All News - Page 640 of 1725 - Good News Network
Home Blog Page 640

These Simple, Wearable Devices Use a Laser to Prevent ‘Freezing’ Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

By
McKinley Corbley
-

This simple little device is helping to tackle one of the most frustrating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease—and its creators have just been awarded more than $1 million to help finance its distribution.

Danish entrepreneur Lise Pape was inspired to develop the Path Finder device after her own father developed Parkinson’s in 2014. The contraption, which is attached to a patient’s shoe and shines a laser onto the floor, helps to prevent “freezing of gait”: a common symptom of the disease which makes the patient feel as if they are unable to walk.

“People describe it as this feeling of being glued to the floor and being unable to step forward with their feet, despite having the intention to do so,” said Pape. “In fact, 70% of all falls in Parkinson’s are thought to be due to this symptom.”

MORE: Years After She Smells Parkinson’s Disease on Her Husband, Woman is Now Paving the Way for Early Detection Test

Surprisingly, researchers have found that it is easy for patients to avoid this symptom if they have a visual pattern for them to follow as they walk. That’s why Pape designed the Path Finder laser pointer to display a bright green line in front of the wearer’s feet.

Not only do studies show that the laser device helps to reduce the frequency of freezing episodes, they also say that the Path Finder reduces the length of the episodes as well.

Since Pape launched her Walk With Path company in 2017 as a means of distributing the devices throughout Europe, they have been given to individuals and healthcare systems in Norway, Denmark, Canada, and the UK.

WATCH: Success of Advanced-Stage Parkinson’s Treatment is ‘Beyond Researcher’s Wildest Dreams’

Additionally, Pape and the Path Finder were just awarded this year’s €1 million ($1.09 million) Horizon Prize for Social Innovation from the European Union.

The prize will now help her bring the Path Finder to the US market and expand distribution throughout the rest of Europe. The devices are currently being sold on the company website for up to £474 a pop.

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science, and Innovation, handed over the prizes at the European Research and Innovation Days in Brussels this week, saying: “These innovations make a real difference for our senior citizens by helping them maintain an active social life as well as their autonomy.

“These projects also demonstrate how EU support opens the door to new innovative businesses and inspires cooperation between innovators and organizations from civil society, and the private and public sectors. This is a great benefit to all of us.”

(WATCH the video below)

Cure Your Friends Of Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media…

Police Officer Captures Breathtaking Video of Homeless Woman Singing Opera in the Los Angeles Subway

By
McKinley Corbley
-

A homeless woman with the voice of an angel has captured the hearts of internet viewers after an awestruck police officer published a video of her singing onto social media.

The officer from the Los Angeles Police Department had been stationed at the Wilshire and Normandie Purple Line station earlier this week when he heard a nearby homeless woman performing an enchanting rendition of Puccini Aria on the platform.

After pulling out his phone to record a video of the woman, he published it to the police department’s Twitter page where it was later viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

As the video was shared across the internet, the woman was eventually identified as 52-year-old Emily Zamourka: a Russian woman with no traditional vocal training, although she was classically trained on piano and violin.

Zamourka later told reporters that she usually makes money by playing the violin, but her precious $10,000 instrument had been stolen three years ago.

Since she has also been coping with undisclosed health problems, she has been sleeping—and singing—on the streets until she can get herself back into permanent housing.

She also only recently discovered that the video had made her an overnight internet sensation—but she now hopes that her newfound fame will help her to get off of the streets sometime in the near future.

UPDATE: A Flood of Generosity and Singing Offers Flow in for Homeless Sensation From Subway

Michael Trujillo, a Los Angeles consultant who set up a GoFundMe campaign for the musician after hearing her story on the news, is now working with his local councilman’s office which is in touch with the woman, to ensure that the donations help to get Zamourka off the streets; already, he says that the Downtown Women’s Center is working on getting Zamourka into temporary housing.

(WATCH the news coverage below)

Be Sure And Share The Story With Your Friends On Social Media…

“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chödrön

By
Good News Network
-

Quote of the Day: “You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chödrön

Photo: by Capt_tain Tom – 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?

 

Largest Purchase of Electric Vehicles in History: Amazon Orders 100,000 EV Delivery Vans

By
Good News Network
-

Amazon has just placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans—a purchase that is now going down in history as the largest for electric vehicles in the world.

The first of the vans are set to hit the roads in 2021 with 10,000 new EVs purchased from Rivian, Tesla’s sustainable automotive rival. The full fleet is expected to hit public roads before 2030.

For perspective, WIRED says that FedEx uses 85,000 motorized vehicles while UPS uses 123,000 cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles for their global deliveries—only 10,000 of which are reportedly “alternative fuel and advanced technology.”

The $440 million investment is expected to save 4 million metric tons of carbon per year by 2030.

The announcement comes as a byproduct of Amazon partnering with Global Optimism and their newly-established Climate Pledge: a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early. This week, Amazon becomes the first signatory of this pledge, which calls on participants to achieve net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Accord’s goal of 2050.

LOOK: World’s Largest Electric Vehicle is a Dump Truck That Doesn’t Even Need to Be Plugged in for Recharging

The initiative was applauded by UN officials who met last week in New York City for International Climate Week.

“Bold steps by big companies will make a huge difference in the development of new technologies and industries to support a low carbon economy,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate change chief and founding partner of Global Optimism. “With this step, Amazon also helps many other companies to accelerate their own decarbonization. If Amazon can set ambitious goals like this and make significant changes at their scale, we think many more companies should be able to do the same and will accept the challenge. We are excited to have others join.”

 

Two years ago, Amazon made a long-term commitment to power its global infrastructure with 100% renewable energy. Amazon is now pledging to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030 on its path to net zero carbon by 2040.

To date, Amazon has launched 15 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects that will generate over 1,300 MW of renewable capacity and deliver more than 3.8 million MWh of clean energy annually—enough to power 368,000 U.S. homes. Amazon has also installed more than 50 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe that generate 98 MW of renewable capacity and deliver 130,000 megawatt-hours
of clean energy annually.

LOOK: Entrepreneur Has Bought 10,000 Unused Ride-Sharing Bikes So He Can Donate Them to Poor Students

Amazon is also launching the Right Now Climate Fund, committing $100 million to restore and protect forests, wetlands, and peatlands around the world in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, which will help to mitigate millions of metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere over the lifetime of the project, and create economic opportunity for thousands of people.

Pass On The Positive News By Sharing It With Your Friends On Social Media…

Wife Quits Her Job As Couple Spends 57 Tireless Days Searching for Their Dog in Mountain Town—See the Reunion

By
McKinley Corbley
-

Against all odds, a beloved border collie has miraculously been reunited with her owners who spent 57 days searching for her in a rural region of Montana.

Carole King and her husband Verne had traveled all the way to Kalispell from their home in Spokane, Washington so they could enjoy a relaxing 4-day getaway in the sprawling mountain wilderness.

However, their vacation turned into a harrowing search and rescue mission after they returned to their dog-friendly hotel on July 20th only to find that their 7-year-old border collie named Katie had disappeared from their room.

The Kings immediately canceled their return trip home so they could stay in Kalispell and search for Katie. For several weeks, they would stay out until 4AM calling her name; they distributed hundreds of fliers throughout the community; they published her picture on social media channels and Facebook groups; concerned local citizens helped them comb the countryside—but they still couldn’t find Katie.

After a few weeks with no success, they bought motion-triggered cameras and animal cage traps that were baited with Katie’s favorite food. They even bought night vision goggles after one of their newly-made friends in Kalispell suggested that Katie may be moving around at night—but still no luck.

WATCH: Tears Flow as 88-Year-old Finally Meets Biological Daughter She Thought Died At Birth

At one point, Carole traveled back home to Spokane so she could go back to her job as a mail carrier; but when they declined her request to take additional time off to keep searching, she quit.

“Katie was just more important to me,” Ms. King told the New York Times. “I just said, ‘I’ll finish this week, and that’s it.’”

Upon returning to Kalispell once more, Verne took her place at their home in Washington so he could continue looking after their other pets. Thankfully, a local family in Montana had offered to host them until they found their dog, and Carole continued the search with the help of the friendly mountain community.

WATCH: Dog That Shoplifted a Book on ‘Abandonment’ is Given the Love It Was Asking For

By the time September rolled around, Carole began to lose hope. She missed her home, husband, and pets, but Verne and the Kalispell residents encouraged her to continue looking for one more week.

She then received a call from a resident who said that he had seen a border collie in his yard. Carole and her friend visited the property, but found nothing—until they ran into a pair of hikers who pointed out a border collie that had been resting under a nearby tree. When Carole called Katie’s name, the dog ran bounding into her arms.

LOOK: After Spending 7 Years in Hawaii Shelter, Dog Finally Adopted By Couple Visiting From Michigan

“All I could think about was, ‘I’m done. I got her,’” Carole told The Times. “I was crying, I was holding onto her, wrapped her up in a bear hug. I couldn’t get her in the car fast enough to close her in so I wouldn’t lose her again.”

Though Katie had lost 15 pounds from her stint in the wild, she was in relatively good health—and she was overwhelmed with joy when she was finally reunited with Verne back in Washington.

Carole now hopes that their story will inspire other pet owners to never give up on their missing animals.

(WATCH the heartwarming reunion in the news coverage below)

Be Sure And Share This Pawesome Rescue Story With Your Friends On Social Media…

1,200 Schoolchildren Descend on Belgian Beach to Fight Marine Litter

By
Good News Network
-

On a sunny morning last week, 1,200 students between the ages of 8 and 14 headed to the beach to undertake the biggest pollution clean up ever seen in the historic Belgian coastal city of Ostend.

A collective of teachers from 26 catholic schools launched the initiative with a commitment to providing their pupils with the tools and knowledge to help them live in a world where the environment is cared for.

A representative of the Flemish Minister of the Environment, Koen van den Heuvel, applauded their “Oceans of tomorrow” project, which was developed in partnership with the University of Antwerp to teach 8,000 local children about the importance of clean seas over the course of a year.

And, to make it fun, they brought along a support staff of blue Smurfs.

After a morning spent collecting litter from the city’s shore, the children enthusiastically welcomed a costumed mascot of Neptune, the Greek god of freshwater and the sea. Arriving with Emma Plasschaert, a Belgian World Sailing Champion, they spoke to the kids about plastic pollution that they have witnessed in the seas, and encouraged the children to adapt lifestyles that include reusable water bottles and textile bags.

“Youth play a lead role in the fight for our planet,” said a representative from the United Nations Regional Information Centre, Marian Blondeel, during a press conference in Ostend. “By joining their forces, youth, ministers, the European Union, the United Nations— and the Smurfs—can speak with a stronger, unified voice.”

MORE: This Revolutionary Blast Furnace Vaporizes Trash and Turns It into Clean Energy (Without Any Emissions)

Positive Signs Already Abound

Hunt Safrankova, head of the UN’s Environmental Protection office in Brussels, highlighted some positive signs that suggest we are moving in the right direction. For example, more than 60 countries have joined UNEP’s Clean Seas campaign to fight marine plastic and more than 100,000 people worldwide have taken the Clean Seas pledge, promising to reduce their own plastic footprints.

Some 127 countries (including coastal states like Australia, Bali, Kenya, Tanzania, Hawaii, and some parts of India) have adopted legislation regulating plastic bags. In the Belgian Flanders region, authorities recently set a target of reducing litter leakage to the marine environment by 75%—and the children’s volunteer clean-up serves as additional inspiration for businesses to minimize plastic packaging.

WATCH: Students Design Beach Vacuum That Can Suck Up Microplastics While Leaving All the Sand

The Ostend beach clean-up action was part of the #EUBeachCleanUp public information campaign that culminated around 21st September, International Coastal Clean-up Day.

Source: the United Nations Environmental Program

Encourage More Clean Ups By Sharing The Story To Social Media…

“You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you… however hard the path. Aim high.” – E. O. Wilson

By
Good News Network
-

Quote of the Day: “You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you… however hard the path. Aim high.” – Edward O. Wilson, biologist, author and humanist

Photo: in Colorado, by Sathish J – CC license on Flickr

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?

 

Little Girl Abandons Her Birthday Party So She Can Help Rescue a Stranded Motorcyclist 3 Hours Away

By
McKinley Corbley
-

Rather than spend her sixth birthday at an amusement park, this little girl abandoned her pre-planned birthday party so her and her father could assist a motorcyclist in need.

Sammy Flynn and her father Richard had been celebrating her special day at the Wild West Town theme park in Union, Illinois last month when he got a call about a biker whose motorcycle had broken down three hours outside of town.

This is not the first time that Richard has gotten an automotive call for help; he is one of the co-founders of WAR Performance, a motorcycle repair shop based out of Marengo.

LOOK: When Boy With Autism Was Overwhelmed By First Day of School, Kind Classmate Soothed Him

“We have really tried to instill that we always help others and that is what our business is about,” Flynn told Good News Network.

So when Flynn got news that there was a biker in need of help, he worried about interrupting his daughter’s birthday at the theme park. Instead, the youngster insisted on continuing with the rescue operation.

“They had called everyone they could think of but no one would come out to help them. We had only been at the Wild West Town theme park for 10 or 15 minutes when I got the call,” Richard told GNN. “She said that we should never leave anyone behind and she was willing to miss her party.”

Sammy was repaid for her kindness only weeks later when the motorcyclist returned to her family’s repair shop to give her a thank you gift for her compassion—and all the motorcyclists in Marengo that heard about it came together to sing Happy Birthday to her. The organizers of the Wild West theme park even volunteered to throw her another birthday party free of charge.

MORE: Park Rangers Hailing Little Girl as a ‘Steward’ of Nature After She Returned a Rock With an Apology Note

Although the gifts have meant the world to Sammy and her family, Richard says he is ultimately grateful for this mishap so he could witness his daughter’s good deed.

“I was just so proud of my daughter that day—and since then, she always asks if she can come with on pickups to help people out,” says Richard. “She is learning early on that giving is so much better than receiving.”

Rev Up Your Biker Friends By Sharing The Sweet Story on Social Media…

Plastic Bag Sales Have Fallen by 90% in England Since They Introduced 5-Pence Charge in 2015

By
Good News Network
-

Sales of plastic bags at the seven biggest retail chains in England have fallen by 90% since the nation’s 5-pence charge was introduced in 2015.

Just in the last year, Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco, and Waitrose sold 490 million fewer single-use plastic bags than over the previous year.

The data also reveals how 5p plastic bag sales have contributed around £169 million ($207 million) toward charities and other good causes since the charge was introduced, with more than £22 million ($27 million) raised in 2018/19 alone.

The average person in England now buys just 10 bags a year from the main supermarket retailers, compared with 140 bags in 2014 before the charge was introduced.

Environmental Secretary Theresa Villiers welcome the recently-published data by saying: “Our comprehensive action to slash plastic waste and leave our environment in a better state continues to deliver results, with our 5p charge reducing plastic bag sales by 90% in the big supermarkets.

MORE: First UK Supermarket Chain to Eliminate Plastic From Produce Will Save 1,300 Tons of Plastic From Landfill

“No one wants to see the devastating impact plastic waste is having on our precious wildlife. Today’s figures are a powerful demonstration that we are collectively calling time on being a throwaway society.”

The total for single-use plastic bag sales reported by all large retailers in 2018/2019 fell 37% compared with the previous year.

WATCH: Students Design Beach Vacuum That Can Suck Up Microplastics While Leaving All the Sand

This is not the only initiative launched by the UK to tackle plastic waste: the government also approved a world-leading ban on microbeads in January 2018; and they only recently confirmed a ban on the supply of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds which will go into full effect in April 2020.

Th United Kingdom is also set to introduce a new world-leading tax on any plastic packaging that does not meet a minimum threshold of at least 30% recycled content from April 2022, subject to consultation, to encourage greater use of recycled plastic to tackle the problem of plastic waste and protect our environment.

Clean Up Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media…

Video Takes You On a Tour of Some of the Most Magnificent Libraries in the World

By
Good News Network
-

You don’t have to be a book lover to have an appreciation for libraries—the calm, nurturing venues where all the greatest ideas in the world lie in waiting.

Great Big Story has strung together a video reel of some of their favorite and unique book depositories. From displaying nature’s most diverse animal skeletons to cataloguing the world’s largest collections of scents and smells, there are dozens of astonishing libraries that were built to astound.

The video presents highlights from the Library of Congress (with 160 million different documents and artifacts) alongside more obscure places like Library of Smells in Berlin, which documents thousands of specific smells for people, places, and things around the world. (And, don’t miss the Chinese mirrored ‘Library of Reflection’—pictured in the photo— which starts at 5:30 in the reel.)

If you feel the need for more educational exaltation after watching the montage below, you can check out their earlier references on the Human Library—made for people to tell their most engaging and diverse stories of the world—to the free library that was created by a South American garbageman who was sick of seeing literature end up in the trash.

(WATCH the Great Big Story video below) – Photo by Great Big Story

Be Sure And Share This Enriching Reel With Your Friends On Social Media…

This is the Moment Two Jewish Cousins Were Reunited After 75 Years of Believing the Other Had Died in WWII

By
McKinley Corbley
-

This emotional reunion between two WWII survivors has been 75 years in the making.

87-year-old Morris Sana and 85-year-old Simon Mairowitz are cousins who grew up together in Romania. The boys had been the best of friends until the Nazis invaded their country in 1940, which led to both families fleeing the country in separate directions.

Since the cousins had no way of communicating with each other after they fled their home nation, both of them assumed that the other had fallen victim to the war.

WATCH: Tears Flow as 88-Year-old Finally Meets Biological Daughter She Thought Died At Birth

While Sana ended up settling down in Ra’anana, Israel, Mairowitz and his family found sanctuary in the UK.

Decades later, Sana’s daughter began using the internet to track down and befriend all of her father’s long-lost cousins and family members. When she told her dad that she’d found his beloved cousin, arrangements for a meeting between the two was set up in Tel Aviv.

Sana’s granddaughter Leetal Ofer recorded their emotional reunion in an Israeli hotel room and publish the footage to Facebook. In the video, Morris and Simon are tearfully hugging each other and expressing their gratitude for the meeting.

MORE: Watch the Heartwarming Moment Two Sisters With Alzheimer’s Reunite After 15 Years

“75 years you waited,” Mairowitz says to his cousin. “It’s a long time. But we’ve got each other now.”

Ofer later described the reunion as “one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen.”

“The war tore so many families apart and to bring them together in Israel is so magical,” she added.

(WATCH the video below)

Be Sure And Share This Inspirational Video With Your Friends On Social Media…

“Delicious autumn! If I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot

By
Good News Network
-

Quote of the Day: “Delicious autumn! If I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot

Photo: by Jamie McCaffrey, 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?

 

Airman Who Was Traveling to Receive Heroism Award Nonchalantly Saves a Choking Baby on the Way

By
McKinley Corbley
-

This real-life “Superman” has pulled off every courageous stunt in the books; he has rescued people from a burning car; served on the president’s security team; and he was one of the divers who saved the team of Thai soccer players last year.

Not only that, he had been on his way to receive a medal for his heroism earlier this month when he saved a choking baby on an airplane.

U.S. Air Force Technical Sgt. Kenneth O’Brien is always humble about his acts of heroism, but he was only recently recognized for his valor after he was selected as one of 12 other Airmen who were named the 2019 Outstanding Airmen of the Year.

“I was shocked and never thought I would win,” said O’Brien.

MORE: Watch ‘Lieutenant Dan’s’ Emotional Reaction to Heartfelt Thank-You Video From Veterans

O’Brien had been on an airplane with his family from Okinawa to Dallas to receive the award when he noticed that a 1-year-old child had started to choke. After another passenger failed to clear the blockage in the baby’s throat, O’Brien quickly stepped in to perform CPR and back thrusts. One minute later, the baby had regained consciousness.

O’Brien, who returned to his seat and continued to check on the child throughout the flight, said: “I’m thankful that the child is ok and that I was able to help when the family needed support. I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Nevertheless, reporters and military officials have hailed the airman for his consistent talent for saving people’s lives.

CHECK OUT: Foot Doctor Saves Passenger’s Life by Following His Instincts and Ignoring Orders From the Ground

“I can’t decide if he’s Superman or Mayhem (the guy on the insurance commercials),” joked Lieutenant General Jim Slife in a Facebook post.

“He’s on the President’s security detail during his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un,” he continued. “He pulls a person from a burning car in Korea. He saves a Thai Navy SEAL during the Thai cave rescue mission. During that mission, he’s the furthest American in the cave, successfully rescuing the Thai [soccer players] who’d been trapped for days.

“So, he’s rightfully recognized as one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year. AND THEN… on his flight back to the states from Okinawa last weekend for the AFA Convention to be recognized, an infant starts choking and stops breathing. Our man OB leaps into action, clears the breathing passage, resuscitates the kid, hands him back to the parents, and then goes on about his business.

MORE: American Brothers Successfully Save Irish Girl Who Was Swept Out to Sea in Serendipitous Twist of Fate

“Sheesh! I don’t know whether I want to be right next to him in case some bad stuff goes down, or whether I want to be as far away from him as possible because bad stuff always seems to go down around him,” concluded Slife.

Despite all of the dangers that O’Brien has endured over the course of his 12-year career in the Air Force, he says that he does not plan on stopping any time soon.

“If someone needs to go do something dangerous, I volunteer,” said O’Brien. “If someone needs a leader, I volunteer. I happened to be in the right place at the right time and that’s what helped me stand out because I sought out key positions or responsibilities.

“I want to keep doing this as long as I can or as long as my body can handle it,” he added. “Hopefully I can continue to do the big missions like this and continue to help people.”

Save Your Friends From Negativity By Sharing The News To Social Media — Feature photo by U.S. Air Force / Airman 1st Class Mandy Foster

‘Breakthrough’ Device Restores Visual Perception to the Blind So They Can See Light and Motion

By
Good News Network
-
Photo by UCLA Health
Jason Esterhuizen — Photo by UCLA Health

Seven years ago, Jason Esterhuizen was in a horrific car crash that destroyed his eyes, plunging him into total darkness.

Today, he’s regained visual perception and more independence, thanks to an experimental device implanted in his brain by researchers at UCLA Health.

“Now I can do things that I couldn’t do before,” said 30-year-old Esterhuizen, who moved from his native South Africa to participate in the clinical trial at UCLA. “I can sort the laundry, find my way in lighted hallways without using a cane and cross the street more safely. It’s making my life much easier.”

The device is geared to people who used to be able to see but lost their vision to injury or disease. While it doesn’t provide normal sight, it enhances users’ ability to navigate the world by restoring their capacity to detect movement and distinguish light and dark.

RELATED: Blind Man Develops Smart Cane That Uses Google Maps and Sensors to Identify One’s Surroundings

“This is the first time we’ve had a completely implantable device that people can use in their own homes without having to be plugged into an external device,” said Dr. Nader Pouratian, a neurosurgeon at UCLA Health and principal investigator of the five-year study. “It helps them recognize, for example, where a doorway is, where the sidewalk begins or ends or where the crosswalk is. These are all extremely meaningful events that can help improve people’s quality of life.”

Designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a “Breakthrough Device,” the system wirelessly converts images captured by a tiny video camera mounted on sunglasses into a series of electrical pulses. The pulses stimulate a set of 60 electrodes implanted on top of the brain’s visual cortex, which perceives patterns of light and interprets them as visual clues.

“I’ll see little white dots on a black background, like looking up at the stars at night,” said Esterhuizen, the world’s second research subject to receive the device, called Orion. “As a person walks toward me, I might see three little dots. As they move closer to me, more and more dots light up.”

WATCH: Hundreds of People Are Being Cured of Blindness Every Day With Cheap, Minutes-Long Surgery

Along with the glasses, the system also includes a belt equipped with a button, which patients can press to amplify dark objects in the sun, and press again to visualize light objects in the dark, such as an oncoming car’s headlights at night.

Six people have received the implant: the first three at UCLA Health, two at Baylor College of Medicine and the sixth at UCLA. Recipients have expressed delight at once again being able to enjoy fireworks and blow out candles on a birthday cake.

Photo by UCLA Health

“It’s still a blast every time I turn it on,” Esterhuizen said. “After seeing absolutely nothing to all of a sudden seeing little flickers of light move around and figuring out that they mean something. It’s just amazing to have some form of functional vision again.”

The implant currently stimulates the left side of the patient’s brain. As a result, they perceive visual cues only from their right-side field of vision. Ultimately, the goal is to implant both sides of the brain to recover a full field of vision.

CHECK OUT: In ‘World First’ Blind People Have Their Vision Restored Thanks to Stem Cells From Deceased Organ Donors

“This device has the potential to restore useful vision to patients blinded by glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cancer and trauma,” Pouratian said. With research subjects’ input, he and his colleagues hope to one day adapt the device to also assist people who were born blind or have low vision.

Nearly 39 million people worldwide are legally blind. Because the Orion, developed and marketed by Second Sight Medical Products, directly stimulates the visual cortex, it can help people like Esterhuizen who have suffered damage to their retinas and optic nerves.

Esterhuizen, an upbeat athlete and adrenalin junkie who skydives, bungee jumps and recently competed with his team in the 2019 World Series for beep baseball — a form of America’s pastime for people who are visually impaired — credits his accident and the device for changing his life in countless ways.

LOOK: Man Carries Blind Dog for 800 Miles So She Can Build Confidence Walking the Rest of the Epic Hike on Her Own

“The day of my car accident, I was 23 and studying to become an airline pilot,” he wrote in his blog. “Life didn’t end there, it just changed for the better. I would not have met the love of my life, Sumarie.”

The couple celebrates their first wedding anniversary on Septeptember 22nd.

“Normally when my wife is mad at me, she’ll be quiet, and I’ll be like, ‘Where are you? I want to speak to you,’” he said. “Now I can find her. She can’t hide from me anymore.”

Reprinted from the University of California-Los Angeles

It’s Not Hard To See That You Should Share This Ground-Breaking News With Your Friends On Social Media…

When Bus Driver Sees His Students Waiting in Weeds, He Returned to Mow the Entire Bus Stop

By
Good News Network
-

A Texas bus driver is being praised for going above and beyond the call of duty for the comfort of his pint-sized passengers.

Jerry Martin, who is a bus driver for the Copperas Cove Independent School District in Texas, noticed that one of the bus stops on his route had become overgrown with tall grass.

Rather than allow his students to wait amongst the weeds, he grabbed a lawn mower and took it upon himself to trim the surrounding area.

RELATED: Watch Quick-Thinking Bus Driver Stop Youngster Just As He Was About to Step in Front of Speeding Car

According to the school district’s Facebook page, the yard had fallen into disrepair because the property had not been inhabited for several years—so the administrators were definitely impressed by Martin’s thoughtful gesture.

“PICTURE OF THE WEEK!” wrote the district. “Bus driver Jerry Martin cut the grass at one of his bus stops so the students don’t have to stand in the weeds while waiting for the bus. The home is vacant and the yard is not being maintained. Three cheers for Mr. Martin!”

Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story Of Kindness With Your Friends On Social Media…

First Gas Station in the U.S. to Transition Away From Gas to Exclusively Offering EV Charging

By
McKinley Corbley
-
Photo by the Electric Vehicle Institute

This is the first gas station in the United States that has completely transitioned away from offering petroleum to exclusively electric vehicle charging stations—and it’s all because the owner got sick and tired of the contracts from fossil fuel companies.

Depeswar Doley has been running the RS Automotive gas station in Takoma Park, Maryland for 22 years—although it has been around since 1958.

Prior to making the transition, Doley said that he had already been annoyed by the amount of complicated rules, requirements, and stipulations of the contracts that he maintained with the oil and gas companies, such as “limiting the use of multiple suppliers, including clauses that extend contracts when a certain volume of sales is not met, and limiting maintenance support,” according to CNBC.

When a local utility worker suggested that Doley approach the Electric Vehicle Institute about implementing to EV chargers, he was finally convinced to make the transition after his 17-year-old daughter encouraged his decision.

LOOK: Hyundai Launches First Car With Solar Roof Charging System

“It’s not something that I expect to become rich overnight or something like that, but it’s a good cause [and] good for the environment,” he told the news outlet.

Since there has been a shortage of EV charging stations in Maryland, the station’s transition was partially funded by the Electric Vehicle Institute and the Maryland Energy Administration. Its new 200kW electrical system will now be able to recharge up to four vehicles at a time as the drivers wait inside.

“Maryland is proud to be a national leader when it comes to clean and renewable energy, climate change and the promotion of electric infrastructure and vehicles,” said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in a release. “This fully converted gas-to-electric charging station is a prime example of our administration’s commitment to the environment and transportation.”

Photo by the Electric Vehicle Institute

Power Up With Positivity By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media…

After Squirrel Stopped a Woman in the Woods, She Found It Was Asking Her to Help Its Injured Baby

By
McKinley Corbley
-

Tia Powell is now being called the “squirrel whisperer” after she was approached by a mother squirrel who asked for her help.

Powell had been walking down a trail in Kiwanis Park, Virginia when a squirrel appeared on the path and blocked Powell’s way. At first, she was hesitant about whether the squirrel was aggressive or not, but after she deemed it to be relatively harmless, she decided to continue on her way.

To her surprise, the squirrel did not want her to leave. As Powell was about to walk away, the critter ran up and tugged on her pant leg.

LOOK: Firefighters Spend 2 Hours Freeing Hapless Raccoon From Sewer Grate—‘We rescue citizens both big and small’

She then found that there was an injured baby squirrel near to the path. She suspected that it had sustained the injury from a local stray cat, so she decided to interpret the squirrel’s behavior as a plea for help.

Powell moved the baby squirrel off the path and into the foliage. After she tried to walk away a second time, she noticed that the squirrels were now following her, with the baby limping along on its injured leg.

Powell stopped once more and fed the squirrels a sandwich that she had tucked into her bag. After that, she watched them try to climb into a nearby tree—and when she saw the baby struggling to scale the bark, she decided to call for backup.

After dialing the number for the Pulaski Police Department, Powell also called her friend at the Humane Society for help.

MORE: Watch These Ingenious Rescuers Save a Leopard from Drowning in a 15-foot Well

“In their defense, I did sound like a crazy lady saying the squirrels wouldn’t let me leave,” Powell told CBS News. “But they showed up and assisted as much as they could.

“We were able to get the baby and mother to a different area with more trees and it was able to climb all the way up and they looked very happy.”

The Pulaski Police Department later published a video of the event saying that it was something “that you would’ve had to see to believe!”

“Had Tia not been willing to trust her instincts that something was wrong, this might have had a very different ending!” they added.

WATCH: Bald Eagle Weighed Down by Large Ball of Ice is Freed By Locals Who Jumped into Frozen Lake

The department also mentioned that they had tried to call several wildlife rescue centers and rehabilitation facilities, but there had been “several issues at hand and the baby was unable to be transported.”

Regardless, Powell says that she returned to the same spot with her kids several days later so she could show them where the rescue had taken place—and she reportedly saw two squirrels staring at her from the safety of a nearby tree.

(WATCH the video below or our international viewers can watch the original coverage on the CBS News website)

Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story With Your Friends On Social Media…

“Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.” – Kurt Vonnegut

By
Good News Network
-

Quote of the Day: “Unexpected travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God” – Kurt Vonnegut

Photo: by bambe1964, 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?

 

UCLA is Launching the World’s First Research Institute on the Science of Kindness

By
Good News Network
-
definition of the word Kindness.

Previous research has already shown that kindness can positively affect our biology, general health, and even our longevity.

There are countless other ways that different compassionate acts and lifestyle changes can affect one person, let alone society—and that is why the University of California in Los Angeles has just announced that they will be launching the world’s first interdisciplinary research institute on kindness.

Thanks to a $20 million gift from The Bedari Foundation, the newly-established UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute will support world-class research on kindness, create opportunities to translate that research into real-world practices, and serve as a global platform to educate and communicate its findings.

Housed in the division of social sciences, the institute hopes to use its research to empower citizens and inspire leaders to build more humane societies.

RELATED: Man’s Cancer is Healed After Doing Random Acts of Kindness for a Year

“Universities should always be places where we teach students to reach across lines of difference and treat one another with empathy and respect — even when we deeply disagree,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “The UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute will bring the best thinking to this vital issue and, I think, will allow us to have a real social impact on future generations.”

The institute, which will begin operating immediately, will take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding kindness—through evolutionary, biological, psychological, economic, cultural and sociological perspectives. It will focus on research about the actions, thoughts, feelings and social institutions associated with kindness and will bring together researchers from across numerous disciplines at UCLA and at external organizations.

Already, a range of researchers at UCLA are studying the types of questions that will be the basis of the institute’s work. For example, UCLA anthropologists are examining how kindness spreads from person to person and group to group; UCLA sociologists are analyzing how people who regularly act unkind might be encouraged to engage in kind acts instead; and UCLA psychologists are researching how kindness can improve people’s moods and reduce symptoms of depression. Others are pursuing research on changes in neurobiology and behaviors resulting from mindfulness, and how those changes can influence kindness and people’s mental, physical and social well-being.

MORE: Instead of ‘We Are What We Eat,’ the Science of Kindness Says ‘We Are What We See’ in Daily Life

“In the midst of current world politics, violence and strife, the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute seeks to be an antidote,” said Darnell Hunt, dean of the UCLA division of social sciences. “Rooted in serious academic work, the institute will partner and share its research on kindness broadly in accessible formats.”

The Kindness Institute will provide seed funding for research projects that examine the social and physical mechanics of kindness and how kindness might be harnessed to create more humane societies. It also will provide mindfulness awareness training to students, faculty and staff and in underserved Los Angeles communities, and host an annual conference at which presenters will examine new discoveries in kindness research, among other activities.

The inaugural director of the institute is Daniel Fessler, a UCLA anthropology professor whose research interests include exploring how witnessing acts of remarkable kindness can cause an uplifting emotional experience that in turn motivates the observer to be kind. Studies by Fessler and his colleagues have shed light on why some people are open to that type of “contagious kindness” experience.

CHECK OUT: How Traffic Jams Show How We Are All Connected Through the Science of Kindness

The Bedari Foundation is a private family foundation whose aim is to enable significant cultural shifts in the fields of health and wellness, community displacement and environmental conservation.

“Our vision is that we will all live in a world where humanity discovers and practices the kindness that exists in all of us,” said Matthew Harris, the foundation’s co-founder and a 1984 UCLA graduate. “Much research is needed to understand why kindness can be so scarce in the modern world. As we seek at Bedari to bridge the divide between science and spirituality, through the establishment of the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute we hope to educate and empower more and more people in the practice of kindness.”

Be Sure And Share This Exciting News With Your Friends On Social Media…

We Can Now Help Keep Plastics Out of the Ocean Simply By Ditching the ‘Delicate’ Washing Machine Cycle

By
Good News Network
-

Researchers have identified a new way for people to help keep plastic out of the ocean—and it’s as simple as changing the setting on your washing machine.

According to new research led by Newcastle University, delicate wash cycles in washing machines release more plastic microfibers than other cycles.

The study found that it is because of the volume of water used during the wash cycle, rather than the spinning action of the washing machine, which is the key factor in the release of plastic microfibers from clothes.

The team measured the release of plastic microfibers from polyester clothing for a range of cycles and water volumes. Counting the fibers released, the team found the higher the volume of water the more fibers released, regardless of the speed and abrasive forces of the washing machine.

RELATED: Here’s Why You Should Start Washing Your Clothes in Cold Water

In fact, they found that on average, 800,000 more fibers were released in a delicate wash than a standard cycle.

Publishing their findings this week in the academic journal Environmental Science and Technology, PhD student Max Kelly, who led the research, explained:

“Counterintuitively, we discovered that ‘delicate’ cycles release more plastic microfibers into the water, and then the environment, than standard cycles.

“Previous research has suggested the speed the drum spins at, the number of times it changes spinning direction during a cycle and the length of pauses in the cycle—all known as the machine agitation—is the most important factor in the amount of microfiber released.

MORE: With Fridges and Air Conditioners Using 20% of World’s Energy, Cheap Plastic Crystals Could Be the Answer

“But we have shown here that even at reduced levels of agitation, microfiber release is still greatest with higher water-volume-to-fabric ratios.

“This is because the high volume of water used in a delicate cycle which is supposed to protect sensitive clothing from damage actually ‘plucks’ away more fibers from the material.”

Millions of plastic microfibers are shed every time we wash clothes that contain materials such as nylon, polyester and acrylic. Because these fibers are so small, they drain out of our washing machines and can ultimately pollute marine environments.

Laundry has been recognized as a major contributor of microplastics but until now, precisely measuring the release of these fibers has been difficult due to the fact that it’s almost impossible to accurately simulate the reality of what happens in people’s machines in a lab setting.

Using a tergotometer—a benchtop device comprising of eight (1,000 milliliters) washing vessels that simulate full-scale domestic washing—the team was able to carry out tests under different conditions, making changes to water volume, spin speed, temperature, and time. A DigiEye camera (digital color imaging system) was then used to accurately calculate the amount of microfibers released.

CHECK OUT: The Ozone Hole is Healing and May Be Completely Repaired Within Our Lifetimes, Says UN Report

To test whether the observations made using the tergotometers were reflective of full-size domestic washing machines, the team then tested the fabrics on a delicate wash cycle using identical washing machines in the test center.

The team showed that previous recommendations by groups to move towards high water volumes and low levels of agitation as a way of reducing the amount of microfiber released was actually making the problem worse.

“The appliance industry has started to introduce microfiber filters in some new washing machines and the textile industry is looking to reduce the fiber shedding levels of new clothing,” said study co-author Neil Lant. “We hope that the issue will ultimately be solved by such actions, and our work on the mechanistic causes will help in the development of these solutions.”

WATCH: Students Design Beach Vacuum That Can Suck Up Microplastics While Leaving All the Sand

Max Kelly adds: “Reducing the amount of plastic pollution is everyone’s responsibility and often it’s the small changes that make a huge difference.

“By avoiding high water-volume-to-fabric washes such as the delicate cycles and ensuring full wash loads then we can all do our bit to help reduce the amount of these synthetic fibers being released into the environment.

“Hopefully, these findings may also be used by manufacturers to influence the design of future washing machines and reduce our plastic footprint. Over time these changes could also see a global reduction in the amount of energy and water required to wash our clothes.”

Reprinted from Newcastle University

Clean Up Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media…

1...639640641...1,725Page 640 of 1,725
© Copyright 1997–2026 GNN, LLC