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Goat-Inspired ‘Forestry Robot’ Will Examine Trees, Count Species, Collect Ticks, and Scan for Historic Artifacts

By
Andy Corbley
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Forestry expert Anna Wierzbicka who's involved with the robot's development - credit, Wierzbicka, via Facebook
Forestry expert Anna Wierzbicka who’s involved with the robot’s development – credit, Wierzbicka, via Facebook

With 30% of Poland still covered in forests, the nation’s foresters play many critical roles—soon to be aided with the world’s first goat-inspired forestry robot.

The robogoat is envisioned to perform many crucial tasks that foresters are trained to do in difficult terrain, including compiling tree inventories, land surveys, tick collection, species counting, and even archaeological surveying.

It’s being designed at the University of Life Sciences in Poznan (UPP) with the help of scientists from Italy and Cyprus, making it a cross-continental effort predicted to substantially aid in addressing forest-related issues as the continent struggles with a severe dearth of employees in the forestry profession.

With around 2,000 protected areas of forest in Europe, there’s no shortage of work that the robot, envisioned to cost around 1.8 million euro to develop, could or should do.

These span from the flat woodlands of the country’s Puszcza Zielonka National Park to rocky and uneven ground of a Mediterranean climate. As a result, mobility was to be a chief focus of this early stage in development.

“For now, we have the idea that this will be a walking robot, with legs similar to an Alpine chamois to enable it to move over steep mountain slopes,” UPP’s Anna Wierzbicka told TVP World, a Polish news agency that used AI to generate an image of what a goat-inspired forestry robot would look like.

Counting tree species, diagnosing them for pests or diseases, as well as recording other plant and animal species will be the robot’s main efforts. It’s normally a kind of work that requires specialists, “and there are fewer and fewer of them,” says Wierzbicka.

ROBOTICS FOR FIELD WORK: ‘Cheaper, More Humane’ Drones Emerge as Key Weapon in Mosquito Control from Poland to Africa

“Additionally, inventorying such areas is hard fieldwork that also demands knowledge of plants and animals. [The robot] is a response to the decreasing availability of competent staff and would also satisfy the need to reach hard-to-access areas.”

“Ticks are also important for research reasons, so we decided that [enabling the robot to collect ticks] would be an interesting additional element that could contribute to improving our knowledge about them,” she adds.

SECRETS OF POLAND’S FORESTS: Father-Son Were Trying to Find Roman Road But Found a Shovelful of 16th C. Silver Coins Instead

Archaeologists have joined the project to contribute their excavation and survey methods to perhaps enable the forestry robot to passively be scanning the ground over which it walks for artifacts.

Wierzbicka and her colleagues expect the first prototype to be ready by 2026, and an operation-ready model to be finished before 2030.

SHARE This Awesome Robotics Project Needed For Europe’s Forests… 

Terracotta Is a 3,000-Year-Old Solution to Fighting Extreme Heat

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit, CoolAnt Studio
– credit, CoolAnt Studio

In India, a 3,000-year-old technology is hitting the shelves—and flying off them—as South Asians struggle with rising summer temperatures.

Terracotta’s porous surface makes it a uniquely timeless passive cooling system. As water soaks into the pores, it permits evaporation to carry the heat of the vessel’s immediate surroundings out and away.

This principle has been cooling Indian homes since the Harappan Civilization that lived in the Indus Valley from ancient times. Yet it still has a role to play in the India of today, where companies are leveraging terracotta’s passive cooling to chill everything from buildings to food.

MittiCool is a company that manufactures terracotta refrigerators—capable of keeping items cool and preserved for 3 to 5 days in optimal conditions—all without power or ice. Currently sold out, it works by placing a tray of water in an upper chamber that seeps through the pores in the terracotta and cools the 50 liter interior space.

Another way that terracotta can replace electric cooling systems is through something called the Venturi effect. It states that as air moves from a large space into and through a narrow space, it must not only cool, but also speed up.

For this reason, Indian homes and verandah have been shaded by terracotta screens known as jaali for centuries. If air is to pass through the jaali it must necessarily speed up, leaving its moisture content behind in the pores of the terracotta. That moisture can then evaporate, repelling heat and cooling the area behind the jaali. 

CoolAnt is a design studio that’s using terracotta materials and designs to skin buildings and homes to mitigate the effects of the harsh summer sun. The same principles at work in a jaali could be applied at scale to a whole building facade.

“We’ve harnessed its hydrophilic properties and observed average temperature drops of [14F°] across more than 30 sites,” in India, CoolAnt studio founder Monish Siripurapu told Scientific American.

Scientific American had reported that just 20% of Indian households can afford to run an air conditioner, while just 35% can afford to run a refrigerator. That’s a substantial home-life challenge when summer temperatures routinely climb above 100°F in most of the country.

If, as some scientists predict, the intensification of the greenhouse effect from carbon emissions will lead to a worldwide increase of 3.6°F on average before the end of the century, there will have to be more adaptations to a warmer climate beyond just continuing to innovate with refrigeration.

Civilizations have dealt with extreme temperatures for millennia, and their best methods shouldn’t be overlooked in urban and suburban planning today.

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Most Complex Bridge Design in the World Taking Shape in Miami: ‘It’s so unique, there’s nothing like it’

By
Andy Corbley
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A final rendering courtesy of the Florida Dept. of Transportation
A final rendering courtesy of the Florida Dept. of Transportation

In Miami, the most “complex bridge in the world,” has passed the midway point of completion, with 3 of its 6 magical arches now firmly in place.

Known as “The Fountain Bridge,” the arches are inspired by streams of water the lead developer saw in a Barcelona fountain. It will sit on I-395 and be lit with LED lights to represent the colorful life and heritage of the city of Miami.

The Fountain Bridge as it currently sits – courtesy of the Florida Dept. of Transportation

Though its completion will add a rapturous feature to the city’s skyline, the expected completion date has already been extended 5 years past its original, 5-year timeline, owing not only to the massive work going on simultaneously on I-395 and nearby interchanges the bridge will connect, but also to the fountain design itself.

Engineering News Record spoke with project leads about the bridge, who said that it was the most complex they had ever conceived of or worked on.

“This is the most complex design-build segmental bridge, honestly, in the world,” says Riccardo Castracani, business development director for Rizzani de Eccher, the firm responsible for precasting, or at least attempting to precast, the majority of the bridge’s 345 arch segments.

“We’ve never encountered something of this magnitude. As complex as it looks from afar, you can multiply that by ten,” when viewed close up.

By the numbers, the scale of the materials should give an indication as to the project’s scope. More than half a billion cubic yards of earth will be moved, and the arches will require 10 million pounds of just post-tensioning cables. 1.4 miles of interstate highway and several state routes will also be redeveloped to ease current traffic headaches.

The central pier, from which all 6 arches sprout from, will be built with 5,000 cubic yards of concrete set in place, with 1.7 million pounds of steel reinforcements. The superstructure is being built concurrently, and will be mounted on between 19 and 55 staying cables per arch to transfer their weight to the arches. Additionally, the bridge has had to be designed to withstand wind speeds of 140 mph.

Cabling on typical suspension bridges is uniform and unidirectional, but because each arch stands alone, is of different size to the others, and supports different components of the superstructure, the challenges are significant.

A close up on the central pier from which the six arches are in construction – credit, Florida Dept. of Transportation

“Depending on where you are in the arch, and which way the cables are pulling, you may have post-tensioning on one side and not the other,” Mike Lamont, major bridges technical director for HDR, the engineering firm of record on the project, told ENR.

“It’s not just the final condition we’re designing for; it’s all of these intermediate construction stages. Cables are pulling on the arches from different angles, which results in a lot of bending in the arches that is an unconventional loading condition for an arch,” he said.

Some of the precast segments of the arches have, as Castracani mentioned, had to be cast according to individual specifications—such as interior cable anchorages where post-tensioning is carried out on just one half of one segment, and maybe just one corner on the next one. Sometimes it would take a week just to cast a single arch segment.

BRIDGES TO LOOK FORWARD TO: Gorgeous Suspension Bridge Set for Completion in 2025 Will Make History Immediately – (LOOK)

Another architect responsible for overseeing the joining of each arch segment noted similar challenges, saying they hadn’t dealt with a single segment for which the process of joining and tensioning could be replicated to another. The procedure for each one had to be planned out individually.

Some arches just aren’t behaving in ways that were predicted, and challenges arose on Arch 5 that saw work extended multiple months beyond schedule.

MORE AMERICAN ENGINEERING: Charlotte Cycling Thoroughfare to Finally Get Long-Awaited Bridge–and She’s A Beauty

Through it all though, the work is coming together, and the dramatic shape of the bridge is beginning to become more and more defined. Chief architect and engineer Donald McDonald is looking forward to the completion. It will grant Miami a one-of-a-kind object of stunning technical complexity and form.

“It’s so unique, there’s nothing like it in the world,” he says. “So it’s really going to be a dynamite thing.”

SHARE This Remarkable Engineering Challenge With Your Friends On Social Media…

“Blue, green, grey, white, or black; smooth, ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent.” – H. P. Lovecraft

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Good News Network
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Photo by Silas Baisch

Quote of the Day: “Blue, green, grey, white, or black; smooth, ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent.” – H. P. Lovecraft

Photo by: Silas Baisch

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?

Photo by Silas Baisch

Good News in History, September 1

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Good News Network
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Isle of Graia - public domain

880 years ago today, Ibn Jubayir was born in Moorish Spain. This pilgrim and talented writer went on the Hajj to Mecca in 1183, and penned a valuable, beautiful, first-hand account of the places and people he saw, which included the Crusader states of Acre and the island of Sicily as controlled by the Norman dynasty. He included epic descriptions of the monuments of ancient Egypt, the cities of Iraq, and the goings on at Mecca during the holy month, while also mundane relatable things like the customs que in Alexandria, and the most comfortable kind of saddle to use when riding a camel. READ more about this traveler… (1145)

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Beet Juice Lowers Blood Pressure in Older People by Changing Their Oral Microbiome

By
Good News Network
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Photo by Alex Lvrs (cropped)
Photo by Alex Lvrs (cropped)

The blood pressure lowering effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice in older people may be due to specific changes in their oral microbiome, according to the largest study of its kind.

Researchers at the University of Exeter in England conducted the study which was published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. It followed previous research that had shown a high nitrate diet can reduce blood pressure—which, in turn, can reduce the risk of heart disease.

Nitrate is crucial to the body and is consumed as a natural part of a vegetable-rich diet. When older adults drank a concentrated ‘shot’ of beetroot juice twice a day for two weeks, their blood pressure decreased – an effect not seen in a younger group used for comparison.

“Encouraging older adults to consume more nitrate-rich vegetables could have significant long term health benefits,” said study author Professor Anni Vanhatalo, of the University of Exeter.

“We know that a nitrate-rich diet has health benefits, and older people produce less of their own nitric oxide as they age.”

“The good news is that if you don’t like beetroot, there are many nitrate-rich alternatives like spinach, rocket, fennel, celery and kale.”

AGING TIP: Popping a Daily Multivitamin Could Prevent Cognitive Decline as we Age, Shows Third Study

The study recruited 39 adults under age 30 and 36 adults in their 60s and 70s (through the NIHR Exeter Clinical Research Facility).

In both groups, the make-up of the oral microbiome changed significantly after drinking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice, but these changes differed between the younger and older age groups.

According to Exeter News, “The new study provides evidence that this outcome was likely caused by the suppression of potentially harmful bacteria in the mouth. An imbalance between beneficial and harmful oral bacteria can decrease the conversion of nitrate (abundant in vegetable-rich diets) to nitric oxide—which is key to healthy functioning of the blood vessels, and therefore the regulation of blood pressure.”

The older age group experienced a notable decrease in the mouth bacteria Prevotella after drinking the juice, along with an increase in the growth of bacteria known to benefit health, such as Neisseria. The older group had higher average blood pressure at the start of the study, which fell after taking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice, but not after taking the placebo supplement.

“This study shows that nitrate-rich foods alter the oral microbiome in a way that could result in less inflammation, as well as a lowering of blood pressure in older people,” said co-author Professor Andy Jones.

“This paves the way for larger studies to explore the influence of lifestyle factors and biological sex in how people respond to dietary nitrate supplementation.”

MORE NUTRITION TIPS:
• How Zinc Helps You Fight Off Infections, Including Colds
• Carrots Are Not the Only Good Food for Your Eyes–Eat Grapes As You Age
• Delicious Cancer Breakthrough: Pomegranates Found to Significantly Fuel Tumor-Fighting Immune Cells

“By uncovering how dietary nitrate affects oral bacteria and blood pressure in older adults, the study opens up new opportunities for improving vascular health through nutrition,” said Dr. Lee Beniston from BBSRC, which funded the research.

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‘Mile Long Table’ in Denver Seats Thousands of Strangers to Eat and Celebrate Community Together

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Good News Network
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Mile Long Table in Denver – Credit: Longer Tables
Mile Long Table in Denver – Credit: Longer Tables

Longer Tables, a nonprofit that believes in the power of shared meals to connect people, welcomed over 3,400 locals who signed up to sit down at the first-ever “Mile Long Table”.

The 5,280-foot long table at the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, Colorado, served up tons of produce from local farmers, as the perfect side dish for the community on the beautiful Saturday afternoon.

“The community response to our first Mile Long Table has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Tim Jones, founder and executive director of Longer Tables. “It’s really powerful and deeply encouraging to hear guests talk about how eager and appreciative they are to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

“Our goal is creating meaningful connections—and the table makes it all possible.”

Hundreds of volunteers set up and served the guests at the ‘Mile Long Table’, named as an homage to ‘the Mile High City’. (See the video below…)

One of the sponsors, Southwest Airlines, even provided 10 surprise roundtrip airline tickets to reconnect loved ones over the scrumptious feast provided by Serendipity Catering.

The airline selected ten people nominated by community members, and also covered lodging costs so they could take a seat at the table—reuniting with loved ones but also creating new friendships.

Credit: Longer Tables

Kim Evans was flown to Denver from Philadelphia to reconnect with Hannah Kahan, a longtime friend who had recently graduated from the University of Denver—and she called the experience “truly a blessing”.

Kim made new friends at the event and plans to stay in touch with her ‘tablemates’.

“The energy at the Mile Long Table was infectious,” said Lexi Muller, a senior manager at Southwest Airlines. “We believe that community is more than a place; it’s the heart of what brings us all together.”

One of the diners, Diana Samet, was “delighted” by the notion of the Mile Long Table and was thankful she attended.

“We met lots of folks and just felt a warm spirit of coming together as a community.”

MORE COMMUNITIES COMING TOGETHER:
• Ducks Decide Town Center is Best Sleeping Spot So Humans Escort Them Safely to the River Daily
• Telescopes Pop-Up on City Sidewalks to Engage Passersby in Free Astronomy Viewing Worldwide

Longer Tables began its mission of promoting shared meals in 2013. The organization has since hosted more than 100 gatherings in five states to ‘help cities, organizations, businesses and neighborhoods create cultures of connection and belonging’.

The organization vowed to make the ‘Mile Long Table’ for Denverites an annual event. But new tables are also in the works to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday and Colorado’s 150th birthday—both in 2026. Learn more at longertables.org.

WATCH some local news coverage from Denver…

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A Campus Sensation ‘Pudge the Cat’ is Lifting Spirits in College Football Locker Room After Injury

By
Nathan Frederick
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Pudge locker room press conference – Bowling Green University / Youtube
Pudge locker room press conference – Bowling Green University / Youtube

The game of football is often a testament to tough guy testosterone—with brute force, pain tolerance, and toughness considered to be hallmarks of the sport.

But every once in a while, it reveals a softer side too—like Pudge the cat.

During a recent practice at Bowling Green University in Ohio, a player suffered a serious injury and the team was devastated.

But number 47, George Carlson, knew a cat who could help. He carried the fluffy, exotic short-haired cat into the locker room believing he could lift everyone’s spirits.

Pudge did the rest. Players were captivated by the new tawny mascot. He received pats and scratches and brought smiles to everyone in the room.

Eventually, a feline-sized brown and orange jersey showed up in the locker room—and videos of Pudge with players went viral on social media. A reporter recently even tried to interview Pudge. (The cat had no comment).

“I wanted to bring morale up, so I brought him in on a Sunday,” Carlson said on a social media post. “And the rest is history.”

The new season started on August 28th, with the pug-faced Persian starring as the unofficial mascot for the Bowling Green Falcons.

The four-legged ‘Falcon’ has found a home in the fiercest of sports, purring its approval of the softer sideline of football.

MORE PURR-FECT PALS: Cat Walks Boy to School Daily and Unites a Scottish Community–Vote for Him for UK National Cat Award

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Octopus Playing With Divers Grabs the Camera and Takes Underwater Selfie (WATCH)

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Good News Network
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Octopus hugs diver and plays with camera - SWNS / Chris Mullen
Octopus hugs diver and plays with camera – SWNS / Chris Mullen

Two stunned divers have spoken about the ‘crazy’ moment the world’s largest species of octopus came out to play with them before taking a selfie.

35-year-old Canadian Chris Mullen was scuba diving off the coast of his hometown of Vancouver Island with his friend John Roney when they encountered a Giant Pacific octopus.

While nearing the end of their dive in early August, the curious cephalopod came out from underneath a rock and stretched out its arms to take hold of John’s camera and become a videographer itself.

“(It was) carrying around my camera for about five minutes,” John told CBC news. Then suddenly, it “was jumping over to give Chris a big hug.”

Chris, who has been diving since 2015, told SWNS news: “We originally saw it on our way out, we passed it at the beginning of the dive, and took a couple of pictures when it was underneath a rock.

“30 minutes later, we passed back on the way home and it stretches quite far from where it was to grab hold of the camera. It really went out of its way to get hold of John and his camera.” (See the video at the bottom…)

Giant Pacific Octopus Plays With Dive Camera – SWNS / Chris Mullen

“I like to give them space, but as I tried to swim away, it dropped the camera and started moving towards where I was going to—effectively following me.

“It briefly stopped to interact with another octopus, and then saw me up higher filming it, and it made a beeline right for me and jumped on me next.

“It was wild,” recalled Chris. “It was crazy what was going on.”

Video of the encounter off Canada’s western coast has racked up thousands of views on Chris’s Instagram page.

Fellow diver John added, “The moments where you see these animals, where they’re choosing to have this interaction and controlling the interaction, willingly participating in it, it really displays in the intelligence of these animals.

SO CUTE! Watch Little Octopus Demand Endless Attention From Aquarium Worker Who Captures it All on Video

A Giant Pacific Octopus encounter off coast of western Canada – by Chris Mullen / SWNS

“Because the camera was still rolling it gave us this really unique look at the underside of their suckers.

“Chris has got same great photos of it actually holding the camera and aiming it towards the wall. We were joking the octopus was a videographer too.

“Moments like that really capture people’s curiosity. It shows them a world they might not get to see otherwise.”

MORE OCTO-FUN: Watch What Happens When An Octopus Steals a Tennis Ball From a Border Collie

WATCH the video below…

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“The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool.” – Jane Wagner

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Good News Network
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By Jezael Melgoza

Quote of the Day: “The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool.” – Jane Wagner

Photo by: Jezael Melgoza

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?

By Jezael Melgoza

Good News in History, August 31

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Good News Network
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Statue of Queen Wilhelmina in Noordwijk - Majalinno CC BY SA 3.0.

145 years ago today, Wilhelmina Maria, Queen of the Netherlands, was born. The longest-reigning female monarch outside Great Britain, and the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, Wilhelmina was a constant figure in 20th-century world affairs, with a deep intellect, charm, and august presence coupled with a demonstrable business acumen giving her natural wisdom, until the occupation of her country by the Nazis forced her to become a symbol of the resistance. READ some highlights from her life… (1880)

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New Cancer Therapy for Cats ‘Could Save Human Lives’ Too

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Good News Network
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Tina Thomas's cat ‘Jak’ – SWNS
Tina Thomas’s cat ‘Jak’ – SWNS

A new targeted treatment for cats with head and neck cancers may also help save human lives in the future, say scientists.

The first-ever clinical trial of the therapy found that more than a third of felines who received treatment (35%) had their disease controlled with minimal side effects.

And the drug will likely be effective for humans with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC, which is notoriously deadly and difficult to treat), according to the American research team.

“There are two major findings from this study,” said study senior author Professor Daniel Johnson. “It showed us that it’s possible to target a transcription factor that drives oncogenesis, which is something that has been notoriously difficult in the past.

“Also, it demonstrated that pets with cancer can be a good representation of human disease and that clinical trials in pets may yield more reliable results than tests in mouse models.”

Prof. Johnson says the drug is the first to target the transcription factor STAT3, which is present in a range of both solid and liquid cancerous tumors, including a majority of HNSCC cases.

The idea to test the HNSCC drug on pet cats arose when study first author Dr. Jennifer Grandis talked to her sister, who is a veterinarian.

Oral cancers in pet cats—including HNSCC—are extremely difficult to treat and most animals die within two to three months of diagnosis.

MORE CAT STUDIES: Cats With Arthritis Are Wearing Caps in Groundbreaking Research to Understand and Relieve Their Pain

“There is remarkable clinical, histopathologic, and immunologic similarity between feline and human HNSCC,” said Prof. Johnson of the University of California, San Francisco.

One cat who benefited from the trial was a nine-year-old black domestic shorthair named Jak (pictured below and above). He was diagnosed with HNSCC, and vets gave him just 6-8 weeks to live.

Jak, weeks after treatment – Tina Thomas /SWNS

Owner Tina Thomas said, “It was just a gut punch. We wanted more time with him.”

“When I found out about this clinical trial, I knew I wanted him to be a part of it.”

Jak went to weekly treatments for one month and during that time his symptoms and watery eye improved significantly. He ultimately lived more than eight months beyond his most dire diagnosis.

“It was meaningful to us because he was here in our lives,” recalled Tina. “During that time, my son finished college and my daughter finished her master’s program.

“Jak got to spend one more Christmas with us, and he loved our Christmas tree. He was worth every bit of the effort.”

CAT LOVERS NEEDED THIS: Scientists Finally Discover Why Some Cats Are Orange–and Why They Tend to Be Males

None of the cats in the trial developed side effects that were attributable to the treatment other than mild anaemia, according to the study published in the journal Cancer Cell. Of the 20 cats that were enrolled, seven exhibited either a partial response or stable condition during the study period.

Of the seven that responded, the average survival post-treatment was 161 days.

When the research team looked at tumors and blood samples from the cats who underwent treatment, they saw that the compound was working in two ways.

It not only blocked the activity of STAT3, but it also raised levels of PD-1, a protein associated with an immune response to cancer.

Dr. Grandis said: “This study is a great example of how we can think more carefully about spending our very limited resources on studies in lab mice that are not even the best models of human cancers.

“By partnering with veterinary oncologists and doing clinical trials in companion animals, we can learn an enormous amount about how these drugs work while also helping people’s pets.

PURR-FECT NEWS: Man is ‘Overwhelmed’ as His Bengal Cat is Returned From 16-year Absence After a Phone Call

“None of the cats in these trials were harmed, and many of them benefited.”

The researchers say that conducting clinical trials in pets can be a “much better” model of how drugs will work in humans, compared with lab mice.

The team is currently working with a small biotech company to advance the new compound in clinical trials for both pets and humans.

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Injured Spinal Cords Repaired With Breakthrough 3D-printed ‘Scaffolding’–Team Regrows Nerves in Rats

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Good News Network
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Credit: McAlpine Research Group / University of Minnesota
Credit: McAlpine Research Group / University of Minnesota

A breakthrough in stem cell biology has been 3D-printed in Minnesota—and the lab results show promise for spinal cord injury recovery, and even reversal.

A research team at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities demonstrated a groundbreaking process that combines 3D printing, stem cell biology, and lab-grown tissues to provide spinal cord injury recovery.

Currently there is no way to completely reverse the damage and paralysis. A major challenge is the death of nerve cells and the inability for nerve fibers to regrow across the injury site. This new research tackles this problem by building a bridge.

The team created a unique 3D-printed framework for lab-grown organs, called an organoid scaffold, with microscopic channels. These channels are then populated with ‘spinal neural progenitor cells’ derived from adult stem cells in humans, which have the capacity to divide and differentiate into specific types of mature cells.

“We use the 3D printed channels of the scaffold to direct the growth of the stem cells, which ensures the new nerve fibers grow in the desired way,” said Guebum Han PhD, a former University of Minnesota mechanical engineering researcher and first author of the paper published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

“This method creates a relay system that when placed in the spinal cord bypasses the damaged area.”

In the study—funded by the NIH, the State of Minnesota Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Grant Program, and the Spinal Cord Society—the researchers transplanted these scaffolds into rats with spinal cords that were completely severed.

The cells successfully differentiated into neurons and extended their nerve fibers in both directions—rostral (toward the head) and caudal (toward the tail)—to form new connections with the host’s existing nerve circuits.

The new nerve cells integrated seamlessly into the host spinal cord tissue over time, leading to significant functional recovery in the rats.

COOL BREAKTHROUGHS:
• Woman Given New 3D-Printed Windpipe in World First
• Lab-Grown Blood Stem Cells Could Replace Bone Marrow Donations for Transplants

“Regenerative medicine has brought about a new era in spinal cord injury research,” said Ann Parr, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota. “Our laboratory is excited to explore the future potential of our ‘mini spinal cords’ for clinical translation.”

While the research is in its beginning stages, it offers a new avenue of hope for those with spinal cord injuries—and the team hopes to scale up production and continue developing this combination of technologies.

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Japanese Kicker Learned Football By Watching YouTube Videos And Just Became Hero for His Hawaii College Team

By
Nathan Frederick
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Kansei Matsuzawa – Courtesy of University of Hawai’i Athletics Department

The best story from college football’s opening weekend felt like an inspiring movie playing on the big screen.

Kansei Matsuzawa grew up playing soccer in Tokyo, Japan, and became a captain and three-year letter winner for the sport at Makuhari Sogo High School.

He graduated in 2017 and was working as a waiter, until a trip to America changed everything.

He visited the United States and saw his first NFL game. The kickers in particular caught his eye and he started to think — or, really, dream.

I could do that, right? Couldn’t I?

He returned to Japan with a new goal firmly implanted in his mind. Someday, Kansei would return to America to become a college football kicker. In the meantime, he learned to kick by watching YouTube videos of Seattle Seahawks player Jason Myers. He practiced on his own and sent highlight videos to about 50 schools in the United States.

Eventually, an opportunity arose at Hocking College, a small community college nestled in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio. In two seasons at Hocking, he hit 16-of-17 extra points and 12-of-17 field goals, including a game-winner from 50 yards—and other schools took notice

MORE INSPIRING SPORTS: She Just Made History as Major League Baseball’s First Female Umpire–Walking on The Field to Huge Cheers (WATCH)

Kansei soon earned a spot at the University of Hawaii and was put on the practice squad for the 2023 season. But, last year, he played in all 12 games for the Rainbow Warriors team, and made every extra point (32-of-32) to lead the school in scoring (68 points). He even kicked a game winner against Fresno State and earned academic All-Mountain West honors.

Kansei Matsuzawa – Courtesy of University of Hawai’i Athletics Department

The big game

Then, last Saturday in College Football’s Week Zero and Hawaii’s opening game, the Warriors trailed Stanford by three points late in the fourth quarter. Kansei hit a 37-yard field goal to tie the score at 20 with about two minutes left.

Moments later, Hawaii forced a punt and then moved the ball down to Stanford’s 21-yard line. Only two seconds remained on the clock. And the kid from Japan would take the field to win it all.

Fans in attendance and thousands more watching on the national TV broadcast were overflowing with suspense. Kansei lined up for a 38-yard, potential game-winning field goal. A CBS announcer narrated what happened next.

“Snap…kick…Is up…”

Far-flung hopes that took root almost 4,000 miles away in Japan were realized as a football sailed through the uprights in a late summer Honolulu sky.

“…And good!!!…Hawaii has done it!!!”

The kicker had become a hero. An improbable dream, born a world away, came true.

WATCH the moment…

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Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny

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Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of August 30, 2025
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
In Andean cosmology, the condor and the hummingbird are both sacred messengers. One soars majestically at high altitudes, a symbolic bridge between the earth and heaven. The other moves with supple efficiency and detailed precision, an icon of resilience and high energy. Let’s make these birds your spirit creatures for the coming months. Your challenging but feasible assignment is to both see the big picture and attend skillfully to the intimate details.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In the ancient Greek myth of Psyche, one of her trials is to gather golden wool from violent rams. She succeeds by waiting until the torrid heat of midday passes, and the rams are resting in the cool shade. She safely collects the wool from bushes and branches without confronting the rams directly. Let this be a lesson, Libra. To succeed at your challenges, rely on strategy rather than confrontation. It’s true that what you want may feel blocked by difficult energies, like chaotic schedules, reactive people, or tangled decisions. But don’t act impulsively. Wait. Listen. Watch. Openings will happen when the noise settles and others tire themselves out. You don’t need to overpower. You just need to time your grace. Golden wool is waiting, but it can’t be taken by force.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
In 1911, two teams tried to become the first humans to reach the South Pole. Roald Amundsen’s group succeeded, but Robert Falcon Scott’s did not. Why? Amundsen had studied with Indigenous people who were familiar with frigid environments. He adopted their clothing choices (fur and layering), their travel techniques (dogsledding), and their measured, deliberate pacing, including lots of rest. Scott exhausted himself and his people with inconsistent bursts of intense effort and stubbornly inept British strategies. Take your cues from Amundsen, dear Scorpio. Get advice from real experts. Pace yourself; don’t sprint. Be consistent rather than melodramatic. Opt for discipline instead of heroics.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
A lighthouse isn’t concerned with whether ships are watching it from a distance. It simply shines forth its strong beams, no questions asked. It rotates, pulses, and moves through its cycles because that’s its natural task. Its purpose is steady illumination, not recognition. In the coming weeks, Sagittarius, I ask you and encourage you to be like a lighthouse. Be loyal to your own gleam. Do what you do best because it pleases you. The ones who need your signal will find you. You don’t have to chase them across the waves.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
In 1885, Sarah E. Goode became the fourth African American woman to be granted a U.S. patent. Her invention was ingenious: a folding cabinet bed that could be transformed into a roll-top desk. It appealed to people who lived in small apartments and needed to save space. I believe you’re primed and ready for a similar advance in practical resourcefulness, Capricorn. You may be able to combine two seemingly unrelated needs into one brilliant solution— turning space, time, or resources into something more graceful and useful. Let your mind play with hybrid inventions and unlikely pairings.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I expect you will be knowledgeable and smart during the coming weeks, Aquarius. But I hope you will also be wise and savvy. I hope you will wrestle vigorously with the truth so you can express it in practical and timely ways. You must be ingenious as you figure out the precise ways to translate your intelligence into specifically right actions. So for example: You may feel compelled to be authentic in a situation where you have been reticent, or to share a vision that has been growing quietly. Don’t stay silent, but also: Don’t blurt. Articulate your reality checks with elegance and discernment. The right message delivered at the wrong moment could make a mess, whereas that same message will be a blessing if offered at the exact turning point.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Liubai is a Chinese term that means “to leave blank.” In traditional ink painting, it referred to the portions of the canvas the artist chose not to fill in. Those unpainted areas were not considered empty. They carried emotional weight, inviting the eye to rest and the mind to wander. I believe your near future could benefit from this idea, Pisces. Don’t feel you have to spell everything out or tie up each thread. It may be important not to explain and reveal some things. What’s left unsaid, incomplete, or open-ended may bring you more gifts than constant effort. Let a little stillness accompany whatever you’re creating.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
In some Buddhist mandalas, the outer circle depicts a wall of fire. It marks the boundary between the chaotic external world and the sacred space within. For seekers and devotees, it’s a symbol of the transformation they must undergo to commune with deeper truths. I think you’re ready to create or bolster your own flame wall, Aries. What is non-negotiable for your peace, your creativity, your worth? Who or what belongs in your inner circle? And what must stay outside? Be clear about the boundaries you need to be your authentic self.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Centuries ago, builders in Venice, Italy, drove countless wooden pilings deep into the waterlogged mud of the lagoon to create a stable base for future structures. These timber foundations were essential because the soil was too weak to support stone buildings directly. Eventually, the wood absorbed minerals from the surrounding muddy water and became exceptionally hard and durable: capable of supporting heavy buildings. Taurus, you may soon glimpse how something you’ve built your life upon—a value, a relationship, or a daily ritual—is more enduring than you imagined. Its power is in its rootedness, its long conversation with the invisible. My advice: Trust what once seemed soft but has become solid. Thank life for blessing you with its secret alchemy.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
In Inuit myth, Sedna is the goddess who lives at the bottom of the sea and oversees all marine life. If humans harm nature or neglect spiritual truths, Sedna may stop allowing them to catch sea creatures for food, leading to starvation. Then shamans from the world above must swim down to sing her songs and comb her long black hair. If they win her favor, she restores balance. I propose that you take direction from this myth, Gemini. Some neglected beauty and wisdom in your emotional depths is asking for your attention. What part of you needs reverence, tenderness, and ceremonial care?

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
In ancient Rome, the lararium was a home altar. It wasn’t used for momentous appeals to the heavyweight deities like Jupiter, Venus, Apollo, Juno, and Mars. Instead, it was there that people performed daily rituals, seeking prosperity, protection, and health from their ancestors and minor household gods. I think now is a fine time to create your own version of a lararium, Cancerian. How could you fortify your home base to make it more nurturing and uplifting? What rituals and playful ceremonies might you do to generate everyday blessings?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In Persian miniature painting, entire epics are compressed into exquisite images the size of a hand. Each creation contains worlds within worlds, myths tucked into detail. I suggest you draw inspiration from this approach, Leo. Rather than imagining your life as a grand performance, play with the theme of sacred compression. Be alert for seemingly transitory moments that carry enormous weight. Proceed on the assumption that a brief phrase or lucky accident may spark sweet changes. What might it look like to condense your full glory into small gifts that people can readily use?

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.” – Michael Pollan

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Photo credit: Unsplash+ Community

Quote of the Day: “A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.” – Michael Pollan

Photo by: Unsplash+ Community

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?

Photo credit: Unsplash+ Community

Good News in History, August 30

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Good News Network
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Melbourne skyline - Melbpal, CC BY 4.0. SA

190 years ago today, the city of Melbourne was founded in southeast Australia. A traditional meeting place of several Aboriginal peoples including the Boonwurrung, Wathaurong, and Wurundjeri peoples, Melbourne blossomed rapidly into a “canvas city” following the designation of a crown colony in 1837, and news of a gold rush in 1850. Melbourne today is the largest city in Australia, and consistently ranks among the most livable in the world. READ more about the city… (1835)

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Divers Explore Wreckage of WW1 Submarine 100 Years After it Sank – (LOOK)

By
Andy Corbley
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Dominic Robinson/ Rick Aryton / SWNS
Dominic Robinson/ Rick Aryton / SWNS

A group of divers have explored the wreckage of a First World War-era Royal Navy submarine 100 years after it sank.

Professional shipwreck diver and YouTuber Dominic Robinson and a team of 10 dived down to check out the century-old M1 sub 20 miles off the coast of Plymouth in mid-August.

Dominic Robinson / Rick Aryton / SWNS

They found her in a wreck, missing the famed 12-inch gun—typical of the era’s battleships—which she apparently carried as armament.

The HMS M1 was constructed during WW1 but was never used in combat due to fears the Germans would copy its revolutionary design.

The sub sank in 1925 when a Swedish ship, the SS Vidar, is believed to have accidentally struck her while she was submerged—leading to the loss of all crew—another little tragedy amid the tragic, inconclusive European conflict.

It was missing until a salvage team located it in 1967 and was then formally identified by a dive team in 1999.

Described by Robinson in a film made of the dive as “one of the most incredible submarines ever built.”

“We were on the water for about three hours so it’s a fairly significant effort for about 25 minutes of diving to look around the wreck,” Robinson told England’s Southwest News Service. “The general view is the collision knocked the gun off the mount, and I think the weight of it has carried it into the sand beneath the main wreckage.”

Dominic Robinson /Rick Aryton / SWNS
Dominic Robinson / Rick Aryton / SWNS
Dominic Robinson / Rick Aryton / SWNS
Dominic Robinson / Rick Aryton / SWNS

Robinson claims that diving like this is rare and “well beyond” what many divers will do.

“If you were to go Egypt or somewhere like that they would take you to 20 meters, advanced would be 30 meters, and if you really pushed it 40 meters. This is 74 meters. so it’s well beyond what 99% of divers will do, but we want to see things that people don’t see.”

Robinson’s YouTube channel—Deep Wreck Diver—has 13,500 subscribers and is dedicated to showing viewers deep shipwrecks.

“I want to help people understand and the history of these things that are forgotten,” he said.

WATCH a 40-minute film of the dive….

SHARE This Interesting Underwater History Experience With Your Friends… 

Zoo Experts Hatch Eight Rare Dove Chicks in Bid to Save Extinct Species

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Andy Corbley
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The Socorro dove chicks - credit, Chester Zoo SWNS
The Socorro dove chicks – credit, Chester Zoo SWNS

Conservationists have successfully hatched 8chicks in a bid to save an ultra-rare species of dove which has been extinct in the wild for over half a century.

Socorro doves are only cared for in zoo conservation-breeding programs across Europe and North America after they became extinct in 1972.

Experts at the Chester Zoo are now celebrating the arrival of 8 chicks, known as squabs, bringing fresh hope the species can be brought back from the brink.

Approximately 200 birds represent the entire surviving population and the zoo hopes another clutch of eggs might now also be on the way.

Chester Zoo cares for two breeding pairs and the chicks will bolster the insurance population of Socorro doves looked after by avian specialists.

“We have several chicks which have successfully reached independence, and the others are on the verge of being fledged,” said the zoo’s Clare Rafe, assistant team manager for birds. “We’ll keep looking after these amazing birds. They might look quite plain and brown from a distance, but they have what looks like shimmery blusher on their heads.”

“They have big personalities, too, with the males being a bit aggro—they certainly aren’t peace doves!”

Unlike other species of doves, Socorro doves do not live in flocks, preferring to pair off or live individually. They also share chick-rearing duties.

“It’s a 50-50 arrangement most of the time, but we have found the females will raise their chicks up to a point and then become ready to mate again, so they’ll start raising a new clutch of eggs before the first have fledged.”

“In the wild, they would only have perhaps a two or three-month nesting window between storms and heat waves. When that happens, the fathers take over with the older chicks, feeding them and caring for them.”

An adult Socorro dove in captivity – credit, Chester Zoo SWNS

Socorro doves originally lived on Socorro Island off the coast of Mexico, but a mixture of factors led to their extinction in the wild.

Andrew Owen, head of the bird department at Chester Zoo, said that historically, the Socorro dove had few natural predators as the island remained uninhabited by people.

“Sheep introduced in the 1800s caused extensive damage to the wild vegetation and in 1957 a naval base was established on the island,” said Owen.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Virgin Births Have Been Documented in Rare Bird Population – The Endangered California Condor

“Naval staff and their families brought domestic cats which became feral and caused tremendous damage to the native wildlife, including the Socorro dove population…”

“Sadly, the Socorro dove was overlooked by conservationists for many years and if it wasn’t for the efforts of a group of German aviculturists, who created a breeding program for the species, it would have been lost forever.”

MORE OF THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS: Rare Pink Pigeon Hand-Raised at UK Zoo for First time – a Milestone After Species Dropped to Just 10 Birds in the Wild

“In 1995, the Socorro dove conservation breeding program was formally established when the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). Without the valuable work zoos do, these species would be lost forever.”

It’s not the only dove species that Own has recently been involved in saving. A trio of blue-eyed ground dove chicks were successfully hand-reared in Brazil with help from Owen and his Chester Zoo team. Fewer of these birds remain on Earth than even the Socorro dove.

SHARE Chester Zoo’s Great Work With Our Planet’s Dove Species… 

MIT to Give Bees a Break with Robot HAZMAT Pollinator

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Andy Corbley
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MIT's robot bee - released by the reseachers
MIT’s robot bee – released by the researchers

In 2021, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tried to build a robot pollinator based on the anatomy of bees.

Bees’ flight capabilities are quite sophisticated, but strangely, the MIT roboticists ended up building a robot that sported 8 wings and 4 bodies.

Now, a new design, closer to nature’s own model, is proving substantially superior. Capable of 17 minutes of flight time, the new robotic bee is 100-times more efficient.

Demonstrated in a paper published recently in Science Robotics, the scientists suggest that an artificial hive of these robobugs could give bees a break and pollinate plants kept in vertical indoor farms with fluorescent lighting; a very difficult environment for bees.

Additionally they could be used in more harmful environments such as space, or areas contaminated with radiation.

“The amount of flight we demonstrated in this paper is probably longer than the entire amount of flight our field has been able to accumulate with these robotic insects. With the improved lifespan and precision of this robot, we are getting closer to some very exciting applications, like assisted pollination,” says Kevin Chen, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), head of the Soft and Micro Robotics Laboratory.

Part of the flight success was down to splitting the 4 bodies down to just 2

“In our old design, the performance of each individual unit was always better than the assembled robot,” Chen told MIT press. 

Whereas 8 wings generated counterforces that slowed the bee robot down, 4 has proven much better, and the new model can even perform aerial flips. Each wing is connected to a mechanical set of muscles called actuators.

ALSO CHECK OUT: This Soft Robot Needs Only Physics and Air to Spontaneously Sync and Scoot at Top Speeds

These are formed from small layers of elastomer stuck between two very thin carbon nanotube electrodes. The actuators rapidly compress and elongate, generating mechanical force that flaps the wings.

A longer hinge—the greatest challenge in building the new model, reduced the torsional stress experienced during the flapping-wing motion.

MORE MICROROBOTS: Tiny Robots Can Help Fix Leaky Old Water Pipes Without Having to Dig Up Roads

“Compared to the old robot, we can now generate control torque three times larger than before, which is why we can do very sophisticated and very accurate path-finding flights,” Chen says.

Moving forward, they want to push the design to the limit of its performance, with a target of 10-times longer flights, as well as precise, controlled take-off and landing maneuvers that could be done from the center of a flower.

SHARE This Mechanical Hazmat Bee With Your Friends… 

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