Quote of the Day: “Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso
Original work: by cea + entitled [ P ] Pablo Picasso – Le Peintre (CC license on Flickr)
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With more than 10 wildfires currently burning in the state of California, Matthew McConaughey teamed up with a group of volunteers from Wild Turkey to cook, prepare and deliver meals to first responders battling in the Los Angeles area.
The team visited more than 20 fire houses Friday to drop off 800 BBQ turkey dinners to firefighters—and also brought 800 additional meals to a local homeless shelter.
McConaughey (who considers LA his second home) listened to stories from the brave men and women who were just returning from the front lines, and thanked them for their bravery, dedication and hard work.
To start the day, the Academy Award winning actor from Texas rallied volunteers and jumped behind the grill to help cook and carve the turkey dinners that were then delivered to the heroes who are battling the wildfires that are raging across Southern California.
McConaughey took to Facebook Live to encourage folks nationwide to volunteer and donate to help support the disaster relief operations of Operation BBQ Relief (OBR), including their current deployment in Northern California, which is providing hot meals to first responders and those affected by the wildfires.
“Little did we know when planning this annual event that California, my second home, would once again be hit with devastating fires,” said McConaughey, a husband and father of three. “Being able to provide meals to the men and women who put themselves on the line is an honor for me—and hopefully inspire others to get involved and help in their own communities.”
McConaughey has been the Creative Director for Wild Turkey since 2016, when the actor visited the iconic Kentucky distillery where he was introduced to the Kentucky bourbon master distillers, a father and son team.’
The bourbon brand had already planned to partner with OBR throughout November and December to give thanks to first responders nationwide, as part of the bourbon brand’s “With Thanks” annual charitable giving campaign. Last year, McConaughey and Wild Turkey visited and thanked Hurricane Harvey first responders in Houston.
OBR was established in 2011, following a devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo. Since then, the organization has deployed to disasters including, in 2018, Hurricane Michael in Florida, Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, and the Carr fire. OBR has served more than 3 million meals, with the help of more than 14,000 volunteers.
In 2017, its president and CEO Stan Hays was recognized by CNN as one of their “CNN Heroes” for his work with OBR. The charity depends on donations, so find out how you can help at Operationbbqrelief.org.
SAY THANKS to Firefighters By Sharing This Opportunity to Help Pay For Meals…
With millions of used diapers ending up in landfills every year, this new kind of reusable diaper has been shortlisted as one of the 20 international finalists for the prestigious James Dyson Award.
These Sumo diapers are made out of a recyclable material called SeaCell: an antibacterial, absorbent, and biodegradable textile that is made out of seaweed and eucalyptus.
Not only is the material rich in antioxidants that are good for the skin, the diaper components can be sustainably harvested and recycled.
“The unique properties of seaweed help to protect our skin against harmful environmental influences,” reads the SeaCell website. “The seaweed is pure and rich in essential substances such as vitamins, trace elements, amino acids and minerals.”
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The company continues, “The substances found in seaweed help to activate cell regeneration, which in turn can help to relieve skin diseases, reduce inflammation and soothe itchiness. Its high level of antioxidants protects the skin against harmful free radicals, which damage our skin cells.”
Many machine-washable diapers on the market today are not recyclable because they are lined with polyester or polyurethane in order to keep the textiles waterproof.
According to the design magazine Dezeen, the Sumo diapers are sustainably waterproofed thanks to an environmentally-friendly kind of waterproofing technology called EcoRepel.
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Swiss designer Luisa Kahlfeldt was inspired to develop the diapers for her masters project at the Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne after she was struck by how wasteful and inefficient traditional diapers are for the European Union.
“Disposable diapers are the third largest single item contributor to landfills—in the EU alone, 17 million diapers are disposed of each day,” says Kahlfeldt. “Composed of a mix of cellulose fibers, super-absorbing polymers, and synthetic fabrics, a diaper takes up to 500 years to decompose.
“Disposable diapers also contain potentially harmful chemicals and toxins that have been linked to causing serious skin conditions, diaper rash and recently even cases of cancer,” she added. “This observation inspired me to re-engineer this everyday product and design a 100% mono-material SeaCell diaper that fully utilizes the materials inherent skin protection and hygiene properties.”
Sumo will now be competing against 19 other innovations for this year’s final winner of the James Dyson Awards.
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This police officer took his vows to ‘serve’ the public to a whole new level after a little boy dialed 911 to order food for his sister.
Mesa Police Department dispatcher Anthony Bonilla was surprised—and amused—to receive a call earlier this week from a 5-year-old boy named Charlie Skabelund.
In an adorable audio clip that was released by the department on social media, Charlie can be heard asking the police dispatcher if he is currently speaking to McDonald’s. When Bonilla tries to tell the youngster that he is not a fast food representative, Charlie simply asks for a Happy Meal before hanging up the phone.
Bonilla then calls back and asks to speak to Charlie’s father. Upon explaining the conversation to Mr. Skabelund, the two men share a hearty laugh and Bonilla says that an officer would be stopping by to make sure that there wasn’t an emergency.
Fifteen minutes later, the Arizona family is visited by Officer Randolph “Scott” Valdez—and Charlie was delighted when the policeman handed him a Happy Meal from McDonald’s.
Though Valdez was more than happy to deliver the food, he also took advantage of the opportunity to officially explain to Charlie when it was appropriate to call 911.
“Officer Valdez was really sweet and went over the rules with Charlie about when you’re supposed to call 911, ” Charlie’s mom Kim Skabelund told TODAY. “He explained how if he’s busy bringing Happy Meals to kids, he can’t help people who really need him. He couldn’t have been nicer.”
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Kim’s heart swelled when she also discover that Charlie had specifically ordered the food for his little sister Jaydn.
“He’s always looking out for Jadyn.”
(LISTEN to the sweet audio exchange below)
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What started as a celebratory milestone for one YouTube star has turned into a worldwide tree-planting initiative.
Jimmy Donaldson—more commonly known by his YouTube channel name MrBeast—has become famous for using his internet fame and income for random acts of kindness.
So when his channel’s popularity hit 20 million subscribers earlier this month, he asked his fans how he should celebrate the occasion.
His viewers responded by petitioning for him to raise $20 million by January 1st (a dollar for each one of his 20 million subscribers) and use it to plant 20 million trees. Jimmy accepted the challenge with enthusiasm.
RELATED: People Have Passively Planted Over 30 Million Trees Simply by Surfing the Web
Since launching the #TeamTrees campaign last week, some of the most popular YouTubers on the web have joined Donaldson in making donations and pledges of their own.
Not only that, Elon Musk, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke, and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki have all made big contributions to the cause.
According to the #TeamTrees website, which has a prominent ticker, the campaign has already raised enough money to plant more than 12 million trees. Once their goal of 20 million is reached, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant the saplings from January 2020 until December 2022.
The nonprofit will be choosing native tree species for public and private lands across every continent except for Antarctica.
(WATCH MrBeast’s video below)
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Quote of the Day: “Welcome sweet November, the season of senses and my favorite month of all.” – Gregory F. Lenz
Photo: by LadyDragonflyCC – >;< –CC license on Flickr, cropped
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This compassionate nurse is responsible for saving the life of a 27-year-old man with autism after she volunteered to become his legal guardian just two days after meeting him.
Lori Wood, who is an ICU nurse at Piedmont Newnan Hospital in Georgia, first met Jonathan Pinkard after she was assigned to his care back in December 2018.
Pinkard was in desperate need of a heart transplant—but since his grandmother passed away several years earlier and his mother was in rehab, he was ineligible for the transplant list.
This is because—with thousands of people waiting on transplant lists every year—doctors require organ recipients to have stable support systems so that patients are guaranteed to have someone to take care of them after an operation.
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So for four months, Pinkard was in and out of the hospital without hope of receiving a heart. Not only that, he was often discharged to a men’s shelter because he had nowhere else to go.
Thankfully, his luck changed after he met Wood.
Pinkard and Wood quickly bonded over their love of football and Family Feud—and as the 57-year-old nurse became more and more familiar with her patient’s circumstances, she knew she had to help him.
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Two days after meeting Pinkard, Wood offered to adopt him and become his legal guardian so he could be placed on the transplant list. Needless to say, he accepted.
Pinkard underwent a successful heart transplant back in August. Wood—who Pinkard affectionately calls “mama”—has been monitoring the young man’s various medications and caring for him after his operation. She has even been teaching him different life skills so he might one day live more independently.
When Piedmont Healthcare asked Wood about her decision to adopt Pinkard, she simply said: “When you’re a nurse and you’re wanting to fix and help people, that can be very frustrating. At some point, God places people in situations in your life, and you have the choice to do something about it. And I guess … for this situation there was no choice. It really wasn’t anything I struggled about. He had to come home with me.”
If you want to help finance Pinkard’s medical expenses and hospital transportation, you can donate to his GoFundMe campaign.
(WATCH the inspiring hospital video below)
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One of the most significant problems facing any ecosystem and the conservationists who work therein is the problem of non-native, invasive species. Goats nearly destroyed the Galapagos Islands; feral cats and foxes are devastating the rich diversity of marsupial species in Australia; and large species of Asian python are too much to bear for many creatures in the Everglades.
The same is true for the lionfish within the reefs of the western Atlantic Ocean where the motto among local fisherman is “If you can’t beat it, eat it”.
Coveted by marine aquarium enthusiasts in the 1980s, the lionfish entered the Atlantic ecosystem similarly to how most invasive species are introduced all over the globe: its owner released it into the wild without knowing any better.
While the charismatic Indo-Pacific fish may prove to be a stunner on an aquarium catwalk with its bold stripe pattern and mane of long diaphanous fins, it’s a plague on reef ecosystems where it devours defenseless fish species that have never been forced to evolve to protect themselves against such a threat.
“They can eat fish up to half their body size and a single lionfish can eat dozens of fish in a day,” says Stephen Gittings, a coral reef ecologist for the National Marine Sanctuary System. “Since no native species prey on lionfish, you’re not losing very many of them over the course of time so they just dominate and take over.”
As if all that wasn’t enough, female lionfish can lay up to 2 million eggs a year enclosed within a protective and inedible sack. All of these characteristics make for the perfect invader—but a man and his Roomba are seeking to turn back the tide on this unchallenged fish.
In addition to being a passionate diver, Collin Angle is also the co-founder of the iRobot company, creators of the famous Roomba automated vacuum. He believes robots can be utilized to tackle environmental problems, which led him to create his non-profit company called Robots for Environmental Services (RSE).
Angle directed RSE to create a robotic submersible that was capable of diving to depths unreachable by the average hobbyist spear fisherman. The result of their efforts was the Guardian: a 20-pound submersible robot armed with lights, cameras, and stun guns capable of delivering non-lethal jolts of electricity to unsuspecting lionfish.
Like the Roomba, the Guardian is also a vacuum cleaner—only instead of dust and cat hair, it vacuums up the stunned lionfish into an onboard water tank that can hold up to 20 fish. Once full, the Guardian can return to the surface with its catch.
Adam Cantor, director of engineering at RSE, explains to CSM that while many coastal communities in the United States host spearfishing competitions to see who can bag the most lionfish, it’s not enough to prevent the effects of the invasive species on nearby reefs because they breed at a depth of 200-400 feet, which is far past the diving range of humans.
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Moreover, lionfish aggregate together as far down as 1,000 feet, putting them out of reach for line and net fishing as well.
RSE is trying to market the Guardian for $1,000 per unit—and considering how markets like Whole Foods will buy up nutritious and tasty lionfish catches for $5 per pound, the Roomba of the sea makes for a sensible financial investment that can boost the economic livelihood of coastal fishing communities and protect sensitive Atlantic reefs at the same time.
“I think absolutely there’s a market for it. There’s a ton of lionfish down deeper that we can’t get to,” Andy Lowe, a professional diver and lionfish hunter tells CSM. “The thousand-dollar price point is very good, but for me to personally consider buying one I’ll need to see it get a lionfish off a reef at depth. If it can do that it’s got great potential”.
Be Sure And Share The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media — File photo by Larry D. Moore
Electric vehicle owners may soon be able to pull into a fueling station, plug their car in, go to the restroom, get a cup of coffee and in 10 minutes, drive out with a fully charged battery, according to a team of engineers.
“We demonstrated that we can charge an electrical vehicle in ten minutes for a 200 to 300 mile range,” said Chao-Yang Wang, professor of chemical engineering and professor of materials science and engineering. “And we can do this maintaining 2,500 charging cycles—or the equivalent of half a million miles of travel.”
Lithium-ion batteries degrade when rapidly charged at ambient temperatures under 50 degrees Fahrenheit because, rather than the lithium ions smoothly being inserted into the carbon anodes, the lithium deposits in spikes on the anode surface. This lithium plating reduces cell capacity, but also can cause electrical spikes and unsafe battery conditions.
Batteries heated above the lithium plating threshold, whether by external or internal heating, will not exhibit lithium plating.
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The researchers had previously developed their battery to charge at 50 degrees F in 15 minutes. Charging at higher temperatures would be more efficient, but long periods of high heat also degrade the batteries.
“Fast charging is the key to enabling wide-spread introduction of electric vehicles,” said Wang.
Wang and his team realized that if the batteries could heat up to 140 degrees F for only 10 minutes and then rapidly cool to ambient temperatures, lithium spikes would not form and heat degradation of the battery would also not occur. They report their results in this week’s issue of Joule.
“Taking this battery to the extreme of 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees F) is forbidden in the battery arena,” said Wang. “It is too high and considered a danger to the materials and would shorten battery life drastically.”
The rapid cooling of the battery would be accomplished using the cooling system designed into the car, explained Wang. The large difference from 140 degrees to about 75 degrees F will also help increase the speed of cooling.
“The 10-minute trend is for the future and is essential for adoption of electric vehicles because it solves the range anxiety problem,” said Wang.
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Adding to the reduction of range anxiety—fear of running out of power with no way or time to recharge—will be, according to Reuters, the establishment of 2,800 charging stations across the U.S., funded by the more than $2 billion penalty paid by Volkswagen after admitting to diesel emissions cheating. These charging stations will be in 500 locations.
The self-heating battery uses a thin nickel foil with one end attached to the negative terminal and the other extending outside the cell to create a third terminal. A temperature sensor attached to a switch causes electrons to flow through the nickel foil to complete the circuit. This rapidly heats up the nickel foil through resistance heating and warms the inside of the battery.
The U.S. Department of Energy supported this work.
Reprinted from Penn State University
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When an Oklahoma library was preparing to move from their old brick building to their new location down the street, they put out a call on social media for a few extra sets of hands to help move their children’s books—but they ended up receiving a lot more assistance than that.
The Norman Public Library—which serves three surrounding counties—originally posted about their moving event on Facebook as a means of getting volunteer book lovers together for a community event.
To their delight, more than 650 kids, adults, and seniors showed up at the library to help them move their books into the new building. Together, they formed a human chain between the two buildings and moved all of the kids’ books simply by passing them one by one down the line.
With the line of people stretching the quarter-mile distance between the two libraries, the entire process took about 45 minutes.
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“I’ve never done anything like that before,” one of the participants told The Washington Post. “My daughters thought it was awesome. We can’t wait for the new library to open up.
Another participant told The Post: “It’s my hometown library, and we wanted to be part of history … At the very end, we were told to take a book and put it on the new library shelf in its forever home. Doesn’t that just give you the chills?”
The library managed to capture the magic of the event by attaching a GoPro camera to a copy of “Chicken Little” as it was passed down the line—and the resulting video is pretty endearing.
(WATCH the sweet literary POV in the video below) – Photo by Pioneer Library System
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Quote of the Day: “The wiser mind mourns less for what age takes away than what it leaves behind.” – William Wordsworth
Photo: by Jennifer C, CC license on Flickr – cropped
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
It’s been four years since Chastity Patterson lost her beloved father figure—and just as she was finally preparing to let go of her grief, she got an astonishing text message out of the blue…
Jason Lignon passed away in 2015, and though he wasn’t her ‘biological’ dad, he had never missed a school dance or sporting event, and became a role model for her—and her friends—doling out love and advice.
“Blood could not make him any closer,” writes Patterson. “I’ve cried with him, told him everything, and even became very independent because he took the time to love me and show me what happiness looks like.”
Through four years of college, the 23-year-old has been texting Jason’s old phone number every day, sending him messages about her life, telling him about her challenges and troubles.
Finally the day came in October when she felt ready to let go. On eve of the fourth anniversary of his death, she texted him one last time recapping everything he’d missed—how she overcame cancer and graduated college.
After summing up her feelings, Patterson finally concluded her text by saying that she would always love and miss him—so imagine her surprise when she suddenly got a text message back.
It said: “Hi sweetheart, I am not your father, but I have been getting all your messages for the past 4 years. I look forward to your morning messages and nightly updates.
“My name is Brad and I lost my daughter in a car wreck August 2014 and your messages have kept me alive. When you text me, I know it’s a message from God.”
“I’m sorry you lost someone so close to you, but I have listened to you over the years and I have watched you grow—and go through more than anyone,” it continued. “I have wanted to text you back for years, but I didn’t want to break your heart.
“You are an extraordinary woman and I wish my daughter would have become the woman you are.”
“I’m sorry you have to go through this but if it makes it any better, I am very proud of you!”
Needless to say, Chastity was in awe of the response—and shared the messages on Facebook hoping that other grieving people might find peace from the serendipitous reassurance that everything was going to be alright.
“Today was my sign that everything is okay and I can let him rest!” she exclaimed.
Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story Of Fate With Your Friends On Social Media — Feature photos by Demarcus Rhodes / Chastity Patterson
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People with life-threatening food allergies may soon be free from having to worry about whether their meals might secretly contain hints of deadly allergens.
Israeli scientists have developed the handheld Allerguard device to detect trace amounts of allergens in a meal simply by analyzing food vapors—and it can identify the allergens in just 30 seconds.
“Before you eat, simply hold the Allerguard device over the plate of food. Allerguard’s nanotechnology then absorbs the vapor molecules for detection,” reads the website.
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“Once absorbed, electrochemical sensors then identify any potential allergen molecules. Finally, artificial intelligence analyzes the chemical structure of the vapor molecules to identify any allergen presence down to the maximum allowable presence of an allergen deemed safe to eat.”
Other modern methods of allergen detection usually require a physical sample of the food for analysis—but this is considered to be a flawed method of detection since allergens can still be hidden somewhere else in the meal.
The Allerguard scientists, on the other hand, are confident that their gadget can guarantee food safety on a molecular level.
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The developers recently told ISRAEL21c that the device still requires another 18 months of research and development before it is commercially available to the masses, but the company has already raised more than $2.2 million in funding—and the gadget has already proven itself to have “unprecedented accuracy” in laboratory tests.
Once the Allerguard is available for purchase, they hope to sell the gadget for roughly $150.
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It’s the most spook-tacular time of the year—and this English artist is celebrating the holiday by painstakingly carving dozens of spine-chilling jack-o-lanterns.
36-year-old Jamie Jones—also known as the “Pumpkin Freak”, spends up to 27 hours on each of his elaborate pumpkin creations.
Jones manages to create the images without actually breaking the surface of the pumpkins. Instead, the dad-of-two shaves off ultra-thin layers from the surface of the vegetables so that varying amounts of light are able to shine through.
This means that the stunning drawings are only revealed when the pumpkins are finally lit up.
His pumpkins feature drawings of TV and film characters like Predator, Chucky, and Beetlejuice.
“I shave the surface so thin, I have to be really careful not to go through,” said Jones, who is a media salesman from Chester, Cheshire
“It can take me 27 hours to do each one because if you make a mistake, then that’s it—the whole thing is ruined,” he continued. “Most people don’t realize what is possible with pumpkins. It takes a huge amount of patience to do something like this.
“You have got to have a lot of commitment. I come home from work and spend three or four hours a night on them.”
Jones starts by drawing his chosen design onto the surface of the pumpkin. He then delicately chisels, shaves, and etches out the design onto the pumpkin’s fragile outer shell.
To stop the pumpkins from rotting away, Jones seals the surfaces with a spray and protective resin so they last for several weeks.
Jones has been carving pumpkins for several years, but he only recently decided to take things to the next level.
He now creates the bespoke designs for local businesses and event organizers at Halloween.
“When I show people for the first time, they are blown away,” said Jones. “[The jack-o-lanterns] are so much better than your bog-standard pumpkins, but are so much more complex. It’s really good fun and I genuinely enjoy it.
“Halloween is a great time of year and if you put the work in, you can make some amazing decorations,” he added.
If you want to check out more of Jones’s pumpkin art, be sure and check out his Pumpkin Freak website.
(WATCH the artist in action below)
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Quote of the Day: “I love that in celebrating Halloween, we can get lost in the magic of make-believe and fantasy no matter what age we are!” – Natalya Neidhart
Photo: by DaPuglet, CC license on Flickr – cropped
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Washington D.C. may not be the most congenial town when it comes to reaching across the political aisle, but when it comes to sports, it may be one of the friendliest.
After the Washington Nationals baseball franchise lost three straight games on their home turf last weekend to their opponents, the Houston Astros, there was none of the toxic name-calling that made headlines in the political rags—at least, according to one Texas fan who wanted to thank the city for its cordial hospitality.
When dejected ‘Nats’ fans opened the sports page in Monday’s Washington Post, a quarter page ad appeared with the heading: AN OPEN LETTER TO NATS FANS.
The anonymous buyer who purchased the ad described himself as ‘an appreciative Astros fan,’ and said their whole family of diehard Astros fans traveled to D.C. just to cheer on their Texas team in a World Series game—which would have been risky in some cities where nasty fans take their sports allegiances way too seriously (cough-cough… Philadelphia).
“Whether in restaurants, on the way to the game, or at our seats, Nats fans have been nothing but thoroughly friendly, engaging and welcoming,” the ad read.
Traveling around the nation’s capital in their navy blue and orange Astros colors, they experienced none of the vitriol they might have expected.
“There seems to be a true appreciation of what we have in common like passion for the sport… the fun of two great teams battling it out on the field, rather than a shallow focus on what differentiates us,” the ad read. “In a world where unfortunately the focus is quite often put on the latter, I have been truly struck by how well we have been treated.”
A proud D.C. sports fan Charlie Haworth of Falls Church, Virginia, shared the letter on Facebook, and referred to a pair of recent championship wins for the city—Washington Capitals (in hockey) and Mystics (in basketball)—saying, “We may not have as many championships as other places but we have respect. There was no looting, burning or anything negative in the celebrations of the past 2 professional teams championship wins.”
The anonymous salute to Nats fans in print closed by wishing them well ‘no matter how the World Series ends.’
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Tonight is game 7, and will decide the winner, after the Nats evened the score tallying three wins on the Astros home turf.
(Photo credits: Charlie Haworth via FB; Kevin Harber, CC license)
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Coffee, exercise, and meditation now beat catching up on the news when it comes to the perfect morning ritual, according to a new poll of 2,000 Americans.
The survey sought to explore people’s morning routines and lifestyles, with questions about how people most wished to spend their time.
With the self-care movement in full advance, Americans are embracing the concept of activities like meditation for the contemplative and mood-elevating effects—and, in this poll, 36% said that their perfect morning would include setting aside time to meditate, calling it an essential element.
Similarly, 24% said yoga would definitely be in their morning routine.
Even more survey participants, 40 percent, said they include exercising first thing in the morning—before starting their workday or jumping into reading the news—as the best way to start a perfect day.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Thermador, revealed that two-thirds of people (65%) are longing for more control of their mornings and 77% rate their mornings as busy.
One in five of the respondents said they are always in a rush even to get out of the door each morning.
THINGS AMERICANS DEEM ESSENTIAL TO START A DAY OFF PERFECTLY
1. Coffee (52%)
2. Tasty breakfast (41%)
3. Exercise (40%)
4. Meditation (36%)
5. Watch the news (33%)
6. Read the news (31%)
7. Listen to a podcast (27%)
8. Have a juice (26%)
9. Yoga (24%)
The trend toward self-care was also apparent in another core morning must-have: if given the opportunity to design their life, 26% would love to include juicing as a luxury priority.
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Three quarters (74%) of those surveyed agreed that having more time in the morning would be a true luxury.
Time is such a precious commodity that even the slightest boost is welcomed. One in four respondents said simply having 10 extra minutes per day would make all the difference, while a mere 30 minutes was deemed the average response for the sample as a whole.
So, is the dream of having an “extra 30 minutes per day” attainable? The secret may lie in kitchen automation, said a Thermador spokesperson.
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Most people agreed. When asked to consider the latest time-saving kitchen innovations—from fully automatic coffee machines, to dishwashers designed to complete a wash cycle in just 20 minutes—respondents estimated that they could save 27 minutes on average with a fully automated smart-home kitchen.
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All of the garbage trucks in Toronto will soon be powered by the biogas produced from the very trash they collect.
Toronto is set to be one of the first cities in North America to launch such an initiative, thanks to the their newly-constructed Dufferin Solid Waste Management Facility.
Starting in March 2020, the city’s fleet of garbage trucks will collect all of the organic waste and flood scraps from the Toronto Green Bins and bring them to the facility for processing. The facility will then use anaerobic digesters to capture all of the biogas produced by the waste and transform it into renewable natural gas (RNG).
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After the scraps are dropped off at the facility, the city’s 170 garbage trucks can then immediately fill up their fuel tanks with RNG before heading out to collect more trash.
According to city officials, “RNG is also less expensive and more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels such as diesel. Once injected into the natural gas pipeline, it can be used to fuel vehicles or provide electricity or heat to homes and businesses.
“RNG generated from food waste is actually considered carbon-negative, because the reduction in emissions by not extracting and burning petroleum-based fuel, and the emissions avoided by not sending organics to landfill, exceed the direct emissions associated with the production and use of RNG.”
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Reports say that 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in Toronto are generated by garbage, primarily food waste. Now, estimates suggest that the Dufferin facility will produce approximately 3.2 million cubic meters of RNG per year, which will save roughly 9,000 tonnes of CO2 from ending up in the atmosphere.
This closed-loop system is just one of the city’s four pre-planned waste-to-RNG production schemes for the coming years.
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Some people may only dream of holding at least one Guinness World Record in their lifetime—but this man has managed to break 129 records in just 4 years.
34-year-old David Rush spends the majority of his spare time smashing records that range from remarkable to bizarre.
He holds the official Guinness crown for farthest tortilla thrown (54 feet and 5 inches) and the farthest distance to blow a pea in one breath (41 feet and 3.5 inches).
He also holds the record for the fastest half-marathon while skipping, at two hours, 13 minutes and 41.8 seconds.
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Rush, an MIT graduate with an electrical engineering degree, works full-time in the tech industry. He began pursuing his unusual hobby at the age of 29 as motivation to improve his juggling skills.
He now uses the media attention he receives for his record-setting talents to help promote his more academic passions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
The Boise, Idaho, resident first started juggling at the age of 8 and began training for his first record in 2013: the fastest 800-meter run while juggling—AKA “joggling.”
But during his last training session, disaster struck when he injured his knee.
“It was defeating,” said Rush. “[I thought] How do I get over this hurdle? The human reaction is to give up.”
Instead of wasting time, Rush changed his mindset and chose to attempt world records that did not involve intense aerobic activity. In October 2015, after years of intense training, he achieved his first official record from Guinness for the longest duration of blindfolded juggling.
His time was 6 minutes and 34 seconds without dropping a ball—and he has since incorporated juggling into 19 of his world records.
“It was all muscle memory. I wasn’t thinking about it,” said Rush. “I never thought I could break a Guinness World Record. I had no idea I would go on to break more than one.”
While Rush usually benefits from the support of his friends and family, they often roll their eyes at the absurdity of his endeavors.
“My wife is the most supportive wife in the whole world. She comes to the events and takes pictures and videos,” says Rush. “But she has the Guinness record for the most eye rolls.”
Even though he works full-time for a tech company called Cradlepoint to promote STEM, Rush still finds plenty of time to plan new record attempts.
Evenings and weekends are spent researching records and training to make sure he is maximizing his time effectively. “I pick a record and focus on that one, but in any given week I may be practicing 50 different records,” he said. “I am always looking at the Guinness book and their website.”
Rush says he is hoping to break at least 50 more world records in the near future, including most balloons popped in one minute by throwing chopsticks, most t-shirts worn during a half-marathon, and fastest time to drink a liter of lemon juice through a straw.
“I plan to remain doing this as long as I keep having fun,” says Rush. “If you set your mind to a goal, believe in yourself, and pursue it with a passion, you can accomplish anything.”
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This new antiviral drug is highly effective in treating influenza infection in animals and human airway tissue by inducing mutations in the genetic material of influenza virus—and it could be a groundbreaking advance in influenza therapy.
According to a study by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, the antiviral drug blocks RNA polymerase, the enzyme that plays a central role in replicating the genome of influenza virus, causing mutations in the viral genome. If enough mutations occur, the genome becomes nonfunctional and the virus cannot replicate. The findings were published online in Science Translational Medicine last week.
“The compound is highly efficacious against influenza,” said Dr. Richard Plemper, senior author of the study and a professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences. “It’s orally available, it’s broad spectrum against all influenza virus strains tested, and most important it establishes a high barrier against viral escape from inhibition.”
Influenza, caused by a contagious respiratory virus, is characterized by fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise, sore throat and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms. Patients in higher risk groups, such as older adults and individuals with compromised immune systems, frequently require hospitalization. Each year, seasonal influenza results in 30,000 to 80,000 fatalities in the United States. The seasonal flu vaccine is only moderately effective, and licensed antivirals are compromised by rapidly emerging viral resistance to the drugs.
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In the study, the new antiviral drug was tested in ferrets, the most informative animal model for human influenza disease, against various strains that include seasonal and pandemic viruses, such as the swine-origin influenza virus responsible for a 2009 pandemic. The researchers found that the antiviral drug efficiently inhibited replication of all of these strains. Virus burden dropped rapidly after treatment, and the duration of fever was significantly shorter in treated ferrets than in control animals that did not receive the drug.
“We think that the next generation of influenza antiviral drugs must not only be efficacious and safe, but also address the resistance problem,” said Dr. Mart Toots, first author of the study and a research assistant professor associated with Dr. Plemper’s lab in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences.
That is where the new drug comes in. Through a combination of conventional and ultra-deep sequencing, Toots has demonstrated in collaboration with Dr. Alex Greninger at the University of Washington that it is very challenging for the virus to find a viable way to avoid the compound.
“We have not identified specific resistance mutations yet and are confident to say that the genetic barrier against viral resistance is high,” Plemper said. “We believe that this compound has high clinical potential as a next-generation influenza drug that combines key antiviral features.”
This research on the compound, EIDD-2801, emerged from collaboration among Georgia State’s Institute for Biomedical Sciences and researchers at The Emory Institute of Drug Development (EIDD) and Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory who originally discovered the compound.
EIDD-2801 has entered formal preclinical development and clinical testing is expected to start in 2020.
Reprinted from Georgia State University
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