A 13-year-old Massai boy in Kenya has invented an ingenious system to scare off the lions that were killing his family’s livestock.
Living on the edge of Nairobi National Park, Richard Turere first became responsible for herding and safeguarding his family’s cattle when he was just nine. After two years he decided it was time to find a way of protecting his family’s cows.
Scientists in Denmark have built a device designed to clean polluted air by accelerating natural atmospheric processes, helping to get rid of chemicals and smells.
That Atmospheric Photochemical Accelerator developed at Copenhagen University underwent six years of trials working atop a stinky industrial plant.
Having dropped a policy allowing state-owned English woodland to be sold to the private sector, the government is now committing instead to preserving it for future generations.
Environment secretary Owen Paterson announced in January 2013 that a previous policy of selling off 15% of the public forest to raise funds was to be dropped and an independent public body created to hold them in trust.
For a brief moment on Tuesday, the nuclear dispute between Iran and the United States took a back seat to sport.
American Diplomats found rare common ground with the Islamic Republic at a recent round of nuclear negotiations, noting Iran’s victory in the freestyle wrestling World Cup in Tehran.
U.S. wrestlers competed, including the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs who was cheered on wildly by wrestling-crazy Iranian fans. Burroughs tweeted a photo (above) of the eager Iranians with the caption, “Iran has amazing fans!”
“Later, in a rare gesture of goodwill, the members of the U.S. freestyle wrestling team shook hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday after finishing third in a tournament,” according to Capital Bay.
(READ the story from Reuters and SEE more photos at Capital Bay)
A careful test of the so-called Mediterranean diet involving more than 7,000 people at high risk for heart attacks and strokes found the diet reduced them when compared with a low-fat diet. A regular diet of Mediterranean cuisine also reduced the risk of dying.
Overall, the people consuming the diets rich in olive oil and nuts had about a 30 percent lower risk of having a heart attack, stroke or dying from a cardiovascular cause.
In Rotterdam, a new bridge connects two parts of the city that were previously cut off by roads with heavy traffic.
The bridge is all wood–17,000 individual planks, each of which bears the name of the individual who donated money to help pay for it when the city’s coffers were empty.
Reconnecting a part of the city cut off by traffic makes the area walkable again, and may attract shops, restaurants, and small businesses.
In Rotterdam, a new bridge connects two parts of the city that were previously cut off by roads with heavy traffic.
The bridge is all wood–17,000 individual planks, each of which bears the name of the individual who donated money to help pay for it when the city’s coffers were empty.
Reconnecting a part of the city cut off by traffic makes the area walkable again, and may attract shops, restaurants, and small businesses.
Hundreds came to the funeral of a Royal Marine who had no friends and no family after a clergyman posted a notice on Facebook to rally people for a proper send-off.
The word spread among local Portsmouth servicemen who did come providing all the arrangements for a fitting farewell service for James McConnell.
(WATCH the video or read the story from ITV News)
Quvenzhane Wallis could make Oscar history tonight by taking home the Best Actress statue for her role in the critically acclaimed drama Beasts of the Southern Wild, for which she became the youngest actor ever nominated for an Academy Award.
She was 6 years old when she played the part of Hushpuppy, the indomitable child prodigy and survivalist who lives with her dying father in the backwoods squalor of a Louisiana bayou.
Tech world celebrities including Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sergey Brin have donated part of their fortunes to help extend human life through the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, a $33 million award to help 11 different scientists in their efforts to cure complex diseases.
In its inaugural year, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to advancing breakthrough medical and science research has awarded $3 million each to: (watch the video below)
Up until this point, medical testing has been relegated to the hospital or physician’s office, but now you can get do-it-yourself diagnoses in your home.
Among the new products, Mode Diagnostics expects to begin selling its colon-cancer test, the first in a series of do-it-yourself medical checks it’s developing, directly to patients for about $38 through online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. in the second half of the year.
Organic fruits and vegetables may not be as big and beautiful as regular produce, but appearances can be deceiving. A study of organic tomatoes found they are packed with a much higher concentration of healthy compounds than the conventionally grown variety.
Mitchell Marcus has a developmental disability, but he far surpasses all the other students in his El Paso high school when it comes to his love for basketball.
He has served as team manager for the Thunderbirds and all the players and fans love his spirit.
On the last game of the regular season, the coach told Mitchell to suit up.
Mitchell Marcus has a developmental disability, but he far surpasses all the other students in his El Paso high school when it comes to his love for basketball.
He has served as team manager for the Thunderbirds and all the players and fans love his spirit.
On the last game of the regular season, the coach told Mitchell to suit up.
Anshu Gupta, a public relations professional, decided to give up his career 15 years ago to do something about the lack of basic clothing for the poor in India, who often die from exposure in winter.
He and his wife began by donating 67 pieces of spare clothing from their own wardrobes. These days, 2.2 million pounds of clothing each year are processed annually by his organization.
What makes their project different is that nothing is given away; Gupta’s motto is “clothing for dignity,” and he has put in place a Cloth for Work program that enhances people’s independence.
A lot of national attention has been showered on Billy Ray Harris, a panhandler in Missouri, after he returned a diamond engagement ring that accidentally dropped into his cup when a woman was pouring in the contents of her change purse.
The woman’s husband, Bill Krejci, was so grateful for the honest man’s efforts to return the ring, and so many friends asked how they could help, that a fundraising page was set up for Billy Ray on Feb. 14.
As of this morning, Feb. 23, the Give Forward page just passed $100,000.
“Words cannot express how it feels to be a part of something like this,” wrote Krejci after only $15K had been donated.
Harris was raised by his grandfather, a reverend, so the simple act of “returning something that doesn’t belong to you” did not seem to him deserving of so much attention.
But when a reporter from KCTV told Billy Ray they received a call from his long lost sister in Texas, the man’s eyes lit up and he called it the best reward of all. A reunion by telephone was imminent and his “baby sister” extended an open invitation to come live in Texas.
Krejci and his fiancé have already helped fix Harris’s bicycle — an activity he dearly loves. (A BMX bicycle is next!) And this update was posted yesterday:
Billy Ray and I got together for an hour or so yesterday afternoon.
We talked about a lot of things related to my family’s ring and the many donations. We talked about one day in the future the ring may one day be passed down to my daughter. We talked about how insanely positive all this has been. We talked about what he’s planning to do with the donations. The details would be better left for later, but know that he has a very solid plan and a very solid way of making it happen.
(FOLLOW the developing story on the fundraising page)
A lot of national attention has been showered on Billy Ray Harris, a panhandler in Missouri, after he returned a diamond engagement ring that accidentally dropped into his cup when a woman was pouring in the contents of her change purse.
The woman’s husband, Bill Krejci, was so grateful for the honest man’s efforts to return the ring, and so many friends asked how they could help, that a fundraising page was set up for Billy Ray on Feb. 14.
As of this morning, Feb. 23, the Give Forward page just passed $100,000.
A program at a Washington state prison is improving the lives of abused cats and also the inmates who now care for them.
Five felines that were rescued from neglectful or abusive situations currently reside at the prison as part of a cat adoption program coordinated with the Humane Society. The inmates socialize the cats and get them ready to be adopted.
One of the cats has already been turned around. When she arrived, she did nothing but hide and refused to eat. Now, after several weeks, she allows her caretaker to carry her around the unit and plays in his room.
Albert Lexie, the longtime shoe shiner, has been giving back to others for years.
He is Pittsburgh’s hero in disguise. With no fancy clothes and no fancy job, this man is a guardian angel who changes lives one dollar at a time.
A shoe shine costs $5, but Lexie’s customers have been generous with their tips since he started working at the children’s hospital in 1981.
And Lexie gives every cent of his tips back to the children.
(WATCH the video, or read the story from WTAE News)
Albert Lexie, the longtime shoe shiner, has been giving back to others for years.
He is Pittsburgh’s hero in disguise. With no fancy clothes and no fancy job, this man is a guardian angel who changes lives one dollar at a time.
A shoe shine costs $5, but Lexie’s customers have been generous with their tips since he started working at the children’s hospital in 1981.
