Quote of the Day: “Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.” – Steve Maraboli
Photo: by Steven Lilley, CC license, 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?
Many patriotic Americans can appreciate the sight of the star-spangled banner flying high in the sky—but perhaps not as much as 6-year-old Finn Daly.
Because of how the boy has autism and Down syndrome, he is consistently enamored by the American flags hanging throughout his neighborhood in West Hartford, Connecticut. Finn’s parents say that he can spend hours watching the flags flapping in the breeze.
During one such leisurely afternoon when he was out on a walk with his parents, Finn became particularly transfixed by a flag that was hanging from a tree in the yard of Todd Disque.
When Disque happened to catch sight of Finn admiring the flag in his yard, he couldn’t help but be filled with appreciation for the pint-sized patriot.
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So as a means of expressing his compassion towards the youngster, Disque went to his workshop and crafted a small wooden bench inscribed with Finn’s name. Upon finishing the little stool, he left it out in front of the flag for the Daly family to find.
Needless to say, they were overwhelmed with emotion when they discovered the bench.
“I’m crying and my daughter is saying, ‘Don’t cry mom, it’s OK, this is exciting,’” Finn’s mother told CBS News. “It’s such a small gesture, but things like this really restore your faith in humanity. Like, there’s still good people out there that want to do kind things for no other reason than just to be kind.”
(WATCH the emotional video below or our international viewers can check out the footage on the CBS News website)
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On World Autism Awareness Day, the legendary voice of Supertramp, Roger Hodgson, sang his songs in true charitable fashion when he performed a concert proving that no child musician with autism is just ‘Dreamer.’
Hodgson agreed to bring his 4-piece band and a 39-piece orchestra so he could play the song ‘Give a Little Bit’ with four teens on the autism spectrum, after hearing about their fundraising campaign of the same name.
Jake’s House, a Toronto organization dedicated to providing support to families affected by autism, hosted the evening at the Sony Centre, which also included speeches by the city’s mayor and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I wrote the song Give a Little Bit, but Jake’s House is putting it into action, and that really inspires me,” said Hodgson.
His hour-long performance for the 2000 guests in attendance on April 2nd featured his famous hits like Take the Long Way Home, School, Breakfast in America, The Logical Song, and Dreamer. But the best part was the final song when he launched into Give a Little Bit and invited some of the talented youth from Jake’s House to sing and play the song with him.
In the audience, the parents of the young musicians (Spenser on guitar; Rawan on vocals; Luc on saxophone; and Ron on piano) were filled with awe and pride, as they watched their kids steal the show—and realized the truth of their limitless potential.
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Founded in 2004 by Irene and David Bodanis, the nonprofit Jake’s House was inspired by their son, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 1995. Primarily through events and programming, they “strive to empower children; offer caregivers support and respite; raise awareness; share resources; and build a close-knit community” in and outside of Ontario.
This is Roger’s first time being involved in an autism charity, but said the concept of Jake’s House fundraising campaign, ‘Give a Little Bit’ resonated strongly with him.
Visit the Jake’s House Give a Little Bit campaign to learn how you can make a difference.
(WATCH the magical performance—and try not to cry!)
SHARING is Caring! Please Give a Little Bit on Social Media…
There are already universal symbols for peace and love—but one group of kindergartners has been pushing for there to be a newly-recognized sign for kindness.
The idea was first proposed by the students in the “transitional kindergarten” class of Tropical Elementary School in Merritt Island, Florida.
The transitional, or “TK” class, is for kids who have gone through a year of kindergarten, but for various reasons aren’t ready for first grade. They first launched the project as a part of their writing and geography coursework—although the initiative has since garnered national traction.
The students aged 5 to 7 started their petition to adopt a new National Symbol of Kindness back in January. Since its humble beginnings, it has accumulated over 4,000 signatures from people who are using the campaign to encourage their own state and national legislators to officially recognize the symbol. Once it reaches 5,000 signatures, it will automatically be forwarded to several prominent Senators and House Representatives.
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“The Kindness Symbol shows kindness all around, ongoing, never-ending, north/south/east/west, everywhere!” reads the petition.
“Having a recognizable, easy to recreate symbol will remind people to be kind. We already have and use symbols for love, peace, and happiness and a kindness symbol will add to our national focus of being kind.”
According to the students’ Together Kind website for the campaign, the youngsters have presented their proposal to dozens of school boards, city councils, and municipalities—and many of the ordinances have already agreed to adopt the symbol.
As of early July, New Jersey Assemblyman Ron Dancer (R-Ocean) introduced a resolution (AR254) urging Congress to adopt the kindness logo as the national symbol of kindness.
“Kindness is contagious,” said Dancer. “People who benefit from acts of kindness are more likely to act graciously towards others. This circle of kindness is embodied in the symbol.”
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“It’s always the right time for kindness,” he continued. “Sometimes it feels like our nation is more divided than it is united. Declaring a national symbol of kindness is a small, but not insignificant step toward civility.”
If you want to sign the petition or download a formatted letter for you to send to your own legislators demanding the kindness symbol’s recognition, you can visit the Together Kind website.
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This exciting new Australian study has found that communities with a healthy amount of tree cover—not just grass and green space—were psychologically healthier than those that didn’t.
Specifically, people in urban areas have a lower risk of developing psychological distress and better overall health if they have more trees within a walkable distance from their homes, says the study from the University of Wollongong (UOW).
In neighborhoods with a tree canopy of 30% or more, adults had 31% lower odds of developing psychological distress, and 33% lower odds of rating their general health as “fair” or “poor” over six years.
That being said, urban green spaces with open grass rather than a tree canopy did not deliver the same benefits.
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The longitudinal study, which was published in JAMA Network Open tracked the changes in health of around 46,000 people aged 45 and older living in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Statistical analyses took into account other possible explanations, including differences in age, sex, income, education, employment status, and relationship status.
The study’s lead author, Professor Thomas Astell-Burt, an NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellow at UOW, said while other studies had indicated that green space was good for mental health, this new research specifically looked at whether the type of green space made a difference.
“Our results suggest the type of green space does matter,” Professor Astell-Burt said.
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“We found that the residents of neighborhoods with a higher amount of tree canopy had better mental and general health, but didn’t find the same correlation when the type of green space was open, grassed areas.
“This suggests that protecting and increasing the urban tree canopy could potentially deliver significant community health benefits.”
There are a number of reasons why trees could be beneficial to our health said Associate Professor Xiaoqi Feng, an NHMRC Career Development Fellow at the university.
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One obvious benefit was that trees provide shading, improve air quality, and reduce city temperatures on hot days. One American study has even shown that counties with improved tree cover spend less on healthcare costs.
Other benefits are more subtle. Green, leafy trees can provide sensory relief in urban areas dominated by hard surfaces, right angles, glass and concrete, and intrusive, attention-seeking advertising.
“The vibrant colors, natural shapes and textures, the fresh aromas and rustling of leaves in the breeze all provide distraction and relief from whatever it was you might have been thinking about, or even stressing over,” Associate Professor Feng said.
“Studies back this up. Walks through green space have been shown to reduce blood pressure, improve mental acuity, boost memory recall and reduce feelings of anxiety.”
Tree cover also provide spaces where people can benefit from interacting with each other and with animals, such as birdwatching and walking dogs, which can all be good for our mental health.
Reprinted from the University of Wollongong
Plant Some Positivity By Sharing The Study With Your Friends On Social Media…
It’s been eight years since Steve Greig first began to heal his grieving heart by adopting old shelter dogs that no one wanted—and it has resulted in an unlikely furry family and social media stardom.
Grieg, who is an accountant from Colorado, has always loved animals. Throughout his life, he has cared for a number of cats, dogs, and other oddball pets, although his passion for unloved critters didn’t fully blossom until 2011 when the death of one his pups left him particularly heartbroken.
“I was just so distraught about [that death],” Greig told The Dodo. “A month or two went by and I still felt so horrible about it. I decided that the only way I would feel better was if something something good happened that probably wouldn’t have happened if he had not died.”
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He then went to his local shelter and asked for a dog that was having trouble finding a forever home. He ended up adopting a 12-year-old Chihuahua with heart murmurs and knee problems—and the rest is history.
Grieg has since adopted eight senior dogs with health issues. In addition to caring for two other dogs belonging to his sister and roommate, he also cares for a pig, a rabbit, a pond full of fish, and a chicken named Oprah.
Caring for this menagerie of critters isn’t easy. Grieg typically wakes up at 5AM every morning before work so he can prepare each doggie meal according to their health issues and administer their medications.
He then returns home from work around lunchtime so he can take the pups outside and dole out treats accordingly. Over the weekend, he makes sure to take the pups to their grooming and veterinary appointments.
Despite caring for so many different animals, however, Grieg’s passion is for senior dogs.
“They’re just wiser animals,” he told the news outlet. “You kind of know what you want out of life once you become a certain age. These dogs know who they are and it’s easy to develop a relationship with a person or pet who knows who they are.”
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Unfortunately, two of Grieg’s senior pups have passed away in the last year—but he has mentioned in the past that he hopes to continue adopting senior dogs to fill their places.
Grieg is not the only one who cares for these dogs, either. His “Wolfgang” Instagram page, which is dedicated to his furry companions, has collectively racked up over 800,000 avid followers.
The accountant uses his social media following to raise money for senior dogs by selling Wolfgang tee shirts and asking for donations on his website.
Grief is also set to release a children’s book about his animal loving antics in September called “The One and Only Wolfgang: From Pet Rescue to One Big Happy Family”.
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Quote of the Day: “I am a part of all that I have met.” – Alfred Lord Tennyson (born 210 years ago today)
Photo: Tennis players by mirsasha, CC license, 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?
Lucy Huber shares a sweet story of serendipity in this week’s edition of MOTH Monday, a Good News Network partnership that features videos from the nonprofit group, The MOTH, showcasing the art of storytelling.
After Lucy Huber decided that she wanted to propose to her boyfriend Matt, she carried the engagement ring in her purse for months on end, waiting for the right time.
When the right moment never came, she finally decided to create an elaborate game of riddles to take him down memory lane.
She orchestrated the riddles so that when Matt solved all the puzzles, he would be given a note that would say: “Would you marry me?”
In a sweet twist of fate, however, she never ended up giving him the note—but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t end up getting married.
(LISTEN to the sweet story below…)
The Moth gives people an opportunity to tell a true story in front of a live audience, and sometimes their stories are chosen to air on the radio show, now celebrating its tenth year, and broadcasting on 485+ public radio stations—and on The Moth podcast, which is downloaded over 52 million times a year. The Moth’s third book, Occasional Magic: True Stories About Defying the Impossible is now available for purchase through your favorite booksellers.
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Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine may have just found the key to restoring hearing in people with irreversible deafness.
Using genetic tools in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have identified a pair of proteins that precisely control when sound-detecting cells, known as hair cells, are born in the mammalian inner ear. A report on the proteins was published in eLife.
“Scientists in our field have long been looking for the molecular signals that trigger the formation of the hair cells that sense and transmit sound,” says Dr. Angelika Doetzlhofer, associate professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “These hair cells are a major player in hearing loss, and knowing more about how they develop will help us figure out ways to replace hair cells that are damaged.”
In order for mammals to hear, sound vibrations travel through a hollow, snail shell-looking structure called the cochlea. Lining the inside of the cochlea are two types of sound-detecting cells, inner and outer hair cells, which convey sound information to the brain.
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An estimated 90% of genetic hearing loss is caused by problems with hair cells or damage to the auditory nerves that connect the hair cells to the brain. Deafness due to exposure to loud noises or certain viral infections arises from damage to hair cells. Unlike their counterparts in other mammals and birds, human hair cells cannot regenerate. So, once hair cells are damaged, hearing loss is likely permanent.
Scientists have known that the first step in hair cell birth starts at the outermost part of the spiraled cochlea. Here, precursor cells start transforming into hair cells. Then, like sports fans performing “the wave” in a stadium, precursor cells along the spiral shape of the cochlea turn into hair cells along a wave of transformation that stops when it reaches the inner part of the cochlea. Knowing where hair cells start their development, Doetzlhofer and her team went in search of molecular cues that were in the right place and at the right time along the cochlear spiral.
Of the proteins the researchers examined, the pattern of two proteins, Activin A and follistatin, stood out from the rest. Along the spiral path of the cochlea, levels of Activin A increased where precursor cells were turning into hair cells. Follistatin, however, appeared to have the opposite behavior of Activin A. Its levels were low in the outermost part of the cochlea when precursor cells were first starting to transform into hair cells and high at the innermost part of the cochlea’s spiral where precursor cells hadn’t yet started their conversion. Activin A seemed to move in a wave inward, while follistatin moved in a wave outward.
“In nature, we knew that Activin A and follistatin work in opposite ways to regulate cells,” says Doetzlhofer. “And so, it seems, based on our findings like in the ear, the two proteins perform a balancing act on precursor cells to control the orderly formation of hair cells along the cochlear spiral.”
To figure out how exactly Activin A and follistatin coordinate hair cell development, the researchers studied the effects of each of the two proteins individually. First, they increased the levels of Activin A in the cochleas of normal mice. In these animals, precursor cells transformed to hair cells too early, causing hair cells to appear prematurely all along the cochlear spiral. In mice engineered to either overproduce follistatin or not produce Activin A at all, hair cells were late to form and appeared disorganized and scattered across multiple rows inside the cochlea.
“The action of Activin A and follistatin is so precisely timed during development that any disturbance can negatively affect the organization of the cochlea,” says Doetzlhofer.
“It’s like building a house—if the foundation is not laid correctly, anything built upon it is affected,” she added.
Looking more closely at why overproduction of follistatin results in disorganized hair cells, the researchers found that high levels of this protein caused precursor cells to divide more frequently, which in turn made more of them convert into inner hair cells in a haphazard way.
Doetzlhofer notes that her research in hair cell development, although fundamental, has potential applications to treat deafness caused by damaged hair cells: “We are interested in how hair cells evolved because it’s an interesting biological question,” she says. “But we also want to use that knowledge to improve or develop new treatment strategies for hearing loss.”
Reprinted from Johns Hopkins Medicine
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When it was finally time for an airline pilot to retire from his decades-long career, the passengers on his final flight asked if they could give him an emotional Irish goodbye—and the results are breathtaking.
Brian Lenzen is a pilot from Chaska, Minnesota who has been happily flying with American Airlines for 34 years—but despite his love of flying, pilots are forced to retire at the age of 65.
So as Lenzen prepared to hang up his pilot’s uniform, he made sure that his last flight was a special one. With a hand-picked crew of beloved colleagues, he chose Dublin as his final destination and had a “wonderful time” at an Irish pub before they all returned home.
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As fate would have it, there happened to be an Irish choir on board the plane for their returning flight. When they heard that it was Lenzen’s final flight, they asked an attendant if they could sing an Irish blessing to the pilot to celebrate his retirement.
Upon exiting the plane, the captain was then greeted by the St. Anthony on the Lake choir bidding him adieu—and he could barely contain his emotions.
“It was just a very special moment,” Lenzen told KARE11. “I’m kind of an emotional guy anyway, and so I got a little tearful realizing that was for me.”
(WATCH the video below)
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As a means of providing clean drinking water to countless arid regions around the world, scientists have developed a new technique for filtering salt water using a thin piece of wood.
Inspired by the intricate system of water circulating in a tree, a team of researchers from Princeton University figured out how to use a thin slice of wood as a membrane through which water vapor can evaporate.
Rather than using massive amounts of energy to boil water for long periods of time, the filtration method works by gently heating one side of the wood—measuring in at 500 micrometers thick—so that the water is driven evaporate to the colder side of the wood, leaving behind salt or other contaminants.
Most membranes that are used to distill fresh water from salt water are made of polymers, which are derived from fossil fuels and are also difficult to recycle. The wood membrane is a more sustainable material, and according to the researchers, has very high porosity, which promotes water vapor transport and prevents heat loss.
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In a paper published earlier this week in the journal Science Advances, the researchers demonstrate that the new membrane they designed—measuring in at 500 micrometers thick—performs 20% better than commercial membranes in water distillation tests.
Collectively, the wood membrane method filtered 20 liters of water per square meter, but the team believes that they will be able to improve the system with additional experimentation.
“If you think of traditional water filtration, you need very high-pressure pumping to squeeze the water through, so it uses a lot of energy,” Princeton researcher Jason Ren told New Scientist. “This is more energy efficient and it doesn’t use fossil-fuel based materials like many other membranes for water filtration.”
Clean Up Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – File photo by U.S. Airman 1st Class Sadie Colbert
When this little Canadian boy became trapped in a deep hole, he was finally rescued after search crews heard the sound of his giggles.
The 2-year-old youngster wasn’t giggling over his predicament, however—he was giggling with delight at the sight of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police riding horses to his rescue.
Courtlund Barrington-Moss first went missing during a family reunion in Aneroid, Alberta on a Monday evening last week. When his mother noticed that he had disappeared, over 400 people were recruited for the search and rescue mission, from volunteers and family members to emergency crews and a search plane.
The crew searched throughout the night, calling Courtlund’s name—but to no avail.
Finally after 12 hours of searching the area, a pair of volunteers heard a giggle coming from the woods.
Despite how the boy had become trapped in a neck-deep hole, he was still able to see the rescuers and laugh at the sight of their horses.
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Shelby Layman, the deputy fire chief of a neighboring town, told the Star Phoenix: “He saw them before they saw him, actually. He saw their horses and he started giggling and wanted to pet the horses.
“The entire area just erupted with joy. It was pretty emotional. Everybody was yelling and people were running around,” she added.
Upon being taken to the hospital, the boy was found to be sunburnt and scratched, but still in generally good health.
“He was honestly just exhausted and not really sure what had happened,” his mother told NBC News.
Be Sure And Share The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “Those truly linked don’t need correspondence. When they meet again after many years apart, their friendship is as true as ever.” – Deng Ming-Dao
Photo: by GWC Copyright 2014
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?
Four American brothers who were in Ireland for their grandfather’s funeral ended up saving the life of a little girl on a serendipitous day with a magical meaning. Hear our Good News Guru tell the inspiring story on the radio in Los Angeles—during the August 2, 2019 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5.
SEE the full story on GNN…
Subscribe, Rate, and Review our Good News Gurus podcast on iTunes, or for Android devices on Podbean.
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A new survey of 2,000 Americans asked people to pinpoint the moment they felt fully like a grown-up adult—and their answers revealed some amusing key differences between generations and genders.
Realizing you’re in charge of your own life occurs early on with the sudden realization that, like Jerry Seinfeld, you can eat cereal whenever you want! However, realizing you are an adult most often occurs when a person deals with finances on their own.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Farm Rich, examined the mindset and process of transforming into a fully-fledged adult, otherwise known as “adulting.”
All of the top five signs of adulting are related to money. Having a budget is the number one answer indicating when someone’s reached adulthood (55%)—followed closely by filing your own taxes (52%).
A quarter of those surveyed started to save money like an adult, too, by using coupons for the first time.
In sixth place is doing your own laundry. (Beware: every adult learns in the beginning how to turn all their ‘whites’ red, and how horrifying it is to pull your favorite sweater out of the dryer, when suddenly it can only fit a 3-year-old.)
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More than a third of respondents said adulting involves scheduling regular doctor’s and dental appointments, and making a list to take to the grocery store.
No one surveyed thinks that just because you’re an adult you should be eating all kale salads and almonds. Over half of Millennials and Gen-Xers pointed out that eating snacks for dinner is an indication that you have officially reached adulthood. And, 33 percent of older Baby Boomers eat comfort foods whenever they want, as a way to handle stress.
Both Millennials and Baby Boomers believe that having vegetables and coffee in the house are important if you want to call yourself an adult. And 22% said you should be taking something out of the freezer to defrost ahead of time!
No matter what generation, the poll found that everyone indulges in comfort foods from their youth—the top 5 being pizza, spaghetti, hot dogs, mac and cheese, and a grilled cheese sandwich—with Millennials more likely to reach for the chicken nuggets—compared to just 20% of older folks.
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(See the Top 20 list of What Makes You an Adult below…)
Millennials seem to put more pressure on themselves to reach adulthood. According to the survey, after age 26 Millennials believe it becomes embarrassing if you are not a full-fledged adult. Surprisingly, Baby boomers were more forgiving and named age 31 as the cut-off.
Perhaps not surprisingly, there is a difference between men and women in their 20s: the average man considered himself to be an adult at age 26, while women identified as adults three years earlier, at age 23, according to the survey.
Though independence is the top perk of adulthood, it does create some stress. Both Millennials and Gen Zers named stress as their least favorite part of adulthood.
43 percent of Millennials turn to video games to forget their adult responsibilities—and who can blame them?
TOP 20 SIGNS OF BEING AN ADULT
1. Having a budget 55%
2. Buying a house 54%
3. Filing your own taxes 52%
4. Understanding and monitoring your credit score 48%
5. Investing in a 401(k) 46%
6. Doing your own laundry 43%
7. Scheduling regular doctor’s appointments 38%
8. Making a list to take when going to the grocery store 35%
9. Cooking dinner most of Monday through Friday 33%
10. Watching the nightly news 31%
11. Changing the bed sheets regularly 31%
12. Reading the newspaper 29%
13. Hosting dinner parties or gatherings with friends 29%
14. Buying a sensible pair of shoes 27%
15. Making the bed every morning 26%
16. Drinking wine 26%
17. Using coupons 25%
18. Getting excited over staying in on a Saturday night 25%
19. Starting the morning with coffee 23%
20. Taking something out of the freezer to defrost 22%
Quiz Your Friends on Their Answers By Sharing It To Social Media…
A new study says that “tickling” the ear with a small electrical current might slow down some of the effects of aging.
Scientists from the University of Leeds found that a short daily therapy delivered for two weeks for people over the age of 55 led to both physiological and wellbeing improvements, including a better quality of life, mood and sleep.
The therapy, called transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation, delivers a small, painless electrical current to the ear, which sends signals to the body’s nervous system through the vagus nerve.
Their measurements showed the therapy could help protect people from chronic diseases to which we become more prone as we get older, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and atrial fibrillation.
The researchers, who published their findings this week in the journal Aging, suggest that the “tickle” therapy has the potential to help people age more healthily by recalibrating the body’s internal control system—also known as the autonomic nervous system.
“The ear is like a gateway through which we can tinker with the body’s metabolic balance, without the need for medication or invasive procedures,” said Lead author Dr. Beatrice Bretherton, from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leeds. “We believe these results are just the tip of the iceberg.”
“We are excited to investigate further into the effects and potential long-term benefits of daily ear stimulation, as we have seen a great response to the treatment so far,” she added.
The autonomic nervous system controls many of the body’s functions which don’t require conscious thought, such as digestion, breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.It contains two branches, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic, which work against each other to maintain a healthy balance of activity. The sympathetic branch helps the body prepare for high intensity “fight or flight” activity, whilst the parasympathetic is crucial to low intensity “rest and digest” activity.
As we age, and when we are fighting diseases, the body’s balance changes such that the sympathetic branch begins to dominate. This imbalance makes us more susceptible to new diseases and leads to the breakdown of healthy bodily function as we get older.
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Clinicians have long been interested in the potential for using electrical currents to influence the nervous system. The vagus nerve, the major nerve of the parasympathetic system, has often been used for electrical stimulation and past research has looked at the possibility of using vagus nerve stimulation to tackle depression, epilepsy, obesity, stroke, tinnitus, and heart conditions.
However, this kind of stimulation needs surgery to implant electrodes in the neck region, with associated expense and a small risks of side effects. Fortunately, there is one small branch of the vagus nerve that can be stimulated without surgery, located in the skin of specific parts of the outer ear.
In Leeds, previous controlled research studies have shown that applying a small electrical stimulus to the vagus nerve at the ear, which some people perceive as a tickling sensation, improves the balance of the autonomic nervous system in healthy 30-year-olds.
Other researchers worldwide are now investigating if this transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) could provide a therapy for conditions ranging from heart problems to mental health.
In their new second study of this therapy (the first one included a placebo sham intervention), scientists at the University of Leeds wanted to see whether tVNS could benefit over 55-year-olds, who are more likely to have out-of-balance autonomic systems that could contribute to health issues associated with aging.
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They recruited 29 healthy volunteers, aged 55 or above, and gave each of them the tVNS therapy for 15 minutes per day, over a two week period. Participants were taught to self-administer the therapy at home during the study.
The therapy led to an increase in measured parasympathetic activity and a decrease in sympathetic activity, rebalancing the autonomic function towards that associated with healthy function. In addition, some people reported improvements in measures of mental health and sleeping patterns.
Being able to correct this balance of activity could help us age more healthily, as well as having the potential to help people with a variety of disorders such as heart disease and some mental health issues. Additionally, improving the balance of the autonomic nervous system lowers an individual’s risk of death, as well as the need for medication or hospital visits.
Researchers found that individuals who displayed the greatest imbalance at the start of the study experienced the most pronounced improvements after receiving the therapy.
Further studies are now needed to understand what the long-term health effects of tVNS might be, as this study involved a small number of participants, over a short time period.
Edited from article by the University of Leeds
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During a particularly hot English afternoon, this adorable owl spied a children’s swimming pool—and relished the opportunity for refreshment.
The opportunistic tawny can be seen hopping into the makeshift bird bath—looking left and right for danger. Then it precedes to dip its beak into the inches-deep water checking out the potential.
Getting its face wet was not quite enough, so the bird starts flapping its wings to make the water fly up into the air then rain down on its back.
The clip was captured by renowned wildlife artist and photographer Robert E. Fuller at around midnight earlier this month.
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Fuller uses wildlife surveillance cameras in his garden near Malton, North Yorkshire, to capture the after-dark goings-on that inspire his paintings.
“The paddling pool belongs to my children but they hadn’t really used it for a while and it had filled with rainwater,” said the English artist. “When I spotted an owl chick using it to bathe in I decided to direct one of my cameras on to the pool.
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“Last year I filmed some tawny owls bathing in my garden pond,” he added. “I was very surprised to see that their chicks had adopted the paddling pool for their own fun this year.”
Fuller said that the main reason the animals bathe is to clean their feathers—and the kiddie pool, is just enough water to do that while keeping frisky feathered visitors safe and happy.
(WATCH the cute clip below)
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Quote of the Day: “What a great therapist, teacher, or coach does is to alert people to resources they did not realize they had. That is the ultimate gift.” – Nathaniel Branden
Photo: by Kullez, CC license on Flickr
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An exciting new startup can make clean energy by vaporizing heaps of trash without any waste or emissions.
The Sierra Energy company is aiming to tackle all of the non-recyclable garbage that ends up in landfills—from hazardous wastes and plastics to everyday trash and tires.
The company’s modified blast furnace uses FastOx gasification technology to heat all of the trash to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about twice as hot as the heart of a volcano.
While it may seem like this would require large amounts of energy, the system is able to generate the heat simply by injecting pure oxygen into the furnace. The oxygen then reacts with the carbon emanating from the rotting garbage in order to create carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The steam is then pumped back into the furnace to maintain the internal temperature.
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The fuel that is made from the FastOx technology is reportedly 20 times cleaner than California fuel standards. And all of the gases that are generated by the chemical process are captured for reuse—for instance, to replace fossil fuels that power airplanes or for use as fertilizer, hydrogen, or ethanol.
Earlier this week, Sierra Energy announced that they were able to close a $33 million Series A investment round in order to further develop and commercialize its technology for municipalities and landfills so they can convert waste into clean, renewable energy and fuels.
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“The world is drowning in trash which, when landfilled, is a leading generator of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 86 times more harmful to our climate than carbon dioxide,” said Mike Hart, Sierra Energy’s CEO.
“Our FastOx gasification technology can efficiently and cost-effectively convert this trash into electricity, hydrogen, renewable natural gas, diesel, ammonia, and a variety of other valuable end-products. When you combine our technology with recycling and other waste diversion strategies, you have the solution to the world’s waste problem as well as a mobile casinos valuable source of renewable energy.”
The first commercial FastOx system was installed at a U.S. Army installation at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, California in 2017, to help achieve the Army’s zero waste goals.
(WATCH an explanation of the technique below…)
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Canadian doctors are now being encouraged to prescribe for their patients a new kind of supplemental treatment that doesn’t have any side effects: a relaxing trip to an art museum.
Back in November 2018, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) teamed up with the Médecins Francophones du Canada (MFdC) to develop a plan that encourages physicians to write out art therapy prescriptions for their patients—and they included some great motivation.
Ordinarily, adult admission into the museum can cost as much as $31—but a doctor’s prescription will allow up to two adults and two children to enjoy the museum together for free.
Doctors participating in the program are given a pad of 50 free admission slips to dole out at their discretion. Since the initiative launched last year, the museum has filled over 185 prescriptions in the greater Montreal area.
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The program, which is being called “the first of its kind in the world”, is also being used to conduct further studies of the effects of art therapy on a variety of physical and mental conditions, including anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiac arrhythmia.
“I am convinced that in the 21st century … the cultural experience of art will contribute to health and well-being as much as the practice of sports,” Nathalie Bondil, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the MMFA, enthusiastically said of the program.
“For skeptics, remember that a hundred years ago, it was said that sports distorted the body and threatened the fertility of women! Today, doctors prescribe exercise!”
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