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Endangered Baird’s Tapir Calf Born at San Diego Zoo Delights Visitors (LOOK)

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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

The San Diego Zoo excitedly welcomed an adorable baby Baird’s tapir this month—bolstering an endangered species that faces multiple challenges in the wild.

The female calf and her mother named Luna can now be seen bonding at the zoo’s elephant compound, sharing space with the capybaras.

Tapir newborns come into the world with patterns that provide excellent camouflage in the wild. In fact, baby tapirs are often left hidden while their mothers forage.

Luna, however, has been grooming and nursing the calf, vocalizing toward her, and keeping her close at all times.

The zoo says the calf is “starting to get the zoomies” and likes to play with leaves and food even if she’s not eating it.

When they grow into adults, tapirs’ coats change to a dark solid color, with a white chest, chin and ear fringes. They play a crucial role in maintaining the biological diversity of tropical forests.

Luna with calf – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

As essential seed dispersers, they contribute significantly to their ecosystems in Mexico, and Central and South America, by helping fertilize the forest floor. This process promotes the growth of new plants, which in turn provide food and shelter for a variety of other species.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

ANIMAL LENDS A HAND: Clever Elephant Returns Visitor’s Shoe After it Fell into his Enclosure – Watch

Conservationists needed to protect the species because it was being hunted for sport in Costa Rica and threatened by habitat loss due to farming, cattle grazing, and palm oil and rubber plantations, which ultimately reduces their food supply.

Efforts are underway to protect tapir habitats and promote them as flagship wildlife that could encourage tourism. This approach can create jobs beyond farming and logging and inspire people to help protect this unique animal.

ZANY ZOO STORY: One of the World’s Oldest Penguins Hatches a Chick with New Boy Toy 26 Years Younger

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Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘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 June 29, 2024
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
You are entering a phase when you will be wise to question fixed patterns and shed age-old habits. The more excited you get about re-evaluating everything you know and believe, the more likely it is that exciting new possibilities will open up for you. If you are staunchly committed to resolving longstanding confusions and instigating fresh approaches, you will launch an epic chapter of your life story. Wow! That sounds dramatic. But it’s quite factual. Here’s the kicker: You’re now in prime position to get vivid glimpses of specific successes you can accomplish between now and your birthday in 2025.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
How many different ways can you think of to ripen your spiritual wisdom? I suggest you choose two and pursue them with gleeful vigor in the coming weeks. You are primed to come into contact with streams of divine revelations that can change your life for the better. All the conditions are favorable for you to encounter teachings that will ennoble your soul and hone your highest ideals. Don’t underestimate your power to get the precise enlightenment you need.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Border collies are dogs with a herding instinct. Their urges to usher, steer, and manage are strong. They will not only round up sheep and cattle, but also pigs, chickens, and ostriches—and even try to herd cats. In my estimation, Virgo, border collies are your spirit creatures these days. You have a special inclination and talent to be a good shepherd. So use your aptitude with flair. Provide extra navigational help for people and animals who would benefit from your nurturing guidance. And remember to do the same for your own wayward impulses!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
We have arrived at the midpoint of 2024. It’s check-in time. Do you recall the promises you made to yourself last January? Are you about halfway into the frontier you vowed to explore? What inspirational measures could you instigate to renew your energy and motivation for the two most important goals in your life? What would you identify as the main obstacle to your blissful success, and how could you diminish it? If you’d like to refresh your memory of the long-term predictions I made for your destiny in 2024, go here.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio-born Gary Hug was educated as a machinist and food scientist, but for many years he has worked primarily as an amateur astronomer. Using a seven-foot telescope he built in the backyard of his home, he has discovered a comet and 300 asteroids, including two that may come hazardously close to Earth. Extolling the joys of being an amateur, he says he enjoys “a sense of freedom that you don’t have when you’re a professional.” In the coming weeks, Scorpio, I encourage you to explore and experiment with the joys of tasks done out of joy rather than duty. Identify the work and play that feel liberating and indulge in them lavishly.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Your power spots will be places that no one has visited or looked into for a while. Sexy secrets and missing information will be revealed to you as you nose around in situations where you supposedly should not investigate. The light at the end of the tunnel is likely to appear well before you imagined it would. Your lucky number is 8, your lucky color is black, and your lucky emotion is the surprise of discovery. My advice: Call on your memory to serve you in amazing ways; use it as a superpower.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Happy Unbirthday, Capricorn! It’s time to celebrate the season halfway between your last birthday and your next. I hope you will give yourself a fun gift every day for at least the next seven days. Fourteen days would be even better. See if you can coax friends and allies to also shower you with amusing blessings. Tell them your astrologer said that would be a very good idea. Now here’s an unbirthday favor from me: I promise that between now and January 2025, you will create healing changes in your relationship with your job and with work in general.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
While sleeping, my Aquarian friend Janelle dreamed that she and her family lived in a cabin in the woods. When dusk was falling, a strange animal put its face against the main window. Was it a bear? A mountain lion? Her family freaked out and hid in a back bedroom. But Janelle stayed to investigate. Looking closely, she saw the creature was a deer. She opened up the window and spoke to it, saying, “What can I do for you?” The deer, who was a talking deer, said, “I want to give you and your family a gift. See this necklace I’m wearing? It has a magic ruby that will heal a health problem for everyone who touches it.” Janelle managed to remove the necklace, whereupon the deer wandered away and she woke up from the dream. During subsequent weeks, welcome changes occurred in her waking life. She and three of her family members lost physical ailments that had been bothering them. I think this dream is a true fairy tale for you in the coming weeks, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
A psychologist friend tells me that if we have an intense craving for sugar, it may be a sign that deeper emotional needs are going unmet. I see merit in her theory. But here’s a caveat. What if we are currently not in position to get our deeper emotional needs met? What if there is at least temporarily some barrier to achieving that lovely goal? Would it be wrong to seek a partial quenching of our soul cravings by communing with fudge brownies, peach pie, and crème brûlée? I don’t think it would be wrong. On the contrary. It might be an effective way to tide ourselves over until more profound gratification is available. But now here’s the good news, Pisces: I suspect more profound gratification will be available sooner than you imagine.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
This may sound weird, but I think now is a perfect time to acquire a fresh problem. Not just any old boring problem, of course. Rather, I’m hoping you will carefully ponder what kind of dilemma would be most educational for you—which riddle might challenge you to grow in ways you need to. Here’s another reason you should be proactive about hunting down a juicy challenge: Doing so will ensure that you won’t attract mediocre, meaningless problems.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Now is an excellent time to start learning a new language or to increase your proficiency in your native tongue. Or both. It’s also a favorable phase to enrich your communication skills and acquire resources that will help you do that. Would you like to enhance your ability to cultivate friendships and influence people? Are you interested in becoming more persuasive, articulate, and expressive? If so, Taurus, attend to these self-improvement tasks with graceful intensity. Life will conspire benevolently on your behalf if you do. (PS: I’m not implying you’re weak in any of these departments; just that now is a favorable time to boost your capacities.)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Barbara Sher and Barbara Smith wrote the book I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It. I invite you to think and feel deeply about this theme during the coming months. In my experience with Geminis, you are often so versatile and multi-faceted that it can be challenging to focus on just one or two of your various callings. And that may confuse your ability to know what you want more than anything else. But here’s the good news. You may soon enjoy a grace period when you feel really good about devoting yourself to one goal more than any other.

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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“Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.” – Jane Austen

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Quote of the Day: “Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.” – Jane Austen

Photo by: James Nilsson

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?

Tips and Products to Help Your Dog Handle the Fireworks This Fourth of July

By
Andy Corbley
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Razvan Sassu - Unsplash
Razvan Sassu – Unsplash

Imagine if every sound you heard was 30% more acute—that’s what it’s like to be a dog when fireworks start going off.

Because of the festive nature of fireworks, many dogs don’t get exposure to them during their critical learning windows as a puppy.

By the time they start going off on the 4th of July or the 1st of January, they may have never experienced anything like the sudden sound and vibrations of the explosions.

There are ways, however, that one can ensure their dog(s) aren’t left feeling like the sky is falling this Fourth of July, from desensitizing them to the sounds early in their life, to providing a quiet, secluded space with white noise.

Matt Popovich

Tips—plan ahead

“Train long before the fireworks are due, and… counter-condition and desensitize by creating a positive association and a gradual exposure to fireworks,” said Ali Smith, a professional dog trainer, to National Geographic.

This can sometimes be done even if your dog is already grown by associating the loud explosions with something positive like a treat. YouTube videos of fireworks, with the volume gradually increased, can help them become accustomed to the noise profile of fireworks.

Another tip given to Nat Geo was to make sure they get plenty of exercise in the daytime hours. Play and exercise can help a dog remain calmer for longer, so there’s no reason why this wouldn’t work in regards fireworks. One study comparing various methods of stress reduction in dogs during fireworks displays found this to be the most effective.

Lastly, consider making a safe house for your dog with drawn curtains, dimmed lights, their favorite toys, and plenty of treats, so if they do decide to run and hide, they’re going somewhere that’s going to be secure and comforting.

 

Products

“Humans can detect sounds at 20,000 times per second, while dogs can sense frequencies of 30,000 times per second,” says Dr. Ruth MacPete, veterinarian and author of the award-winning children’s book Lisette the Vet.

This very real distress for dogs has inspired a number of products to help them cope with fireworks displays.

Some involve pressure and weight, as dogs feel they’re being cuddled even when you’re not there to do it. These include the ThunderShirt and weighted dog blankets.

The ThunderShirt is a wrap that applies gentle pressure around your dog’s torso that has the similar effect of swaddling an infant. Some users on Amazon report it being effective, but others recommend conditioning dogs to associate the ThunderShirt with something positive before using it in advance of fireworks.

A weighted dog blanket like this one basically works in the same way, and is perhaps preferable if your dog likes to hide under things.

For sound reduction products, one could use a pair of dog earmuffs or a white noise machine.

Several white noise machines are designed for infants, dogs, and adults with difficulties sleeping—making them a decent investment if two or more of these entities are in your household.

With over 3,500 ratings totaling an average of 4.7 stars, the YogaSleep Dohm White Noise Machine has been reported by users to be effective at calming their dogs. A machine like this is also perfect to add to your dog’s safe house.

Earmuffs typically come in two forms—hard cups or a compression sleeve. The compression sleeves seem to get better reviews on Amazon.

“My dog is a rescue and living in NY has him stressed. He is constantly scarred of loud noises all day every day,” said the reviewer of the Nanaki Dog Hoodie. “Last week he was hiding after a fireworks and I knew I needed to find something, [and] I do believe we found our solution. Eureka! The price is easy on the wallet, it’s adjustable and it’s washable. He seems comfortable and doesn’t mind it at all.”

SHARE These Great Ideas For A Dog In Need Of Some Relief This 4th… 

$25.00 ‘Bacteria Batteries’ Allow Farmers to Power Their Sensing Equipment with Soil

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Andy Corbley
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credit - Dr. Jakub Dziegielowski, released to the media.
credit – Dr. Jakub Dziegielowski, released to the media.

A UK ag-tech firm is pioneering bacterial batteries that they hope will allow farmers in the future to collect precise data about soil conditions with computing equipment powered by the soil itself.

Designed to be installed and forgotten about, the batteries absorb power through bioelectrochemical processes that occur within soil microbes. Collecting these electrons via a cheap array of electrodes, the idea is that the resulting power can be used to run sensors and computers that help farmers monitor moisture content and other key markers to maximize yield.

The firm is called Bactery, and their bacteria-powered batteries build on ‘soil microbial fuel cells’ (SMFCs) that were developed in 2019 to power a water filtration system in Brazil.

Dr. Jakub Dziegielowski was part of the research team that developed SMFCs, and over the last 5 years of research and development, he and his colleagues have improved the design, allowing it to actually “stimulate” bacterial processes and maximize energy collection.

“[W]e’ve learned a whole lot more about the different bioelectrochemical processes, and grasped a better understanding of the roles both bacteria and the soil play in this complex equation,” Dr. Dziegielowski tells Euronews Green.

UNIQUE WAYS TO POWER THE WORLD: French Town to Light its Streets With Bacteria Luminescence That Needs No Electricity

Existing apparatus for collecting soil data has drawbacks for farmers looking to leverage technology on their farms. Sensors and internet-connected devices require power, which means either a battery system that has to be recharged and replaced, a generator that consumes fuel, or the installation of solar panels which may not be viable for certain farms at certain times of the year.

Bactery’s soil-powered batteries cost just $29.00 and come without maintenance requirements.

USING WHAT’S IN THE GROUND: Scientists Are Recycling Wastewater to Reclaim Valuable Phosphorous to Put Back in Soil

“Farmers are increasingly valuing the importance of data to make informed decisions towards resource-efficient agricultural practises,” Professor Mirella Di Lorenzo, one of Bactery’s directors, told Euronews. “We are removing the barrier to generating that data by creating a sustainable way to power sensors, and making them always-on, cheap, low-maintenance and low-impact.”

SHARE This Innovative Idea For Power Generation—Using The Very Soil…

Fossil of Neanderthal Child with Down Syndrome Hints at Early Humans’ Compassion

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Andy Corbley
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Chagyrskaya Cave in the Alta Mountains of southern Siberia / an artist’s impression of a Neanderthal man and child.

Archaeologists examining finds dug up in a Spanish cave network in 1989 found skull fragments of a 6-year-old Neanderthal, which would have been exciting on its own, but the skull carried two major surprises.

The first is that an analysis of the inner ear canal showed signs of Down Syndrome, the earliest-known evidence of the genetic condition.

The second is that the child survived until 6, indicating compassion and willingness to bear extra work on behalf of individuals in a group who couldn’t take care of themselves. It gives a new perspective on the instincts for kindness and caring among our earlier ancestors.

Discovered in the Valencia region’s cave complex known as Cova Negra, Homo neanderthalensis activity at the site was dated to between 273,000 and 146,000 years ago.

An analysis of fragments that made up the individual’s temporal bone, which protects the inner ear canal, showed alterations only known in those with Down Syndrome. Other abnormalities include a smaller cochlea, the main hearing component of the audio organ, and irregularities in the formation of the semicircular canals, three small tubes that govern balance and sense head position.

“The pathology which this individual suffered resulted in highly disabling symptoms, including, at the very least, complete deafness, severe vertigo attacks and an inability to maintain balance,” said Mercedes Conde-Valverde, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Alcalá in Spain.

BRIGHTER LOOKS AT THE PAST: Much Like Stonehenge, Solstice Sunlight Would Have Danced on the Walls of This Neolithic Spanish Tomb

The lead author of the study of the bone fragments, published in the journal Science Advances, told the Guardian that the sex of the individual is unknown, but they call it Tina for short.

“Given these symptoms, it is highly unlikely that the mother alone could have provided all the necessary care while also attending to her own needs. Therefore, for Tina to have survived for at least six years, the group must have continuously assisted the mother, either by relieving her in the care of the child, helping with her daily tasks, or both,” Conde-Valverde added.

A STORY JUST LIKE THIS: Thousands of Years Ago, a Woman Underwent Two Surgeries to Her Head–and Survived Both Procedures

It’s taken many years for scholars to agree that Neanderthals had virtually the same capacities for what we might call ‘humanity’ as their cousins Homo sapiens. 

It’s been discovered that they created art using pigments, used symbolic objects and perhaps even a spoken language, engaged in group hunting methods, and demonstrated tolerance and reciprocity.

SHARE This Uplifting Perspective On Our Earlier Ancestors… 

Lotus Grown from 200-year-old Seed in Full Bloom at Kyoto’s Byōdō-in Temple – (LOOK)

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Andy Corbley
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The Phoenix Hall at Byodoin Temple - Martin Falbisoner CC 4.0.
The Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in Temple – Martin Falbisoner CC 4.0.

At a famous Buddhist temple in Japan, pots of lotus flowers augment the already breathtaking scenery of the temple—but they’re more than what they seem.

The lotus is a foundational part of Buddhist iconography, but the plants sitting in front of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Byōdō-in Temple in Uji were grown from seeds found buried in a layer of dirt from a pond dug by monks there over 200 years ago.

The seeds were recovered when the pond was excavated 25 years ago, and are now bearing a special kind of lotus flower variety—Byōdō-in Temple Lotus. Milky white and diaphanous, the monks say they are pleasing to look at during a moment of stillness.

The flowers are quite similar to those depicted on the ancient murals of the temple’s Pheonix Hall, called Hou-ou-do in Japanese, reports NKH World.

The fact that after 200 years the seeds were still capable of growing into a plant epitomizes the true nature of the lotus plant—not as a dainty ornamental, but as a hardy survivor; anyone familiar with lotuses know they continue to bloom even if the water is filthy and contaminated.

MORE BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS: Millions of Wildflowers Now Delight the Town After Vermont Couple Got Tired of Mowing the Lawn All Day

Temple officials, who place around 50 pots of lotus plants around the temple every season, said the flowers began to bloom last week. They added that many buds are being formed and the color of the flowers appears good. They will last until mid-July.

WATCH the story below and see the flowers… 

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“You win and you lose, and if you don’t know how to lose, you don’t know how to live.” – Tony O’Reilly

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Quote of the Day: “You win and you lose, and if you don’t know how to lose, you don’t know how to live.” – Tony O’Reilly (RIP, Ireland’s first billionaire)

Photo by: James Nilsson

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?

UK Boy Has Brain Implant Fitted to Control Epilepsy Seizures in World First

By
Andy Corbley
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Oran Knowlson - released to the media.
Oran Knowlson – released to the media.

For thirteen years this poor fellow has suffered from treatment-resistant epilepsy, but thanks to a cutting-edge brain implant, is able to look forward to days without seizures.

Oran Knowlson is the first person in the world to receive this implant, part of a human trial pilot study on treating Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that can result as many as 100 seizures a day.

The 13-year-old from Somerset, England, needed around-the-clock attention and care since the age of 3, as some of the seizures were so strong they’d stop his heart and require him to be resuscitated.

After receiving the brain implant, his mother declared to the Guardian “I definitely now have a teenager” remarking on Oran’s newfound ability to ignore his mother.

“The future looks hopeful, which I wouldn’t have dreamed of saying six months ago,” she said.

“For Oran and his family, epilepsy completely changed their lives and so to see him riding a horse and getting his independence back is absolutely astounding,” said Martin Tisdall, a consultant pediatric neurosurgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, where Oran was treated. “We couldn’t be happier to be part of their journey.”

During the surgery, Tisdall and the operating team inserted two electrodes deep into Oran’s brain to a region called the thalamus. Wires were then run up to a neurostimulator on the underside of Oran’s cranium.

OTHER BIOTECHNOLOGIES: Scientists Regrow Retina Cells to Tackle Leading Cause of Blindness Using Nanotechnology

Designed by Amber Therapeutics, it delivers constant neurostimulation to help suppress the seizures by blocking the signals that cause them from reaching the thalamus. The device can be recharged by a pair of wireless headphones.

Oran is one of three kids who were part of the pilot study, which is looking to recruit another 22 with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

MORE PEDIATRIC MEDICINE: 13-year-old Successfully Undergoes World-First Treatment to Cure Rarer-Than-Rare Wild Syndrome

“Deep brain stimulation brings us closer than ever before to stopping epileptic seizures for patients who have very limited effective treatment options,” Dr. Tisdall added.

“We are excited to build the evidence base to demonstrate the ability of deep brain stimulation to treat pediatric epilepsy and hope in years to come it will be a standard treatment we can offer.”

CELEBRATE This Young Man’s New Chance At A Normal Life… 

South Sudan’s Epic Effort to Protect the World’s Little-Known Largest Mammal Migration

By
Andy Corbley
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Antelope migrating across South Sudan in the dry season - credit African Parks, screengrab.
Antelope migrating across South Sudan in the dry season – credit African Parks, screengrab.

“The greatest conservation opportunity on the planet,” isn’t in the Amazon, the Andes, Australia, or anywhere else you’d likely imagine. It’s in South Sudan.

In a story that truly demonstrates how much there is left to explore in the world, the world’s largest migration of land mammals is now understood to take place in South Sudan, and the government, with the help of African Parks, is rushing to protect it.

Ecologists have long known the migration through South Sudan’s “No Man’s Land” exists, but didn’t really understand how it worked, or the scope of it. Unlike the caribou migrations across Canada, or the wildebeest migrations in Kenya’s Mara grasslands, No Man’s Land is filled with all manner of migrating species, including Mongalla gazelle, bohor reedbuck, white-eared kob, and tiang—all of which are antelope species.

Believing that the protection of these migration routes and the 6 million animals they play host to are the most significant opportunities for conservation anywhere on Earth, African Parks and the government of the Republic of South Sudan signed a 10-year agreement for the management of the No Man’s Land, currently located within Boma National Park and Bandingilo National Park, totaling 12,700 square miles, or four times the size of Yellowstone.

The 20-year civil war between what is now Sudan and South Sudan seems, according to African Parks, to have steered entirely clear of this massive area.

To start management and implement modern protections, African Parks, a non-profit that manages national parks for conservation across Africa, including in conflict zones, embarked on the largest GPS collaring survey of large animals ever undertaken, including 12 species at 126 GPS trackers.

Together with aerial surveys and assistance from members of the 17 different ethnic groups that live primitively in the areas, African Parks began to unravel the mystery of this massive movement of animals. The antelope moved in a wide circle, altering course to intercept any rainfall.

SIMILAR SUCCESS STORIES: Iberian Lynx Slinks Back From Brink of Extinction Within Just Two Decades of Conservation

“We flew for the first 30 to 40 minutes, and we didn’t see anything. I was like, ‘Oh, no, maybe it’s over. Maybe the wildlife has already disappeared,'” David Simpson, park manager for African Parks, told ABC News, sharing his insights from being aboard an aircraft for one of the surveys.

CHECK THIS OUT: Conservation Almost Always Provides Incredible Results, First-of-its-Kind Report Shows

“Then we get out there and we start hitting one, two, three, four. Then we start hitting hundreds and then we start hitting thousands, and then tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands.”

MORE AFRICAN CONSERVATION: The First of 2,000 Privately Owned White Rhinos Get New Home – Rewilded by South African Conservancy

For the indigenous peoples, the migration is a symbol of abundance and balance in the natural world. They hunt, and so rely on the beasts for food, clothing, medicine, and shelter materials.

In order to help preserve their traditional life, African Parks has brought many of the people there on board to educate and work with them in their role in conserving the ecosystem for posterity.

WATCH the story below from African Parks… 

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Pet Rats Driving Tiny Cars Light Up Instagram After Canadian Couple’s Adoption

By
Andy Corbley
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Kronk the rat in his car - credit, @emperorsofmischief, instagram
Kronk the rat in his car – credit, @emperorsofmischief, instagram

Two Canadians are delighting animal lovers on Instagram with videos of their pet rats driving around in little cars.

While they were contemplating a dog, Kendal Crawford and Shaun Stephens-Whale ended up adopting two rats from the local animal shelter in their home in British Colombia. They recall being impressed upon by the ragged rescued rats’ curiosity with them, even from within their cage at the shelter.

Having at first decided to sleep on it, the couple didn’t even make it down the block before turning around and adopting ‘Kronk and Kuzko,’ and it took them less than a day to realize they made the correct choice—when after their baths the rats seemed to snuggle right up to the humans in their bed that night.

Like all social animals adapted to live in human society, domesticated rats are very smart, but they need stimulation to thrive. They began to teach them all manner of tricks and activities, with each one more impressive than the next.

While doing research, Crawford came across a certain study from the University of Richmond about how enriched environments affect stress responses in rats.

In it, scientists taught rats to drive tiny cars and found the experience of learning and acquiring mastery over a new skill decreased their stress hormones. Crawford’s father ended up providing Kuzku and Kronk with the two little electric cars, each with three levers to allow the rats to control their direction.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Man Takes His Turkey Everywhere: Inseparable Companions Even In the Pub and Sleeping at Home (Watch)

It took one day for the two rats to learn they could use the middle lever to go forward, and after a week, they also mastered turning the little car with the levers on the sides.

MORE ANIMAL STORIES LIKE THIS: Parrots Kept as Pets Were Taught to Video Call Each Other—and They Loved It

“Their ability to conceptualize where they are just as humans do when they’re driving is pretty incredible,” Shaun told BC TV News, after demonstrating how they could drive their way in random directions across the living room and park in front of a treat hanging from a string.

“I’m in awe,” Kendal adds. “Their experience of the world is so much deeper than we realize.”

WATCH them drive around below… 

SHARE This Bizarre Pair Of Cabby Rats With Your Friends… 

Pioneering Zero-Emissions Hydrogen Fuel-Cell-Powered Ship Successfully Tested in Japan

By
Andy Corbley
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The Nippon Foundation - released
The Nippon Foundation – released

A consortium of Japanese firms has conducted successfully a demonstration of the first ever zero-emissions ship above 20 gross tons.

Sailing 30 kilometers between the Port of Kokura and the Shirashima Offshore Wind Farm, the HANARIA was powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells.

An island nation, 10.25 million tons of carbon emissions from Japan’s transportation sector came from coastal shipping and transport. In 2015, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga outlined carbon neutrality by 2050 as a major component of Japan’s development strategy, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, and major steps need to be taken to achieve that.

The Nippon Foundation, a research and development fund dedicated to passing the riches of the sea intact to future generations, worked in tandem with manufacturers and shipping operators to develop a suite of hydrogen-powered, zero-emission vessels for use in shipping and coastal transport.

Hydrogen is manufactured by using an electrical current to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The pure hydrogen can then be used as a substitute for heavy engine fuels like diesel and kerosene in a fuel-cell vehicle. If the hydrogen is manufactured with green energy, it’s known as ‘green hydrogen’.

A passenger ship, HANARIA spans 108 feet, (33 meters) weighs 248 gross tons, and is equipped with a hydrogen fuel system. She is expected to be used for transporting personnel to the offshore wind farm and for site tours.

JAPANESE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES: Japan Moon Lander Comes Back to Life After Wonky Angle for its Solar Panel, but ‘Unprecedented Pinpoint Landing’

During the demonstration, she registered zero CO2 emissions using hydrogen fuel from her departure to her arrival and return.

A zero-emissions research or yachting ship to be tested in 2026 – The Nippon Foundation, released

“The realization of a hydrogen society requires not only technological development, but also city and social design, and we look forward to moving ahead with all parties involved,” said the project’s chief leader, Yoshihiko Hamamura, who also holds a post at the Toyota Motor Corporation’s Hydrogen Factory which supplied the hydrogen tanks for HANARIA. 

MORE HYDROGEN ADVANCES: World’s First Electric Aircraft Flight Powered by New Liquid Hydrogen–Flew for 3 Hours

The Nippon Foundation has been carrying out the Zero Emission Ships Project since January 2022. The project plans to test two other vessels by the end of fiscal year 2026, including a yacht and a hydrogen-powered tanker.

The executive director of the Nippon Foundation, Mitsuyuki Unno, said that they hope to help Japan lead the world to zero-emissions shipping.

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“The key to happiness is finding what you’re suited to do, and securing an opportunity to do it.” – John Dewey

By
Good News Network
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woman scientist microscope research lab test-pubdomain National Cancer Institute
Screenshot

Quote of the Day: “The key to happiness is finding what you’re suited to do, and securing an opportunity to do it.” – John Dewey

Image by: National Cancer Institute

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?

woman scientist microscope research lab test-pubdomain National Cancer Institute

China’s Lunar Probe Returns World’s First Samples from Far Side of the Moon

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - screengrab from a CCTV broadcast
credit – screengrab from a CCTV broadcast

China has become the first nation to gather samples from the Moon’s far side after the Chang’e-6 mission’s re-entry capsule touched down in Inner Mongolia yesterday.

Containing 4.4 pounds of rocks and dust—known officially as ‘regolith,’ the sample-return mission has been hailed as a milestone achievement by scientists who eagerly await what geological secrets the samples may hold.

The Chang’e-6 probe touched down on the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin on June 1st. The lander module drilled for samples using a robotic arm and scoop, which were then stored in its hull where the ascent module took them back into space to rendezvous with the orbiter module.

Once onboard, the samples were shot back to Earth where they parachuted down onto the grass of the rural Siziwang Banner region of Inner Mongolia.

It followed five successful lunar missions (Chang’e 1 through 5) that included establishing a weather station on the Moon’s far side in Chang’e-4—the first time any craft had made it there, and a sample return mission from the polar region with Chang’e-5, which brought back the first Lunar samples since the Apollo missions.

“It’s a gold mine … a treasure chest,” James Head, a professor of planetary geosciences at Brown University, who was able to analyze regolith from the Chang’e-5 mission told CNN. “International scientists are totally excited about the mission.”

“This is a great achievement by China,” said Martin Barstow, a professor of astrophysics and space science at the University of Leicester. “Recovering any samples from the moon is difficult, but doing so from the far side, where communications are particularly difficult is a step taken by no other agency. A real technological feat.”

IS THERE LIFE ON MARS?: Ancient Lake Sediment on Mars Builds Excitement for Evidence of Life in the Perseverance Rover Samples

Scientists like Barstow and Head have several key interests in the samples. Since the Moon is tidally locked, the far side is never seen, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see. In fact, the far side should contain a frozen record of the nature and character of the Moon and Earth during their earlier years.

Plate Tectonics have eliminated or obscured features and evidence of Earth’s earliest periods, but since there are no Plate Tectonics on the Moon, a continuous record from the beginning to the end should be found there.

WHAT THE LAST SAMPLES CONTAINED: China’s New Moon Rock Samples Contain Beautiful Crystal New to Geology

Additionally, the far side is covered with impact craters rather than the ‘maria,’ or frozen lava plains which cover the near side. The hope is that the South Pole-Aitken Basin should be able to tell scientists how many craters were formed during the Late Heavy Bombardment, a period lasting between 20 and 200 million years when the early Earth was under continuous pummeling by asteroids and even small planetesimals.

The chief interest in studying the Late Heavy Bombardment—a difficult task on Earth because of Plate Tectonics—is to see if it supports one theory of how life on Earth emerged: namely that water and other elements crucial for life were deposited during this period via the asteroids and failed planets colliding with our world.

FROM AN ASTEROID: Asteroid Sample Delivered Back to Earth in a ‘Brilliant Feat’–a Time Capsule of Ancient Solar System

Chang’e-6 is the last sample-return mission in the Chang’e mission series, with missions 7 and 8 slated for in-situ experiments destined to inform and assist a permanent Chinese robotic base on the Moon.

The Chinese space program has come on leaps and bounds in the last 6 years. Missions Chang’e 4 and 5, the latter being a sample return mission, were complete successes. Following Chang’e-5’s landing, but before the return of the samples, the CNSA became the only space program to see its first orbiter, first lander, and first rover sent to Mars all succeed on the first time of asking.

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Governor Issues Largest Ever Pardon of US Cannabis Convictions with 175K Marylanders Getting Clemency

By
Andy Corbley
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Maryland Governor Wes Moore in 2016 - credit the IFLA, Flickr, CC 2.0.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore in 2016 – credit the IFLA, Flickr, CC 2.0.

Democratic Government Wes Moore recently ordered the largest mass pardon of petty and recreational cannabis convictions ever seen in a single state, with 175,000 criminal records and electronic dockets set to be updated.

It’s three-and-a-half-times larger than a similar pardon recently issued by the governor of Oregon.

The governor said the action couldn’t reverse the harm that decades of failed drug war policies have done, particularly to Black Marylanders, but that it instead represents the first of several actions on the road to a more just legal system.

For context, recreational cannabis use was legalized in the state in 2023 following a referendum in 2022 which passed with a two-thirds majority. For further context, Governor Moore’s order consists of pardons, which are different from expungement.

“We are taking actions that are intentional, that are sweeping and unapologetic, and this is the largest such action in our nation’s history,” said Moore in a press conference. “…[L]egalization does not turn back the clock on decades of harm that was caused by this war on drugs.”

“Well today, that ends,” Moore said.

ABC News reporting on the action heard from Heather Warnken, executive director of the University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Criminal Justice Reform, who described the pardons as “a win for thousands of Marylanders getting a fresh start to pursue education, employment, and other forms of economic opportunity without the stain of a criminal conviction.”

This is where the difference comes in, as a check on someone’s criminal record would still produce the cannabis charge—it would also come with a memo that this charge was pardoned, and the convict absolved.

RESTORING LIBERTY: Singapore’s 30-Year Ban on Cats in Government Housing is Lifted, Providing Millions of Felines with Citizenship

To expunge a charge is to erase it from the record entirely. Legally speaking, both should have the same effect on determining someone’s eligibility for education, employment, housing, or hunting opportunities.

Reporters also heard from Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who concurred that the action was “long overdue.”

“As a nation, we have taken far too long to correct the injustices of a system that is supposed to be just for all,” he said.

MORE PARDON STORIES: Michigan Clears Criminal Records for Thousands of Low-Level, Nonviolent Offenders–‘Meaningful 2nd Chances’

America has almost arrived at the ultimate tipping point for the recreational use of cannabis, with 24 states plus the District of Colombia having already legalized it. President Biden recently issued full pardons to anyone charged in a federal court under the sentencing guidelines for the simple possession of cannabis, which was estimated to be around 7,500 convictions.

Additionally, he ordered the Dept. of Health and Human Services to compile a case for the reclassifying of cannabis from a Schedule 1 drug, such as heroin and cocaine, to a Schedule 3 drug, like testosterone and fortified Tylenol.

CELEBRATE The Newly-Gained Liberty Of These 175,000 People… 

Kindergarten Student Brings Audience to Tears Remembering Late Mom in Graduation Speech

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Justin Carter, released by the family
credit – Justin Carter, released by the family

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when young Jaxon Carter delivered a speech as he graduated from Kindergarten, dedicating his hard work, good grades, and spelling bee victory to his deceased mother.

The 6-year-old lost his “beautiful mommy” Taryn Marie Gainey in an apartment fire in 2022, and was enrolled in a STEM-focused public Kindergarten just 2 months later.

Everything was new—life had taken an unhappy aspect of novelty, the school was new, and there were new faces, new rules, and new concepts to take on.

But Jaxon conquered it all, and as he neared the end of his time at New Dawn Academy, the boy was asked if he could deliver a short speech at the Academy’s Kindergarten graduation ceremony.

According to Justin Carter, Jaxon’s father, he worked on the speech with his grandmother in secret, and when the day of the ceremony arrived, it had turned into a full valedictory speech.

“When I started kindergarten at New Dawn Academy in August 2022, I was a little 5-year-old who had lost my beautiful mother a month before,” Jaxon said, taking a long breath after delivering that line.

KINDERGARTEN GRADS: When Five-year-old Missed His Graduation, Plane Passengers Give Special Midair Ceremony – (WATCH)

“I learned to play with other kids, read books, answer or ask questions like how or why, use correct grammar, and use my school tablet. My kindergarten year helped me grow braver, smarter, kind-hearted, and more grateful.”

He went on to thank his father, his teacher, and his grandparents.

OTHER INSPIRING KIDS: Teen Boy Translating Ancient Texts Turned a 4,000-Year-old Scribe From Egypt into Advice for Modern Age

“I dedicate my speech, good grades, all school awards, and my Kindergarten graduation to my beautiful mommy, who I will always love and miss so very much,” he said. “I know she will always be with me in my heart.”

The speech blew away all who heard it, and rapturous applause followed closely after.

WATCH the story below from GMA… 

TEAR-UP Your Friends’ Eyes By Sharing This Touching Tribute On Social Media…

New Tech Revives ‘Unusable’ Organs–10 Successful Transplants Used Kidneys That Are Normally Discarded

By
Andy Corbley
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By 34Lives
By 34Lives

New technologies are often referred to as life-changing, but that phrase quite literally describes the work that 34 Lives is doing for those awaiting kidney transplants. The team’s innovative technology “revives” kidneys that might be otherwise rejected for consideration by transplant surgeons.

The team’s tenacious desire to save lives has resulted in ten successful kidney rescues and ten lives saved. And they’re just getting started.

More than 120,000 people in the US are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and most of them are waiting for kidneys. When a patient joins the organ transplant waiting list, years can go by before a donor match is found. During this time, patients are often put on a grueling dialysis schedule and can become too sick to receive the transplant or die waiting. On average, 34 US lives are lost daily on the waitlist.

When the company considered where to plant its flag, West Lafayette, ten minutes from Pursue University, just made sense—Purdue has long supported groundbreaking startup companies like 34 Lives.

“We believe West Lafayette and the Purdue University ecosystem is the perfect fit for our startup,” said Jaynes. “Not only do we have access to world-class facilities and engineering talent, but we are able to merge our life-saving technology with Purdue’s aviation infrastructure. I can’t think of a better partnership.”

A giant leap in lifesaving tech

30% of kidneys recovered for transplant are discarded before they ever reach a recipient. These losses are not only devastating for those on the waitlist, but also for the families who hoped their loved ones could save a life.

“The whole mission around 34 Lives is centered around ensuring donated organs can save a life as it was intended,” said St. Jean. “To ensure we can save lives and honor the wishes of donors, we needed a holistic ecosystem to work from.”

A perfectly placed facility could change everything. That’s what 34 Lives found at Purdue Research Park.

Just minutes from Purdue University, the research park is one of the largest university-affiliated incubation complexes in the country and unites discovery and delivery. The flexibility of space in the research park meant the team could custom-build their own Organ Rescue Labs, two ORs where kidneys are revived and immediately sent out the door for transplant.

INNOVATIVE BIOTECH STARTUPS: Bioengineered Corneas Stand to Cure Blindness For Millions of People Around the World

The most critical piece of the kidney-saving puzzle is time. For every second that ticks by, kidneys become less and less viable and surgeons become more and more unwilling to risk a patient’s life.

When kidneys are transported to hospitals on commercial airlines, problems quickly arise. Flights can be delayed or missed. Coolers may be overlooked in cargo areas. Transportation time to distant hospitals can quickly run out the clock—an acceptable “out of body” time is approximately 24 hours.

For 34 Lives, the additional time it would take to transport a kidney from Chicago or Indianapolis airports could mean the difference between the kidney being recoverable or not. In fact, St. Jean confirms that if the team hadn’t had access to Purdue’s regional airport, their fifth successful kidney transplant wouldn’t have happened.

MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: Believe it or Not, Leprosy Offers the Potential to Regenerate Livers – Cutting Transplant Wait Times

Opportunities for first-class collaboration continue to expand with more high-tech companies taking note. For companies like 34 Lives and their patients, that connected ecosystem is everything.

With every kidney revived and every life saved, 34 Lives brings us closer to a future where no patient dies waiting for a transplant. The partnership with Purdue University exemplifies the power of collaboration and shared purpose, proving that when brilliant minds come together, world-changing solutions can become reality.

SHARE This Incredible Collaborative Work Improving Transplant Results… 

“No way of knowing which way it’s going. Hope for the best, expect the worst.” – Mel Brooks

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “No way of knowing which way it’s going. Hope for the best, expect the worst.” – Mel Brooks

Image by: Jeremy Bishop

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?

Woman Discovers Thrift Store Vase She Bought for $4 is Made by Ancient Mayans and Volunteers to Give it Back

By
Andy Corbley
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Courtesy of Mexico's ambassador to the US Esteban Moctezuma Barragán
Courtesy of Mexico’s ambassador to the US Esteban Moctezuma Barragán

Anything could have happened to the vase as it sat on a shelf in Anne Lee Dozier’s Washington D.C. home.

A cat, dog, or any one of her three boys could have elbowed it onto the floor while roughhousing, and instead of ending up at Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology and History, the thrift store vase which was actually made by Mayan potters over 1,200 years ago would have been forever lost.

Backing up, the story began in 2019 when Dozier, who worked in Latin America for a human rights advocacy group, saw a decorative and old vase on the clearance shelf at the 2A Thrift Store in Clinton, Maryland.

Considering it would be “a nice little thing” to remind her of Mexico, and with a price tag of just $4.00, there was no reason to pass it by. Dozier thought the vase might have been decades old, but after a visit to Mexico City five years later, she noticed that the vases at the National Museum were strikingly similar to the one she had on her mantle at home, so much so that she asked a museum official.

The official recommended that she contact the embassy in Washington on her return, which she did. After examining the pictures, the embassy wrote back.

“I got an email saying, ‘Congratulations—it’s real and we would like it back,’” Dozier told the Guardian.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Man Discovers Attic Filled with Looted Art from Battle of Okinawa–Works with FBI to Repatriate it All to Preserve History

“I am thrilled to have played a part in it’s repatriation story. I would like it to go back to its rightful place and to where it belongs,” she said, this time to WUSA, a CBS affiliate. “But I also want it out of my home because I have three little boys and I [would] have been petrified [if] after two thousand years I would be the one to wreck it!”

MORE THRIFT STORE FINDS: A Thrift Store Shopper Joked She’d Found a Famous Artist’s Work for $4 – and Actually She Really Had

Mexico’s ambassador to the US, Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, estimates that the case dates to between the 2nd and 8th centuries CE, dating to the Classical Mayan period when their civilization was at its zenith.

Anne Lee Dozier, middle, stands next to Mexico’s ambassador to the US, Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, right, at a ceremony during which Dozier returned an ancient Maya vase to Mexico. Photograph: Courtesy of Mexico’s ambassador to the US Esteban Moctezuma Barragán

“It’s really important to recognize that some of these things, especially with such historical and cultural value to an entire country and people—you can’t really put a number on that,” said Dozier, adding that the feeling of playing a part in a nation’s cultural heritage was worth more than any amount she could have gotten at auction.

CELEBRATE The Honesty And Integrity Of Dozier On Social Media…

Tongue-Zapping Device Can Rewire Your Brain to Ignore Tinnitus

By
Andy Corbley
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credit Brian Fligor, released to NPR
credit Brian Fligor, released to NPR

20 million Americans who suffer from tinnitus may have an over-the-counter option available to them, one which improved symptoms in 84% of users.

It may seem strange, but a small device that zaps your tongue with electricity whilst playing white noise through headphones is able to refocus the brain away from the ringing in one’s ears, diminishing its effect on their lives.

The device is called Lenire, and though it costs $4,000 and most insurance won’t cover it, multiple clinical trials bear witness to its efficacy.

It’s already approved by the FDA and is being used by clinicians. Few data exist to demonstrate its long-term, continuous viability as a treatment, but early results are impressive, with 80% of users of Lenire reporting they’d recommend it to a friend, according to NPR.

“It’s not a cure, what Lenire is is a significant step forward in terms of the standards of care,” said Ross O’Neil, founder of Neuromode Devices that invented Lenire. “It’s the first and only one that’s been approved by the FDA on the basis of clinical data.”

ALSO CHECK OUT: Red Light Therapy Could Improve Your Eyesight After it Declines Due to Age

The device works by shifting the attention of the brain away from the ringing in one’s ears, described by audiologist Brian Fligor, a consultant on the development phase of Lenire, as moving the ‘spotlight’ on a stage from one actor to another.

Users rarely report the ringing in their ears disappearing entirely, but NPR reports that it allowed one working musician—a singer-songwriter named Victoria Banks—to get back to singing, writing, and performing.

MORE TINNITUS TREATMENTS: ‘Life-Changing’ New Treatment to Stop Tinnitus Developed After 20 Years Searching for a Cure

Fligor said the device isn’t so much a ‘cure-all’ but rather a ‘go-to’ for anyone, especially older patients, who come to him seeking relief. A full session includes 12 weeks with 1 hour of usage per day, and Banks told NPR that a refresher session can help suppress returning symptoms.

WATCH the story below from Reuters… 

SHARE This Potential Life-Changing Treatment Option With Your Friends… 

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