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In 10 Seconds, an AI Model Detects Cancerous Brain Tumors Often Missed During Surgery

By
Andy Corbley
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A University of Michigan Health neurosurgical team performing an operation - credit Chris Hedly, Michigan Medicine.
A University of Michigan Health neurosurgical team performing an operation – credit Chris Hedly, Michigan Medicine.

Researchers have developed an AI-powered model that can determine in 10 seconds during surgery if any part of a cancerous brain tumor that could be removed remains.

The technology, called FastGlioma, outperformed conventional methods for identifying what remains of a tumor by a wide margin, according to the research team led by the universities of Michigan and California and the paper they published.

“FastGlioma is an artificial intelligence-based diagnostic system that has the potential to change the field of neurosurgery by immediately improving comprehensive management of patients with diffuse gliomas,” said senior author Todd Hollon, a neurosurgeon at University of Michigan Health.

“The technology works faster and more accurately than the current standard of care methods for tumor detection and could be generalized to other pediatric and adult brain tumor diagnoses. It could serve as a foundational model for guiding brain tumor surgery.”

When a neurosurgeon removes a life-threatening tumor from a patient’s brain, they are rarely able to remove the entire mass. What remains is known as a residual tumor.

Commonly, the tumor is missed during the operation because surgeons are not able to differentiate between healthy brain and residual tumor tissues in the cavity where the mass was removed.

Neurosurgical teams employ different methods to locate that residual tumor during a procedure, which may include MRI imaging, which may not be available in the hospital, or a fluorescent imaging agent to identify tumor tissue, which is not applicable for all tumor types.

These limitations prevent their widespread use.

In this international study of the AI-driven technology, neurosurgical teams analyzed fresh, unprocessed specimens sampled from 220 patients who had operations for low or high-grade diffuse glioma.

FastGlioma detected and calculated how much tumor remained with an average accuracy of approximately 92%.

In a comparison of surgeries guided by FastGlioma predictions or image and fluorescent-guided methods, the AI technology missed high-risk, residual tumor tissues just 3.8% of the time—compared to a whopping 25% miss rate for conventional methods.

To assess what remains of a brain tumor, FastGlioma combines microscopic optical imaging with a type of artificial intelligence called foundation models. These are AI models, such as GPT-4 and DALL·E 3, trained on massive, diverse datasets that can be adapted to a wide range of tasks.

To build FastGlioma, investigators pre-trained the visual foundation model using over 11,000 surgical specimens and 4 million unique microscopic fields of view.

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“FastGlioma can detect residual tumor tissue without relying on time-consuming histology procedures and large, labeled datasets in medical AI, which are scarce,” said Honglak Lee, Ph.D., co-author and professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan

Full-resolution images take around 100 seconds to acquire, while a “fast mode,” lower-resolution image takes just 10 seconds. Even so, researchers found that the fast mode achieved an accuracy of 90%, just 2% lower than the full resolution.

“This means that we can detect tumor infiltration in seconds with extremely high accuracy, which could inform surgeons if more resection is needed during an operation,” Hollon said.

AI IN RADIOLOGY: After Studying Mammograms, AI Can Detect More Breast Cancers Than Humans–With Fewer False Positives

Over the last 20 years, the rates of residual tumor after neurosurgery have not improved.

Residual tumor tissues can lead to worse quality of life and earlier death for patients, but it also increases the burden on a health system that anticipates 45 million annual surgical procedures needed worldwide by 2030.

Not only is FastGlioma an accessible and affordable tool for neurosurgical teams operating on gliomas, but researchers say, it can also accurately detect residual tumor for several non-glioma tumor diagnoses, including pediatric brain tumors, such as medulloblastoma and ependymoma, and meningiomas.

AI IN CANCER TREATMENT: Artificial Intelligence ‘Can Help Spot Early Signs of Cancer in Chest X-Rays’

“These results demonstrate the advantage of visual foundation models such as FastGlioma for medical AI applications and the potential to generalize to other human cancers without requiring extensive model retraining or fine-tuning,” said co-author Aditya S. Pandey, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at UM Health.

“In future studies, we will focus on applying the FastGlioma workflow to other cancers, including lung, prostate, breast, and head and neck cancers.”

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Officials Applaud Canadian Woman Who Saved Boy from Drowning in Frozen River

By
Andy Corbley
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Ice on Sucker River Credit: Elaine Ratt (released)
Ice on Sucker River Credit: Elaine Ratt (released)

In northern Saskatchewan Province in Canada, a woman has been hailed as a hero for risking death in an icy river to save a child.

Falling through whilst playing, the boy’s friend rushed to the Sucker River Community Store where Elaine Ratt was just clocking in for her shift.

The member of the Lac La Ronge Band of Indians was probably expecting a normal day on the job, but as soon as she saw the child’s face, she knew something was dreadfully amiss.

“The fear in [his] eyes scared me,” Ratt said, running down to the Sucker River.

When she arrived at the edge of the river she began calling repeatedly for him to keep his head above water, but seconds later she was inching herself along, hearing the cracking of the ice beneath her.

“By the time I was getting toward him, he was already starting to float down underneath the water,” she told CBC News.

Elaine Ratt, right, and her 12-year-old daughter – Elaine Ratt/Submitted

As soon as she was close enough to perhaps help the boy, the worst happened and the ice gave way beneath her, leaving them both treading in the frigid water.

It wasn’t long until she got him to a patch of solid ice and hoisted him up. Even in his state of shock, he remembered that if one finds themselves in that situation, never try to stand up, but always keep the lowest center of gravity possible to avoid breaking the ice anew. The boy rolled like a seal onto the bank.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Two Hours After Being Trained, Rescuers Save Drowning Skier From Frozen Lake Using Handy Local Invention

But Ratt was heavier and every time she tried to pull herself out, the ice kept breaking away. Eventually, in shock, she too escaped.

“So I carried him, with all my soaking clothes and his soaking clothes. It was more of a reflex. I don’t want to see this little boy down the river or something worse happening to him,” Ratt said. “So I would rather we risk my life than his.”

At the community store, first responders were there to rush the boy to the hospital where he eventually regained a normal body temperature.

HERO STORIES: For 3 Hours Doctors Continued CPR on Toddler with No Pulse–Until Life Returned

Meanwhile, Ratt went home to get a change of clothes. When she returned, the emergency crews were still around, and when she stepped out of her truck, erupted in applause for her heroism, moving the Lac La Ronge member to tears.

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“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.” – Emily Dickinson

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.” – Emily Dickinson

Photo by: adrianna geo

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?

Man Turns Old Mobile Home into a Log Cabin with Just $13k–and DIY Charm (LOOK)

By
Andy Corbley
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Benn Berkeley next to his caravan - SWNS
Benn Berkeley next to his caravan – SWNS

What would you prefer to live in, a trailer or a log cabin? An out-of-work English filmmaker picked the latter over the former by way of his own two hands and a few tons of lumber.

Benn Berkeley lost all his work prospects as a freelance filmmaker in 2020 due to business closures and other restrictions arising in the wake of the pandemic’s arrival in Great Britain.

In August 2020, his brother took over a farm that had a static trailer and asked Berkeley if he wanted it.

Berkeley leaped at the opportunity despite admitting it was a “fixer-upper” and started working on gutting out the trailer in September all on his own.

“I had zero experience in building and DIY but there was an opportunity to do it up and live in it so I jumped in head first,” he told English news media outlet SWNS. “Everything we learned was through YouTube, it was a really amazing and empowering experience.”

He upended only about $13,000 (£10,000) in savings to finish the project, doing everything apart from the electrics and plumbing himself.

credit – Benn Berkeley, via SWNS

“It’s 44ft by 10ft. We had to support one of the walls as it was caving in—the first job was to make it safe,” he remembered. “We changed the windows and then we realized there was a damp issue so we ripped all of the walls out. From there we had free reign to do what we wanted, originally it was two bedrooms with a bathroom and kitchen.”

“All of that went, we now have a double bedroom, bathroom, corridor, and open plan living and kitchen space.”

GREAT DIY STORIES: Aussie Man Invents Weapon in War Against Invasive Asparagus Fern–The ‘Asparagus Assassin’

Berkeley said he was shocked how much of a resource YouTube proved to be, from basic to technical skills, and from installing retaining walls to planning and building a kitchen, remarking that “it was all there for me.”

Since moving into the cabin, Berkeley has taken the place off-grid. He heats his home with a wood stove, uses gas bottles for his oven, and his electricity comes from solar panels on the farm.

MORE LIFE-CHANGING INITIATIVE: Dad Attracts Diners from Across the Globe After Building $22k Greek Taverna–in His Backyard

“It is a very simple lifestyle which I think we have lost,” he said. “I can govern myself a lot more, I am not pressed into working a certain amount of hours a week as I know my outgoings each month.”

SHARE This Great Makeover Idea For Anyone You Know Who Has A Trailer Lying Around… 

Little Boy Meets the Stranger Who Saved Him by Donating Her Liver (WATCH the Touching Video)

By
Andy Corbley
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- Cleveland Clinic, via Storyful
Organ donor Sandy with Sonny-by Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital-SWNS

In a tear-jerking video released by the Cleveland Clinic, a woman is seen reuniting with a boy whose life she saved through organ donation.

Becoming a living donor by giving up a piece of her liver, Sandy Flash gave the now-one-year-old Sonny the chance to recover from biliary artesia.

A disease with an unknown cause, biliary artesia is defined by the NIH as a scarring of the bile ducts that prevents bile from exiting into the intestines, resulting in lethal liver damage.

It’s treatable with a surgery called the Kasai procedure, which by now has become so advanced that between 80 and 90% of infants diagnosed with this disease now survive to adulthood. However, it requires a piece of a donated liver, which is where Flash came in.

Her husband was saved by a liver donation in 2022, and inspired to return the favor, she signed up for donor status and was appropriately matched with young Sonny.

“Sandy gave a piece of herself to save my baby’s life. Organ donation is truly an unconditional gift,” Sonny’s mother, Katie White, told Good Morning America.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: After Childhood Cancer Diagnosis, Donor Bone Marrow from Little Sister Sends it into Remission

Flash admitted that after bringing her own children into the world, it was the most fulfilling thing she’s ever done.

The Cleveland Clinic said that Sonny has caught up to the normal developmental milestones for a 1-year-old.

WATCH the video below, but keep the tissues close… 

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Father-Son Were Trying to Find Roman Road But Found a Shovelful of 16th C. Silver Coins Instead

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit, Polish "Husaria" Treasure Hunters Association, supplied.
Sławomir Milewski and his son Szymon – credit, Polish “Husaria” Treasure Hunters Association, supplied.

In the Polish forests north of Warsaw, a father and son were out with a local historical society when they found 17 pre-modern coins which may be worth around $120,000.

They were supposed to be looking for the remains of a Roman road, but the metal detectors found the coins instead.

Credit: Polish “Husaria” Treasure Hunters Association, supplied

The treasure was discovered by Sławomir Milewski together with his son Szymon Milewski and contains 17 silver coins: 9 thalers and 8 patagons. The oldest coin dates from 1587 – 1564 CE, and the youngest is 1641.

Members of the Triglav Historical and Research Association and the Polish “Husaria” Treasure Hunters Association gathered around the boy and his father to marvel at the treasure, especially because they never ended up finding the road.

Minted by several different political entities, they give a lovely cross-sectional insight into the monetary customs and details of northern Europe.

Thalers were silver coins used throughout Europe for centuries, and the word “dollar” is derived from them. Several of the thalers found were minted in Austria by Rudolf II in 1604; Frederick I, perhaps 20 years later; and Leopold V in 1620.

Two were minted by the Saxony ruler Johann Georg I in 1612 and 1624, another from Zweibrücken in a German proto-state called the Palatinate, and one was minted in the kingdom of South Tyrol of northern Italy-southern Austria.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Largest Anglo-Saxon Gold Coin Hoard Discovered in English Field

Only one was minted by the Polish king Sigismund III, and the patagons were all minted in the Spanish Netherlands. These identifications were provided by the “Husaria” Treasure Hunters Association, who admit they are not experts in numismatics, but all in all the hoard is a snapshot of the inter-commercial activity of Poland in the early 17th century.

© Tomaz Fijalkowski, supplied to GNN.
– courtesy of Mateusz Sygacz.

The coin minted in Zweibrücken may be of particular interest for historical collections, as per a Facebook post from “Husaria” these thalers were minted with different patterns every year, making identification of them virtually hopeless.

As Sonja Anderson of Smithsonian Magazine notes, many of the minting dates match up to the period of the Thirty Years’ War when the monarchs stamped onto the coins were engaged in one of the most brutal conflicts in European history.

HOARD STORIES: Hoard of 1,000-yo Coins Unearthed in Farmer’s Field Nets Millions for Metal Detecting Friends–and Treasure for UK

Such years of instability dissuade people from carrying around large sums of money, and buried treasure, from Turkey to Kentucky, often date to such periods.

“Another assumption is that the burial was made by a merchant who wanted to hide his property from potential robbers—there was an inn about a kilometer away [during] the 16th century, and we know from earlier discoveries of similar deposits that it was a common practice to hide valuables before visiting an inn,” Mateusz Sygacz of the “Husaria” Treasure Hunters Association told All That’s Interesting.

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Scientists Discover ‘World’s Largest’ Coral –the Size of 5 Tennis Courts

By
Andy Corbley
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Courtesy of Manu San Félix / National Geographic Pristine Seas (cropped)
Courtesy of Manu San Félix / National Geographic Pristine Seas (cropped)

On an expedition to the Solomon Islands, divers affiliated with National Geographic have found the world’s largest single coral colony ever recorded.

It’s longer than the largest blue whale. At 34 meters (111 feet) in length, and with a width of 32 (105) meters, it could sit corner to corner across 5 tennis courts.

Experts believe it has been growing for between 300 and 500 years.

The mammoth coral was discovered by scientists from National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Initiative, which aims to gather scientific data to inform conservation measures in places where marine life is bountiful. During an expedition to the Three Sisters island group in the Makira-Ulawa Province of Solomon Islands, they thought at first its massive shadow under the water was a shipwreck.

“At a time where we can observe every square inch of the land with satellites and drones, the ocean below the surface continues to hold mysteries like this one,” said National Geographic explorer in residence Enric Sala. “It was like finding the world’s tallest tree.”

Sala hopes the coral and its presentation—agonizingly short of being able to feature at the sixteenth annual conference of the parties to the Convention on Biodiversity, (COP16)—will nevertheless help spur future marine protection by demonstrating the breadth of underwater life that exists which we don’t yet know about.

Courtesy of Manu San Félix / National Geographic Pristine Seas (cropped)

ABC News Australia spoke with expedition scientist Molly Timmers, who 20 years ago dove down to see the “Big Momma” coral in American Samoa, the largest coral thought to exist until the discovery of the Solomon Islands specimen.

“While Big Momma looked like a huge scoop of ice cream plopped down on the reef, this newly discovered coral is as if the ice cream started to melt, spreading forever along the seafloor,” she said.

GOOD CORAL STORIES: 

Belonging to the Pavona clavus species of stony corals, it is considered a species of Least Concern by the IUCN.

It’s mostly brown, but with patches of bright yellow, blue, and red growth. Coral is the anchor of shallow marine ecosystems, and just like trees in a forest biome, the larger and older they get, the more the ecosystem benefits. For example, the larger the coral colony, the greater its fecundity, meaning the reefs around this mega coral will benefit from a more stable reproductive cycle.

Along with providing places to hide and breed, many species of fish eat algae that grow on corals, and others eat corals themselves. Large fish like manta rays are more likely to visit the corals to get a clean, from a group of fish known as cleaners, that also clean coral reefs.

ABC News reports that this giant coral sits out of the major storm corridors in the Southern Seas, which may be one of the contributing factors to its age.

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“Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world.” – Roald Dahl

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world.” – Roald Dahl

Photo by: Kuzzat Altay (cropped)

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?

Canadian Spa Hopes Hair-Freezing Contest Can Continue for Another 12 Years – SEE the Hilarious Winners

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Good News Network
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Winner from previous hair-freezing contest at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs / SWNS
Winner from previous hair-freezing contest at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs / SWNS

Hot springs enthusiasts are hoping for Arctic temperatures in Canada so an annual hair-freezing contest can go forth later this winter.

The yearly competition began in 2012, launched by a spa in the Yukon territory that has since produced some hair-raisingly hilarious pictures.

In the town of Whitehorse, a 10-hour drive from Juneau, Alaska, bathers dip into the naturally warmed waters at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs. If the outdoor temps are cold enough, people can make their hair freeze into wacky shapes.

Temperatures need to drop below -4°F (-20°C) for an extended period to get the best frozen hairstyles that could win the $2,000 prize money.

Contest categories include best female and male, best group, best facial hair, and a people’s choice award, and every category winner receives a $2000 cash prize.

“We kick off the Hair Freezing contest as soon as the temperature drops to -20°C or lower,” said Satyam Jain, a spokesperson for the Hot Springs.

“We usually keep an eye on the forecast to see how long the cold temp will last and start the contest anytime between December and March.”

Previous winner from hair-freezing competition at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs / SWNS

Last winter, it didn’t stay cold enough for long enough so they postponed the contest until this year.

“We took some photos last year but there wasn’t enough for a proper contest.”

“If we get a consistent temp in November we can also start the contest in November too.”

“The colder it is, the better and faster the freezing effect. The best results I’ve seen are at -22°C, and below (minus 7°F).”

LOOK: Photographer Captures Jaw-Dropping Mysterious Spiral Hanging Over the Aurora Glow

Entrants from previous year’s hair-freezing contest at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs / SWNS

Their contest’s website includes instructions on how to freeze hair:

  1. Dip your head in the hot springs and wet your hair completely. Don’t worry- freezing your hair won’t damage it.
  2. Allow the cold air to slowly freeze your hair. Keep your ears warm by periodically dipping them into the hot water. Be patient–all wet hair will eventually freeze, this includes eyebrows and even eyelashes.
  3. Once your hair has become pure white with lots of frost and ice buildup, ring the bell near the pool entrance and have our staff come out to take your photo!
Winner from previous hair-freezing contest at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs / SWNS

Canadian government statistics showed that in 2016, most of Yukon had average temperatures that were more than 3 degrees Celsius higher than those of thirty years ago, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. That’s a rise of 5.4°F.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: Couple Orders a Cake Replica of Their Dog But it Was So Realistic They Couldn’t Cut it

But everyone is hoping for a cold winter in 2024 so the spa can continue the 12-year run of contests, and for more fun to be enjoyed by visiting bathers.

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Caterpillar Fungus Used in Chinese Medicine Slows the Growth of Cancer Cells, Shows New Study

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Good News Network
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Caterpillar infected with Cordyceps militaris the pretty orange fungus that produces Cordycepin - By Daniel Winkler, Mushroaming (released)
Caterpillar infected with Cordyceps militaris the pretty orange fungus that produces Cordycepin – By Daniel Winkler, Mushroaming

British researchers have discovered one of the secrets behind a traditional Chinese medicine made from an orange caterpillar fungus, and are touting its potential for combating cancer.

The mechanism that triggers anti-inflammatory and other health benefits within the compound called cordycepin were not understood in western medicine—until now.

New research into the chemical produced by the caterpillar fungus has revealed how it interacts with genes to interrupt the very cell growth signals that drive uncontrolled cancer growth.

Learning how it interrupts the cell growth signals that are overactive in cancer is an important step towards developing new drugs that could be less damaging to healthy tissues compared to many available treatments.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy have been studying how the parasitic fungi could affect a range of diseases, and published their research in the journal FEBS Letters.

Cordycepin, the compound produced by the Cordyceps militaris fungus that infects caterpillars and is sold as a health supplement, has shown promise as a cancer medicine in a range of studies, but until now it has been unclear how it works.

Using high-throughput techniques the research team measured the effects of cordycepin on the activity of thousands of genes in multiple cell lines. The research compared the effects of cordycepin with those from other treatments deposited in databases and showed that it works by acting on the growth inducing pathways of the cell in all cases.

HONEY CAN HELP, TOO: Manuka Honey Reduces Breast Cancer Cell Growth by 84% in Human Cells and Mice

By studying what happens to cordycepin inside the cell, the team confirmed that cordycepin is converted to cordycepin triphosphate, an analogue of the cell’s energy carrier ATP. Cordycepin triphosphate was shown to be the likely cause of the effects on cell growth, and therefore the molecule that can directly affect cancer cells.

“We have been researching the effects of cordycepin on a range of diseases for a number of years and with each step we get closer to understanding how it could be used as an effective treatment,” said Dr. Cornelia de Moor in the University’s School of Pharmacy, who led the research.

“One of the exciting things to have been happening is that it has become easier and less expensive to do these very large experiments, so we were able to examine thousands of genes at the same time.

The data confirms that cordycepin is a great starting point for novel cancer medicines and explains its beneficial effects.

NATURE’S MEDICINE: Eating Pomegranates Can Help Alzheimer’s Patients Alleviate Symptoms, Study Says

For instance, derivatives of cordycepin could aim to produce the triphosphate form of the drug to have the same effect. In addition, the data will help with monitoring the effects of cordycepin in patients, as our data indicates particular genes whose activity reliably responds to cordycepin, which could for instance be measured in blood cells.”

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The Politician Who Picked Up Trash in the Capitol Wins Campaign For U.S. Senate

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Good News Network
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Congressman Andy Kim (NJ)
New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim

Congressman Andy Kim won his campaign for the US Senate seat in New Jersey last week—a result that left many GNN fans cheering.

The 42-year-old became a fan favorite for his selfless and humble act caught on film four years ago.

It was 1:00 in the morning following the gruesome attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Rep. Kim got down on his knees and began picking up trash left strewn around the building’s rotunda.

Andy had been finally headed home after a late-night vote that certified Joe Biden as winning the presidential election when he saw officers assigned to the grim duty of cleaning up the hallways of his beloved democratic institution.

The three-term congressman who represented central New Jersey, felt a “heightened kind of patriotism” and grabbed a trash bag—still dressed in his suit and tie— to sort through the broken furniture and garbage left by the unruly mob.

He later donated the blue suit he was wearing in the now-famous photo shot by photojournalist Andrew Harnik to the Smithsonian Institution, which was collecting items from the riot.

FAIRNESS IN VOTING: 2 Conservatives on Supreme Court Seal Historic Decision to Preserve Voting Rights in Alabama Gerrymandering Case

Raised by Korean immigrants in New Jersey, Kim lives with his wife with two sons down the street from his childhood home. Now he’s made history, becoming the first Korean-American to be elected to the US Senate, beating his Republican opponent handily, 53-44% during an election year when most other races were close.

BRINGING BACK UNITY: Man is Bringing Voters of All Stripes Together to Agree to Disagree Over ‘Dinner and a Dialogue’

Kim’s credentials are impressive. Before becoming a US congressman, the Rhodes Scholar was a diplomat, serving as the Iraq director for the National Security Council under Obama, and in a similar role previously with the Pentagon.

When he launched his campaign, Kim vowed to restore trust and integrity in government—and perhaps because of the iconic photo, most voters believed him.

GREEN VOTERS WIN: Voters Agree in a Landslide to Invest in the Environment–Backing Green Bond by 3:1 Margin in Rhode Island

In his victory speech, Kim said, “I wanted… to pay tribute to my parents, to my family, to the state—for giving a kid like me a chance to be able to dream; for giving me the tools through public education and a kind community.”

And he challenged Americans to contemplate the upcoming 250th anniversary of their country’s independence as “a reminder that the greatness of America is not what we take from this country but what we give back.”

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How Americans are Reinventing ‘The Village’ It Takes to Raise a Child: New Poll

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Good News Network
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Getty Images / Unsplash+
Getty Images / Unsplash+

A new poll shows that today’s parents are reinventing the definition of their “village” when it comes to raising their children.

The survey results gathered from 2,000 parents of kids under 7, showed that 86% believe they have a different type of support system today than their own parents did.

78% agreed that the definition of a village—or support system—is, indeed, different today than when they were growing up.

Respondents recall spending most of their time growing up with grandmothers (60%), grandfathers (41%), aunts (51%) and uncles (41%) as well as their parents’ best friend (38%).

In total, they can remember an average of eight different people being regularly involved in their lives as children—and fully 86% are still in contact with their formative ‘village’ people.

But as parents themselves, they are relying less often on relatives.

Mothers (54%) and fathers (34%) still represent the biggest support beam for parents today, but one-third are most often likely to lean on their friends—with just 29% leaning on aunts or uncles.

24% of parents surveyed said their ‘inner circle’ includes the friends they made after having children, and 83% recalled times when their child made a new friend which resulted in a friendship between their parents.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of The Goddard School, the survey revealed that 43% believe parenting today is more difficult than it was for their parents.

Maybe that’s why 47% are choosing to lean on their family more often than their own parents did, but the biggest reason (chosen by 41% of those) was their desire for a deep family connection.

– Tyler Nix

On the flip side, over a quarter in the survey (27%) said they rely less often on family members for support than their parents did—for several reasons:

• not having a close relationship with their family (33%)
• family members with responsibilities may be too busy to help (32%)
• making the conscious decision to do things differently and lean on their family less (25%)

Others (31%) turn to parents because they and their partner work full-time, while 29% admit they rely on mom or dad because it is more cost-effective.

The good news is that children are still reaping the benefits of their villages. The vast majority (87%) believe their support system has improved the development of their child’s social and emotional skills.

The added support also enables parents to spend more quality time with their child (36%), complete tasks like cooking, cleaning or errands (33%), and be a better, more present parent (31%).

“Raising children today is like steering a ship through a storm; it can be tumultuous and unnerving, and without a compass to guide your ship—or a strong support system to help with parenting—it’s easy to lose your way,” said Dr. Lauren Loquasto, senior vice president and chief academic officer at The Goddard School.

“I encourage all parents to take full advantage of their entire network, including their school and childcare provider, to help them navigate their parenting journey.”

“Pain is important: how we evade it, how we succumb to it, how we deal with it, how we transcend it.” – Audre Lorde

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Good News Network
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Susan G. Komen 3-Day

Quote of the Day: “Pain is important: how we evade it, how we succumb to it, how we deal with it, how we transcend it.” – Audre Lorde

Photo by: Susan G Komen 3-Day

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?

Susan G. Komen 3-Day

Rare Pink Pigeon Hand-Raised at UK Zoo for First time – a Milestone After Species Dropped to Just 10 Birds in the Wild

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Good News Network
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The pink pigeon at Paignton Zoo in England – SWNS
The pink pigeon fully grown at Paignton Zoo in England – SWNS

A rare pink pigeon has been hand-reared at a UK zoo for the first time, using an innovative method for feeding baby birds.

Found in the wild only on the island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, pink pigeons have been on the endangered ‘red list’ for both the IUCN and BirdLife.

On the brink of extinction in 1991, their numbers were thought to have dropped to a low of just nine individuals left in the wild.

But, dedicated conservation efforts have significantly boosted their population—including those from Tom Tooley and his colleagues at Paignton Zoo in Devon, England.

Tom, who has worked as a bird keeper at the zoo for 27 years, developed an innovative technique for hand-rearing the baby birds, known as squabs, if they’re ever abandoned or orphaned by their parents. He has now been teaching the unique hand-rearing method to others.

Instead of using conventional metal crop tubing, he developed a method that involves attaching a carefully-sized catheter to a syringe which can be gently placed on the squab’s tongue so they can eat more naturally.

“This approach allows the squabs to naturally consume the hand-rearing formula, eliminating the need for crop tubing, which can be stressful and harmful to the birds.”

Feeding a pink pigeon using the innovative technique from Paignton Zoo

Pink pigeons are part of the European Endangered Species Program, an international breeding program established to maintain healthy captive populations that safeguard genetic diversity. The goal is to ensure the long-term survival of threatened species through collaboration among zoos and organizations, like the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation.

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The Foundation is the largest non-governmental organization in Mauritius dedicated exclusively to protecting the nation’s threatened plant and animal species, including the endemic pink pigeon.

In 2014, Tom was invited to assist their conservation efforts for pink pigeons, to train staff in his special hand-rearing technique to increase the chances of pink pigeon squab survival. He has returned a number of times since then and looks forward to jetting off again in early November.

“It’s been a fantastic year for our bird breeding programs,” said Stephen Kings, CEO at Wild Planet Trust.

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“Tom’s skilled approach to hand-rearing this squab, along with the collaborative efforts of our dedicated bird team, is yet another testament to our zoo-based expertise for wildlife conservation.”

Such conservation efforts have boosted the pink pigeon numbers to around 500 individuals as of 2011, which allowed it to fly off the IUCN’s Critically Endangered list and be reclassified as Vulnerable in 2018, which demonstrates how zoos and conservation groups—like Wild Planet Trust, the nonprofit charity of Paignton Zoo—can work together to save a species.

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When Your Muscles Work Out, They Help Neurons Grow and Heal 4x Faster, MIT Study Shows

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Natalia Blauth / Unsplash+
Natalia Blauth / Unsplash+

There’s no doubt that exercise does a body good—strengthening muscles and bolstering our bones, blood vessels, and immune system—but now, MIT engineers have found that it also has benefits at the level of individual neurons.

They observed that when muscles contract during exercise, they release a soup of biochemical signals called myokines. In the presence of these muscle-generated signals, neurons grew four times farther compared to neurons that were not exposed to myokines.

These cellular-level experiments suggest that exercise can have a significant biochemical effect on nerve growth. Surprisingly, the researchers also found that neurons respond not only to the biochemical signals of exercise but also to its physical impacts.

While previous studies have indicated a potential biochemical link between muscle activity and nerve growth, this is the first to show that physical effects can be just as important—and the results shed light on the connection between muscles and nerves during exercise, and could inform exercise-related therapies for repairing nerves.

“Now that we know this muscle-nerve crosstalk exists, it can be useful for treating things like nerve injury, where communication between nerve and muscle is cut off,” says Ritu Raman, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and senior author of the study. “Maybe if we stimulate the muscle, we could encourage the nerve to heal, and restore mobility to those who have lost it due to traumatic injury or neurodegenerative diseases.”

“Exercise as medicine”

In 2023, Raman and her colleagues reported that they could restore mobility in mice that had experienced a traumatic muscle injury, by first implanting muscle tissue at the site of injury, then exercising the new tissue by stimulating it repeatedly with light. Over time, they found that the exercised graft helped mice to regain their motor function, reaching activity levels comparable to those of healthy mice.

When the researchers analyzed the graft itself, it appeared that regular exercise stimulated the grafted muscle to produce certain biochemical signals that are known to promote nerve and blood vessel growth.

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After exercise, motor neurons (purple) exhibit new growth (green) faster than without exercise – Credit: Angel Bu / MIT

“We always think that nerves control muscle, but we don’t think of muscles talking back to nerves,” Raman says. “So, we started to think stimulating muscle was encouraging nerve growth. And people replied that maybe that’s the case, but there’s hundreds of other cell types in an animal, and it’s really hard to prove that the nerve is growing more because of the muscle, rather than the immune system or something else playing a role.”

In their new study published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, the team set out to determine whether exercising muscles has direct effect on how nerves grow, by focusing solely on muscle and nerve tissue.

The team genetically modified the muscle to contract in response to light. With this modification, the team could flash a light repeatedly, causing the muscle to squeeze in response, in a way that mimicked the act of exercise. Raman previously developed a novel gel mat on which to grow and exercise muscle tissue. The gel’s properties are such that it can support muscle tissue and prevent it from peeling away as the researchers stimulated the muscle to exercise.

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The team then collected samples of the surrounding solution in which the muscle tissue was exercised, thinking that the solution should hold myokines, including growth factors, RNA, and a mix of other proteins.

“Muscles are pretty much always secreting myokines, but when you exercise them, they make more,” Raman says.

The researchers grew the neurons from stem cells derived from mice. As with the muscle tissue, the neurons were grown on a similar gel mat. After the neurons were exposed to the myokine mixture, the team observed that they quickly began to grow—four times faster than neurons that did not receive the biochemical solution.

“They grow much farther and faster, and the effect is pretty immediate,” Raman notes.

For a closer look at how neurons changed in response to the exercise-induced myokines, the team ran a genetic analysis, extracting RNA from the neurons to see whether the myokines induced any change in the expression of certain neuronal genes.

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“We saw that many of the genes that up-regulated in the exercise-stimulated neurons were not only related to neuron growth, but also neuron maturation, how well they talk to muscles and other nerves, and how mature the axons are,” Raman says. “Exercise seems to impact not just neuron growth but also how mature and well-functioning they are.”

The results suggest that biochemical effects of exercise can promote neuron growth. Then the group wondered: Could exercise’s purely physical impacts have a similar benefit?

“Neurons are physically attached to muscles, so they are also stretching and moving with the muscle,” Raman says. “We also wanted to see, even in the absence of biochemical cues from muscle, could we stretch the neurons back and forth, mimicking the mechanical forces (of exercise), and could that have an impact on growth as well?”

It turned out that both biochemical and physical effects of exercise are “equally important”.

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Now that the group has shown that exercising muscle can promote nerve growth at the cellular level, they plan to study how targeted muscle stimulation can be used to grow and heal damaged nerves, and restore mobility for people who are living with a neurodegenerative disease such as ALS.

“This is just our first step toward understanding and controlling exercise as medicine,” Raman says.

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Kurt Vonnegut’s Lost Board Game Finally Published After 70 Years–It Turned Out to be ‘Deep and Very Fun’

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Courtesy of Barnes and Nobel
Courtesy of Barnes and Nobel

Fans of author Kurt Vonnegut are celebrating his original board game finally being brought to life, after it was lost to the world following his unsuccessful marketing attempt in 1955.

And the game turned out to be deep and strategic, while still being easy to learn and fun to play.

Kurt Vonnegut’s son Mark was eight years old during its development, and he fondly recalls his father working on the game and helping to test it.

“He was discouraged about his writing at the time,” recalls Mark Vonnegut. “But he had unshakeable faith the game would succeed.”

Vonnegut, a World War II veteran, published his first novel in 1952, which was critically well received, but not a financial success. So, while he worked on his next novel (The Sirens of Titan), he needed to supplement his income. One of those efforts was an original board game called GHQ (General Headquarters).

He designed it throughout 1956 and attempted to sell it to game companies, but was ultimately unsuccessful—and his design notes were filed away.

Until now.

Kurt Vonnegut’s notes for GHQ game –Barnes & Noble

“I first learned about GHQ in 2013, and as a Vonnegut fan was driven to learn more,” said the game designer and historian, Geoff Engelstein. “It took several years working with the Vonnegut family and Indiana University, but ultimately, we were able to locate his original notes on the game, and sample pieces.”

Engelstein then turned to Barnes & Noble and found an ideal partner to help bring GHQ to life for Vonnegut fans, of which there are millions.

“When Geoff approached me about the Kurt Vonnegut board game, I knew we had to be a part of the story,” says Barnes & Noble Sr. Merchandise Manager of Toys & Games Sabrina Falcone, who helped bring the project to fruition.

Barnes & Noble, which opened dozens of new stores across the US in the last year, is currently the exclusive retailer for GHQ, selling it for $34.95.

Aron Clark from California is a tabletop game enthusiast who highly recommended the game. “When first hearing about this title it was an instant buy, if only for the historical nature of early game design. That said, GHQ delivers much more that just an interesting curiosity, rather there is a deep and engaging game here that is also very, very fun.”

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Barnes & Noble

During the fast and strategic two-person battle game played on an 8×8 inch checkerboard, players can command infantry, armored vehicles, artillery, and the powerful airborne regiment, maneuvering to capture the opposing headquarters.

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Recommended for ages 14 and up, GHQ, which usually takes 20-40 minutes to complete, features wooden pieces and a 24-page commentary booklet showing Kurt Vonnegut’s design notes to give insight into his creative process.

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An Inspiring Horoscope for Your Week Ahead – ‘Free Will’ Astrology From 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 November 16, 2024
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
You are entering a phase when you can acquire more mastery in the arts of self-care and self-sufficiency. I hope you will become more skillful in giving yourself everything that nurtures your emotional and physical health. Have you gathered all you need to know about that subject? Probably not. Most of us haven’t. But the coming weeks will be a favorable time to make this your main research project. By the way, now is also an excellent time to kick your own ass and unbreak your own heart.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
My father was a big fan of the military. As a young man, he served as a lieutenant in the army and for a time considered making that job his career. I’m the opposite of him. I keenly avoided becoming a soldier and have always been passionately anti-war. I bring this subject to your attention because I think now is an excellent time for you to get clearer than ever about how you don’t resemble your parents and don’t want to be like them. Meditate on why your life is better and can get even better by not following their paths and ways. There’s no need to do this with anger and blame. In fact, the healthiest approach is to be lucid, calm, and dispassionate.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
At age 49, James Patterson retired from his job as an advertising writer. Until then, he had produced a few novels in his spare time. But once free of his 9 to 5 gig, he began churning out books at a rapid pace. Now, at age 77, he has published over 305 million copies of 200+ novels, including 67 that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. Would you like to make an almost equally memorable transition, Capricorn? The coming weeks and months will be an excellent time to plan it and launch it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
The Breakfast Club was an iconic 1985 film about teenagers coming of age. Critics liked it. At the box office, it earned 100 times more than it cost to make. Aquarian director John Hughes wrote the screenplay for the 97-minute movie in two days, on July 4 and 5 of 1982. I predict that many of you Aquarians will have a similar level of productivity in the coming weeks. You could create lasting improvements and useful goodies in short bursts of intense effort.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Ben & Jerry’s is a wildly successful ice cream maker that sells it products all over the world. Its founders are two Pisceans who met in seventh grade. Over 45 years since they launched their business, they have become renowned for their wide variety of innovative flavors and their political activism. When they first decided to work together, though, their plans were to start a bagel business. They only abandoned that idea when they discovered how expensive the bagel-making equipment was. I suspect that you are near a comparable pivot in your life, Pisces: a time to switch from one decent project to an even better one.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
You may be on the verge of the breakthrough I prophesied a while back. Remember? I said you would be searching for the solution to a boring problem, and on the way you would discover a more interesting and useful problem. That exact scenario is about to happen. I also predict that the coming weeks will be a time when you tame an out-of-control aspect of your life and infuse more wildness into an overly tame part of you. I will speculate on one further stroke of good fortune: You will attract an influence that motivates you to be more passionately pragmatic about one of your key dreams.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
It’s time for some friendly warnings that will, if heeded, enable you to avoid problematic developments. 1. An overhaul in your self-image is looming; your persona requires tinkering. 2. Old boundaries are shifting and in some places disappearing. Be brave and draw up new boundaries. 3. Familiar allies may be in a state of flux. Help them find their new centers of gravity. 4. Potential future allies will become actual allies if you are bold in engaging them. 5. Be allergic to easy answers and simplistic solutions. Insist on the wisdom of uncertainty.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
To honor and celebrate your melancholy, I’m turning this horoscope over to Gemini author T. H. White and his superb formulation of the redemptive power of sadness. He wrote: “The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then—to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
A Massachusetts woman named Andrea Martin loves chickens so much she treats them as family. A few years ago, she took pity on one of her favorites, a young bird named Cecily, who had been born with a damaged tendon in one of her legs. Martin arranged to have the limb amputated. Then she made a prosthetic device on a 3-D printer and had it surgically grafted onto Cecily’s body. Success! The $2,500 cost was well worth it, she testified… I propose we make Andrea Martin one of your role models for the coming weeks. May she inspire you to take extra good care of, and shower bonus blessings, on everyone and everything you love. (PS: This will be really good for your own health.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Once a year, the city of Seoul in South Korea stages a Space-Out Festival. Participants compete to do absolutely nothing for 90 minutes. They are not allowed to fall asleep, talk, or check their phones. To test how well they are banishing stress, burnout, and worries, their heart rates are monitored. The winner is the person who has the slowest and most stable pulse. If there were an event like this in your part of the world sometime soon, Leo, I’d urge you to join in. I expect the winner would be a member of your astrological tribe, as you Leos now have a high potential for revitalizing relaxation. Even if you don’t compete in a Space-Out Festival, I hope you will fully cash in on this excellent chance to recharge your spiritual batteries.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
My favorite Virgos love to learn. They are eager to add to their knowledge. They have a highly honed curiosity that is always percolating, continually drawing them towards new comprehension. On the other hand, some of my favorite Virgos are inefficient at shedding long-held ideas and information that no longer serve them. As a result, their psyches may get plugged up, interfering with their absorption of fun new input. That’s why I recommend that you Virgos engage in regular purges of your mental debris. Now would be an excellent time for one of these sessions. PS: The futurist Alvin Toffler said that a key to intelligence is the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. I invite you to act on that counsel.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I endorse Libran tennis star Serena Williams‘ approach to self-evaluation—especially for you right now. She testified, “I’m really exciting. I smile a lot, I win a lot.” I’m convinced you have the right to talk like that in the coming weeks—so convinced that I suggest you use it as a mantra and prayer. When you wake up each morning, say what Williams said. When you’re asking life for a sweet breakthrough or big favor, remind life why it should give you what you want. Feel free to add other brags, too, like, “I’m a brilliant thinker, a persuasive negotiator, and a crafty communicator.”

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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“The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. Learn why the world wags and what wags it.” – T. H. White 

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By Max Harlynking

Quote of the Day: “The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. Learn why the world wags and what wags it.” – T. H. White 

Photo by: Max Harlynking

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?

College Grad’s Long-shot Email Results in Front Row Pass as Photographer During 3 Taylor Swift Tours

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Andy Corbley
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A laptop shows a selection of photos Jasmeet Sidhu captured of Taylor Swift during her performance - image released by Jasmeet Sidhu.
A laptop shows a selection of photos Jasmeet Sidhu captured of Taylor Swift during her performance – image released by Jasmeet Sidhu.

There’s an old adage that good things come to those who wait. But sometimes, it takes a shot in the dark or a leap of faith.

CTV recently shared the story of a Canadian photographer who was able to photograph Taylor Swift on her recent Eras tour—all because when she was in college she cold-called a video producer whose work she admired.

That led to an offer to come on set with the idol herself—Taylor Swift—and suddenly Jasmeet Sidhu, a photography major in college from Ontario, was in the heart of stardom on Earth.

“I was like, a long-term relationship with this music video director is better for my career than five seconds of ‘fangirling’ over Taylor Swift on this music video set,” Sidhu told NPR.

The daughter of Malaysian immigrants to Brampton, Ontario, Sidhu wanted to be a doctor when she was young. Her parents though gently encouraged her to choose the path her heart desired, and all those years later, the contacts she made that day on set got her access to the last three of Swift’s tours, 1989, Reputation, and Eras, during which she’s taken thousands of stills of the pop star.

She had some valuable advice to share with anyone starting out on a career path, which she shared with CTV.

“[W]hen people come up to me, or email me asking for advice, I try to be generous with my time because someone once upon a time was generous with their time,” she said.

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Her main advice: keep making connections, even if you aren’t guaranteed a reply.

“Every single action you take in a creative career has to be an opportunity of your own making. So how do you create those opportunities? You have to reach out to people.”

SHARE This Woman’s Great And Important Lesson With Anyone You Know Just Starting Out…

Couple Uses Wedding Fund to Pay for Surgery on Injured Dog Found on Side of Road: ‘She Deserved a Chance’

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Andy Corbley
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Acklin the Goldendoodle - credit Emily Roberts, Facebook.
Acklin the Goldendoodle – credit Emily Roberts, Facebook.

A couple in Arkansas have emptied their savings and wedding fund to save a 10-month old dog found stricken by the side of the road.

Weeks have passed, and their their love has inspired $39,000 in donations to help save the pooch and replace the money they so self-sacrificingly forked over for emergency surgery.

It was Halloween day when Dylan MacCay was leaving work that he saw on Facebook a notice that a Goldendoodle had been seen on the side of the road, apparently injured, near his home.

“She had been struck by a vehicle in a hit and run,” he wrote in a Facebook post about the ordeal. “It had been raining all day and she was wet. I gathered towels and blankets and sped to the location.”

The dog was still there with her back legs bloodied and broken, unable to move. Some strangers helped lift the dog into McCay’s car when he made the fateful choice to speed towards the nearest emergency hospital.

“Despite her life threatening injuries, she did not whine, she did not growl. She tried to crawl towards me and laid her head on my lap,” he wrote.

Joined later by his fiance Emily Roberts, McCay stood at Greenbriar Animal Hospital and was told that no microchip was present, and that any and all expenses would fall on the young man just beginning to make his way in life.

“I decided in that moment that I would do whatever was necessary to help this puppy. She deserved a chance at life,” he wrote in a GoFundMe set up with Roberts to take care of the dog, which they named Acklin.

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Broken legs, possible infection, and fleas were the diagnosis. The following day, the doctor said the leg would have to be amputated, and for the other one, which would have “to be perfect” a 10-hour drive to Mississippi Sate University was required. The cost by then had reached $7,000.

“We have pulled the money from our wedding fund and our overall life savings to fund these medical expenses,” the pair wrote. “That being said, we are joyous and excited at the possibility of saving this wonderful girl and giving her the best life she could imagine.”

OTHER TEAR-JERKING ANIMAL RECOVERIES: Kind Stranger Rescues Kitty Frozen to the Ground in a Storm–and He Now Looks Amazing

Acklin’s surgery was successful to save both of her injured legs—no amputation necessary. In an update posted on November 11th, by which time the GoFundMe had shattered the total request for $11,000, McCay and Roberts wrote that she is now beginning to bear her own weight and is starting physical rehabilitation today.

“Our sweet girl is able to get this much-deserved help because of all of you,” they wrote. “Her rehabilitation and therapy will be expensive, but we are working as hard as we can.”

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