest form of skin cancer called melanoma and another with breast cancer—were told their tumors disappeared completely.
Scientists at Rockefeller University in New York engineered an upgrade to an antibody that improved a class of drugs—called CD40 agonist antibodies—which have struggled to make good on their early promise, but showed great potential.
While effectively activating the immune system to kill cancer cells in animal models, the drugs had only “limited” impact on humans, while also triggering dangerous adverse reactions.
So, five years ago, the team at the New York university engineered an enhanced CD40 agonist antibody so that it improved its efficiency and limited any serious side effects for mice, with the next step being a clinical trial with cancer patients.
The results from the phase 1 clinical trial of the drug, dubbed 2141-V11, showed that six out of 12 cancer patients saw their tumors shrink, including two that saw them disappear completely.
“Seeing these significant shrinkages and even complete remission in such a small subset of patients is quite remarkable,” said study first author Dr. Juan Osorio.
He said the effect wasn’t limited to tumors that were injected with the drug; tumors elsewhere in the body either got smaller or were destroyed by immune cells.
“This effect—where you inject locally but see a systemic response—that’s not something seen very often in any clinical treatment,” said Professor Jeffrey Ravetch who oversaw the study.
“It’s another very dramatic and unexpected result from our trial.”
ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH: Lung Cancer Drug Elicits Unprecedented Results in 2024 Trial
He explained that CD40 is a cell surface receptor and member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor “superfamily”—proteins that are largely expressed by immune cells. When triggered, CD40 prompts the rest of immune system to spring into action, promoting anti-tumor immunity and developing tumor-specific T cell responses.
In 2018, Prof. Ravetch’s lab engineered the 2141-V11, a CD40 antibody that binds tightly to human CD40 receptors and is modified to enhance its cross-linking by also engaging a specific Fc receptor.
It proved to be 10 times more powerful in its capacity to elicit an anti-tumor immune response.
The research team then changed how they administered the drug. When previously given intravenously, too many non-cancerous cells picked it up, leading to the well-known toxic side effects.
They instead injected the drug directly into tumors. When they did that, they saw “only mild toxicity”, said Prof. Ravetch.
ALSO CHECK OUT:
• Cancer Vaccine Triggers Fierce Immune Response to Fight Malignant Brain Tumors in Human Patients
• Oxford Breakthrough Could Allow Cancer to be Detected 7 Years Earlier Than Current Methods
The new trial included 12 patients who had various types of cancer, and of those 12, six experienced systemic tumor reduction, of which two had their cancers (notorious for being aggressive and recurring) disappear entirely.
“The melanoma patient had dozens of metastatic tumors on her leg and foot, and we injected just one tumor up on her thigh. After multiple injections of that one tumor, all the other tumors disappeared,” Ravetch said.
“The same thing happened in the patient with metastatic breast cancer, who also had tumors in her skin, liver, and lung. And even though we only injected the skin tumor, we saw all the tumors disappear.”
Tissue samples from the tumor sites revealed the immune activity that the drug stimulated.
“We were quite surprised to see that the tumors became full of immune cells—including different types of dendritic cells, T cells, and mature B cells—that formed aggregates resembling something like a lymph node,” said Dr. Osorio.
“The drug creates an immune micro-environment within the tumor, and essentially replaces the tumor with these tertiary lymphoid structures, which are associated with improved prognosis and response to immunotherapy.”
BRILLIANT: Glowing Dye Clings to Cancer Cells Giving Doctors ‘Second Pair of Eyes’
The team also found TLS in the tumors they didn’t inject.
“Once the immune system identifies the cancer cells, immune cells migrate to the non-injected tumor sites,” said Dr. Osorio.
The findings, published in the journal Cancer Cell, sparked several other clinical trials that the Ravetch lab is currently working on with researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Duke University.
The trials are investigating 2141-V11’s effect on specific cancers, including bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and glioblastoma—all aggressive and hard to treat.
Nearly 200 people are enrolled in the various studies that the researchers hope will explain why some patients respond to 2141-V11 and others do not—and how to potentially change that.
SHARE THE AMAZING NEWS With Patients on Social Media…