These off-duty police officers are a perfect example of how couples who dine together can also protect and serve together.
Detective Chase McKeown and Officer Nicole McKeown have been married for six months after meeting each other as co-workers at the Elizabethtown Police Department.
The couple had been out on their weekly Saturday date night at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in Louisville, Kentucky when a man entered the restaurant wearing a mask.
At first, the McKeowns thought the man needed help—but when they saw the cashier raise her hands in alarm, they realized the man was attempting to rob the restaurant at gunpoint.
“I saw her hands go up like this and I’m like, ‘Is he doing what I think he’s doing?’” Nicole told reporters as she recalled the evening’s events at a news conference on Tuesday. “And [Chase was] like, ‘Yeah.’”
“There was literally no question. We just looked at each other: ‘Is this what’s going on? Let’s go,’” Chase added. “We just did what we felt like we had to do.”
Security footage then shows Mr. and Mrs. McKeown drawing their firearms and advancing on the 30-year-old suspect, warning him to drop his gun.
The robber runs out the door with the McKeowns in hot pursuit. He was eventually taken into custody after the married police officers cornered him in a nearby residential yard and held him at gunpoint until backup arrived.
Since they first shared dinner at Raising Cane’s on their wedding night, Chase and Nicole have been going there every Saturday—but this week was, by far, the most eventful date since.
(WATCH the video below)
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Quote of the Day: “Life acquires meaning when we face the conflict between our desires and reality.” – Deng Ming-dao
Photo: by léa b – public domain
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It has been four years since Natalie Reilly first began writing love notes to first responders with her mother—and despite her mom losing a long battle with cancer, Reilly is still going strong.
Ever since her mother passed away the Arizona daughter has been managing Nothing But Love Notes: an organization dedicated to writing cards to firefighters and police officers.
To date, Reilly has written and distributed more than twenty thousand cards.
“Somewhere along the way I lost my mother, my best friend and biggest cheerleader, but I gained something I never would have expected … an entire community of amazing people who support me, our mission, and our nation’s heroes!” writes Reilly.
But that’s not the only fairytale ending.
Not only have her letters helped to cheer thousands of people, her labor of love also led to love for herself—a new boyfriend, a retired police officer who received one of her letters last year.
An American architect has put his own money and years of struggle on the line to begin building a modern neighborhood that would generate its own power using a closed loop system that would also recycle all the waste and generate all the food.
Officials in the Netherlands have given James Ehrlich an initial green light to construct at least one eco-village 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam, and he hopes to break ground on the project sometime this year.
Ehrlich founded ReGen Villages in 2016 as a startup company intending to disrupt the way the world thinks about housing, development and transportation, and how these CO2-heavy sectors can be overhauled to create a green, self-sustaining lifestyle.
The master plan is for 200-300 homes in the town of Almere where infrastructure permits were approved in 2018.
The vision is a grand one: While incorporating entirely self-sustainable systems for waste management, water treatment, and food production, electricity would be generated through solar, biogas from food and animal waste, and geothermal sources.
Special aquaponic gardens would combine fish farming with aquatic agriculture that allow residents to cultivate a sustainable micro-ecosystem to produce fish and produce.
Rendering by ReGen Villages
Human waste would be composted to feed the ecosystems, with the fish waste providing a critical source of fertilizer for the gardens.
But there are two bigger issues for ReGen Villages: “The two greatest challenges we face are financial support and political will,” the founder told the New York Times.
The company is trying to wrap up a funding round of €16 million in private equity investment for operating expenses needed for the first village and for “master planning the next couple of concurrent developments.”
The homes, to be situated on at least 61 acres of land in the Oosterwold District, would cost according to DutchReview magazine between €200,000 to €850,000 ($216,000–$918,000) depending on the size and luxury of the house.
Continuing the closed-loop ecosystem model, each family home will have a greenhouse attached to it for growing personal crops, and rainwater catch-and-filter systems. The energy and food systems would be managed by ReGen’s staff, but residents could also work in the communal farming systems to reduce the monthly cost of their food and energy fees, which would be charged along with their mortgages.
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Two “priceless” bonsai trees have been returned to their rightful home at a Washington state museum after they were stolen last week.
The Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington, is home to more than 100 rare and ancient bonsai trees. On February 9th, museum staffers were left frantic with worry when they discovered that a pair of 70-year-old trees had been taken from the facility.
One of the trees, a Japanese Black Pine, was particularly notable for being grown out of a tin can by a Japanese-American man incarcerated in a World War II internment camp.
The museum quickly made a social media post begging for information on the trees’ whereabouts.
“This is a tremendous loss, not only to our collection but there is a strong likelihood that the trees will perish. These trees have been cared for every day for more than 70 years, and if that daily care doesn’t continue the trees will die,” wrote Aarin Packard, Pacific Bonsai Museum Curator.
The post was shared across the internet until—just 72 hours after their reported theft—museum security guards found the two stolen trees sitting on the roadside near the museum.
Although one of the trees had suffered from some minor broken branches, they were in surprisingly good condition following the heist.
They were put back on display later that very same day and museum staffers thanked members of the public for helping to bring the bonsais back home.
They announced that they now plan on installing an updated security system thanks to the sudden influx of online donations following the trees’ return.
“THANK YOU to everyone who helped share the news of the missing bonsai and perhaps made them ‘too hot to hold,’” wrote the museum. “We are so grateful to all of you.
“We have also noted your good suggestions that we could use a security system upgrade. Many of you have made donations to implement such an upgrade and safeguard the collection—THANK YOU!”
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This dynamic duo is winning hearts across social media since photos of their sweet friendship went viral this week.
Herman the pigeon was rescued from a car dealership in Hilton, New York one year ago. The hapless bird, which turned out to be suffering from some neurological condition, had been found sitting on the pavement for three days before his rescuers realized he was unable to fly.
After wildlife specialists declared Herman untreatable, they prepared to euthanize him—that’s when Sue Rogers stepped in to save him.
Rogers is the founder of The Mia Foundation, a Rochester-based nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating animals with physical defects and deformities.
Over the course of the last year, Rogers has cared for Herman, keeping him in a crib when not on daily outings to stimulate his little legs.
More recently, however, Herman was paired with an unlikely roommate: a Chihuahua puppy named Lundy who is unable to move his hind legs due to “swimmer’s syndrome”.
When Lundy’s owners in South Carolina realized that he was disabled, they sent him off to live with the Mia Foundation—and Rogers was amazed by how quickly he befriended his feathered roommate.
Rogers had only briefly placed the two critters together in a bed before they started snuggling. They have since become virtually inseparable.
Furthermore, the foundation has been flooded with thousands of dollars in donations since Rogers posted some photos of Herman and Lundy to social media last week.
“I never imagined the pictures of Lundy and Herman would touch so many people! Almost 5 million people in a little over 24 hours!! Their little story is being shared all over the world!” wrote Rogers.
“And thank you also for the donations coming in,” she added. “We really do need them as we have a few surgeries coming up soon! It brings me to tears to think that our little Herman (the pigeon) is known worldwide now! I’ve been called crazy for keeping Herman alive and trying to make his life a happy one. And Lundy… well, who wouldn’t love that sweet little nugget?”
Mia Foundation
Since they story has been shared across the internet, several people have offered to adopt Lundy once his general health is assured—but Rogers now knows that she will be hard-pressed to separate the pup from his new friend in the future.
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved the “world’s first” portable MRI machine that easily scans a patient and is 20 times cheaper than current systems.
The device, which was developed by Hyperfine Research Inc. as a safe and practical way of getting accurate brain images at a patient’s bedside, will be ready for commercial shipments in the summer following this week’s 510(k) clearance from the FDA.
In addition to the Hyperfine system being far cheaper than today’s fixed conventional MRI machines, it also consumes 35 times less power and weighs 10 times lighter.
“Nearly six years ago, we assembled an astounding team,” said Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, founder and chairman of Hyperfine Research. “They took the 10 million-fold improvements in computing power since MRI was invented, and the best of the billions invested in green electronics, and built something astonishing, something disruptive.”
The FDA approved the system following a number of positive clinical results which will be presented this week at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2020 in Los Angeles, a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health.
According to the preliminary research, 85 stroke patients (46% women, age 18-96, 46% ischemic stroke, 34% intracerebral hemorrhage, 20% subarachnoid hemorrhage) received bedside, low-field MRI within seven days of symptom onset. The exam time averaged about 30 minutes, and most patients were able to complete the entire exam. However, five patients could not fit into the 30-centimeter opening of the MRI machine, and six patients experienced claustrophobia, factors which halted their test.
Photo by Hyperfine Research Inc.
“We’ve flipped the concept from having to get patients to the MRI to bringing the MRI to the patients,” said Kevin Sheth, senior author and chief physician, Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology at Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. “This early work suggests our approach is safe and viable in a complex clinical care environment.”
Currently, patients must travel to the location of a high-field MRI device. However, advances in low-field MRI have enabled acquisition of clinically useful images.
“High-field magnets are the cornerstone of commercial MRIs. The portable, low-field MRI could be used at hospitals that currently have a high-field MRI and in any other setting where an MRI is currently not available,” says Sheth.
He added that the portable MRI devices will also decrease need for a special power supply, cooling requirements, cost, and other barriers that currently limit easy patient access
Additionally, the low-field, bedside MRI scanner did not interfere with other equipment, and metals did not need to be removed from the room. No significant adverse events were reported.
In rural settings and in remote villages of the world where it’s hard to get an MRI, this advancement is a game changer, but Sheth’s work is not done. The team’s next steps will include scanning more patients, improving image quality, using the devices in multiple settings and using machine learning to extract as much meaningful information as possible.
Quote of the Day: “To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. It is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking” – Agnes De Mille
Photo: by Allef Vinicius – public domain
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This devoted dad helped deliver their baby at home using just one hand after his wife went into labor and gave birth on their couch.
Rhys Darby had been left with just one working arm after he took a nasty fall during a friendly football game and broke his thumb in three places. For eight weeks, Darby’s left arm was in a bright blue plaster cast that stretched from his knuckles to the middle of his forearm.
Despite his handicap, however, 28-year-old Darby welcomed his baby daughter Ariana by safely catching her in one hand—all while simultaneously juggling towels and a cell phone.
Darby’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jade Brown went into labour in the middle of the night at their home in Sunderland, England last summer.
“I had the cast on one hand and a phone in the other—trying to deliver a baby!” recalled Darby. “I was running around trying to find towels while the woman on the line was trying to give me instructions.
“I bent down and stuck my hand out and the baby just came out. The ambulance arrived two minutes later and they cut the umbilical cord. I said: ‘It’s alright—I’ve done your job for you!’”
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“It’s funny—Jade was adamant in the run up that she didn’t want me near the business area during the birth,” he quipped. “I should have brought my baseball glove—then it would have been fine! But it was quite scary.”
A week earlier, Brown’s water had broke after she bent down to pick up a sock. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, they were sent home because she had not been dilated enough.
“We were told to come back at the next afternoon if nothing happened and they would start her off, so we went home,” says Darby. “Jade tried to get some sleep, but by 2AM, the pain was overwhelming.”
Brown added: “I was trying to just breathe through [the contractions] but they were getting more intense so I went downstairs and sat with Rhys.
Rhys Darby, Jade Brown, and 7-month-old Ariana.
“I was squeezing his hand every time I got a contraction, but as time went on, I couldn’t cope with the pain and told Rhys we needed to go to the hospital.”
They called for a taxi, but when things got more serious, Darby dialed 999 and was connected to an operator who told him the ambulance was on the way. When the situation escalated further, however, he had to get involved.
“After a few pushes, our baby girl Ariana was born on the settee,” says Brown. “I remember lying with her on my chest and I couldn’t believe how quick it all happened.”
Ariana’s official time of birth was 4:23AM.
“Jade had no pain relief apart from a couple of paracetamol and some gas and air in the ambulance,” recalls Darby.
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“I had wanted to do the honor of cutting the umbilical cord, but the paramedics said I shouldn’t, because of the situation.
“Apparently we were quite lucky. Lots of stuff could have gone wrong. Ariana is a miracle, really. She was conceived two months after Jade had a miscarriage.”
Brown added: “I was so glad that Rhys got to be so involved with the birth of our baby girl and I am so proud of him for delivering her—especially with a cast on his arm.
“He was amazing during and after the birth and he’s an amazing dad to Ariana.”
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Multi-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has just launched a new fund which will issue grants to charities and innovators working to fight the climate crisis.
Bezos announced the creation of his Bezos Earth Fund on Instagram this week. According to the post, Bezos will begin doling $10 billion in grants to environmental groups starting this summer.
“Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” wrote Bezos. “I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.
“This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs—any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.
“We can save Earth,” he concluded. “It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals. I’m committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common—let’s protect it, together.”
Although details on the fund are currently sparse, Amazon sources confirmed the creation of the fund to The Verge, adding that Bezos has made it clear that he will not be offering any of the grants to the private sector—only charitable recipients.
While environmental groups have been skeptical of the billionaire’s promises, it is one of several initiatives that Bezos and Amazon have taken towards encouraging sustainability; this week alone, Bezos rolled out a new fleet of fully electric rickshaws in India, adding to the company’s global fleet of electric delivery vehicles.
Back in September, Amazon became the first company to sign the Climate Pledge: a commitment which calls on participants to achieve net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Accord’s goal of 2050.
“Bold steps by big companies will make a huge difference in the development of new technologies and industries to support a low carbon economy,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate change chief and founding partner of Global Optimism. “With this step, Amazon also helps many other companies to accelerate their own decarbonization. If Amazon can set ambitious goals like this and make significant changes at their scale, we think many more companies should be able to do the same and will accept the challenge. We are excited to have others join.”
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The current Air-gen device can power small devices. Photo by UMass Amherst/Yao and Lovley labs.
Researchers are rejoicing over their newly-developed contraption that can generate clean electricity “from thin air”.
Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have designed a device that uses a natural protein to create electricity from moisture in the air: a new technology they say could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy, climate change and in the future of medicine.
As reported this week in Nature, the laboratories of electrical engineer Jun Yao and microbiologist Derek Lovley at UMass Amherst have created a device they call an “Air-gen” or air-powered generator, with electrically conductive protein nanowires produced by the microbe Geobacter.
The Air-gen connects electrodes to the protein nanowires in such a way that electrical current is generated from the water vapor naturally present in the atmosphere.
“We are literally making electricity out of thin air,” says Yao. “The Air-gen generates clean energy 24/7.”
Lovely, who has advanced sustainable biology-based electronic materials over three decades, adds, “It’s the most amazing and exciting application of protein nanowires yet.”
The new technology developed in Yao’s lab is non-polluting, renewable and low-cost. It can generate power even in areas with extremely low humidity such as the Sahara Desert. It has significant advantages over other forms of renewable energy including solar and wind, Lovley says, because unlike these other renewable energy sources, the Air-gen does not require sunlight or wind, and “it even works indoors.”
Graphic image of a thin film of protein nanowires generating electricity from atmospheric humidity. Photo by UMass Amherst/Yao and Lovley labs.
The Air-gen device requires only a thin film of protein nanowires less than 10 microns thick, the researchers explain. The bottom of the film rests on an electrode, while a smaller electrode that covers only part of the nanowire film sits on top. The film adsorbs water vapor from the atmosphere.
A combination of the electrical conductivity and surface chemistry of the protein nanowires, coupled with the fine pores between the nanowires within the film, then establishes the conditions that generate an electrical current between the two electrodes.
The researchers say that the current generation of Air-gen devices are able to power small electronics, and they expect to bring the invention to commercial scale soon.
The current Air-gen device can power small devices. Photo by UMass Amherst/Yao and Lovley labs.
Next, the scientists plan to continue their research by developing a small Air-gen “patch” that can power electronic wearables such as health and fitness monitors and smart watches, which would eliminate the requirement for traditional batteries.
They also hope to develop Air-gens to apply to cell phones to eliminate periodic charging.
Yao says: “The ultimate goal is to make large-scale systems. For example, the technology might be incorporated into wall paint that could help power your home. Or, we may develop stand-alone air-powered generators that supply electricity off the grid.
“Once we get to an industrial scale for wire production, I fully expect that we can make large systems that will make a major contribution to sustainable energy production.”
In addition to the Air-gen, Yao’s laboratory has developed several other applications with the protein nanowires. “This is just the beginning of new era of protein-based electronic devices,” he said.
For the last 20 years, a married couple in India has been buying up tracts of land surrounding one of the country’s biggest and most famous tiger reserves.
Although the land started as a barren swath of shrub land, it has since become a lush green oasis for wandering wildlife.
Aditya Singh and his wife Poonam first moved to the the outskirts of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan after he quit his job in civil services back in 1998. After they fell in love with the landscape, they moved onto a nearby property so they could fulfill their dream of being closer to nature.
As the years passed, they began buying up the land surrounding the tiger reserve in order to give the big cats extra room to roam.
“As far as this land is concerned, it was a dream that we both saw and achieved together to have our own area of wilderness,” Poonam told Mongabay India.
The couple has since bought roughly 40 acres worth of land, which is now estimated to be worth about $140,000. Apart from clearing the land of invasive species, however, the Singhs refuse to touch the land.
Their determination to keep the land open to leopards, tigers, and boars has attracted dozens of local wildlife species back to the rejuvenated landscape. The forest now boasts two different watering holes and several wandering big cats, too.
Their conservational labor of love has inspired other couples in the region to try and launch similar projects in their own regions.
“Money was never the consideration. It is just about my love for nature and wildlife. Instead, these days I am getting queries from people across India who want to replicate a similar model in their state,” says Mr. Singh.
The Singhs don’t plan on stopping their mission any time soon—in fact, they now hope to continue buying up land while they build a sustainable, solar-powered homestay for themselves on the property.
(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Mongabay India
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This compassionate doctor decided to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day by picking up the bill for his patients’ visits.
As a means of honoring the heartwarming holiday, Dr. Don Rice covered the co-pays for all 80 of his patients who stopped by the Urgent Care Clinic of Lincoln, Nebraska on Monday.
Instead of giving the patients a bill, Dr. Rice gave them small cards that explained his reasoning for the free visits along with the hashtag #KindnessIsContagious.
Collectively, Dr. Rice says he spent $4,000 on his’ co-pays.
The physician’s generous gesture was reportedly inspired by the recent death of a family friend who—despite having two different kinds of cancer—was constantly being kind to other people.
“I think that we have a culture that sometimes forgets that we can have a much better world if we start being kinder to each other,” Rice told 10/11 News in the interview below.
(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photo by 10/11 News
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Quote of the Day: “If I can dream, I can act and if I can act, I can become.” – Poh Yu Khing
Photo: by Austin Distel – public domain
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These artistic masterpieces have been created by a massive lizard—and they have been raising money to benefit other animals and humans affected by the Australian bushfires.
Winston the Argentinian tegu lizard creates the paintings by dipping his claws and tail into different paints before thrashing against the canvas.
Winston’s owner, a graphic designer from Michigan named Sarah Curry, has been putting the lizard’s works up for auction where they sell for between $30 and $75. Additionally, his prints have been going for $15 to $30.
Curry says that Winston had been left on the doorstep of the Great Lakes Zoological Society back in October after being neglected by his former owners.
“I got him from a rescue in Bay City, Michigan,” says the 31-year-old pet owner. “He was once owned by someone who was not sure about his needs so they couldn’t provide the proper care he needed to thrive.
“They eventually dropped him off in a box in front of a zoo at the Great Lakes Zoological Society. He was underweight, his skin was not in good shape, and he needed some TLC.
Winston, the Argentine Tegu lizard, with his owner Sarah Curry. SWNS.
“The zoo got him back to great health and kept him as an educational animal to teach children about how wonderful reptiles are.
When the zoo went out of business, however, Winston was sent to an animal rescue where he was later adopted by Curry—and they have been best buddies ever since.
“An average day of caring for him is cleaning, feeding, and hanging out with him. He likes to try to help me out with chores in his room, but he doesn’t realize that he makes it a bit difficult,” says Curry.
“Sometimes he likes to steal my paper towels away from me—or the broom. Then he has to climb up my back while I am scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees. He likes to micromanage.
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“After we are done cleaning, he likes to relax with me on my lap. He knows how to help himself.”
Considering Winston’s talent for making a mess, Curry always wondered whether Winston could put his skills to a canvas—so when she began searching for a way to raise money for the Australian bushfire relief, she decided to let her pet lizard take a crack at painting.
“I have always wanted to see how well he will do with paint. But I was always nervous about chemicals being a problem.
“With Australia facing the fires and devastation, I wanted to do something to help,” says Curry. “So, I did some research after speaking to zookeepers and vets and I … read up on different paints.
One of Winston’s artworks. SWNS.
“Then I just let Winston do what he does best… make a big mess!” says Curry. “They turned out beautiful and he seemed to enjoy how the paint felt on his feet.
So far, Curry and Winston have raised over $1,000 in revenue from the paintings, all of which they have donated to the Australia Fire Relief fund.
“Everyone on Winston’s social media pages are just amazing. Some were skeptical but later learned that Winston is a giant, intelligent, fun-loving lizard.
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“It has been great to see their views change as they continue to be a part of our page. Some are scared at first so it is natural to ask questions. After talking with them, they usually become more open-minded and willing to learn more.
“Then as time goes by, their fears tend to almost disappear and they eventually forget Winston is a lizard and not a dog.
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“Our followers always support us and we enjoy them very much. It is great to have that friendship connection with them after having so many follow us for so long.
“They know so much about Winston now as if he has been living with them. I owe a lot to each and every one of them.
“I don’t think they realize how much they mean to me to be a part of this adventure with Winston.”
If you want to follow Winston on social media, be sure and check out his Instagram or Facebook page.
(WATCH the video below)
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The scent of a romantic partner can improve sleep, suggests new psychology research from the University of British Columbia.
The researchers found that study participants who were exposed to their partner’s scent overnight experienced better sleep quality, even though their partner was not physically present.
“Our findings provide new evidence that merely sleeping with a partner’s scent improves sleep efficiency. Our participants had an average sleep efficiency improvement of more than two per cent,” said Marlise Hofer, the study’s lead author and a graduate student in the UBC department of psychology. “We saw an effect similar in size to what has been reported from taking oral melatonin supplements—often used as a sleep aid.”
For the study, the researchers analyzed sleep data from 155 participants who were given two identical-looking t-shirts to use as pillowcases—one had been previously worn by their romantic partner, and the other had either been previously worn by a stranger or was clean.
To capture body odor on the t-shirts, the participants’ partners were given a clean t-shirt to wear for 24 hours, and were asked to refrain from using deodorant and scented body products, smoking, exercising, and eating certain foods that could affect their body odor. The t-shirts were then frozen to preserve their scent.
Each participant was then given two shirts to place over their pillows, without being told which one was which. They spent two consecutive nights sleeping with each t-shirt. Each morning, they completed a survey about how well-rested they felt. Their sleep quality was also objectively measured using an actigraphy sleep watch that monitored their movements throughout the night. At the end of the study, participants guessed if the shirts they had been sleeping with had previously been worn by their partner.
Participants reported feeling more well-rested on the nights when they believed they were sleeping with their partner’s scent. Moreover, regardless of their beliefs about scent exposure, data from the sleep watches indicated that objective sleep improved when participants were actually exposed to their partner’s scent.
“One of the most surprising findings is how a romantic partner’s scent can improve sleep quality even outside of our conscious awareness,” said Frances Chen, the study’s senior author and associate professor in the UBC department of psychology. “The sleep watch data showed that participants experienced less tossing and turning when exposed to their partners’ scent, even if they weren’t aware of whose scent they were smelling.”
The researchers say the physical presence of a long-term romantic partner is associated with positive health outcomes such as a sense of safety, calm and relaxation, which in turn leads to better sleep. By signaling recent physical proximity, the mere scent of a partner may have similar benefits.
Photo by Gregory Pappas/Unsplash
Hofer says the research could pave the way for future work examining the efficacy of simple and effective methods of improving sleep, such as bringing a partner’s shirt the next time you travel alone.
The researchers are currently recruiting participants for a pilot study to investigate whether the scent of parents can improve their infant’s sleep quality.
The research findings have been accepted for publication in Psychological Science.
When these anxious parents were flying home with their newly-adopted daughter, they received a flood of encouragement and support from dozens of their fellow passengers.
Back in November, Caren and Dustin Moore had been on their way home to California after becoming the proud parents to an 8-day-old baby girl they had adopted through an agency in Colorado.
“With clearance to return home to California, my wife carried our precious bundle, while I offered numerous apologies to passengers while maneuvering the aisle with 4 bags,” Dustin recalled in a recent Twitter thread. “About mid-flight, our daughter awoke and politely informed us she wanted a new diaper.
“After inquiring about space for a table change, a thoughtful flight attendant named Jenny cleared a space in the back of the plane and gave us privacy.”
As the doting dad changed his daughter’s diaper, the flight attendant—along with a fellow passenger—politely asked why he was flying with such a young child.
“I gave them the shortened adoption story, to which they hastily offered congratulations, and shared a few more kind remarks,” Dustin wrote. “About 10 minutes later, another attendant (named Bobby) greeted us with a warm smile, and inquired about our daughter.”
“We repeated the story with a few details, and he congratulated us before walking away. My wife and I exchanged curious looks, but thought nothing more about it.”
To their shock, Bobby’s voice came on over the intercom a few minutes later announcing the Moores’ adoption—and the plane erupted in a rousing wave of cheers and applause.
Bobby then told the passengers that he would be passing out pens and napkins so everyone could write notes of encouragement for the new parents.
The crew gathered the napkins, then read a few of their favorites over the intercom.
Bobby and Jenny ended up collecting more than 60 napkin messages for the Moores. When asked what prompted them to announce the spontaneous baby shower, they told Dustin and Caren that when they themselves had gotten married, another crew of flight attendants had done the same thing on their honeymoon flight. They were now paying the good deed forward to the Moores.
Dustin only ended up sharing the sweet story to Twitter earlier this month because he had become sick and tired of seeing so much negativity on social media.
When I had spoken w/ Jenny, she thought it was a perfect opportunity to pay forward the kind act they had been shown on their honeymoon.
Even as we disembarked, people kept approaching us and wishing us well, and complimenting our beautiful daughter. Our hearts were full. /10
The impromptu baby shower had been particularly moving for him and his wife because they had been feeling vulnerable and nervous following their daughter’s adoption.
“What all of those perfect strangers and attendants did not know was the emotionally tender state of two brand-new parents,” wrote Dustin. “Parents who—after 9 years of trying—had been blessed with their first child. Parents who felt scared, but determined in their new role
“The outpouring of love from that flight, brought on by the actions of two thoughtfully observant flight attendants… it exceeds my ability to describe what it meant to us. How much those wings and written notes uplifted two new parents determined to love their new daughter. ”
Caren and Dustin have since arranged the napkin notes in a scrapbook which they hope to one day pass on to their daughter.
This website is used oft as a means to share what’s wrong.
I hope you’ll take time to share what is good. In a world of turmoil, don’t forget to showcase the Bobby’s and Jenny’s, the kind strangers out there.
Photo by CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science
Photo by CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science
Researchers have developed a new approach to designing more sustainable buildings—and they’re doing it with the help of some very tiny contractors.
In a study that appeared last month in the journal Matter, engineer Wil Srubar and his colleagues at the University of Colorado Boulder describe their strategy for using bacteria to develop building materials that live, multiply, and deliver a lower carbon footprint to boot.
“We already use biological materials in our buildings, like wood, but those materials are no longer alive,” said Srubar, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. “We’re asking: Why can’t we keep them alive and have that biology do something beneficial, too?”
You can’t buy these microorganisms turned bricks at your local Home Depot just yet, but the researchers say that their ability to keep their bacteria alive with a high success rate shows that living buildings might not be too far off in the future.
Such structures could one day heal their own cracks, suck up dangerous toxins from the air, or even glow on command.
“The sky’s the limit for our creativity,” Srubar said.
Photo by CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science
The same might not be true for today’s more corpse-like building materials, which he said can be costly and polluting to manufacture; making the cement and concrete alone needed for roads, bridges, skyscrapers and other structures generates nearly 6% of the world’s annual emissions of carbon dioxide.
Srubar’s solution is to hire some bacteria for the job.
In particular, he and his colleagues experimented with cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Synechococcus. Under the right conditions, these green microbes absorb carbon dioxide gas to help them grow and make calcium carbonate—the main ingredient in limestone and, as it turns out, cement.
To begin the manufacturing process, the researchers inoculate colonies of cyanobacteria into a solution of sand and gelatin. With the right tweaks, the calcium carbonate churned out by the microbes mineralize the gelatin which binds together the sand—and, presto, a brick.
“It’s a lot like making rice crispy treats where you toughen the marshmallow by adding little bits of hard particles,” Srubar said.
As an added bonus, such bricks would actually remove carbon dioxide from the air, not pump it back out.
They’re durable, too. In the new study, the team discovered that under a range of humidity conditions, they have about the same strength as the mortar used by contractors today.
“You can step on it and it won’t break,” he said.
The researchers also discovered that they could make their material reproduce. Chop one of these bricks in half, and each of half is capable of growing into a new brick.
Those new bricks are resilient: According to the group’s calculations, roughly 9-14% of the bacterial colonies in their materials were still alive after 30 days and three different generations in brick form. Bacteria added to concrete to develop self-healing materials, in contrast, tend to have survival rates of less than 1%.
“We know that bacteria grow at an exponential rate,” Srubar said. “That’s different than how we, say, 3D-print a block or cast a brick. If we can grow our materials biologically, then we can manufacture at an exponential scale.”
He notes that there’s a lot of work to do before that happens. The team’s cyanobacteria, for example, need humid conditions to survive—something that’s not possible in more arid regions of the world. So he and his team are working to engineer microbes that are more resistant to drying out so they remain alive and functional.
The possibilities, however, are big. Srubar imagines a future in which suppliers could mail out sacks filled with the desiccated ingredients for making living building materials. Just add water, and people on site could begin to grow and shape their own microbial homes.
“Nature has figured out how to do a lot of things in a clever and efficient way,” Srubar said. “We just need to pay more attention.”
A compassionate cab driver is being hailed for saving an elderly woman from getting scammed out of $25,000 two weeks ago.
Raj Singh, who is the owner of Roseville Cabs in California, was called to pick up a 92-year-old woman from her home in Sun City and take her to a nearby bank. As they were driving to the bank, however, the woman revealed some alarming details about her trip.
The woman told Singh that she had received a call from an IRS employee telling her that she owed the government $25,000. She was on her way to the bank so she could withdraw the funds and settle her debt as quickly as possible.
Singh knew that the phone call sounded fishy. He then asked the woman if he could call the “IRS employee” to ask him some questions. Upon calling the number, the man posing as the government agent claimed he didn’t know the woman. When Singh pressured him for more details, the man blocked Singh’s number.
The woman was still hesitant about the scam, so Singh took a detour to the Roseville Police Department and asked for an officer to sit down with her.
Sure enough, an officer sat down with the woman and confirmed that it was a scam. After Singh took the woman home, the officers posted about his good deed to Facebook.
As a thank-you for Singh’s gesture, the officers also invited him back to the station and presented him with a $50 gift card.
“We love this story because several times throughout, Raj could have just taken his customer to her stop and not worried about her wellbeing,” they wrote. “He took time from his day and had the great forethought to bring the almost-victim to the police station for an official response.
“His quick thinking saved a senior citizen $25,000 and for that, we greatly appreciate his efforts,” added the department.
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Quote of the Day: “It is nearly impossible to be here now when you think there is somewhere else to be.” – Guru Gobind Singh
Photo: by Edu Lauton – public domain
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