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Boy Had to Go Barefoot for 13 Years After Childhood Injury–But Can Now Wear Shoes Thanks to Free Surgery

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Andy Corbley
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Mercy Ships physician Theo with Tera prior to treatment - credit Mercy Ships © via SWNS
Mercy Ships physician Theo with Tera prior to treatment – credit Mercy Ships © via SWNS

A boy who couldn’t wear shoes until the age of 13 due to a childhood injury that left his feet deformed has had a life-changing surgery.

Courtesy of the floating medical charity that is Mercy Ships, 14-year-old Tera can now wear sneakers for the first time in his life and play football with his friends.

Tera’s foot after life-changing surgery aboard Mercy Ships’ floating hospital – credit Mercy Ships © via SWNS.

From a fishing village near Manakara, Madagascar, Tera’s family was unable to pay for any significant treatment after he accidentally tipped over a pot of boiling water onto his left leg when he was 1.

He suffered third degree burns that fused his leg to his ankle. Even though he recovered without medical intervention, the way his ankle healed limited his movement.

With no means to pay for hospital care, his family had previously sought out three traditional healers, each offering their own remedies, but nothing seemed to work. His mother then learned that the international hospital charity Mercy Ships had docked Africa Mercy in Madagascar.

GNN has reported on several releases from Mercy Ships: of tennis-ball sized tumors being removed, bowlegs being adjusted, and more serious conditions treated all through pro bono surgery.

One young woman even became a nurse having previously been treated on Mercy Ships and left eager to pursue a career in medicine.

When volunteers from Mercy Ships spoke to Tera’s mother about free surgery on board, she wrapped Tera’s baby brother on her back and embarked on a two-day journey with her children to the ship.

Tera received an appointment on African Mercy and underwent surgery to release the burn contracture on June 27th, 2024. He can now wear shoes for the first time since he was an infant.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: British Woman Gives Birth After Receiving Transplant Womb from Sister and Pro Bono Surgery at Hospital

“He should have a normal functioning ankle now, which means he will be able wear a normal shoe and play like any other child,” said Dr. Venter, the physician who performed the surgery.

Tera’s foot after life-changing surgery aboard Mercy Ships’ floating hospital – credit Mercy Ships © via SWNS

“Before, I was barefoot in the streets even though it was so hot,” Tera told Mercy Ships’ press team, according to SWNS. “I am happy because my friends do not make fun of me anymore. We all play together now.”

OTHER MERCY SHIP STORIES: Toddler Unable to Bend Arms Due to Burns Hugs Parents For First Time After Free Life-Changing Surgery

Due to his injury, Tera could not play his favorite position as a goalkeeper, but since the surgery, not only has Tera been making up for lost games on the pitch, he’s also been able to go fishing with his dad.

SHARE This Boy’s Stroke Brush With Mercy With Your Friends… 

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now.” – Rami Shapiro

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Quote of the Day: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now.” – Rami Shapiro

Photo by: Paola Chaaya

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, May 13

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Mehmet I in the city of Karaman - credit, Nedim Ardoğa CC BY-SA 4.0 (Copy)

748 years ago today, the ruler of a large Turkish beylik in southern Anatolia, Mehmet I of Karaman, issued a decree which read: “From now on nobody in the palace, in the divan, council and on walks speak no language other than Turkish.” It was the first time a modern Turkish state of any kind elevated their own ancestral language above the positions of Arabic and Persian, the lingue franca of the Islamic world. READ a tad more about this historic event… (1277)

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World-First Genetic Index Helps Aussie Farmers Breed Heat Tolerant Cows to Maintain Their Welfare–and Milk Supply

By
Andy Corbley
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Photo by Geraldine Lewa on Unsplash
Dairy cows in Australia – Photo by Geraldine Lewa on Unsplash

Australian dairies are breeding heat-tolerant cows and seeing big returns on hot days that are making the global industry stand up and take notice.

Ever feel like wolfing down a big meal when it’s 85°F out with 80% humidity? If you recoil at the thought, that’s one thing you have in common with a dairy cow.

Australian dairy farmers can lose between 25% and 40% of their herd’s milk yield during the summer months.

Against this financial heartbreak, farmers are putting their heads and herds together and diving into the science of genetics to help create the cattle of the future, using the Heat-Tolerance Australian Breeding Value or ABV for short.

The history of genetic exploitation in animal agriculture isn’t exactly a textbook on animal welfare: quite the opposite in fact. In this case, Dr. Thuy Nguyen, who pioneered the ABV, said it improves the animals’ lives because it allows them to tolerate hot and humid conditions more easily.

Key to Dr. Nguyen’s method, created over 4 years of data collection, was using the right measurement: not core body temperature, surprisingly, but rather a reduction in the animal’s social milieu on hot days.

Dairy cattle on Trevor Parrish’s Kangaroo Valley farm tend to become lethargic when it gets too stifling, eating less, or not at all. They crowd together for some reason, making it even hotter to their senses. Even if they do this under shade, they proceed to pee and defecate in the same spot, over and over again, increasing humidity yet further.

Parrish was one of the first farmers in Australia’s dairy industry to use the ABV, and while the first breeding bull he examined had a value substantially under 100 (heat intolerant) another pair each had values far in excess of 100—showing him which ones to breed with.

FARMING NEWS: Sunshine Coast Recycles Wastewater to Irrigate Farms–Instead of Dumping into a River

Developed in 2017, ABC News Australia reports that the ABV has received substantial industry use and financial support, expanding its footprint to include multiple Australian states, and even receiving acclaim internationally.

The acclaim arises from Dr. Nguyen and Parrish being the first among their professions in the world to use a heat-tolerance marker for commercial breeding strategies, and now the US, Italy, and Spain are all investigating similar strategies.

MORE AUSTRALIAN ADVANCES: Experts Demonstrate How Solar Farms Can Become Hubs for ‘Biodiversity Enhancement’ at Every Level

“The US tested our ABV and found that it works in their conditions so it’s great to see it make waves globally,” Dr. Nguyen told a special report series called Land Line from ABC

“To me it made a lot of sense to have a look into it and try and use bulls that were [more] heat tolerant so it would help the next generation moving forward,” Parrish told the same program. “I would totally encourage other farmers to use [the ABV]. It’s not getting any cooler.”

WATCH the special report below… 

SHARE This Great Story Of Happier Cows And Bigger Bottom Lines With Your Friends…

Antarctica Gained 200 Billion Tons of Ice During Recent Two-Year Period, Surprising Scientists

By
Andy Corbley
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A public domain image of Antarctica

Antarctica was in the news this week in a surprising way: it was gaining ice, rather than losing it.

While Antarctic ice sheet loss has averaged around 147 gigatons per year for the period between 2010 and 2020, a remarkable reversal occurred at the opening of this decade.

Writing in China Earth Sciences, researchers at Tongji University, led by Dr. Wei Wang and Professor Yunzhong Shen, reported that East Antarctica’s Wilkes Land and Queen Mary Land region recorded 108 gigatons of average ice sheet mass gain per year from 2021 to 2023.

1 gigaton is equivalent to 1 billion tons, and 108 gigatons is the equivalent weight of 1.5 million of America’s flagship aircraft carriers, to use a silly bit of context to aid the reader in their imaginings.

The growth period included several years in which various parts of the globe saw some of highest temperatures on record.

Using data from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and GRACE-FO (GRACE Follow-On) missions, which take measurements of the changes in the Earth’s magnetic field that reflect large amounts of ice gain or loss, the team found that four glacier basins, called Totten, Moscow University, Denman, and Vincennes had gained, not lost, a significant enough quantity of ice to influence a reduction in the rate of sea-level rise.

Driven by unusually-high precipitation levels, the amount is predicted to offset 0.3 millimeters of sea level rise per year—or roughly one quarter of the total rise seen during the twenty-teens.

This graph shows the shift in ice mass between 2021 and 2023 – credit Science China Press

Given that we’re in 2025, the scientists admit they don’t know if the trend in re-freezing continued or reversed. Given that the amount of precipitation was unusual, the scientists caution against assuming the trend will simply continue.

EARTH IN RUDE HEALTH: Century of Tree Planting Stalls the Warming Effects in the Eastern United States, Says Study

Data from the research period extended into 2024 and showed mass loss. However, almost all reductions were proceeded by gains, and all gains by reductions, based on the influence of the seasons.

Trend lines had the ice sheet increasing in size by the end of the final downturn without recording the subsequent upturn, which, if it were smaller than the previous year, would indicate the trend was already reversing.

CLIMATE CHANGE OVERESTIMATED: Climate Models Need an Upgrade: Plants Absorb 31% More Carbon Than Previously Thought

Melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is the single largest contributor to sea level rise along with the Greenland Ice Sheet. Together they hold most of the world’s fresh water.

Advocates for action to prevent the worst effects of climate change often portray the situation as being imminent, with little if any time left to act. The southern continent has offered a surprise that, literally speaking, the worst effects of climate change actually can be delayed and reversed.

SHARE This Unexpected And Uplifting Climate Story With Your Friends… 

European Orchard Bee is Now a Valuable Pollinator in UK–Since the Weather Got Warmer

By
Andy Corbley
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Pair of European orchard bees (Osmia cornuta) GNU Free license
Pair of European orchard bees (Osmia cornuta) GNU Free license

If you happen to be on a ramble in southern Britain next year, you may see a solitary orangish bee flitting between rising flowers as early as late February.

Such days used to be too cold for Osmia cornuta, known as the European orchard bee, a regular pollinator in orchards on the mainland. However, rising global temperatures have allowed this powerhouse pollinator to find the English meadows fit for purpose.

O. cornuta will emerge in early to mid-March and begin feeding on the nectar of the earliest flowering plants like scilla, a genus of bulb-forming perennial flowers, often called squills and known for their early spring blooming of star-shaped blue, purple, white, or pink blossoms.

Though not a honeybee, it is utilized as a commercial pollinator, and deployed in almond, cherry, and apple orchards. A solitary species, the orchard bee lays a single egg in a nest dug into rotting wood. Inside, it will stash pollen for the baby bee to eat, and then seal up the hole to protect it.

If wood isn’t available, it will happily use masonry or house walls, cracked window frames, drainage pipes, and other nooks and crannies in anthropogenic locales.

MORE GOOD POLLINATOR STORIES: A Country of 2 Million is the World Leader in Beekeeping and Protecting Pollinators

Though some might interpret its arrival in Great Britain as a negative because of the warming climate, a warming climate is also blamed for reducing pollinator species, so presumably the arrival of native European pollinator will help keep England’s meadows and verges the flowerful sights they are boasted to be.

SHARE The Buzz Among Britons That There’s A New Bee On The Block… 

Renowned Salk Institute Studies Native Plants for Drug Discoveries in Weight Loss, Allergies, Asthma, and Headaches

By
Andy Corbley
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(left) Artemisia annua - credit, Kristian Peters, CC 3.0. BY(right) Ephedra viridis - credit, Dcrjsr CC BY 3.0.
(left) Artemisia annua – credit, Kristian Peters, CC 3.0. BY(right) Ephedra viridis – credit, Dcrjsr CC BY 3.0.

Scientists in San Diego are working alongside Native Americans to plumb the genetic depths of medicinal plants in the name of potentially commercializing them as medicines.

Researchers from the renowned Salk Institute for Biological Studies work extensively at the Medicinal Plants Nursery in the San Diego Botanic Garden, growing and studying native California plants traditionally used to treat any malady under the Sun.

Those who know something of American medical history will know that Dr. Jonas Salk developed the vaccine for Polio. He leant his name and reputation to an institute, which today carries on the work of developing cutting edge medicines and making breakthrough discoveries in the field of aging and plant biology.

However, in this case, the sophisticated Salk laboratories are being trained on rudimentary pharmaceutical development strategies, namely those to do with medicinal herbs.

“We have co-evolved with all of these medicinal plants,” said Salk Institute biologist Dr. Todd Michael. “I mean, they make these things probably to protect themselves, but also maybe because they make their mammal counterparts happy.”

Some specimens which Dr. Michael and his colleague Dr. Ben Neiman are focusing on include ephedra, which has a history of being used to treat syphilis, weight loss, allergies, asthma, and headaches; artemisia, used to treat malaria; and yerba santa, which Salk biologists are investigating for its potential foundation in a neurological drug for Alzheimer’s disease.

In the case of the latter two, Native Americans have used them traditionally as medicine, and they are collaborating with Salk in studying them for the depth of their medicinal properties.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: 

KFMB, CBS 8 San Diego reports that the work done by Salk is attracting national attention, with nurseries and institutes around the country sending cuttings, seeds, and plants to further their efforts.

Dr. Neiman says that the goal of translating the work into clinical trials and commercial pharmaceutical products is a “circular ecosystem” in economic terms, since the more drugs that can be developed, the more that tribal nations in and around San Diego County, and the natural landscape where these plants thrive, can be rewarded and protected.

WATCH the story below from the Salk Institute… 

SHARE the Good News With Hydrogen Fuel Fans on Social Media…

Shopkeeper’s Chaotic Attempt to Wrangle Kittens into Their Cage is Hilarious Surveillance Video

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Chongqing, China pet shop - SWNS
Chongqing, China pet shop / SWNS

CCTV footage captured the hilarious scene as a shop owner struggled to wrangle kittens into their cage—scooping up each one while another was escaping every time.

Shared by a pet store in Chongqing, China, on April 30, 2025, the video shows the worker battling to transfer five tiny kittens from their carriers into the cage.

Like a wacky ‘Keystone Cops’ scene, the situation quickly spirals into chaos, with each kitten trying to make a break for it.

Every time he manages to get one cat inside, another darts out, creating a funny, seemingly endless cycle of escape and capture.

LOOK: Man Goes to Rescue One Kitty and is ‘Ambushed’ By 12 More in a Roadside Meet-Cute 

WATCH the video from SWNS News agency…

DON’T LET ’EM ESCAPE Before Sharing the Laughs On Social Media…

MIT Physicists Snap the First Ever Images of Atoms – Capturing Them in Their ‘Free-Range’ States

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Two types of atoms-bosons on the left exhibit bunching while the fermions on the right display anti-bunching – Credit: Sampson Wilcox / MIT
Two types of atoms, bosons on the left exhibit bunching while the fermions on the right display anti-bunching – Credit: Sampson Wilcox / MIT

MIT physicists have captured the first images of individual atoms freely interacting in space. The pictures reveal correlations among the “free-range” particles that until now were predicted but never directly observed. Their findings will help scientists visualize never-before-seen quantum phenomena in real space.

The images were taken using a technique developed by the team that allows a cloud of atoms to move and interact freely until a lattice of light is turned on which briefly freezes the atoms in their tracks. Finely tuned lasers briefly illuminate the suspended atoms, creating a picture of their positions before the atoms naturally dissipate.

The physicists sought to compare different types of atoms, including “bosons,” which bunched up in a quantum phenomenon to form a wave. They also captured atoms known as “fermions” in route to pairing-up in free space — a key mechanism that enables superconductivity.

“We are able to see single atoms in these interesting clouds of atoms and what they are doing in relation to each other, which is beautiful,” says Martin Zwierlein, a Physics Professor at MIT.

Never Seen Before

A single atom is about one-tenth of a nanometer in diameter, which is one-millionth of the thickness of a strand of human hair. Unlike hair, atoms behave and interact according to the rules of quantum mechanics; it is their quantum nature that makes atoms difficult to understand. For example, we cannot simultaneously know precisely where an atom is and how fast it is moving.

Current imaging techniques only allowed you to see the overall shape and structure of a cloud of atoms—like looking at a cloud in the sky, but not being able to see the individual droplets making up the cloud.

RELATED BREAKTHROUGH: New Class of Matter Behaves Like a Solid and a Granule in Way Never Seen Before

The new technique is called “atom-resolved microscopy” and involves first corralling a cloud of atoms in a loose trap formed by a laser beam, then flashing light that freezes the atoms in their positions, while a second laser illuminates the suspended atoms, revealing their individual positions.

“It’s the first time we do it in-situ, where we can suddenly freeze the motion of the atoms when they’re strongly interacting, and see them, one after the other,” Zwierlein told MIT News. “That’s what makes this technique more powerful than what was done before.”

Bunches and pairs

The team applied the imaging technique to directly observe interactions among both bosons and fermions. Photons are an example of a boson, while electrons are a type of fermion. Atoms can be bosons or fermions, depending on their total spin, which is determined by whether the total number of their protons, neutrons, and electrons is even or odd. In general, bosons attract, whereas fermions repel.

Zwierlein and his colleagues first imaged a cloud of bosons made up of sodium atoms. At low temperatures, a cloud of bosons forms what’s known as a Bose-Einstein condensate — a state of matter where all bosons share one and the same quantum state. MIT’s Ketterle was one of the first to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate, of sodium atoms, for which he shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Zwierlein’s group, which published their findings in the journal Physical Review Letters, now is able to image the individual sodium atoms within the cloud, to observe their quantum interactions. It has long been predicted that bosons should “bunch” together, having an increased probability to be near each other. This bunching is a direct consequence of their ability to share the same quantum mechanical wave—a wave-like character first predicted by physicist Louis de Broglie, which sparked the beginning of modern quantum mechanics.

MORE MIT MARVELS: MIT Makes ‘Astonishing’ Discovery That Light Can Vaporize Water Without Heat–for Clean Energy and Desalination

“We understand so much more about the world from this wave-like nature,” Zwierlein says. “But it’s really tough to observe these quantum, wave-like effects. However, in our new microscope, we can visualize this wave directly.”

The team also imaged a cloud of two types of lithium atoms. Each type of atom is a fermion, that naturally repels its own kind, but that can strongly interact with other particular fermion types. As they imaged the cloud, the researchers observed that indeed—a coupling that they could directly see for the first time.

“This kind of pairing is the basis of a mathematical construction people came up. But when you see pictures like these, it’s an object that was discovered in the mathematical world,” says study co-author Richard Fletcher, an MIT assistant professor of physics. “So it’s a very nice reminder that physics is about physical things. It’s real.”

QUANTUM REALM CONFIRMED: The Quantum Realm’s ‘Fifth State of Matter’ is Observed in Space For the First Time

Going forward, the physicists will apply their imaging technique to visualize more exotic and less understood phenomena, such as “quantum Hall physics” — situations when interacting electrons display novel correlated behaviors in the presence of a magnetic field.

“That’s where theory gets really hairy — where people start drawing pictures instead of being able to write down a full-fledged theory because they can’t fully solve it,” Zwierlein says. “Now we can verify whether these cartoons of quantum Hall states are actually real. Because they are pretty bizarre states.”

(Edited from media release by Jennifer Chu | MIT News)

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“Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” – Zelda Fitzgerald (Happy Mother’s Day!)

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Getty Images for Unsplash+

Quote of the Day: “Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” – Zelda Fitzgerald (Happy Mother’s Day!)

Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Getty Images for Unsplash+

Good News in History, May 11

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The Persistence of Memory, oil on canvas, and sometimes called "The Watches".

121 years ago today, Salvador Dali was born. Known for his striking and bizarre images, he is one of, if not the most famous surrealist painter in history. Inspired by the Renaissance masters, Dali nevertheless gravitated to the surrealist movements in the early 20th century. He would live in France for the duration of the Spanish Civil War, before moving to America and achieving commercial success. SEE a Couple of His Most Famous Works… (1904)

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From the Water-Wasteful ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ Comes Pipelines Built in Nepal So Kids Don’t Have to Haul it From Afar

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Building pipelines – The Brimiri Fundation

A Scotsman, after living many years in Nepal, decided to transform the spirit of the Ice Bucket Challenge into something truly impactful—building water pipelines for remote villages. And, thanks to his efforts, over 112 families now have direct access to drinking water.

Ian Bent was in the village of Bimiri since 2014 discussing the lack of water and what could possibly be done about it, when someone tagged him in an “Ice-Bucket Challenge”, the online craze at the time.

He posted a rant on social media saying pouring good, clean water over his head was an absolute waste and made no sense.

He said if anyone wants to do something charitable, to hand over $20 or whatever they could afford for the construction of a well to provide water to “a village full of amazing people”.

2020 data from the World Health Organization showed that 3.3 million Nepalese lack access to running water, forcing many to walk long distances to bring water home.

Ian said he would personally deliver 20 liters of water to a village using a traditional basket strapped to his head, called a DOKU. The response was overwhelming. Hundreds of people reached out, sending donations totaling more than several thousand dollars—and the Bimiri Foundation was born.

Soon, his friends took part in “the DOKU Challenge” to experience firsthand the effort it takes to carry water from the source to the homes.

The DOKU Challenge – The Brimiri Fundation

“Delivering a single doku of water might seem like a drop in the ocean, but the emotional gravity of the task is massive for a person from a land of abundance to haul water like this” said Jim Tolle who was traveling in Nepal and joined the group.

WASTE NOT WATER: Sunshine Coast Recycles Wastewater to Irrigate Farms–Instead of Dumping into a River

From buckets to pipelines

The entire community is involved in building the pipelines. Children and parents dig trenches where the pipes are laid. A local engineer oversees the connections. But that’s not all. Sometimes, to deliver necessary materials, they have to build access roads or secure electricity. It’s a massive undertaking.

But the effort not only improves living conditions but also expands opportunities: small eateries emerge, more livestock is raised, and families can dedicate more time to their children’s education.

The village of Bimiri now has running water to every home so that the women and girls who live there, some as young as 10, no longer have the heavy daily burden taking up hours of their time.

“Ian is a real hero,” Tolle told GNN. “Although an outsider and a loner, he is an incredible example of the kind of person worth emulating.”

WATER BREAKTHROUGH: Billions of People Could Benefit from This Breakthrough in Desalination That Ensures Freshwater for the World

“Now that we have finally reached success in the first village,” Ian wrote on his Foundation’s website, “we have set our targets on installing one tap to every home in the entire Namobuddah district, made up of Sawara (approximately 2km from Bimiri), Cheggin, Balukurka, Gurgaon, Chinde, Darakuteri and Karbardunga.”

“We have already begun costing this project and hope to begin work very soon!”

Additionally, Tolle says a program is soon launching that will foster that role model among children. Students from a Scottish primary school will visit Nepal to support Ian’s foundation and learn about the importance of helping others.

Consider donating at TheBimiriFoundation.com – And Share the Story on Social Media So Others Might Donate…

Women Reunited With Sister After DNA Test and 57-year Search Ends the Mystery of a Forced Adoption

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Sisters June (left), Trish (centre) and Geraldine - SWNS
Sisters June (left), Trish (centre) and Geraldine – SWNS

Two women found their long-lost sister after a 57-year search thanks to DNA test results that sounded like an ‘April Fools prank’.

Now in their 60s, sisters Trish and June spent their lives searching for their oldest sibling, Geraldine, who is more than a decade older.

Geraldine was a four-year-old when her mother Mary Wills was forced to put her up for adoption by a religious order of Catholic nuns in the convent where the single mom and her daughter spent their early years.

Mary moved on and later met Peter Wills, with whom she had three children after marrying in 1956, settling in Somerset, England.

Despite always knowing they had an older sister, Trish and June weren’t able to find her before their mom died from liver cancer in 2011.

When Trish gave her daughter, Laura, 34, an Ancestry DNA test for Christmas in 2023 it didn’t turn up any matches—until last month.

Little did they know that their biological half-sister Geraldine would upload her details onto the same website database and Laura would be notified that Ancestry had uncovered a match “without a doubt”.

On April 1, Laura reached out to Geraldine through email and reassured her it wasn’t an “April Fool’s joke”.

Trish, a writer, from Somerset, England recalled: “I thought Laura was playing April Fool’s on me – turns out Geri thought the same thing too.”

The three sisters video called before meeting in person for the first time two weeks ago in Somerset, England, and felt “instant love” for their long-lost sibling.

“Meeting for the first time was emotional, and I felt an instant feeling of love for Geri,” Trish told SWNS news agency.

“Me, her, and June all have the same laugh—and I can’t believe how similar we all look.

“We feel like Mum is with us now and this is what she would’ve wanted.

“Having Geri in my life is something I’ve always wanted. June and I had always been told about Geraldine, but we hadn’t been able to track her down.”

Geraldine visiting Mary’s grave for first time – SWNS

“I couldn’t believe it when Laura said she’d found Geri. It’s just a shame we couldn’t do it when Mum was still alive.”

The sisters knew that their mum had moved from Ireland after giving up Geraldine at aged four and trained as a nurse in Bolton, near Manchester, but they had not been told the details of Geraldine’s adoption, or where she had relocated.

MORE LOVING REUNIONS:
• Woman Hires Private Detective and Finds 2 Long-Lost Sisters After 44 Years and the Death of Adoptive Parents
• Woman Looking for Birth Parents Learns That Dad Was a ‘Friend’ on Facebook

Geri learn more about her late mother—but the meeting also unveiled family secrets for Trish and June too.

They discovered their mum was a survivor of Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, in County Cork, Ireland, run by Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The home, which was subject to an investigation by the Irish Government in 2021, was found to have forced many adoptions and treated unmarried mothers—whom they deemed “sinful”—with severe cruelty.

Mary was a victim of the convent’s ill-treatment and their policies were the reason she was forced to give Geraldine up for adoption.

AMAZING: Mom Credits a Stranger’s Comment For Helping to Save Her Son’s Life

Speaking about the reunion, Trish said: “I never thought we’d find her, and I never thought we’d be like a Long Lost Family episode.

“We took her to mum’s grave, which was very emotional… and we’re planning to take a trip to Ireland to see where Mary had spent her earlier years.

“But this is the start of making memories together now.

SHARE THE HEARTWARMING Story With Sisters on Social Media…

Okra and Fenugreek Extracts Safely Remove Microplastics From Water in New Texas Research

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Okra plant By Mae Monares
Okra plant By Mae Monares

The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.

Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for okra and fenugreek extracts and tested results in a variety of types of water.

To extract the sticky plant polymers, the team soaked sliced okra pods and blended fenugreek seeds in separate containers of water overnight. Then, researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them into powders.

Analyses published in the American Chemical Society journal showed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:

  • One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.
  • Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.
  • A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.
  • The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.

DID YOU KNOW: There’s a Surprisingly Easy Way to Remove Microplastics From Drinking Water: Boil it

Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source.

Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%).

The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.

Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.

“Utilizing these plant-based extracts in water treatment will remove microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances to the treated water,” said Srinivasan in a media release, “thus reducing long-term health risks to the population.”

CHECK OUT: Plant-Based Sawdust Filter Removes Up to 99.9% of Microplastics from Water

She had previously studied the use of food-grade plant extracts as non-toxic flocculants to remove textile-based pollutants from wastewater and thought, ‘Why not try microplastics?’

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

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

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of May 10, 2025
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Classical ballet dancers often seek to convey the illusion of weightlessness through highly stylized movements. Innovative Taurus choreographer Martha Graham had a different aim, emphasizing groundedness. Emotional depth and rooted physicality were crucial to her art of movement. “The body never lies” is a motto attributed to her, along with “Don’t be nice, be real.” I recommend you make those themes your guides for now, Taurus. Ask your body to reveal truths unavailable to your rational mind. Value raw honesty and unembellished authenticity over mere decorum.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Gemini photographer Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971) was a trailblazer. She was the first American woman war photojournalist, the first professional photographer permitted into the Soviet Union, and among the first to photograph a Nazi concentration camp. She was consistently at the right place at the right time to record key historical moments. She’s your role model in the coming months. You, too, will have a knack for being in the right place and time to experience weighty turning points. Be vigilant for such opportunities. Be alert and ready to gracefully pounce.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
“Each negative word in a news headline increases click-through rates,” writes Joan Westenberg. “Negative political posts on social media get twice the engagement. The system rewards pessimism.” She wants to be clear: “Doomsayers aren’t necessarily wrong. Many concerns are valid. But they’ve built an attention economy that profits from perpetual panic. It’s a challenge to distinguish between actionable information and algorithmic amplification, genuine concern and manufactured outrage.” Westenberg’s excellent points are true for all of us. But it’s especially important that you Cancerians take measures to protect yourself now. For the sake of your mental and physical health, you need extra high doses of optimism, hope, and compassion. Seek out tales of triumph, liberation, pleasure, and ingenuity far more than tales of affliction, mayhem, and corruption.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Bees are smart. The robust and lightweight honeycombs they create for their homes are designed with high efficiency, maximizing storage space while using the least amount of resources. Let’s make the bees’ genius your inspirational role model for the coming weeks, Leo. It will be a favorable time to optimize your own routines and systems. Where can you reduce unnecessary effort and create more efficiency? Whether it’s refining your schedule, streamlining a project, or organizing your workspace, small adjustments will yield pleasing rewards.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
In 1971, Virgo poet Kay Ryan began teaching English at a small community college. Though she wrote steadily, working hard to improve her craft and publish books, she never promoted herself. For years, she was virtually unknown. Finally, in 2008, she flamed into prominence. In quick succession, she served as the US Poet Laureate, won a Pulitzer Prize, and received a $500,000 “genius grant” as a MacArthur Fellow. Why am I telling you about her long toil before getting her rightful honors? Because I believe that if you are ever going to receive the acclaim, recognition, appreciation, and full respect you deserve, it will happen in the coming months.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Libran author Diane Ackerman combines an elegant poetic sensibility and a deft skill at scientific observation. She is lyrical and precise, imaginative and logical, inventive and factual. I would love for you to be inspired by her example in the coming weeks. Your greatest success and pleasure will arise as you blend creativity with pragmatism. You will make good decisions as you focus on both the big picture and the intimate details. PS: If you immerse yourself in the natural world and seek out sensory-rich experiences, I bet you will inspire a smart solution to an achy dilemma.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio-born Sabina Spielrein (1885–1942) was one of the earliest woman psychoanalysts. In the 21st century, she is increasingly recognized as a great thinker who got marginalized because of her feminist approach to psychology. Several of her big contributions were Scorpionic to the core: She observed how breakdown can lead to breakthrough, how most transformations require the death of an old form, and how dissolution often serves creation. These will be useful themes for you to ruminate about in the coming weeks. For best results, be your deep, true, Scorpio self.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In the middle of his art career, Sagittarian painter Paul Klee (1879–1940) was drafted into the German army as a soldier in World War I. Rather than fighting on the front lines, he managed to get a job painting camouflage on military airplanes. This enabled him to conduct artistic explorations and experiments. The metal hulls became his canvases. I am predicting a comparable opportunity disguised as an obstacle for you, Sagittarius. Just as the apparent constraint on Klee actually advanced his artistic development, you will discover luck in unexpected places.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else,” wrote poet Emily Dickinson. I often feel that truth. As much as I would love to devote 70+ hours a week to creative writing and making music, I am continually diverted by the endless surprises of the daily rhythm. One of these weeks, maybe I’ll be brave enough to simply give myself unconditionally to ordinary life’s startling flow and forget about trying to accomplish anything great. If you have ever felt a similar pull, Capricorn, the coming days will be prime time to indulge. There will be no karmic cost incurred.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
David Bowie was a brilliant musical composer and performer. His artistry extended to how he crafted his persona. He was constantly revising and reshaping his identity, his appearance, and his style. The Ziggy Stardust character he portrayed on stage, for example, had little in common with his later phase as the Thin White Duke. “I’ve always collected personalities,” he quipped. If you have ever felt an inclination to experiment with your image and identity, Aquarius, the coming weeks will be an excellent time. Shape-shifting could be fun and productive. Transforming your outer style may generate interesting inner growth. What would be interesting ways to play with your self-expression?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The Voynich manuscript is a famous text written in an unfamiliar script filled with bizarre illustrations. Carbon-dated to the early 15th century, it has resisted all attempts at deciphering its content. Even Artificial Intelligence has not penetrated its meaning. I propose we make this enigmatic document an iconic metaphor for your life in the coming weeks. It will symbolize the power you can generate by celebrating and honoring mystery. It will affirm the fact that you don’t necessarily require logical explanations, but can instead appreciate the beauty of the unknown. Your natural comfort with ambiguity will be a potent asset, enabling you to work effectively with situations others find too uncertain.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Just for now, you might benefit from moderating your intensity. I am pleased to see how much good stuff you have generated lately, but it may be time to scale back a bit. At least consider the possibility of pursuing modest, sustainable production rather than daring to indulge in spectacular bursts of energy. In conclusion, dear Aries, the coming days will be a favorable time for finding the sweet spot between driving ambition and practical self-care. Your natural radiance won’t have to burn at maximum brightness to be effective.

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

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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