California has just become the first state in the nation to pass legislation that prohibits public schools from starting too early.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into effect earlier this week after it was overwhelmingly approved by state legislators, who realized the health and education ramifications for kids not getting enough sleep.
The bill now mandates that middle schools can start no earlier than 8AM while high schools will be prohibited from starting any earlier than 8:30AM.
Public schools now have until the start of the 2022 school year to adjust their schedules accordingly.
Senate Bill 328 was passed in response to a mounting body of research about how later school start times improve students’ grades, health, and rates of attendance. According to a 2016 analysis of a Massachusetts pilot program that delayed the morning bell, reporters found that pushing back high school start times to 8:30AM produced positive results almost immediately: test scores went up, the number of Ds and Fs dropped by half, rates of tardiness and absence went down, and teen-related car crashes decreased dramatically as well.
Students also said they did not mind being kept in school until 3PM because the later start time made them feel better rested and less likely to fall asleep while in class.
California lawmakers now hope that their students will experience similar benefits after their newly-approved bill goes into effect—and other states may be inspired to take similar action in their own classrooms.
Be Sure And Share The News With Your Friends On Social Media – File photo by Ed Yourdon, CC, via Flickr
Quote of the Day: “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu
Photo: by Beth Phifer – CC license on Flickr, cropped
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Millions of people are melting over this sweet video of a little girl named Gabby describing the first time that she met her adoptive parents.
In the video, Gabby says that she was only 4 years old when she first met her the couple from Dallas, Texas.
The adorable youngster goes on to describe the encounter in the cutest way possible. At the very end of the video, she lowers her voice to a secretive tone and asks her mother about the first time they met.
“Do you know what happened to my heart?” whispers Gabby. “Well, when the first time I saw you, my heart fall in love with you!”
Yep… you may need to grab tissues for this.
(WATCH the wholesome video below) – Photo by Newsflare
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There was once a time when bison roamed freely in huge numbers across the Great Plains. An estimated 30 million bison in the 1500s dwindled dramatically to less than 1,000 on the continent by the late 1800s.
Conservation efforts in Badlands National Park began during the 1960s when 50 bison were reintroduced to the park, followed by an additional 20 bison in the 1980s. Today, the population has reached approximately 1,200, but officials wanted to give the animals more land so they could migrate.
In 2014, the Badlands Park worked with the National Forest Service and WWF to purchase an additional 22,000 acres of bison habitat in a land swap with its neighbor, the Don Kelly Ranch, that would free up more open territory for bison migration. But fences had to be built to keep the animals from roaming onto neighboring ranches.
After completing 43 miles of new fencing, on Oct 11, bison were reintroduced on the property—for the first time in 150 years. The spectacular sight of four majestic mammals galloping onto the land was described in a WWF blog post:
The door of the gooseneck trailer clanged open and for a moment, the only sound was a lacerating wind whipping snow across the plains and canyons of Badlands National Park. A slew of onlookers waited in hushed anticipation. And then—as though a signaling bell chimed—four massive, majestic bison barreled through the opening and into the wild.
“Bison are North America’s largest and most iconic mammal,” said Martha Kauffman, managing director of WWF’s Northern Great Plains program. “The project has touched the imaginations of people across the US, and the matching dollars that WWF has provided wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of our supporters.”
This project has provided the bison more than 80,000 total acres to roam within the park. Officials hope that their continued conservation efforts in the Badlands will achieve the mission of bringing the species back to its former glory.
(WATCH the WWF video of the exciting moment below…)
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Wrapping a building in a fire-protective blanket is a viable way of protecting it against wildfires, finds the first study to scientifically assesses this method of defense.
By rigorously testing different fabric materials in the laboratory and using them to shield structures that were exposed to fires of increasing magnitude, this research, published in Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering, confirms that existing blanket technology can protect structures from a short wildfire attack.
For successful deployment against severe fires and in areas of high housing density, technological advancement of blanket materials and deployment methods, as well as multi-structure protection strategies, are needed.
“The whole-house fire blanket is a viable method of protection against fires at the wildland-urban interface,” says lead study author Fumiaki Takahashi, a professor at Case Western Reserve University.
“Current technology can protect an isolated structure against a relatively short wildfire attack and further technological developments are likely to enable this method to be applied to severe situations.”
Wildfires in urban and suburban settings can have a devastating effect on communities and pose one of the greatest fire challenges of our time.
People living and working in fire-risk areas contacted Professor Takahashi to find out if commercial products are available to help reduce the likelihood of structure ignition, which would reduce fire damage and improve public and firefighter safety. These pleas motivated the research and an initial investigation revealed that the concept of whole-structure fire blankets has been around for quite some time.
“I thought about a means to reduce wildland fire damage and found a U.S. patent ‘conflagration-retardative curtain’ i.e., a fire blanket, issued during World War II. In addition, the U.S. Forest Service firefighters managed to save a historic forest cabin by wrapping it with their fire shelter materials,” Takahashi reports.
While there are anecdotal reports on the ability of fire blankets to protect buildings from fires, Takahashi’s research highlighted a severe lack of scientific evidence to back up these claims. To rectify this, funded by a research grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the team conducted several experiments to test the ability of different blanket materials to shield structures against fires of increasing magnitude.
“The fire exposure tests determined how well the fire blankets protected various wooden structures, from a birdhouse in a burning room to a full-size shed in a real forest fire. We tested four types of fabric materials: aramid, fiberglass, amorphous silica, and pre-oxidized carbon, each with and without an aluminum surface. In addition, we conducted laboratory experiments under controlled heat exposure and measured the heat-insulation capabilities of these materials against direct flame contact or radiation heat.”
The laboratory and real-fire assessments demonstrate that fire blankets could protect structures from a short exposure to a wildfire, but also highlight the technical limitations of their existing form. Further technological advancements are needed in the areas of material composition, deployment methods and multi-structure protection strategies.
Takahashi explains: “The fiberglass or amorphous silica fabrics laminated with aluminum foil performed best, due to high reflection/emission of radiation and good thermal insulation by the fabric. New technology is needed to enhance the fire blankets’ heat-blocking capability for an extended period to prevent structure-to-structure ignition.
He concludes by suggesting communities potentially affected by wildfires work together to turn the concept of whole-building fire blankets into a reality.
“The implication of the present findings is that the technical community, the general public, and the fire service must work together to take a step-by-step approach toward the successful application of this technology.”
Reprinted from Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering
Photo by Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering
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These two Utah firefighters went above and beyond the call of duty to calm an anxious little girl who had just gotten out of a car collision.
According to a Facebook post from the North Davis Fire District, Chief Hadley and Captain Lloyd were some of the first responders to arrive on the scene of the crash earlier this week.
Though none of the drivers or passengers were seriously injured in the collision, there was a screaming little girl who was “very scared” from the experience.
“After noticing the child was holding bottles of fingernail polish, these two officers started talking to her about her polish and asked her if she would paint their nails,” says the post.
“Within minutes, the child was calmly paining their nails and had forgotten about the accident she had just experienced.”
Though the manicure was not necessarily the tidiest paint job, thousands of social media users have praised the firefighters for their kindness.
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Quote of the Day: “Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” – Zig Ziglar
Photo: by gfpeck – CC license on Flickr, cropped
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THE 25TH ESPYS - Theatre - The world's best athletes and biggest stars join host Peyton Manning for "The 25th ESPYS presented by Capital One" live from the Microsoft Theater on WEDNESDAY, JULY 12 (8:00-11:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (ABC/Image Group LA)
SIMONE BILES
Simone Biles won five gold medals at the 2019 World Championships this weekend—more than any gymnast at a single Worlds since 1958—and earned her 25th career World medal (19 of them gold), a total that surpasses by two any gymnast’s in history.
With four Olympic gold medals and 19 World titles, Biles, at 22, is doing more difficult gymnastics now than she did in sweeping five Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio Games when she was 19.
While winning her sixth U.S. all-around title in Stuttgart, Germany, she thrilled audiences with two new signature moves never performed by a female gymnast in competition: a double twisting double tuck dismount off the balance beam, and a triple twisting double tuck during her floor exercise, an element that will bear her name in gymnastics, from now on, as the Biles II.
Tying and then breaking the record set by Vitaly Scherbo with her 23rd, 24th and 25th World medals, Biles added five of the six women’s World golds, a feat no woman has accomplished since Larisa Latynina in 1958.
In 2013, she performed a skill that was named Biles I, a double layout half out tumbling pass, which, to that point, had only been performed by men.
“I really don’t know how I do it sometimes,” Biles said. “Sometimes I wonder how I do it. I feel like it’s just like not me. I wish I could have an out-of-body experience to witness it.”
Despite her seemingly super-human skill, Biles is very human, according to her coach, Laurent Landi. “With big champions, it’s all in-between the ears, it’s nothing physical. I know we talk about the physical abilities, but without this,” he said, tapping his head, “she would not be capable of doing what she does.”
Considered the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone has said that she will likely retire after 2020.
(WATCH the new Biles II and an interview after breaking the record) –Photos by Walt Disney Television (right) and vfutscher (left), CC license on Flickr
For 50 years, the Kirtland’s warbler has been one of the most endangered birds on the planet.
In 1971, there were only around 200 singing male warblers left, surviving in just six counties in northern Michigan, within a particular area of jack pine forests specific to its nesting requirements.
When the Endangered Species Act was first signed into law in 1973, the tiny songbird was one of the first species added—and efforts were launched to save it. Today, after 90,000 acres of additional jack pine forests were created to support its habitat, a recent census that counted individual songs, found that their population had increased 11 fold, to 2,383 pairs—more than double the recovery goal.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have described the 50-year project as a regulatory and collaborative success story, citing the outstanding work of the Michigan State wildlife authorities who have worked for a half century to expand nesting habitat and reduce the population of brown-headed cowbirds—a predator species that competes by laying their eggs in warbler nests, the babies of which, when hatched, overcome the smaller warblers.
The revival of the notably loudmouthed songbird has been described as “a shining example of what it takes to save imperiled species,” by Margaret Everson, principal deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The warbler, with its beautiful golden bib in the center of azure-grey feathers, has spread geographically, expanding beyond the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan to areas in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin and Ontario.
By Joel Trick, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters (CC license)
Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Kirtland’s warbler no longer warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.
“Conservation will continue to require a coordinated, multi-agency approach for planning and implementing conservation efforts into the future,” FWS stated, citing the need for partnerships and “sufficient funding” to continue to ensure the population is stable.
Historically, wildfires were the most important factor for establishing the natural jack pine forests that Kirtland’s warblers need for breeding habitat. Modern wildfire suppression greatly diminished the natural disturbance that once generated the perfect breeding habitat. In the absence of wildfire, land managers had to take an active role in mimicking natural processes that regularly occurred within the jack pine ecosystem—primarily through timber harvesting and human-assisted reforestation.
Today, the sale of jack pine timber on sites where reforestation will occur is critical to managing Kirtland’s warbler breeding habitat. Timber receipts offset the cost of replanting jack pine needed to support a viable population of nesting Kirtland’s warblers that would not otherwise be feasible through conservation dollars.
“Private forest owners are proud partners in this major milestone and committed to the long-term health of the Kirtland’s warbler,” said Dave Tenny, founding President and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners.
There seems to be an app for just about anything these days, but for a hands-on, ‘round-the-clock task like dementia care, is there really “an app for that”?
When Logan Wells’s grandmother was first diagnosed with dementia, her family chose to care for her at home so she could enjoy her three-mile daily walks and a social life with friends. Logan’s parents, Hallie and Eric, and his aunt Lisa set out to organize a schedule for Nannie and all her companions.
Hallie told Colonial Times Magazine, “When we first started, there were pieces of paper all over Nannie’s house: the chore chart on the fridge, the calendar on the kitchen counter, the medication check-off.”
But, as Nannie’s condition declined and more specialized care was required, the family in Lexington, Massachusetts, began introducing professional caregivers into the mix. With six family members and three professional staff, the teenager witnessed the overwhelming number of tasks created by constantly having to update the team through texts, emails, and calling multiple numbers—and he wondered if there was a better way.
50 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with dementia, but despite the large adult population going through similar circumstances, it’s common for families to feel isolated and overwhelmed.
Seeing the stress it was putting on his mom to coordinate all medical appointments, medications, and be the main point of contact for all the helpers, Logan did what he could to help. He also began learning programming from online tutorials with the plan to develop an app that would coordinate all the data and calendar information.
Development of the app quickly became a family project. Logan’s dad, Eric, helped with his background in technology and programming; his twin brother Devin and sister Delaney provided input for the prototype; and Logan’s mom and aunt tested the initial version and provided crucial feedback.
Later in the development process, they brought in software consultants to provide security features, and help to scale up the app so it could be offered to families everywhere. The result is CareZare.
Logan and his father then took it to a local senior care facility and collected feedback from test groups of care professionals who knew how massive amounts of health and behavioral data could be streamlined and improved.
The pair also met with families facing different types of care challenges, such as adult family members with developmental disabilities. “We started to think – we can build this so it’s useful to other people,” Eric said. The suggestions they received were integrated into the app.
With the free app, users can log activities, track tasks (such as, if patient took their meds), keep an up-to-date calendar and have all of your contacts in one place. The app inventors say that future enhancements include integration with Google and Apple calendars, weather updates that could help care team members plan ahead, and even streaming video feed from home security cameras.
When asked about log-in problems experienced by a few users who then left poor reviews, Logan Wells told GNN, “We had a steep rise in users in a short amount of time which caused some issues, but those are now resolved.”
Currently, CareZare is offered for both Android and iPhone devices.
So, yes, even for the myriad challenges that families face in helping care for one of their own, there really is an app for that. CareZare launched in November of 2017.
“It has been a godsend, honestly, from the communication point of view,” Logan’s aunt Lisa said. “Before, you could spend half your day just calling people and trying to figure things out.”
Quote of the Day: “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” – Henry James
Photo: by Anne O’Mahony – CC license on Flickr
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Drought-stricken farmers in Australian are receiving some greatly-needed assistance thanks to a bewe-tiful new form of prisoner rehabilitation.
Inmates at the Cooma Correctional Center in the Snowy Monaro region of New South Wales have been caring for newborn lambs as a means of helping local farmers during the dry season, according to ABC News.
Farmers who may need a hand with their baby livestock can contact the prison and arrange for their lambs to stay at the facility. Once the lambs are dropped off at the prison’s indoor livestock pen, the inmates can then provide round-the-clock care for the duration of the lambs’ eight-week adolescence.
Not only does the program help support struggling local farmers, it is also a therapeutic method for teaching valuable job skills and agriculture training to the inmates.
“It’s made me a bit more kind-hearted and gentle,” one of the prisoners told ABC News. “Who doesn’t love a baby lamb? I just love them.”
Since the program has grown more and more successful, the inmates and correctional officers are currently building additional pens to accommodate the increasing amount of resident lambs. Additionally, community members have been donating blankets, feeding bottles, and lamb food to help care for the critters.
Photo by Cooma Correctional Service
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A Texas family suffered the loss of their pet, but in their story you are sure to have your faith in humanity fully restored.
Greg and Joy Scrivener’s 14-year-old dog Abbey died in 2006. The day after she passed away, their 4-year-old daughter Meredith was so sad that she asked her mother if they could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.
She then dictated these words to her mother:
Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith
They then put the letter in an envelope with two pictures of Abbey and addressed the envelope: “To: God in Heaven.” They wrote their San Antonio address on it and put it in the mailbox.
Soon after, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on their front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’. Inside was a book written by Mr. Rogers called When a Pet Dies. The original envelope and letter were also enclosed, along with the photos of their beloved black and white dog. Tucked inside the book was this note:
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.
Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I’m easy to find. I am wherever there is love.
Love, God
This wonderful story is 100% true, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
(File photo by Virginia State Parks, CC license) EDITOR‘S NOTE: GNN originally attributed the story to a post on Facebook, until an alert reader sent us an email pointing out our mistake.
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Austin, Athens, Lisbon, and Venice are the latest major cities to have peaked their greenhouse gas emissions, according to this latest environmental report.
The world’s leading scientists have calculated that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2020 in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. New analysis published ahead of the C40 World Mayors Summit confirms that 30 of the world’s largest cities, representing more than 58 million urban citizens, have now reached this crucial milestone.
The 30 cities are: Athens, Austin, Barcelona, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Montréal, New Orleans, New York City, Oslo, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, Rome, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, Venice, Warsaw, and Washington, D.C.
The fact that 30 of the world’s largest and most influential cities have already peaked greenhouse gas emissions demonstrates that a rapid, equitable low-carbon transition is possible, and is already well underway. C40 analysis shows that, since reaching peak emissions levels, these 30 cities have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 22%. Copenhagen, the host city for this year’s C40 World Mayors Summit, has reduced emissions by up to 61%.
As of today, half of all C40 cities have already reached peak emissions, are projected to achieve peak emissions by 2020, or have made concrete commitments to meet this ambitious goal.
Mayors recognize the wide-ranging social, economic, and environmental benefits of climate action, and for the past decade, C40 cities around the world have been accelerating action needed to create healthier, cleaner, and more prosperous communities. A few notable examples of the progress cities have accomplished over the past 10 years include:
Today, 82 cities have implemented cycle hire schemes, compared to 13 in 2009.
There are now more than 66,000 electric buses on the streets of C40 cities, compared to fewer than 100 in 2009.
24 cities have committed to achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2030, compared to 4 in 2009.
18 cities have banned or restricted single-use, non-recyclable plastics, compared to 2 in 2009.
17 cities now have restrictions on high-polluting vehicles that cover a significant part of the city, compared to 3 in 2009.
”The C40 cities that have reached peak emissions are raising the bar for climate ambition, and at the same time, exemplifying how climate action creates healthier, more equitable and resilient communities.” said Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities. “With the vast amount of expertise and resources now available through the C40 Knowledge Hub, we’re going to see even more cities accelerating their climate action to limit global heating and deliver the future we want.”
As an organization, C40 plays an important role in helping mayors and city officials access critical data and resources to determine the best courses for climate action. C40’s Deadline 2020 program has been vital to cities’ work in developing and implementing ambitious climate action plans in line with science-based targets.
As a next step in providing cities with the knowledge and cutting-edge tools necessary to drive large-scale climate action, C40 announced the launch of the C40 Knowledge Hub, an online platform bringing together insights, practical experiences, and tested approaches from cities ahead of the climate action curve. The C40 Knowledge Hub will allow global cities at every stage of their climate commitments to access policy briefs, technical guidance, the latest data and research, and a bank of case studies to catalyze action at greater speed and scale.
The launch of the C40 Knowledge Hub is a first-of-its-kind endeavor, marking the first time that knowledge from leading cities has been brought together under one roof for the purpose of informing and inspiring policies in other localities. It also underscores the important role that knowledge-sharing and collaboration plays in raising climate ambition and accelerating action. 30% of all urban actions to address global climate change has involved direct cooperation with other cities.
Cities are invited to register for the Knowledge Hub site to start using the suite of global practical tools and policy briefs for accelerating climate actions, and to contribute to the network of city peer-to-peer knowledge exchange.
Now that Tyler Perry has become the first African-American to own a major film studio outright, he says that he plans on using a portion of the 330-acre property to house disadvantaged women and children.
Perry hosted the grand opening of his newly-created Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia this week.
Though the event was one of the more notable accomplishments of Perry’s career, he is now focusing on his next project: building a shelter for rescued trafficking victims, homeless women, and displaced LGBTQ youth.
In an interview with CBS This Morning, Perry says he plans on building the compound on his studio property so the shelter residents can simultaneously undergo on-site job training for the film industry.
The initiative is particularly personal to Perry because, as he revealed on an Oprah broadcast in 2010, he was sexually abused as a child.
Now, he hopes that erecting the compound on the studio property will allow him to offer stability and hope to others who have suffered through similar challenges.
(WATCH the interview below) – Photo via screenshot from video by CBS This Morning
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Quote of the Day: “And from the midst of cheerless gloom I passed to bright unclouded day.” – Emily Bronte
Photo: by llee_wu – CC license on Flickr, cropped
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This 34-year-old Kenyan athlete has just become the first human in history to run a marathon in under two hours.
Eliud Kipchoge finished the INEOS marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 40.2 seconds today in Austria.
According to a team of pacemakers who kept up with Kipchoge throughout the ordeal, he ran at a pace of 4:33.5 minutes per mile in order to finish the challenge ahead of schedule.
That being said, Kipchoge already holds the world record for the fastest completed marathon after he finished the Berlin Marathon in 2:01:39 last year.
“I want to inspire many people that no human is limited,” Kipchoge told ESPN. “That was the best moment of my life. The pressure was very big on my shoulders. I got a phone call from the president of Kenya. I am the happiest man today.”
(WATCH him run into the history books in the video below)
HE. HAS. DONE. IT.@EliudKipchoge is the first human to run a marathon in less than two hours!
This adorable dachshund has become a viral sensation for balancing a series of random objects on his head.
30-year-old Paul Lavery was amazed to discover his dog Harlso’s “hidden talent” for balance after he jokingly placed a squeaky toy on the pup’s head and watched as the pup stood still as a statue.
Wearing a jazzy bowtie, the 5-year-old pooch is now always showing off his talent for balancing various items on his head, including a globe, a glass of water, and a stack of doughnuts.
His talent has naturally catapulted him to internet stardom, with over 92,000 followers on Instagram alone.
Lavery, who lives with his partner Jen Scott at their home in Belfast, said: “We got him five years ago and we just fell in love with him at first sight and brought him home.
“For us, we didn’t know he knew any tricks. We tried teaching him to sit, lie down, roll over and he wasn’t interested!” Lavery mused. “When he was about two years old I sat a chicken toy on his head and he just sat there looking at it really still.
“I called Jen down and said: ‘Jen! Harlso has a hidden talent!’”
SWNS
Soon after their discovery of Harlso’s unique skill in February 2016, the bewildered couple set up various social media accounts—and in a few months, Harlso had 14,000 followers.
“It really started growing quite quickly. People from all over the world follow him,” said Lavery. “When we created the Instagram account it was mainly just for us, family and friends. We never expected it to take it off. I just thought ‘who is going to be interested in seeing these photos and videos?’
“Harlso’s got his very own VIP fan club for the most dedicated fans and we get messages from people wanting to meet him.
“We got one message from an Australian couple who said they were in the area and asked if they could pencil in a time to meet him and pet him.”
SWNS
Lavery takes photos and videos of the wiener dog balancing all sorts of things on his head, while dressed in an impressive array of outfits—with more than 300 bow ties to choose from.
“We always try to match his bow tie to what he’s balancing on his head. We try to do themes for Halloween, Christmas and Easter too,” explained Lavery. “You can put pretty much anything on his head as long as it’s not too heavy and too dangerous.
“I get people messaging me asking for training tips like I’m Cesar Millan! I do not know how he does this, one day he might decide to just stop,” he added.
“It’s amazing because when he was balancing things it used to surprise us but he can balance almost anything and 99% of the time, he manages to do it first time.”
SWNS
Harlso has won a 2019 Webby Award due to his talents and is even listed as one off the Guinness World Records ‘Amazing Animals.’ He also recently won Northern Ireland’s Social Media Personality of the Year—all while beating several humans to the prize.
SWNS
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Zoomed photo of fluid moving through a small channel in the microfluidic chip – Columbia University in the City of New York
300,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year, but current testing methods require days or weeks—sometimes even more—devoted to lab work and processing.
Finally, a team of scientists have developed a rapid microfluidic test that can detect Lyme disease in just 15 minutes.
Caused by the bacterial species Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by the bite of infected Ixodes ticks, the disease can cause serious neurologic, cardiac, and/or rheumatologic complications if left untreated.
Current testing for Lyme disease, called the standard 2-tiered approach (STT) involves running two complex assays (ELISA and western blot) to detect antibodies against the bacterium, and requires experienced personnel in a lab, as well as a few hours to carry out and interpret.
Now, a research team led by Sam Sia, professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has developed a rapid microfluidic test that can detect Lyme disease with similar performance as the STT in a much shorter time.
“Our findings are the first to demonstrate that Lyme disease diagnosis can be carried out in a microfluidic format that can provide rapid quantitative results,” says Sia. “This means that our test could easily be used directly in a doctor’s office, obviating having to send the samples out to a laboratory.”
Sia’s group worked in collaboration with Maria Gomes-Solecki from Immuno Technologies, which found a combination of three proteins that identified antibodies specific to the B. burgdorferi bacterium, and OPKO Health, which provided microfluidic cassettes. Their findings were published this week in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
The researchers evaluated 142 samples, including patients with early Lyme disease, healthy individuals from areas where Lyme disease is endemic, and those with Lyme arthritis. They first screened a set of known diagnostic Lyme disease biomarkers for their ability to detect Lyme disease infection. They then tested the top three biomarkers using a standard enzyme immunoassay, and then mChip-LD, the advanced microfluidic platform developed by Sam Sia, to test the samples.
While also exhibiting high specificity, the team found that Sia’s method was better at picking up signs of Lyme disease infection in early-stage samples—possibly because it was able to detect antibodies that peak in the first weeks after someone is infected with Lyme disease.
Zoomed photo of fluid moving through a small channel in the microfluidic chip – Columbia University in the City of New York
When the test was run on Sia’s mChip-LD platform, it worked very well, showing strong potential for the development of a point-of-care test for Lyme disease. “While the assay will require more refinement and testing before it can be approved for widespread use as a test for Lyme disease, our results are very exciting,” says one of the study’s lead authors, Siddarth Arumugam, who is a PhD student in Sia’s lab. “It will help so many people if we can develop a single, rapid, multiplexed diagnostic test to identify Lyme disease stage that can be used in doctors’ offices.”
Sia is the co-founder of Claros Diagnostics, whose underlying microfluidics technology is now being commercialized by OPKO Health and was recently approved by the FDA for testing for prostate cancer. He and Gomes-Solecki are now planning a more thorough clinical validation study to see whether the performance of the Lyme microfluidic platform holds up.
When 18-year old Javier Larragoiti was told his father had been diagnosed with diabetes, the young man, who had just started studying chemical engineering at college in Mexico City, decided to dedicate his studies to finding a safe, sugar-alternative for his father.
“My dad tried to use stevia and sucralose, just hated the taste, and kept cheating on his diet,” Larragoiti told The Guardian. Stevia and sucralose are both popular sugar alternatives, and many reduced-sugar products available today contain one or the other.
With stevia and sucralose out of the picture, the young chemist needed to keep searching. He started dabbling with xylitol, a sweet-tasting alcohol found in birch wood but also in many fruits and vegetables. Xylitol is used in sugar-free products such as chewing gum and also in children’s medicine, but is toxic to dogs even in small amounts.
“It has so many good properties for human health, and the same flavor as sugar, but the problem was that producing it was so expensive,” said Larragoiti. “So I decided to start working on a cheaper process to make it accessible to everyone.”
Corn is Mexico’s largest agricultural crop, and Javier has now patented a method of extracting xylitol from discarded corn cobs. Best of all, with 28 million metric tons of corn cobs generated every year in Mexico as waste, there’s no shortage of xylitol-generating fuel.
Simultaneously, Larragoiti hit on the idea of how to make xylitol less expensive, while inventing a way to reuse the 28 million tons of corn cobs, substantially upgrading the traditional means of disposal: burning them.
Especially in a pollution-heavy country like Mexico, reducing the amount of corn waste burned, would eliminate a portion of the carbon emissions.
His business, Xilinat, buys waste from 13 local farmers, producing 1 ton of the product each year. His invention was awarded a prestigious $310,000 Chivas Venture prize award, which will enable him to industrialize his operation and scale up production 10-fold, diverting another 10 tons of corn cob from the furnace.
A Better Choice for Diabetics
Obesity affects a dizzying number of people worldwide. Some estimates range as high as 1 in 7 people, while type-2 diabetics and those at risk for type-2 diabetes account for 10% of the world population.
Javier says that sugary diets are a real problem in Mexico; a country with the world’s second-highest rate of obesity. The nation has already taxed sugary drinks as a means to combat one of the main sources of the problem.
In a strange coincidence, Larragoiti’s method of extracting a sugar substitute happens to incorporate the same vegetable whose other byproduct incites the obesity epidemic in the United States: high-fructose corn syrup.
“It’s kind of ironic,” Larragoiti continues in The Guardian interview, “High fructose corn syrup is just a bomb of carbs and concentrated sugar that makes a high peak of insulin. It’s many times sweeter than regular glucose. Companies use and pay less and that’s the issue.”
High-fructose corn syrup is added into most processed and packaged foods and drinks, and plays a big part in the obesity epidemic in the United States, according to the CDC, which reports it affects 93 million adults.
Using Corn For Sugar Substitutes—Instead of Sugar Bombs
However, with North America growing more corn than anywhere else on the planet, and with the Department of Agriculture (DOA) subsidizing its growth, the supply of corn for conversion to corn syrup is cheap and guaranteed.
If Javier’s method of extracting a sugar-free substitute were implemented, the United States could convert corn fields into a more nutrient-dense row crop, shift supply away from the creation of high-fructose corn syrup, or even increase the utilization of corn for bio-ethanol, which would cause the price of different petroleum products to drop.
Regardless, Larragoiti says that he is simply happy that his project has helped to keep his dad from succumbing to a sugary diet that would provoke his diabetes.
“My dad is super-happy,” Larragoiti says, finishing his interview. “He uses my product every day and he’s willing not to cheat on his diet any more!”
