IKEA’s New Cookbook Puts Kitchen Scraps to Good Use With 50 Recipes From Top Chefs

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Mar 18, 2021

ikea-FOOD waste SCRAPSBOOK-pixabay and fairuse — IKEA SCRAPSBOOK

IKEA’s recent collaboration with 10 super chefs led to the creation of a new kind of scrapbook—one that contains recipes made from food scraps.

Utilizing the less-loved parts of produce or cheese, the SCRAPSBOOK curates 50 recipes for kitchen scraps that would otherwise be thrown away.

As much as Americans try to pull kale and broccoli into their diets, what happens to the greenish white stems? What about the leaves growing from our favorite carrots, turnips, and radishes? What about those banana peels and apple cores—that no one thinks to use for nutrition? Can one really make great recipes with them?

To answer, let’s listen to what Chef Christa Bruneau-Guenther from Winnipeg’s Feast Cafe Bistro had to say on behalf of her “Banana peel bacon” recipe served with wild rice flapjacks.

“Who knew you could eat a banana peel? Although it is thinner than bacon, it has a balance of sweet, smoky, salty, and heat, plus with the hint of banana it is oh so delicious!”

Banana flesh can also be used in pancakes, or frozen to use for smoothies or baking. Try the Banana Peel Chutney, on page 30, that Jason Sheardown serves with shrimp.

Adrian Forte from Ontario and David Gunawan from British Columbia turn radish leaves and kale stems into risotto and pesto, while Bruneau-Guenther contributes again to a pan-baked dish of squash and potato skins with maple syrup and cheese to help people get the most amount of fiber and nutrients out of their starches of choice.

“Scrapcooking is about finding the beautiful possibilities in that banana peel, radish top, or even the chicken bones you’re about to toss, and make the most of everything available to you,” explain the authors of the book in the foreword. “It’s little things like these that can add up to make a big difference.”

The epitome of this concept may be Adrian Forte, a celebrity chef heading up the Toronto-based Chef du Jour catering service, and his recipe “Clear-out-the-Crisper-Soup”—the ultimate in tasty recycling.

“I often save food scraps throughout the week — everything from chicken parts to vegetable trimmings. Usually, these discarded scraps end up in my weekly soup stock,” he writes as an intro.

The 111-page SCRAPSBOOK, downloadable in PDF here, also contains instructions for all kinds of different ways to reuse food scraps, beyond simply composting them—although it has instructions for starting a compost pile, too!

How to regrow produce from chopped ends
Using ground eggshells as a limescale cleaner
How to prepare cucumber leftovers as an insect repellent
Tips for how to store different produce that you wouldn’t expect
How to clean your finest skillets with leftover food instead of steel wool

It can be a great feeling to know that every taste inherent in a piece of food was turned into talent to make your life more nutritious and closer to Mother Earth.

Recycle This Valuable Scraps-Book With Your Friends!

Town Surprises UPS Driver With $1,000 to Thank Him For Being Essential During Pandemic

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Judy Cole

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Mar 18, 2021

UPS driver cries during party-Courtesy Kristie Vogelsong — Courtesy Kristie Vogelsong

Every Christmas season, delivery drivers can count on being slammed, but with the pandemic causing huge spikes in online ordering, it seems the holiday season never ends.

A brown-uniformed UPS driver in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, has been meeting this challenge every day with good cheer and a sense of determination, often going out of his way to make sure the packages in his care arrived on time.

To reward Chad Turns for his extraordinary work ethic, citizens all along his route in the tight-knit community pitched-in to produce a special delivery of their own.

“The whole town has had personal experience with Chad,” Dauphin resident Adam Shickley told CNN. “He once thought a package was a gift and there was a picture on the front. My kids were playing outside so he waited until his shift was done and came back to make sure they didn’t see it.”

Shickley’s wife, Jenny, echoed her husband’s sentiments. “On Facebook, another friend mentioned there was a package that needed signing and they weren’t home,” she told TODAY. “Chad was nervous that it was important, so he went to their parents’ house to get it signed for them.”

To honor his unflagging dedication, Jenny, organized a ‘Thank you, Chad’ fundraiser. Her original goal of $500 quickly required a bigger package when more than $1,000 flowed in.

MORE: Hero Plumber Has Helped 10,000 Vulnerable Families Fix Heating and Plumbing For FREE During Pandemic

She also drafted one of his UPS coworkers in a secret plan involving a fictional end-of-day pickup at a municipal building. When Chad arrived, instead of a package, he found a group of people waving thank-you signs, a big handmade autographed card, and probably a lot of smiles beneath the face masks. Together, they presented him with $1,000.

Chad was tear-struck by the outpouring of support, saying, “It was very overwhelming. The idea that they even thought of me to do anything… To go above and beyond and do what they did was truly amazing to me.”

“Celebrations like this really highlight the bond our drivers have with their customer base,” UPS spokesperson Jackie Fajt said in a statement. “Chad is a great UPSer and has been delivering to Dauphin residents for more than a decade.”

Putting the “special” in special delivery is all part and parcel of a day’s work for Chad, and many drivers, who will happily continue delivering one package at a time to keep the world running smoothly.

North Carolina-based writer Judy Cole has a new murder mystery / rom-com debuting on Amazon for Kindle: And Jilly Came Tumbling After (from Red Sky Presents).

DO YOU Have a Special Driver? Organize a Similar Celebration By Sharing on Social Media…

Viewed Through Venetian Glass: Old Art Form Captures Modern Global Challenges in Stunning Exhibition

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 18, 2021

Glasstress at Boca Raton Museum of Art-Adriano Berengo-youtube — Glasstress exhibit–Adriano Berengo YouTube

As lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and closed recreation facilities have created a mental health crisis in America, art has become the opposite of ‘non-essential’.

Glasstress exhibit–Adriano Berengo YouTube

Thankfully, on the island of Murano, the home of a centuries-old Italian glassmaking tradition, the intrepid Venetian artist Adriano Berengo has—despite lockdowns, floods, and other pandemic related disturbances—has managed to keep his glass workshop running hot.

And, lucky for people in Florida, the Maestro of Murano, in partnership with the Museum of Art in Boca Raton, is staging a 2021 version of ‘Glassstress’ the world’s most famous glass-art exhibition.

“One thing we know for certain… Life is fragile, just as glass is fragile, yet in this fragility there is also strength,” says Berengo.

The exhibit, in South Florida for a 9-month stay through September 5th, expands Berengo’s dream of teaching the world that glass can be a magnificent material for contemporary art. The show uses an old art form to capture many of the challenges faced by societies around the world, such as man’s relation to climate change, oppressive governments, and racial injustice.

“With 2020 being such a challenging year to coordinate an international exhibition of this size and scope, the effort serves as an important reassurance that art is an essential and enduring part of humanity,” says Irvin Lippman, the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s Executive Director in a press release.

LOOK: Amazing Bubble Wrap Artist Creates Masterpieces by Injecting Paint Into Each Bubble

In fragility there is strength

The scale of the project was immense, and required bravery in spades to set up, with all the uncertainties of the pandemic, especially those related to travel—four visa applications were denied, even while their purpose was to work with Americans, because of lack of “national interest.”

Nevertheless, Berengo’s craftsmen worked over the course of 3 years with 34 artists from around the world to combine their artistic visions with the expert hands of Venetian glassmakers.

Powered by his foundation, Fondazione Berengo, which sponsors a recurring exhibit in the famous Biennale of Venice, Glasstress has also traveled the world, making appearances in Beirut, New York City, and Stockholm.

“We have brought Glasstress to countries around the world for ten years, seeking to expand and enliven international awareness of the variety and richness of contemporary artists using glass in their creative practices,” says Berengo.

More than a chandelier

Artist Ai Weiwei with his massive glass-blown sculpture Blossom Chandelier – Karolina Sobel

Among the marquee pieces on display is Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s, Blossom Chandelier, a gargantuan installation of 1,600 individual elements of glass, both hand-cut and casted, bursting with unexpected shapes such as manacles, Twitter birds, flowers, and a special nod to his time in a Chinese prison—his own middle finger.

In a similar expressive tone, Dustin Yellin’s Invisible Sisyphus (below) is a diorama of simple folk living beneath the roots of a great tree, all encased in a giant brick of glass, the impurities within which give the illusion of clouds, sky, and atmosphere.

Dustin Yellin’s Invisible Sisyphus, photo by Francesco Allegretto

Glass Big Brother (below) is a government-inspired chandelier, exquisitely made of glass and metal, teeming with ominous looking cameras, reminding us of the danger of allowing a government too much authority.

“Unlike the past and the present, what comes next for our world presents itself as constant possibility, always transforming as we move forward in time,” says Berengo in a press release. “This concept of transformation has always held an affinity with glass, a medium which—as the name Glasstress suggests—exists in a state of constant tension.”

“Life needs tension, it needs energy, and a vibrant exchange of ideas.”

WATCH the Glasstress video…

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Northwestern Scientists Repair and Reverse ALS Neuron Damage in Lab Using New Non-Toxic Compound

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Good News Network

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Mar 18, 2021

ALS Researchers Hande Ozdinler and Richard Silverman-Northwestern U released — Researchers Hande Ozdinler and Richard Silverman -Northwestern

In a study using a non-toxic substance on mice, Northwestern University researchers have identified the first compound that eliminates the ongoing degeneration of brain neurons in the paralyzing disease known as ALS.

Researchers Hande Ozdinler and Richard Silverman -Northwestern

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease in which upper motor neurons degrade in victims, producing a swift and fatal demise.

In addition to ALS, other motor neuron diseases, such as hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) progress in a similar fashion.

In ALS, movement-initiating nerve cells in the brain (upper motor neurons) and muscle-controlling nerve cells in the spinal cord (lower motor neurons) die—and, so far, there has been no drug or treatment for the brain component of ALS, and no drug for HSP and PLS patients.

“Even though the upper motor neurons are responsible for the initiation and modulation of movement, and their degeneration is an early event in ALS, so far there has been no treatment option to improve their health,” said senior author Hande Ozdinler, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“We have identified the first compound that improves the health of upper motor neurons that become diseased.”

Ozdinler collaborated with study author Richard B. Silverman, a Northwestern chemistry professor, and published the results in Clinical and Translational Medicine last month on Feb. 23.

The study was initiated after Silverman identified a compound, NU-9, developed in his lab for its ability to reduce protein misfolding in critical cell lines. The compound is not toxic and crosses the blood brain barrier.

“I am very excited to find out if our hypothesis that stabilizing upper motor neurons in mice will translate to humans and NU-9 will provide hope for those inflicted with currently untreatable upper motor neuron diseases,” Silverman said.

The NU-9 compound addresses two of the important factors that cause upper motor neurons to become diseased in ALS: protein misfolding and protein clumping inside the cell. Proteins fold in a unique way to function; when they misfold they become toxic to the neuron. Sometimes proteins aggregate inside the cell and cause pathology as in the TDP-43 protein pathology. This happens in about 90% of all ALS patient brains and is one of the most common problems in neurodegeneration.

The research team began to investigate whether NU-9 would be able to help repair upper motor neurons that become diseased due to increased protein misfolding in ALS. The results in mice were positive. Scientists next performed experiments to reveal how and why the diseased upper motor neurons regained their health.

Restoring neurons to robust health

After administering NU-9, both the mitochondria (the cell’s energy producer) and the endoplasmic reticulum (the cell’s protein producer) began to regain their health and integrity resulting in improved neuron health. The upper motor neurons were more intact, their cell bodies were larger and the dendrites were not riddled with holes.

CHECK OUT: Scientists Develop Ultra-Precise Lasers to Remove Cancers Without Damaging Healthy Tissue

They stopped degenerating so much that the diseased neurons became similar to healthy control neurons after 60 days of NU-9 treatment.

Commanders-in-chief of movement

Upper motor neurons are the brain’s commanders-in-chief of movement. They carry the brain’s input to spinal cord targets to initiate voluntary movement. The degeneration of these neurons impairs the connection from the brain to the spinal cord and leads to paralysis in patients.

Lower motor neurons have direct connections with the muscle, contracting muscle to execute movement. Thus, the lower motor neuron activity is in part controlled by the upper motor neurons.

Ozdinler and colleagues will now complete more detailed toxicology and pharmacokinetic studies prior to initiating a Phase 1 clinical trial.

(Source: Northwestern News Now)

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Paleontologists Uncover Rarer-than-Rare Fossil of Oviraptor on Nest of Eggs With 24 Embryos Inside

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 18, 2021

By Andrew McAfee for study published in Science Bulletin 2020-Carnegie Museum of Natural History — By Andrew McAfee, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, for study published in Science Bulletin 2020

A jaw-dropping fossil has been found of an oviraptor crouching upon two dozen eggs containing fossilized embryos inside—with 7 containing “babies” mere hours from hatching.

By Andrew McAfee, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, for study published in Science Bulletin 2020 – White indicates preserved bones

Found in Ganzhou in South China, the fossil is unprecedented in history, and not only contains an image of the animal and its offspring, but of its very behavior.

China has produced some of the world’s most important discoveries in the field of paleontology, and this oviraptorosaur, from a group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that thrived in the Cretaceous Period, turned out to be an absolute diamond.

China’s soils contained the first specimens that linked dinosaurs to birds and the first evidence of tree-dwelling dinosaurs. The new fossil discovery seems to confirm that this species was one which broods—sitting atop its eggs as a method of incubation.

“This kind of discovery—in essence, fossilized behavior—is the rarest of the rare in dinosaurs,” says paleontologist Matt Lamanna from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH).

“Though a few adult oviraptorids have been found on nests of their eggs before, no embryos have ever been found inside those eggs.”

The lack of contextual evidence so far had prevented paleontologists from being able to be sure that, birds, as far back as their ancestors 70 million years ago, always incubated their young, but several factors in this find lead to that conclusion being very likely.

LOOK: 4-Year-old Girl Finds Dinosaur Footprint on a Beach From 215 Million Years Ago

This perfect clutch revealed so much

Preserved with only a few millimeters of space between fossilized bone and eggs, almost no sediment has managed to squeeze in between, suggesting the dinosaur parent was incubating them.

Furthermore, the oxygen isotopes measured in the embryos put their temperature at about the same as the ones from the bones of the parent.

“This dinosaur was a caring parent that ultimately gave its life while nurturing its young,” explains Lamanna, who was on the research team with primary authors Drs. Shundong Bi, from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Xing Xu, paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. Their study was published in the Science Bulletin, with CMNH scientific artist Andrew McAfee producing illustrations for the paper.

Other interesting discoveries were the presence of complete dinosaur skeletons inside the egg material, evidence of the oviraptors’ diet, and the fact that not all of the eggs were incubated to the same stage of development—another hallmark of birds.

Synchronous hatching is hard work, and in the avian order it’s done with the help of both parents alternating incubation duties. It’s thought to have originated much further down the evolutionary line, as today it is a behavior demonstrated in only a few certain birds.

Oviraptor may have moved away from simultaneous hatching much earlier than scientists expected. The sex of the fossilized oviraptor is not yet confirmed, and will offer a lot to the mystery.

In the stomach of the dinosaur, small stones were clues for determining the content of its diet. Today, birds, like turkeys, have gizzards, a primitive organ that stores gravel, allowing the bird to pass seeds and other hard or fibrous material through them to aid in digestion.

“It’s extraordinary to think how much biological information is captured in just this single fossil,” says paleontologist Xing Xu from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing.

“We’re going to be learning from this specimen for many years to come.”

SHARE This Breakthrough Discovery With Your Brood on Social Media…

World’s First 3D-Printed School Poised to Be Built in Madagascar For Half the Price of Traditional

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 18, 2021

Madagascar 3D printed school-FB-Thinking Huts Released — Thinking Huts

A 15-year old Chinese immigrant, adopted as a baby by the founder of MapQuest, is using her adult-sized ambition to use 3D-printing to help more kids get an education in Madagascar.

Maggie Grout’s nonprofit is called “Thinking Huts” and they are fundraising to break ground on a series of modular, honeycomb-shaped schools, powered by solar panels, which would be the world’s first 3D-printed schoolhouses.

Hundreds of millions of children don’t have schools to attend around the world, and Grout feels one of the best ways to solve the problem is by bringing down the construction costs of schoolhouses. The initial pilot Thinking Hut in Madagascar is expected to cost $20,000, and in a recent interview at the Smithsonian, Grout details how, as well as being half the cost of traditional construction methods, 3D-printed buildings become cheaper when the project is scaled.

In other words the first house may cost $20,000, but the more houses that are built, the cheaper they become.

Despite the pandemic, construction on the first hut is expected to begin in the summer on the university campus of Ecole de Management et d’Innovation Technologique in the city of Fianarantsoa, home to about 200,000 people on the south end of the island.

The 3D-printer itself, at 6.5 feet, is being provided by Thinking Huts’ partner Hyperion Robotics, a Finnish 3D-printing company that builds a hodgepodge of different elements, such as building columns, patio furniture, and even artificial coral reefs.

“We will use locally-sourced materials, remaining conscious of our environmental impact, and implement more additive manufacturing processes as the technology advances, adapting to each community’s environment,” reads their plan for Hut v1.0.

“Initial plans call for solar power, internet access, desks, chairs, and tables. The Hut will have a secure door and operating windows.”

Other features include pockets of space on the outside of the walls, that can either be used for vertical farming or artificial rock climbing walls for the kids. The exterior will be decorated with traditional Malagasy textile patterns, and local materials such as corrugated tin or wood carved by artisans.

Their honeycomb shape allows new huts to be added onto existing ones if the need for expansion arises.

Thinking Huts’ architect, Amir Mortazavi of the San Francisco Studio of the same name, wants to maintain local aesthetic appeal, desiring a building that blends into its environment—more important than ever considering the sterile grey color of the 3D-printing material.

“Deforestation is a major issue in Madagascar, which holds a biodiverse ecosystem with many endemic species known only to the island,” Mortazavi told Architectural Digest. “We will be making a reconnaissance trip there shortly to find the most sustainable supplier for our furniture supply in the near future when it’s possible and safe to travel there.”

For completing several schools, with travel, electrical and plumbing, and school supplies, Grout’s charity—a 501(c)3—has already raised $125,000. Not bad for a fifteen year-old.

Educate Your Friends By Sharing This Inspiring Read on Social Media…

“It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.” – Ann Landers

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Mar 18, 2021

Quote of the Day: “It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.” – Ann Landers

Photo by: Margaret Weir

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?

Ancient Biblical Scrolls and Rare Coins of ‘Immeasurable Worth for Mankind’ Discovered in Desert Cave

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 17, 2021

Dozens of rare parchment fragments that are over 1,800 years old have been found in a remote cave in the Judean Desert.

“For the first time in approximately 60 years, archaeological excavations have uncovered fragments of a biblical scroll,” said local authorities, and they contained passages from the books of Zechariah and Nahum—portions of the Books of the Twelve Minor Prophets from the Hebrew bible and Old Testament.

The scroll was believed to be the writings of Jewish rebels who fled to the hills in Judea after the ancient Romans rebuffed one of their many revolts.

These discoveries have been uncovered as part of a daring official excavation by the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) to prevent the cave from being looted by artifact hunters.

On the scrolls, most of the words are written in Greek—the local language following the conquest of the area by Alexander 500 years before—with only the word ‘God’ written in Hebrew.

MORE: Archaeologists in Egypt have Unearthed the World’s Oldest Known Beer Factory, Thought to Date Back 5,000 Years

In an announcement, IAA called the process a “complex and challenging” operation, and the finds “of immeasurable worth for mankind.”

Also discovered were a trove of ancient coins minted by the rebels attempting to create a stable state.

The mummified remains of a 6,000-year-old child, thought to be a girl, were also uncovered.

And a giant, woven basket was found. Suspected to be around 10,500 years old, it dates back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period and is thought to be the oldest completely intact basket in the world.

The complex operation included employing drones and reaching virtually inaccessible areas. The mouth of the cave is about 260 feet, or 80 meters, below the lip of a cliff, down which the excavators and scientists were required to rappel.

It’s the type of terrain feature in the Judean Desert that years ago revealed the remarkable Dead Sea Scrolls, and other relics found in the infamous ‘Cave of Horror’ that contained 40 skeletons.

SNEAK These Ancient Cave Treasures Over to Social Media For Archaeology Fans…

Yo-Yo Ma Gives Surprise Performance at the COVID Vaccine Site After Getting His Second Jab

By

Judy Cole

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Mar 17, 2021

yo yo ma berkley community college facebook social media — Berkshire Community College/Facebook

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but when it comes to a shot in the arm, there’s nothing more soothing than a little music to get the job done—especially when it’s being performed by world-class cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

That’s just what some lucky folks getting their COVID-19 vaccinations were treated to at Berkshire Community College’s field house clinic after Yo-Yo Ma received his second inoculation dose.

While waiting out his 15-minute observation period, Yo-Yo Ma sat down to play a masked and socially distant impromptu concert for his fellow “inoculees.”

“[He] wanted to give something back,” Richard Hall of the Berkshire COVID-19 Vaccine Collaborative said in an interview with The Berkshire Eagle.

After the college published footage of Yo-Yo Ma’s anti-virus-vaccination performance to their Facebook, the post (ironically) went viral—but in a good way.

This mini-concert isn’t the first time Yo-Yo Ma has employed his music as a calming force during the pandemic. The day of his second inoculation marked one year to the day for a series of performances he’d launched with the hashtag #SongsOfComfort.

“In these days of anxiety, I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that gives me comfort,” he tweeted in March of 2020. The first selection in his #SongsOfComfort series was Dvorák’s Going Home.

MORE: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Come to the Rescue of Texas Women’s Shelter After Winter Storm

But the clinic gig wasn’t Yo-Yo Ma’s debut pop-up pandemic performance, either. Last September, he joined up with classical pianist Emanuel Ax for a live-stream virtual concert aimed at giving solace to essential workers, which the pair followed up with a string of spontaneous on-the-spot concerts for folks working on the pandemic frontline.

“This is really dedicated to all the people who are going through tough times,” he told Reuters. “Lost people who are pushing through, leading the strenuous life, and for the longest time not knowing if there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

And if you’re still having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Just close your eyes, keep moving forward, and let the music guide you instead.

(WATCH the video of Yo-Yo Ma playing for fellow vaccine recipients below.)

North Carolina-based writer Judy Cole has a new murder mystery / rom-com debuting on Kindle at Amazon: And Jilly Came Tumbling After (from Red Sky Presents).

SHARE This Rousing Performance With Pals on Social Media…

Cannabis Compound Inhibits COVID-19 Replication in Human Lung Cells, Study Says

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 17, 2021

Cannabis sativa-CC-M. Martin Vincente — Martin Vincente

In a study undergoing peer review, the CBD compound from cannabis has been found to stop COVID-19 replication in lung epithelial cells, suggesting the plant medicine holds yet another astounding quality.

Furthermore, observational data from patients who were taking CBD before they were tested for coronavirus showed that its use was associated with a significantly lower infection incidence rate than those not taking CBD.

Measured together with its metabolite 7-OH-CBD, cannabidiol (CBD) inhibited the expression of certain genes within the viral cells, and reversed changes in gene expression within the lung cells resulting from the presence of COVID-19—in other words it had both a protective and a therapeutic role.

It was also found to block viral RNA expression, including the coding for the spike protein, the tool with which the virus enters our cells.

Another crucial finding was that CBD “effectively reversed” the triggering of a hyperinflammatory response—the so-called “cytokine storm” brought on by the presence of the virus, restoring cells not to a previral level of inflation, but a state as if the cells had been treated with CBD alone.

MORE: First-of-its-Kind Clinical Study Finds That Microdosing THC Can Reduce Chronic Pain

Cytokine storm is one of the principal causes of death resulting from a COVID-19 infection.

A range of other cannabinoids were also tested, but by trial’s-end only CBD was found to have any effect at all on COVID-19-infected cells.

“We advocate carefully designed placebo-controlled clinical trials with known concentrations and highly-characterized formulations in order to define CBD’s role in preventing and treating early SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the authors recommend.

A preprint of the study is available in the journal Bio RXIV while it goes under peer review.

CBD is available legally, in various forms and in various ways, in Alaska, Maine, Colorado, California, Washington state, Oregon, Massachusetts, Vermont, Michigan, Nevada, and the District of Columbia.

Featured image: Martin Vincente, CC license

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Admirable Bosses Lead to More Productive Employees, Says Survey

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Good News Network

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Mar 17, 2021

American office workers would rather have more feedback from their managers than more money, a new poll has revealed.

The survey of 2,000 Americans examined the vital role manager-worker relationships play in the workplace.

Over a third of respondents are office workers (many of whom are now working from home due to the pandemic). They listed more feedback on their role as the number one thing (53%) they want to see more of from their boss, beating out extra compensation (48%), and more honest communication (48%).

The survey, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Motivosity, took a dive into our relationship with our bosses.

CHECK OUT: Survey Reveals Employees Would Likely Work Harder If Their Bosses Do One Simple Thing

The results found that, of respondents who have been employed (78%), seven in ten have admired one of their managers as a role model.

When it came to the top qualities respondents appreciated in a boss, positive attitude topped the list with 46%.

Communication skills (46%) and organizational skills (43%) also made it into the top three.

Logan Mallory, Vice President of Marketing at Motivosity said, “Managers are key to great company cultures. They impact how people feel about showing up to work every day. Essentially 46% of your team is asking for leaders who bring a positive attitude to work and communicate consistently. That requires an intentional approach and the right tools, but it doesn’t take massive budgets or years of training.”

A positive influence like an admirable boss can have a long-term influence, as 71% of respondents said their role models impact their behavior on a daily basis.

The average person has four role models in their lifetime, and range from family members like mothers (59%), fathers (61%), and grandparents (44%) to people respondents have never met.

Beyond personal relationships 45% of respondents said they admire a historical figure and two in five (42%) look up to a writer.

Forty percent have a politician as a motivator while over a third (35%) admire an activist and 38% consider a director or actor worthy of praise.

“Team members give their best effort when they’re working for someone they respect and trust,” said Logan Mallory of Motivosity. “The best managers act more like coaches: Set the right priorities, check-in with consistent 1 on 1s and take a consultative approach rather than being directive. If managers do that and make sure their team’s day-to-day work is noticed and appreciated, it makes all the difference.”

TOP THINGS WORKERS WANT MORE OF FROM THEIR BOSSES

More feedback on their role 53%
More money 48%
More honest communication 48%
Higher title 47%
More appreciation 41%
More recognition 41%
More frequent one-on-one meetings 40%
More responsibilities 38%
More transparency on company direction 38%
More willingness to listen to my feedback/concerns 21%

TOP THINGS WORKERS WANT LESS OF FROM THEIR BOSSES

Fewer pointless meetings 55%
Less last-minute emergencies 47%
Less micromanagement 40%
Fewer requests for me to work late/overtime 32%

SHARE the Results of This Intriguing Survey on Social Media—And Your Boss?

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” – Les Brown

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Mar 17, 2021

Quote of the Day: “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” – Les Brown

Photo by: Matthew Henry

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?

One of Archaeology’s Great Mysteries Nearly Solved as Scientists Piece Together 2,000-yo Astronomy Calculator

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 16, 2021

Computer model of how the Antikythera mechanism may have worked. Photograph- UCL — Computer model of how the Antikythera mechanism may have worked/UCL

Ever since the Antikythera Mechanism was fished out of the Peloponnesian Sea in 1901, it has remained one of the longest unsolved mysteries of archaeology.

Computer model of the mechanism’s gears/UCL

Akin to something portrayed in the Da Vinci Code or Dungeons and Dragons, the hand-powered, clockwork brass planetarium has befuddled everyone who has beheld it.

Yet more than a century since its discovery, researchers may have finally cracked the code and believe they understand enough about how all the different gearwheels work to build a functioning replica with modern tools.

“Many unsuccessful attempts have been made to reconcile the evidence with a display of the ancient Greek Cosmos of Sun, Moon, and all five planets known in antiquity,” reads the study of their findings, published in Nature.

Rehm, Price, Wright, Freeth, Jones, Carmen, Throndike, Evans—the names of scientists whose models and attempts to reproduce what’s described as the world’s first analogue computer stack like corded wood as the authors from University College London explain the history of understanding in the device.

The Antikythera Mechanism, Giovanni Dall’Orto/Wikimedia Commons

The Antikythera Mechanism is one of the most technologically sophisticated discoveries in the ancient world: a desk-mounted, computational, celestial observatory made of brass, powered by more than 30 individually formed gears mounted on other gears.

The device tracked the movements of the entire cosmos known at the time, displaying the location of all the planets up to Saturn, the phases of the moon, and the timing of eclipses.

MORE: Archaeologists in Egypt have Unearthed the World’s Oldest Known Beer Factory, Thought to Date Back 5,000 Years

The Antikythera Code

82 parts were fished out of the ruins of a merchant ship that wrecked off the coast of Antikythera, Greece, the brass pieces are badly corroded. X-ray and CT scans revealed the extent of the numerous inscriptions (see below) carved into the brass panels at the back and front—an operator’s manual essentially.

Encased in a wooden box about one foot tall, the device would swing into action with the turn of a hand crank.

The model of the cosmos in the device is consistent with the epicyclic theories of a 3rd-century BCE Greek astronomer called Apollonios of Perga, and another named Parmenides. Taken with Babylonian astronomical calculations, the UCL team used these ancient sources to decipher where each gear would have to have been fit to ensure everything moved in a way consistent with the models of the time.

Their model suggests that the front display of the planetarium would have depicted the cosmos in motion on concentric brass rings.

Unfortunately, for the scientists’ model to be accurate, they had to depict the movement of each celestial body with the Earth at the center, as ancient theory held, which made it far harder to reproduce than if the sun were placed at the center as is the case in reality.

Furthermore, while their calculations are correct, and inside of their reproduction they managed to fit all the gears into an extremely tight space, it relied upon the abilities of ancient Greeks to create a very unique component—a hollow, modular, central axel, each module of which would have to nest within another, handiwork that’s never been recorded from the period before.

“The concentric tubes at the core of the planetarium are where my faith in Greek tech falters, and where the model might also falter,” said Adam Wojcik to the Guardian, a materials scientist at UCL and part of the research team. “Lathes would be the way today, but we can’t assume they had those for metal.”

Who made the planetarium, what it was used for: whether it was a teaching device or something to astound warlords, and whether the team could successfully back-engineer it with the technologies of its day, are all still unknowns.

“Solving this complex 3D puzzle reveals a creation of genius—combining cycles from Babylonian astronomy, mathematics from Plato’s Academy, and ancient Greek astronomical theories,” write the authors.

(WATCH the video about the ancient computer below.)

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Texas and Philly Join Movement to Dim Lights at Night – Making it Safer for Migrating Birds

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 16, 2021

Since 1990, cities around the U.S. have gradually been cutting or dimming outdoor lights in order to help one of their most vulnerable populations—migratory birds.

Lights Out programs, organized by conservation and civil society groups like the Audubon Society, have sprung up in 20 different states, plus D.C. and Toronto, and involve enlisting the help of landlords, their tenants, and business owners to make cities safe for migratory birds in the spring and fall.

Birds use celestial clues to navigate thousands of miles along migration routes. Some of these routes involve passing through some of the largest and brightest cities in North America. The light pollution blots out the stars and other navigation points the birds use, causing them to collide with buildings.

Climate change, feral cats, habitat loss, and more take their toll on bird populations all over the country already, and collisions with buildings and powerlines are also a major hazard.

The most recent Lights Out program has organized itself in Philadelphia, where a squadron of different advocates are trying to get multi-story apartments and businesses to dim or cut their outdoor lights between April 1 through May 31, and from August 15 to November 15.

The advocates include the Building Owners and Managers Association of Philadelphia, (BOMA) which includes 475 addresses, and has managed to get an “extremely robust” response.

“We have some early adopters and the list is approaching 20 buildings, many of which are iconic and very recognizable members of the Philadelphia skyline, such as One and Two Liberty Place, Comcast Technology Center and Comcast Center, Mellon Bank Building and all of Brandywine Realty Trust’s Center City and University City buildings,” said BOMA executive director Kristine Kiphorn, according to Associated Press.

“We get to do our part in the community to help preserve the bird population, and we get to conserve energy at the same time, saving money for our tenants and our assets.”

MORE: Being Around Birds Makes Us Much Happier Says New Science

Gray catbirds, ovenbirds, common yellowthroats, and white-throated sparrows are among the most vulnerable species that pass through Philadelphia, falling prey not only to light pollution but reflective glass that may mirror the sky or trees.

Taking Conservation to Texas

Elsewhere, Laura Bush’s nonprofit, Texan By Nature, has helped bring about several Lights Out initiatives in Texas, as one out of every three migrating birds in the U.S—around one billion in total, pass through the Lone Star State.

“I know that you and all Texans care deeply about protecting wildlife and the ecosystems that will sustain us for generations to come,” Bush said in a letter, according to local news reports. “My vision is of a dark Texas sky, ensuring a safe flight for birds on their journey home.”

Lights Out Houston is organized solely by the local Audubon chapter, while Lights Out Dallas is supported by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Texas Conservation Alliance, and others.

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Medals Found in Dumpster Reveal Her Dad Was a WWII Hero But Never Told Anyone—WATCH

By

Judy Cole

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Mar 16, 2021

WWII family photos-Fox-46 Video mashup — Family photos on Fox 46 News exclusive - Fair use

You can find the most amazing things—from valuable artifacts to kitschy treasures—when you’re dumpster diving. But sometimes, trash trawling yields an heirloom that’s truly priceless—like the personal history of a hero.

Family photos on Fox 46 News exclusive – Fair use

U.S. Navy veteran Donald Helfer flew in 28 missions over enemy territory during WWII and was decorated for his bravery. Along with the Navy Flying Cross and a Bronze Star, Helfer even received a stirring letter from Harry Truman in which the President expressed his gratitude for helping “bring about the total defeat of the enemy” and offering the “heartfelt thanks of a grateful Nation.”

But Helfer was never one to seek glory. After leaving the military, he went on to become a police officer in upstate New York, eventually retiring to Florida. He passed away in 1993, taking the memories of his impressive military achievements with him—almost.

While Helfer’s children were aware of their dad’s stint in the navy, they never knew the true nature of his service. They were, however, about to make an incredible discovery concerning his forgotten legacy—all thanks to a serendipitous dumpster find in Hickory, North Carolina.

When a treasure trove of Helfer’s personal items—including medals, photos, identification, and military records—turned up in the Hickory dumpster, the man who found them immediately recognized their worth. (Helfer’s effects were likely discarded by whoever sorted through his late second wife’s Hickory estate and deemed them “not worth keeping.”)

MORE: D-Day Hero’s Lost Postcard Finally Delivered to his Family 77 Years After Being Sent

The finder turned over the cache to Navy vet and American Legion Post 544 Commander Jeff Truitt for safekeeping until Helfer’s relatives could be found. Truitt was able to locate Helfer’s grown children in Rochester, New York, and his daughter, Linda Delorey, living in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

“This could have just been left in the trash, but maybe this family can now have some closure and learn some things about what their father did,” Truitt told FOX News 46. “He was a hero.”

At the end of this past February, Delorey drove from Wilkesboro to Hickory to meet up with Truitt. Delorey found herself in awe as she turned the pages of the neatly organized binder Truitt had put together containing her father’s precious mementos.

Along with the never-before-seen snaps of her dad, for the first time, Delorey also saw a photo of her grandfather. It was like history unfolding before her eyes. Now that the family treasure has been restored, Delorey plans to share the bounty with her relatives as soon as she’s able.

“This guy was a hero in World War II,” Truitt told FOX. “He was just one of millions who served—and that’s his story that can be told forever now.”

(WATCH the Fox 46 News video about Truitt below.)

North Carolina-based writer Judy Cole has a new murder mystery / rom-com debuting on Kindle at Amazon: And Jilly Came Tumbling After (from Red Sky Presents).

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#WallStreetBets Traders Donate $300,000 to Adopt Gorillas From Dian Fossey Fund

By

Andy Corbley

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Mar 16, 2021

gorilla public domain max-christian unsplash — Max Christian

Reddit’s #WallStreetBets community has spent a combined $300,000 dollars on endangered wildlife conservation thanks to their recent plundering of New York hedge funds.

The snowballing philanthropy started when members suggested they ceremonially adopt a gorilla through the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund—which operates in the Virunga Mountains of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.

Further adoption ideas spawned from the gorilla initiative, as Redditors began posting images of their receipts from contributing to various wildlife programs including on behalf of snow leopards, bonobos, manatees, and warthogs.

By the time contributions had reached $300,000 on gorillas, even CNBC had featured a story about the Redditors’ charitable acts.

Did you see our adoptable gorilla Urungano on @cnbc @cnbcfastmoney with @melissaleecnbc today! Thank you to @Official_WSB for sharing their adoption of Urungano and helping us raise $311,110 since Saturday 👏❤️🦍❤️👏 pic.twitter.com/TgQUS3lAEp
— Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (@SavingGorillas) March 16, 2021

The original idea was an off-shoot of an internal moniker for the subreddit—The Ape Gang—reflecting their wild button pressing and mob rule strategy of stock investing. After the Fossey Fund took notice, they updated their homepage with a banner that quoted Planet of the Apes, and which read “Apes Together Strong.”

“The money these individuals have donated is an investment, not just in the Fossey Fund’s mission of Helping People, Saving Gorillas, but in our planet’s future,” Dr. Tara Stoinski, the director of Fossey, told Insider in a statement. “We rely on individual donors who give to us year after year because they know we can be relied upon to be careful stewards of their donations, no matter how large or small.”

Stoinski made a thank you video to the WallStreetBets community, thanking them for their support, which received more Reddit ‘awards’ than you could possibly count, and more than 158,000 upvotes.

Many of the gorillas were adopted under names like “Jim Cramer’s Tears,” and other troll-like aliases in response to the upsetting of the established apple cart, when WallStreetBets made headlines and history by leading their members in the equivalent of a 9th century-style Viking raid of the stock market.

Having discovered that major hedge funds had “shorted” a pair of stocks—AMC Entertainment and GameStop—to the tune of billions of dollars, the members grouped together and began bidding the price of these stocks up more than 300%, with GameStop reaching the five-hundreds at one point, having before sat at around $3 before the madness began.

The reason for the bidding was that the “shorting” the hedge funds were doing meant the hedge funds were beholden to buy back the stock after a period of time, regardless of where the price was. Essentially, if a Redditor bought in even at the inflated price of $100, he would sell it to the hedge funds for $300 if the “short squeeze” reached that high.

CHECK OUT: Majority of Millennials Are Investing – and They’re Actually Quite Good At It

Some of the WallStreetBets members pillaged tens of thousands of dollars this way, and the shock was so substantial to the system that trading platforms like Robin Hood, TD Ameritrade, and more, blocked all buying and selling orders at one point, something that’s never happened before.

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The Ever-Growing Pile of Electronic Waste is Now On the Decline, Study Finds

By

Good News Network

-

Mar 16, 2021

electronic waste dump trash john-cameron unsplash — John Cameron

A new study has found that the total mass of electronic waste generated by Americans has been declining since 2015.

In an age when most of us can’t imagine life without our digital devices, this surprising finding has ramifications for both how we think about electronic waste’s future and for the laws and regulations regarding e-waste recycling, according to the study’s authors.

The study, led by a researcher at the Yale School of the Environment’s Center for Industrial Ecology and published recently in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, says the biggest contributor to this decline is the disappearance of the large, bulky cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions and computer monitors from American homes,.

Callie Babbitt, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability and one of the study’s authors, explains that since about 2011, CRT displays have been on the decline in the waste stream, helping to lead the overall decline in total e-waste mass.

The actual number of electronic devices entering the waste stream is also leveling off or slightly declining, Babbitt and Althaf say. This is due to something that Babbitt terms “convergence”: gaming consoles, for example, can act as DVD players; smartphones are also cameras and video recorders. In the past, says Babbitt, people needed separate devices for each of those applications.

To amass the data necessary for their study, the authors focused on twenty categories of digital devices—including computers, smartphones, digital cameras, and audio-visual equipment—and disassembled dozens of products in a lab in order to determine the relative content of various important elements, in addition to relying on previously published data.

MORE: They Recycle Electronics – And People’s Lives – By Giving Ex-Felons Good Jobs to Imagine a Better World

“This is a very important finding that cuts against the widely held idea that electronic waste is the ‘fastest growing waste stream,’ ” says Reid Lifset, the editor-in-chief of the Yale-based Journal of Industrial Ecology. “It shifts our understanding of the problem with e-waste,” he says.

In the United States, since e-waste recycling is regulated at the state level, the patchwork of regulations makes it harder for companies to navigate if they wanted to make their products easier to recycle, says Babbitt.

A more holistic, federal approach could also help increase the overall capture of rare and crucial elements—like cobalt (used in lithium-ion batteries) or indium (found in flat-panel displays)—which are not environmentally toxic.

Shahana Althaf, the lead author on the study and a postdoctoral associate at the Yale Center for Industrial Ecology, notes that we should “see waste as a resource,” an opportunity, rather than a problem.

Source: Yale School of the Environment

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“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair

Quote of the Day

By

Good News Network

-

Mar 16, 2021

Quote of the Day: “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair

Photo by: Kiwihug

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?

Pioneering Arthritis Treatment For Dogs is Rolled Out And Vets Call it ‘Groundbreaking’

By

Good News Network

-

Mar 15, 2021

A world-first arthritis treatment for dogs is being rolled out, and vets are hailing it as “groundbreaking.”

The new biological therapy involves the synthesis of antibody molecules to eradicate pain caused by arthritis.

The antibodies have been manufactured in the USA by Zoeitus, the largest global animal health company, and Scotland’s dogs will be the first country to benefit—with eight veterinary clinics across the country distributing the treatments.

Apex Vets, near Falkirk, is one of those clinics, and 13-year-old cocker spaniel Chloe was recently brought in for treatment by her owner Anne McMenemy.

The pooch suffered for nearly ten years with dysplasia in her hind legs and front elbow, which later developed into arthritis. Unfortunately, the medicines available caused liver damage.

McMenemy said: “With this treatment… it’ll be a godsend not just for Chloe but for other dogs living with arthritis too. With her arthritis she’s not able to go out for much walks, if she can walk for 10 minutes instead of five that’d be good progress.”

Chloe will get treatments once a month, and Apex Vets’ co-director Doug Paterson says the new treatment feels like “the next big leap in science.”

MORE: 10 Years After Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Two Men Are Still Living There Taking Care of Everyone’s Pets

“You are not going to have the kidneys suffering or have gastric ulcerations which can be side effects from arthritis medicines,” he explained. “As dogs get older, we have to be careful of giving them anti-inflammatory drugs. With these antibodies, you don’t have these issues.”

That’s hopeful news indeed.

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Look for These Celestial Wonders in the Night Sky Through the Rest of March

By

Good News Network

-

Mar 15, 2021

We’re halfway through the month of March, and though the days are getting longer—these crisp, clear nights are still a perfect time for stargazing.

What can you expect to see if you look up at the darkness over the coming weeks? So much, it turns out. Let’s take a look at three celestial highlights that will bring us through till April.

Ursa Major ‘springs’ up

When: Through March

Identified more than 30,000 years ago, Ursa Major—or the Great Bear—has appeared low in the sky through winter.

Now that it’s springtime, that iconic asterism of seven bright stars has ‘sprung’ back up from its low position to appear high in the northeast sky. All this to say, the Big Dipper is back.

The Moon and Mars have a meet-up

When: March 19

Earth’s only natural satellite and the Red Planet will appear very closely together on Friday evening. Look up then and see a waxing crescent moon appear in conjunction with Mars, with both just above the Taurus star of Aldebaran.

The night of March 19 is a special one for one more reason: As the clock hands swipe past midnight, at 4:37am Central Daylight Time on March 20 it’ll become vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.

Each night from then on, as the lengthening days move closer to the summer solstice, you’ll find the sun setting just that bit farther north.

The ‘Super Worm Moon’ glitters, full and bright

When: March 28

Also called the Crow Moon, the Sugar Moon, the Wind Strong Moon, and the Sap Moon, watch the full ‘Super Worm Moon’ rise on March 28.

When it’s low on the horizon it’ll appear a brilliant, rich orange—and very, very large.

As the super moon climbs farther and farther in the sky, it’ll lose its orange hue and outsized appearance. All that to say, make sure to look up around dusk. Enjoy the view.

CHECK OUT: See the Stunning Winners of the Northern Lights Photographer of the Year Competition

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