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Big Tech Companies Sign Pact to Fight AI-Generated Election Misinformation in Unprecedented Year

By
Andy Corbley
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Clay Banks - unsplash
Big tech companies have signed an agreement to counter AI interference in elections. Clay Banks – unsplash

Throughout its 16-year history, the Munich Security Conference typically features a lot of companies trying to win defense contracts, and a summary dismissal of anything presented by the Russian Federation.

But in a change of pace, the 16th edition of the conference concluded with an agreement drafted by a variety of big tech companies to try and prevent the use of artificial intelligence to deceive and sow chaos during national elections.

As the companies point out, 2024 will bring more elections to more people than any year in history, with more than 40 countries, including two of the three largest democracies in the world, and more than four billion people choosing their leaders and representatives through the right to vote.

Their intention with the agreement is to combat deceptive AI election content such as “convincing AI-generated audio, video, and images that deceptively fake or alter the appearance, voice, or actions of political candidates, election officials, and other key stakeholders in a democratic election, or that provide false information to voters about when, where, and how they can lawfully vote.”

Signees include Meta, OpenAI, X, TikTok, Microsoft, McAfee, and Amazon.

Because the last 8 years has featured several major events that have put social media censorship and government infiltration and control of the internet never far from the center of debate around technology and its role in society, the companies were quick to point out that such AI-generated content, should it be present, won’t be taken down outright (presumably unless it violates other terms of service related to showing violent or graphic content) but rather labeled as AI-generated so people can do their own fact-checking against what the AI-generated image or video says or claims.

Three huge democracies have already gone to the polls to choose their executives: Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, while Taiwan has also held elections. 9 months from now it will be the United States’ turn, but dozens of others will also take place.

MORE CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY: New Google Geothermal Electricity Project Could Be a Milestone for Clean Energy

Euro News, reporting on the agreement, heard from industry members and others who found it positive, noting that all these companies have different terms of use, and so by nature it had to be broad and unspecific.

“[No] one in the industry thinks that you can deal with a whole new technological paradigm by sweeping things under the rug and trying to play whack-a-mole and finding everything that you think may mislead someone,” Nick Clegg, president of global affairs for Meta, which runs Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

“I think we should give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge that the companies do have a vested interest in their tools not being used to undermine free and fair elections,” said Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, who also noted the language isn’t as strong as she would have liked.

POSITIVE ELECTION STORIES: Politician Declared Winner But Gives Up His Seat When He Learns of Election Interference on his Behalf

“As leaders and representatives of organizations that value and uphold democracy, we recognize the need for a whole-of-society response to these developments throughout the year,” the companies write in their agreement.

“We are committed to doing our part as technology companies, while acknowledging that the deceptive use of AI is not only a technical challenge, but a political, social, and ethical issue and hope others will similarly commit to action across society.”

SHARE This Story On Social Media (Just Don’t Use AI)… 

The ‘Skywalker’ Gibbon Thought to be Nearly Extinct Has Significant Populations Uncovered in Myanmar

By
Andy Corbley
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An adult male Hoolock tianxing - credit Peng-Fei Fan, released to the press.
An adult male Hoolock tianxing – credit Peng-Fei Fan, released to the press.

From the Far East comes fantastic news for species conservation after new populations of the gorgeous ‘Skywalker’ gibbon, known to science for only 6 years, were recently found living in the politically chaotic nation of Myanmar.

Also called the hoolock gibbon, this dainty vocalist was first described in 2017 living in the extreme south of China on a mountain in Yunnan. Classified as Endangered by the IUCN, the population was estimated to number a paltry 150 individuals, but others were believed to live in Myanmar.

Even before the recent military junta usurped the president and plunged the country into civil war, Myanmar was a difficult state to explore owing to the ongoing conflict between Yangon and several restive populations, in particular in the states called Shan and Kachin.

Now in open revolt against the military junta, these two states were nevertheless destinations for an intrepid team of scientists from the Nature Conservation Society Myanmar, Fauna & Flora International–Myanmar Programme, the IUCN’s ape specialist group, and field researchers from universities in England, China, and the US.

Together, they conducted acoustic surveys, collected non-invasive DNA sampling, and took photographs for morphological identification at six sites in Kachin State and three sites in Shan State. With the help of the Myanmar conservationists, the team also interviewed locals dwelling in rural forested areas, small conservation programs, and timber companies about the frequency of sightings and the hunting pressure.

Population estimates of unknown quality and scientific rigor conducted in 2013 suggested there might be 65,000 hoolock gibbons in Myanmar, but the matter became much more complicated after the classification of the Skywalker gibbon as a separate species from the eastern hoolock gibbon—where before they were confused as the same.

An adult female Hoolock tianxing – credit Peng-Fei Fan, released to the press.

“We were able to genetically identify 44 new groups of Skywalker gibbons in Myanmar,” said senior author Tierra Smiley Evans, research faculty at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and contributing author. “This is a huge resource and success story for Myanmar.”

These gibbons sing to each other at dawn for around 22 minutes, and consume 36 different plant species; choosing fruit first, and flowers later. They seldom sleep in the same tree two nights in a row to avoid predation, and can’t swim so are often confined to territories by river systems.

The team that discovered them in China in 2017 loved Star Wars, and called them tianxing which is Chinese pinyin for “heaven movement;” a nod not only to their favorite sci-fi franchise, but also to China’s ancient history. In the famous Book of Change of the Zhou Dynasty, a divination poem refers to gibbons specifically, and uses tianxing as a verb to describe their movements.

The interviews were a source of great data for the scientists. For starters, nearly all individuals in both the Kachin and Shan states could identify a Skywalker gibbon by sight and by playback of its singing, lending the exercise a good degree of reliability.

OTHER JUNGLE DISCOVERIES: Astonishing ‘Fairy Lanterns’ Found Growing in the Darkest Depth of Malaysian Rainforest

Villagers located in the non-protected forest reserve of Mae Nei Taung, for example, were almost all Buddhist and reported a diminishing presence of gibbons but no local hunting of gibbons whatsoever, in addition to the existence of social taboos toward hunting them.

By contrast, in the villages of the forest reserve of Paung Laung, which were half Christian, and half Buddhist, 46% of interviewed villagers reported that people hunted gibbons around Paung Laung. Of the 34 respondents who described their perceptions of causes of gibbon decline, 85% of respondents considered that forest cover had decreased locally in both reserves.

“Biologists did not believe Skywalker gibbons could live in the small remaining patches in Southern Shan State before we started this project,” Pyae Phyo Aung, executive director of Nature Conservation Society Myanmar, told the UC Davis press.

MORE MONKEY NEWS: This Monkey Was Already Endangered When Discovered in 2003–but is Now on the Up and Up

“I am delighted with our field team members who have done an excellent job, within a short period of time, building community trust for further conservation actions. This area is degraded forest. It is really important for Myanmar and China to consider extending conservation approaches for the Skywalker gibbon to this new geographic area.”

Nearly 32,000 square kilometers, or around 8 million acres of forestland in Eastern Myanmar are suitable gibbon habitat, and while existing forest reserves like Paung Taung and Mae Nei Laung are quite large, they remain unprotected. For this reason, the survey team recommended they remain considered ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List until habitat protections improve.

SHARE This Great News About The Skywalkers Return… 

“There is no instinct like that of the heart.” – Lord Byron

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “There is no instinct like that of the heart.” – Lord Byron

Photo by: Matthew Henry

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

Glow-in-the-Dark Petunias Emit Bioluminescence Like Fireflies–Now For Sale in 48 States Online

By
Andy Corbley
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By Light.bio
By Light.bio

Unfortunately for the human taste of beauty, forest plants have no need to glow in the dark like those in the movie Avatar. Fortunately for the human taste of beauty, we can genetically modify plants to glow in the dark.

Cleared as non-disruptive by the USDA and now available for pre-order, the Firefly Petunia is set to become the first commercially raised flower species that glows in the dark.

The Firefly Petunia emits a soft glow at a lux level similar to moonlight. It can be grown in pots, baskets, or gardens, quickly attaining about 8 to 10 inches in size with abundant white flowers, according to the company Light Bio, which made them.

Although typically regarded as annuals, petunias can be grown indoors if placed in a sunny spot. They flourish under long summer days, preferring at least six hours of direct sunlight. Promoting vigorous growth will produce a brighter glow.

Bioluminescence has been found in many animal species, including fish, invertebrates, and bacteria. The origin of this particular science experiment comes in the form of bioluminescent mushrooms. Scientists transferred four genes from these mushrooms into a tobacco plant, and found it glowed in the dark for its whole life.

“We show that you can transfer four genes from these glowing mushrooms into the plants —and wire them into plant metabolisms—so that the plants start to glow in the dark,” Karen Sarkisyan, one of the lead authors of a study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology on Monday, told CNN.

COOL IDEAS FOR NATURE AT HOME: Making Terrariums at Home: They’re Beautiful AND Good for the Mind

As far as scientific aims, the light emanating from the plants’ own cells has been found to correspond to certain behaviors; some known, some not. According to Sarkisyan, the experiments are just as much about (re)introducing people to the unique beauty of the plant world as producing a valued product for the market.

She said that other plants like periwinkles and roses, could also be made to glow.

“The magic of bioluminescent plants will spark curiosity and interest in nature and science, especially in children,” the company writes. “By hands-on exploration of a living plant designed to emit light, young learners are introduced to the stimulating world of biotechnology.”

WATCH the teaser video…

SHARE This Amazing Gift Idea With Flower Lovers on Social Media… 

Century of Tree Planting Stalls the Warming Effects in the Eastern United States, Says Study

By
Andy Corbley
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unsplash - Jarosław Kwoczała
unsplash – Jarosław Kwoczała

A century of gradual reforestation across the American East and Southeast has kept the region cooler than it otherwise would have become, a new study shows.

The pioneering study of progress shows how the last 25 years of accelerated reforestation around the world might significantly pay off in the second half of the 21st century.

Using a variety of calculative methods and estimations based on satellite and temperature data from weather stations, the authors determined that forests in the eastern United States cool the land surface by 1.8 – 3.6°F annually compared to nearby grasslands and croplands, with the strongest effect seen in summer, when cooling amounts to 3.6 – 9°F.

The younger the forest, the more this cooling effect was detected, with forest trees between 20 and 40 years old offering the coolest temperatures underneath.

“The reforestation has been remarkable and we have shown this has translated into the surrounding air temperature,” Mallory Barnes, an environmental scientist at Indiana University who led the research, told The Guardian.

“Moving forward, we need to think about tree planting not just as a way to absorb carbon dioxide but also the cooling effects in adapting for climate change, to help cities be resilient against these very hot temperatures.”

The cooling of the land surface affected the air near ground level as well, with a stepwise reduction in heat linked to reductions in near-surface air temps.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 4 Decades of Data Suggests Pacific Coral Reefs Can Acclimate to Warming Oceans and Resist Future Bleaching

“Analyses of historical land cover and air temperature trends showed that the cooling benefits of reforestation extend across the landscape,” the authors write. “Locations surrounded by reforestation were up to 1.8°F cooler than neighboring locations that did not undergo land cover change, and areas dominated by regrowing forests were associated with cooling temperature trends in much of the Eastern United States.”

By the 1930s, forest cover loss in the eastern states like the Carolinas and Mississippi had stopped, as the descendants of European settlers moved in greater and greater numbers into cities and marginal agricultural land was abandoned.

MORE NEWS ABOUT FORESTS: Kenyans Flock to Fields and Parks to Ring in 3-Day Weekend for New National Tree-Planting Holiday

The Civilian Conservation Corps undertook large replanting efforts of forests that had been cleared, and this is believed to be what is causing the lower average temperatures observed in the study data.

However, the authors note that other causes, like more sophisticated crop irrigation and increases in airborne pollutants that block incoming sunlight, may have also contributed to the lowering of temperatures over time. They also note that tree planting might not always produce this effect, such as in the boreal zone where increases in trees are linked with increases in humidity that way raise average temperatures.

SHARE This Cool News With Your Friends Across America’s Southeast… 

When a Preschool Was Opened Inside a Dementia Care Home, All Heaven Broke Loose

By
Andy Corbley
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Courtesy of Belong Chester / Ready Generations
Courtesy of Belong Chester / Ready Generations

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Centered on that concept of communal flourishing, a dementia care village in England has incorporated a day nursery for small children—bringing together young and old for learning and sharing.

Stimulation, learning, and fun—these are all activities that are known to delay the progression of dementia, and what better way to add these critical elements of life to a daily regimen than to let a flock of preschoolers do it?

Belong is a nonprofit operator of senior homes, specializing in dementia care. They have senior care villages in the country’s northwest, and West Midlands regions. But this is the first to integrate children.

The pioneering facility supports older people to live their lives independently, with access to several shops and services on site. The UK charity Ready Generations partnered with Belong to run the village’s day nursery.

Children feature in the daily life of residents and tenants, enjoying experiences together including shared mealtimes, stories, arts and crafts, and exercise.

Recently, Belong welcomed the Lord Mayor of Cheshire, Sheila Little, to declare the latest village in the county officially open, though it’s been operating since last year. “This is a particularly exciting and innovative development as it includes a nursery, which benefits both the children who attend and the residents,” said Little.

Courtesy of Belong Chester / Ready Generations

Breaking the mold of more ‘traditional’ care environments, the $24.5 million, state-of-the-art village incorporates six family-sized 24-hour care households, 23 independent living apartments, as well as the children’s nursery.

Centered around a vibrant hub of amenities, including a bistro, hair salon, and specialist exercise studio, the site is open to the public, creating a bustling environment with customers from the local community.

Courtesy of Belong Chester / Ready Generations

SEE ALSO: Practicing and Listening to Music Can Slow Cognitive Decline in Healthy Seniors by Producing More Gray Matter

Belong Chester is the eighth village in the dementia specialist’s group and its fourth in Cheshire County, with its other sites in the Cheshire municipalities of Crewe, Macclesfield, and Warrington.

Courtesy of Belong Chester / Ready Generations

Similar projects have been pioneered in America as well. The Intergenerational Learning Center at Mount St. Vincent nursing home in Seattle opened its doors to the oldest—and the youngest—in 2015.

CHECK OUT: Youth Volunteers Form ‘Grandpals’ to Connect Lonely Senior Citizens With ‘Grandkids’ to Hang Out With

The 400 adults in that assisted-living center join the kids in daily activities from music and dancing to storytelling and just plain visiting.

A filmmaker named Evan Briggs made a documentary about the Washington State facility that portrays the experience of aging—“both growing up, and growing old.” Watch his video below…

SHARE This Great Idea And Heartwarming Images With Your Friends… 

Doctors Called in for Rare Emergency C-Section on Gorilla in the Zoo–and the Baby Pics Are Incredible

By
Andy Corbley
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Fort Worth Zoo / SWNS
Fort Worth Zoo / SWNS

Human doctors stepped in to perform a rare emergency c-section on a gorilla mom after she went into labor five weeks early.

The story is an incredible, breathtaking reminder of the similarities between these magnificent animals and ourselves.

At the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, a mother gorilla named Sekani showed signs of a pregnancy complication called pre-eclampsia that were identical to those seen in human mothers.

Zookeepers then called in a team of gynecologists who usually spend their time looking after pregnant women, to assist with the urgent delivery. Arriving at the zoo, they determined that, if it were a human woman in the same condition, an emergency C-section would be required to save the life of both infant and mother.

Alongside vets, they proceeded with the operation when Sekani was five weeks before term. The newborn required urgent resuscitation, and the event became the highlight of the team members’ respective careers.

Dr. Jamie Walker Erwin led the surgery with neonatologist Dr. Robert Ursprung and Dr. Dennis Occkiogrosso—none of whom had ever worked with primates or apes before.

The baby was named Jameela, which means “beautiful” in Swahili, but also after Dr. Jamie.

“Taking part in delivering Sekani’s infant via cesarean section was one of the highlights of my entire career as an OB-GYN,” Dr. Erwin said in a statement. “It is an honor and privilege to assist with care for this endangered species and to share my expertise with the veterinary staff at the Fort Worth Zoo.”

It is the third gorilla birth in the zoo’s 115-year history but the first gorilla to be born via cesarean section.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:  Baby That Had Spinal Surgery While in the Womb Can Now Walk and Run

The infant required immediate intervention and Dr. Ursprung assisted the Fort Worth Zoo team with resuscitation and stabilization, respiratory support, and radiographs.

Sekani the gorilla and her infant – credit Fort Worth Zoo via SWNS

“It was incredible how similar this mother-infant pair was compared to what I see in the hospital for babies born under similar circumstances,” said Dr. Ursprung. “The baby needed critical respiratory support for a few hours post-delivery, but as she transitioned to life outside the womb, she stabilized quite nicely.”

“She had so many features typical of a slightly premature human baby.”

Fort Worth Zoo primate keepers, along with veterinary and nutrition staff, began around-the-clock care and feeding of the little gorilla while Sekani recovered.

Jameela the gorilla and Dr. Erwin – credit Fort Worth Zoo via SWNS

Despite repeated attempts to reunite the mother and baby, Sekani showed little interest in caring for her baby, they said.

Zoo experts suspect Sekani never experienced the necessary hormonal cues that come during natural and full-term birth.

MORE DRAMATIC ZOO BIRTHS: Birth of Rare Eastern Black Rhino is Cause for Celebration–Watch the Amazing Birth Caught on Camera, With Only 1,000 in Wild

After two weeks and several unsuccessful reunification attempts, staff started to train a 24-year-old female gorilla named Gracie to become a surrogate mother.

Gracie has two offspring of her own, including one-year-old Bruno, and is already trained to “present” her baby up to keepers for a visual examination.

WATCH the procedure take place, and the sweetness that followed… 

SHARE These Dramatic Scenes With Your Friends On Social Media…

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” – Dalai Lama

By
Good News Network
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Aaron Burden

Quote of the Day: “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” – Dalai Lama

Photo by: Aaron Burden

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

Bolivian Town Protects 1 Million Acres of Amazon Rainforest–Building a ‘Conservation Mosaic’ of 90% Forests

By
Andy Corbley
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Conservation International
Conservation International

In some countries, executive government action is what creates big protected areas of wild lands, but in Bolivia, with the announcement of the establishment of a truly gargantuan patch of protected forest, credit must be given to the ordinary people of the country.

In the municipality of Sena (pop. 2,500) a law was just created to protect 452,639 hectares (1.1 million acres) of Amazon rainforest. Called the Gran Manupare Integrated Management Natural Area, the law was overseen by, and passed for the benefit of, “peasants and indigenous communities,” per a statement from the mayor’s office.

Located in the Pando Department in the far northern corner of Bolivia, the new protected area represents almost 8% of its forests and has significantly increased the region’s conservation coverage to 26%.

The rich biodiversity of this new area is highlighted by the presence of the giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), one of the region’s top predators, and the big-leaf mahogany (Switenia macrophila), both Endangered species according to the IUCN.

Enhancing its ecological significance are healthy populations of mammals like the jaguar, the white-lipped peccary, and the lowland tapir, as well as several Vulnerable species such as the blue-headed macaw (Primolius couloni) and the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus).

Beyond tangible benefits, the forest is estimated to hold 9.2 million tons of irrecoverable carbon.

The big NGO Conservation International assisted with the project, and wrote in a statement that the Pando Department holds the largest proportion of well-preserved Amazonian forest in the country.

In the past 25 years, Bolivian towns like Sena have protected 10 million contiguous hectares (25 million acres) of Bolivia’s Amazon—an area nearly the size of Iceland, partially by assembling it piece by piece like a mosaic.

“It’s an incredible conservation story that began in the 1990s with the creation of the Madidi National Park and has continued over the years,” stated Eduardo Forno, vice president of Conservation International-Bolivia.

A HUGE CONSERVATION WIN IN ECUADOR: 60% of Ecuadorians Vote Against Continued Oil Drilling in Critical Amazon Biosphere

“It’s a combination of having a clear objective and consistently seeking opportunities to add new pieces to the puzzle. Protected and conserved areas remain one of the most important tools for conservation, with enormous potential to guard against loss of wildlife and stave off the worst consequences of climate change.”

Per capita, Forno explains, Bolivia has had some of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The Pando Department has an average forest cover of 90%, compared to a national average of 44%, in part because Pando is at some of the lowest elevations of any Bolivian territory.

A SIMILAR INITIATIVE IN THE US: With 14,000 Critical Acres Added to Montana Wildlife Reserve, It May Become the Largest in the Lower 48

Part of the story of Gran Manupare is the Brazil nut, which is mostly cultivated in Bolivia, and accounts for a large portion of local livelihoods. Being already engaged in the economic use of intact rainforests, Conservation International began working with the municipality of Sena to explore the potential for a large protected area to ensure their livelihoods.

The current picture in Gran Manupare and Pando is that these sustainably harvested forests have now stitched together millions of acres into a “conservation mosaic” of lands owned by indigenous communities, those managed for Brazil nuts, areas protected for watersheds, and others for endangered species.

SHARE This Huge Conservation Victory With Your Friends… 

Paul McCartney ‘Gets Back!’ His Hofner Bass Guitar 50 Years After Theft from the Back of Their Van

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - The Lost Bass Project
credit – The Lost Bass Project

Paul McCartney has been reunited with a famous stolen bass guitar after an initiative launched by journalists hoped to find the missing instrument by inviting people to speak anonymously.

Its violin-like shape is iconic of a German brand called Höfner which McCartney popularized, but then had his stolen out of the back of the Beatles’ touring van in Ladbroke Grove in 1972.

The Lost Bass Project started with no evidence and no leads, but after stating there was no intention to blame or press charges, some people wrote in saying it had been sold to the landlord of a pub in Ladbroke before making its way to a family in Sussex.

Then like all heirlooms and antiques, it was found stuffed in an attic.

“The guitar has been authenticated by Höfner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved,” a statement from the Lost Bass Project said.

One of the journalists involved with the project told the BBC that “people wished McCartney well and wanted to help,” without adding whether or not they or their relatives were responsible for the theft.

“We didn’t expect it to go very far, but it caught the imagination of 1000s of people,” wrote the team at the Lost Bass Project. “Within a week it was in newspapers all over the world. We were asked to do numerous interviews and appear on several television news broadcasts.”

MORE MYSTERIES SOLVED: Internet Sleuth Solves 45-Year Guitar Mystery Returning the Beloved ’57 Gretsch to a Rock Idol

“As a result of the publicity someone living in a terraced house in Hastings on the south coast of England contacted Paul McCartney’s company and then returned the bass to them. The search was over—Paul had his stolen bass back at last!”

The bass was complete and still in its case. It will need some repairs before it can be played again.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Ringo Sells Beatles Drum Kit, Other Treasures, Raises $9.2M for Charity

With the strap ratcheted right up to Paul’s pectoral muscles, the Beatles star used the Höfner to record various songs including Love Me Do, and She Loves You. He had purchased it in Germany for £30 in 1961.

“To have found it quite quickly is amazing and we’ve heard how thrilled Paul McCartney is to have it back,” said Mr. Scott Jones of the Lost Bass Project. “That’s just the icing on the cake to know that bloke we all love is smiling tonight because his old guitar is back.”

SHARE This Old Mystery Now Solved On Social Media…

Images of Mars Eclipse Sparks Amusement Because it Looks Like a Googly Eye

By
Andy Corbley
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Two images of the Phobos eclipse imposed side-by-side to look like googly eyes
Two images of the Phobos eclipse imposed side-by-side to look like googly eyes

The Perseverance rover on Mars recorded the potato-shaped moon of Phobos crossing in front of the Sun last week—a Martian eclipse.

The rover was able to snap 68 images of the February 8th transit from its vantage point in the Jezero Crater, many of which unmistakably looked like classic, stick-on googly eyes, points out a science writer.

“Each time these eclipses are observed, they allow scientists to measure subtle shifts in Phobos’ orbit over time,” NASA wrote.

The pictures were captured using the rover’s left Mastcam-Z camera, usually used to take panoramic views of the Martian landscape.

Scientists will be able to use the data captured to study Phobos, named after the ancient Greek god of fear. Phobos is on a collision course with Mars, nearing the Red Planet at a rate of six feet (1.8 meters) every hundred years.

At that rate, the moon will either crash into Mars in 50 million years or break up into a ring.

ANOTHER MARS HAPPENING: Here It Is: Stricken Mars Helicopter is Spotted by Rover–Then NASA Retired it With Honors

“The result arguably resembles more googly eye than awe-inspiring [sic] cosmic calendar occurrence,” wrote Andrew Paul at Pop-Sci.

Spot on Andrew.

Previous eclipses have been recorded on video, such as in April of 2022 when a 40-second recording was made by the same rover.

SHARE This Cosmic Comedy With Your Friends… 

Belgian Boy is the First Child in the World to Have Been Cured of Brain Stem Glioma, a Brutal Cancer

By
Andy Corbley
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Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
Stock photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

Advances in medicine over the decades have seen the 5-year survival rate of children diagnosed with cancer increase to 85%, but there are outliers to that average—with few more sinister than brain stem glioma.

When French doctor Jacques Grill first saw these tumors in a young Belgian boy, it was a straightforward, agonizing conversation he knew he had to have with the family: 6-year-old Lucas was going to die.

But it was not to be, and following the results of an experimental treatment randomly assigned to the young boy, the unbelievable happened.

“Over a series of MRI scans, I watched as the tumor completely disappeared,” Dr. Grill told AFP. “I don’t know of any other case like him in the world.”

Brain stem glioma, officially called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), is rare and lethal, diagnosed in just 300 children annually in the United States, and 100 in France, where Dr. Grill practices.

The two-year survival rate is 10%, and no drug is widely available for its treatment beyond radiotherapy.

After Lucas’ diagnosis, the family traveled to France to take part in a randomized controlled trial called the Biomede trial, looking for medications to combat DIPG. Lucas was randomly assigned the drug everolimus, which he took for more than 5 years with remarkable success.

CANCER RESEARCH: Cervical Cancer Trial Hailed as ‘Remarkable’ After 35% Reduced Death Rate Using Simple Intervention

7 other children in the Biomede trial have survived, but none have had their tumors disappear completely, and Lucas is now being looked at as the case study that could finally improve the long-term outcomes for children with this cancer.

Furthermore, the outlier in Lucas’ case was that his tumors carried a genetic mutation seen only a few times in history that made it especially susceptible to this medication, and biomedical researchers speaking with AFP say they are now hoping to reproduce tumor cells with this mutation in vitro.

MORE CHILDREN SURVIVING: Kinder than Chemo Cancer Drug Cured This Young Man of Leukemia–Available in the US

If they can, they can try and replicate the trial’s findings on the tumors in vitro, and confirm it was the cause of Lucas’ remarkable recovery.

These are the most preliminary steps, and an approved medication might not be available for another 10 to 15 years, but scientists are hopeful that the pace of technological advancement will shorten this.

SHARE The Life Of A Boy Saved From This Terrible Disease…

“I hope I shall always possess virtue enough to maintain, what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” – George Washington (Happy Presidents Day!)

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “I hope I shall always possess virtue enough to maintain, what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” – George Washington (to Alexander Hamilton in 1788)

Photo by: Ryan Stone (cropped)

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

Nonprofit Diverts an Ocean Plastic Tide, Removing 2 Million Pounds of Trash From Waterways

By
Good News Network
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By Andrea Conway / TerraCycle Global Foundation
By Andrea Conway / TerraCycle Global Foundation

The TerraCycle Global Foundation reached an impressive milestone last month, announcing that they’ve removed over 2 million pounds of waste from rivers, canals, and waterways.

Since its founding, the nonprofit organization has targeted ocean pollution right at its source—waterways. When polluted, they send waste directly to oceans, harming sea life and the environment. Over 1000 tons have been diverted and recycled.

And, because the Foundation is founded by New Jersey-based TerraCycle—a two decades-old company known for turning plastic waste into useful items for sale—none of the litter collected ever goes to waste. (See a link to their cool bracelets below.)

Operating in canals throughout Bangkok, Thailand, TerraCycle’s “world-class river waste prevention systems” are implemented with the local community and governments to address the complex challenge of collecting waste before it enters and pollutes global aquatic systems.

The Foundation is currently operating wildlife-safe river traps in Thai canals to recover waste directly from the water. The waste is then sorted, and plastics are separated and recycled.

“We take a holistic approach to reducing plastic waste in waterways,” said James Scott, Executive Director of the TerraCycle Global Foundation. “Our operations provide safe, stable employment for members of the local Lat Phrao community in Bangkok while creating cleaner and healthier environments for communities along the canal.”

TerraCycle Global Foundation’s River Trap

“Reaching this waste removal milestone is only the beginning of the Foundation’s work to clean our oceans and preserve the planet.”

CHECK OUT: Ocean CleanUp Launches Huge System in Pacific Garbage Patch to Clean a Football Field Every 5 Seconds

Indeed, last year the Foundation made a Clinton Global Initiative ‘Commitment to Action’, with a project that prevents ocean waste. They pledged to replicate and scale its successful canal cleanup model in a new region in Southeast Asia, and establish a material recovery center as a central hub for waste management and educational programs.

Check out all the recycling going on at TerraCycle, especially their cool beaded bracelets that help collect 20-lbs of plastic waste with proceeds from every purchase—and 100% of it is made from diverted litter.

MORE GOOD: Quarter-Million Pounds of Plastic Cleared From Great Pacific Garbage Patch in Dutch Milestone

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California Launches Free Behavioral Health Apps for Children, Young Adults, and Families

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Good News Network
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Photo by Annie Spratt
Photo by Annie Spratt

California’s Department of Health Care Services launched two free behavioral health digital services for all families with kids, teens, and young adults up to age 25.

The partnerships have been years in the making, as the state announced in 2021 the opportunity to collaborate on a new initiative to combat the youth mental health crisis.

They selected two platforms, Brightline for young kids and Kooth‘s Soluna for young adults and teens to be the cornerstone of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI).

The tools are free for all California families, regardless of income or health insurance.

“About two-thirds of California kids with depression do not receive treatment. This platform will help meet the need by expanding access to critical behavioral health supports,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency. “Our young people will have an accessible option to get the help they need.”

Between 2019 and 2021, about one-third of California adolescents experienced serious psychological distress, with a 20 percent increase in adolescent suicides. Meanwhile, the mental health provider shortage is causing longer wait times for appointments to community-based mental health providers. Availability is particularly limited among the uninsured and people with low incomes.

ANOTHER IDEA: Lonely Girls Club Gains Thousands of New Members for Picnics, Drinks, and Game Nights

“The Behavioral Health Virtual Services Platform will give access to services early on, reducing the likelihood of escalation to more serious conditions,” said Ghaly.

BrightLife Kids

Both web and app-based applications will offer coaching services in English and Spanish, as well as telephone-based coaching in all Medi-Cal threshold languages.

The platforms include:

  • Free Coaching: Live one-on-one coaching sessions with a trained and qualified behavioral health wellness coach delivered through in-app chat or video appointments. Telephone coaching will also be available.
  • Educational Content: Age-tailored educational articles, videos, podcasts, and stories.
  • Assessments and Tools: Stress-management tools and clinically validated assessments to understand and monitor behavioral health over time.
  • Care Navigation Services: A searchable directory and live care navigation support to connect users to their local behavioral health resources, including connecting users with their health plan, school-based services, or community-based organizations that can provide clinical care options and care coordination services.
  • Peer Communities: Moderated forums let kids connect with other youth or caregivers, posing questions or sharing their own experiences to help others with the same situation.
  • Crisis and Safety Protocols: Crisis and emergency safety resources for platform users experiencing a mental health crisis or who require immediate assistance.

Both apps have strict privacy and confidentiality requirements and must adhere to all applicable state laws and regulations pertaining to privacy and security.

GET HELP FROM MOTHER NATURE: ‘Nature Prescriptions’ Improve Both Physical and Mental Health –28 Studies to Date

Each app will also follow robust safety and risk escalation protocols. Trained behavioral health professionals will monitor app usage to identify potential risks, and licensed behavioral health professionals will be on standby to intervene, if clinically appropriate.

Where to find the apps

BrightLife Kids is available for download on IOS devices in the Apple App Store. The app for Android devices will be available in the summer, but it’s also accessible from all devices—or by computer—at CalHOPE.org. The Soluna app for older youth is available for both IOS and Android devices in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

See a preview of what to expect in the videos below, starting with the younger kids…

Check out the app for older kids…

PASS ON THESE VALUABLE RESOURCES w Friends and Family in California By Sharing on Social Media… 

At 96 He May Be Britain’s Oldest Worker–And He Has No Plans to Retire: ‘You can’t sit back…Keep going’

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Good News Network
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Bill Parton, who turned 96 this month has no intention of retiring – SWNS
Bill Parton, who turned 96 this month has no intention of retiring – SWNS

Britain’s oldest worker says he still has no plans to retire at the grand age of 96, after a career spanning eight decades.

Bill Parton is still clocking in five days a week at the sawmill business he founded himself 42 years ago, and he has no plans to quit working.

“You’ve got to keep your mind moving. The trick is to not stop. You can’t sit back, you’ve got to keep doing something.”

The great-grandad began working at age 14 as a plumber’s apprentice in 1942 during the World War II before going on to forge the successful family-run company.

Mr. Parton now mainly helps in the office but is no stranger to getting his hands dirty and fixing tools if required on the factory floor.

He still works 40 hours a week, having only dropped his sixth day 12 months ago. Even more admirable, he has never missed a week’s work in his life.

“I’ve never missed a week’s work in all my life. I did have a hip operation that laid me off for a couple of days though.”

Three of his grandchildren are now at the helm of Hales Sawmill in Shropshire, England, but that hasn’t stopped the sprightly senior from continuing to “keep his mind active” inside the firm he built from scratch in 1982.

“I used to be the gaffer—now I’m really the go-fer. You’ve got to let the kids have a go,” Parton quipped.

ROLE MODEL: This Grandad is All-Action at Aged 92: ‘I do martial arts daily’ (WATCH)

“My son and the grandchildren are running it quite efficiently. It’s wonderful to see it pass through to the third generation.

He normally comes in around 9am and leaves at 5pm, and often walks around to see what the machines are doing.

“I don’t do as much these days but I’m always on hand if they need me.”

“I can tell if something’s wrong with a machine even from a squeak—I can hear it above all the noise.”

The sawmill began with just two employees but now has a staff of more than 60, spanning across two sites.

SECRETS OF AGING: 3 Friends All Over 100 Reveal Secrets to Long Life, ‘Happiness, Staying Active and Keep a Boy Toy Nearby’

His stellar work ethic has sustained him since leaving school as a teen—despite not being able to read or write—but admits, “you have to be lucky in a way.”

He also credits his late wife, Joan, and their 60-year marriage.

LOOK: Great-Grandma Gets 90th Birthday Wish to Ride a Harley Again, Courtesy of a Biker Gang

“She was the real boss. She had the brains, and always knew what we were doing. She built us a great name.

“It’s easy to get a bad name, it’s hard to get a good one and keep it for all these years.”

SEND A MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE to Friends By Sharing on Social Media, Adding Your Own Retirement Philosophy… 

New Synthetic Compound Can Kill Superbugs Resistant to Antibiotics

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Good News Network
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Myers Research Group
Myers Research Group

Harvard researchers have created an antibiotic that can overcome many drug-resistant infections, which have become a deadly global health menace, killing a million people every year.

The new synthetic compound called cresomycin proved to be “highly effective” at killing deadly superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, including Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Cresomycin is one of several promising compounds the team from Harvard University has developed to win the war against superbugs.

The team led by Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Andrew Myers reported in Science how the new molecule demonstrates an improved ability to bind to bacterial ribosomes—biomolecular machines that control protein synthesis.

Disrupting ribosomal function is a hallmark of many existing antibiotics, but some superbug bacteria have evolved shielding mechanisms that prevent drugs from working.

The new molecule draws inspiration from the chemical structures of ‘lincosamides’, a class of antibiotics that includes the commonly prescribed clindamycin.

EARLIER THIS YEAR: A Powerful Antibiotic That Can Tackle Superbugs Has Been Discovered in the ‘Dark Matter’ of Bacteria

Like many antibiotics, clindamycin is made via semi-synthesis—a process in which complex products isolated from nature are modified directly for drug applications. The new Harvard compound, however, is fully synthetic and features chemical modifications that cannot be accessed through existing means.

“By leveraging the power of organic synthesis, we are limited almost only by our imagination when designing new antibiotics,” said study co-author Ben Tresco. “The bacterial ribosome is nature’s preferred target for antibacterial agents, and these agents are the source of inspiration for our program.”

Bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics by expressing genes that produce enzymes (called ribosomal RNA methyltransferases) which box out the drug components that are designed to latch onto and disrupt the ribosome, ultimately blocking the drug’s activity.

To solve the problem, Dr. Myers and his team engineered their compound into a rigid shape that closely resembles its target – giving it a far stronger grip on the ribosome.

CHECK OUT: The Humble Potato Could Hold the Key to Beating Hospital Superbugs as Well as Crop Diseases

The researchers describe their drug as being ‘pre-organized’ for ribosomal binding as it doesn’t need to expend as much energy conforming to its target as existing drugs.

The team identified cresomycin using component-based synthesis, a method pioneered by the Myers Research Group that involves building large molecular components of equal complexity and bringing them together at late stages—likened to pre-building sections of a complicated LEGO set before assembling them.

This modular, completely synthetic system allows them to make and test not just one but hundreds of target molecules, which greatly speeds up the drug discovery process.

“While we don’t yet know whether cresomycin and drugs like it are safe and effective in humans, our results show significantly improved inhibitory activity against a long list of pathogenic bacterial strains, compared with clinically approved antibiotics,” said Myers in a Harvard media release.

“Antibiotics form the foundation on which modern medicine is built,” co-author Kelvin Wu pointed out. “Without antibiotics, many cutting-edge medical procedures like surgeries, cancer treatments, and organ transplants, cannot be done.”

A.I. HELP: Antibiotic That Destroys One of World’s Deadliest Superbugs Discovered by AI Supercomputer

The research received early support from Harvard’s Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator, which awarded funding to his lab in 2013 to enable testing of drug compounds. Ongoing research by Myers was also recently awarded $1.2M by a nonprofit organization for further development on oral antibiotics that could end the scourge of drug-resistant infections.

HERALD SOME GOOD NEWS By Sharing This on Social Media…

“Treasure your relationships, rather than your possessions.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

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Good News Network
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Pablo Fernández, CC License

Quote of the Day: “Treasure your relationships, rather than your possessions.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

Photo by: Pablo Fernández (CC license)

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

Monkeying Around? All 4 Types of Apes Have a Sense of Humor– Researchers Categorize Their Clowning in Video

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Good News Network
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Juvenile gorilla plays with adult – SWNS
Juvenile gorilla plays with adult – BY Max Block, via SWNS

Apes have a sense of humor similar to humans, suggests a new study that showed four species of great apes each playfully teasing each other.

The team of cognitive biologists and primatologists found that, similar to joking behavior in humans, ape teasing is provocative, persistent, and includes elements of surprise and play.

Because all four great ape species used playful teasing—orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas—the research team believes it likely that the prerequisites for humor evolved in the human lineage millions of years ago.

The researchers said that joking is an important part of human interaction that draws on social intelligence, an ability to anticipate future actions, and an ability to recognize and appreciate the violation of others’ expectations.

Teasing has much in common with joking, and playful teasing may be seen as a “cognitive precursor” to joking. (Watch the sweet video at the bottom…)

The first time playful teasing in humans emerge is as early as eight months of age—even before babies say their first words. Infants tease their parents by playfully offering and withdrawing objects, violating social rules—known as provocative non-compliance—and disrupting others’ activities.

Juvenile orangutan pulling its mother’s hair – Photo by BOS FOUNDATION BPI

The new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was conducted by scientists from the University of California in Los Angeles and San Diego, Indiana University, and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.

“Great apes are excellent candidates for playful teasing, as they are closely related to us, engage in social play, show laughter and display relatively sophisticated understandings of others’ expectations,” says study first author Dr. Isabelle Laumer.

MORE SIMILARITIES: Some Generous Apes May Help Explain The Evolution Of Human Kindness

The researchers classified spontaneous interactions as playful, mildly harassing, or provocative—and during the interactions, the team observed the teaser’s actions, bodily movements, facial expressions, and how the targets of the teasing responded in turn.

They also assessed the teaser’s intentionality by looking for evidence that the behavior was directed at a specific target, that it persisted or intensified, and that teasers waited for a response from the target, as seen in the video below.

The team found that orangutans, chimps, bonobos and gorillas all engaged in intentionally provocative behavior, frequently accompanied by characteristics of play.

They identified 18 distinct teasing behaviors. Many of the behaviors appeared to be used to provoke a response, or at least to attract the target’s attention.

“It was common for teasers to repeatedly wave or swing a body part or object in the middle of the target’s field of vision, hit or poke them, stare closely at their face, disrupt their movements, pull on their hair or perform other behaviors that were extremely difficult for the target to ignore,” said the study’s senior author UCLA Professor Erica Cartmill.

WATCH: Chimps Show Researchers They’d Cook if Given the Chance

Although playful teasing took many forms, the researchers noted that it differed from play.

“Playful teasing in great apes is one-sided, very much coming from the teaser often throughout the entire interaction and rarely reciprocated,” said Prof. Cartmill. “The animals also rarely use play signals like the primate ‘playface’, which is similar to what we would call a smile, or ‘hold’ gestures that signal their intent to play.”

The team found playful teasing mainly occurred when apes were relaxed, and shared similarities with behaviors in humans.

“Similar to teasing in children, ape teasing involves one-sided provocation, response waiting—in which the teaser looks towards the target’s face directly after a teasing action—repetition, and elements of surprise,” says Dr. Laumer.

LOOK: Apes Remember Friends Even Though They’ve Not Seen Them for 25 Years

The researchers noted that Jane Goodall and other field primatologists had mentioned similar behaviors happening in chimps many years ago, but the new study is the first to systematically study playful teasing.

“We hope that our study will inspire other researchers to study playful teasing in more species in order to better understand the evolution of this multi-faceted behavior,” said Laumer.

“We also hope that this study raises awareness of the similarities we share with our closest relatives.”

Watch the cute video below…

DON’T MESS AROUND–Share The Fun Video With Pals on Social Media…

Artist Redesigns Strangers’ Lackluster Flyers for Free–After Finding Them On the Street (WATCH)

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Good News Network
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Cleaning poster redesigned by Max Kolomatsky shared on TikTok @cool_lookin_bug (via SWNS)
Cleaning poster redesigned by Max Kolomatsky shared on TikTok @cool_lookin_bug (via SWNS)

A digital artist who usually charges hundreds of dollars for the service is surprising strangers by redesigning their lackluster flyers for free, after finding them on the street.

Max Kolomatsky came up with the guerrilla marketing idea last year after noticing the many uninspiring posters plastered on street lights, buildings, and subway stations in his New York City neighborhood.

The 25-year-old started taking them home and redesigning them in his spare time, while making videos of the ‘random acts of kindness’ for his TikTok page.

For discreetly pasting the improved flyers around the city, Max has been compared to Banksy, the pop artist who remains anonymous while creating art in public spaces.

He’s completed at least 15 free redesigns, transforming boring and hard to read flyers with eye-catching images, bold colors, and a stand-out typeface.

His most popular video, with 11 million views, features a dull, black-and-white flyer for a cleaning service named The Clean Team. He dreamed up a superhero theme that looked like the Avengers armed with spray bottle, mop, and sponge. (Watch the fun video at the bottom, showing the transformation…)

Max Kolomatsky–making the world a better place (SWNS)

The Brooklyn freelancer said the first video shows him redesigning a flyer for a group looking for people to join them in playing Catan—and the result was totally unexpected..

“I recorded it for TikTok and the reaction was pretty instant. I posted it at 5pm and it had over a million views by the time I went to sleep. The group found the TikTok on the first night and they loved it.

“They were excited that it had just come up on their phone. I was hoping they would see it in public and have a surreal moment but it’s almost better they saw the whole process.”

Max, who has worked in illustration since 2020, has found the surprise redesigns to be a win-win. He gets to market his services and make something for his portfolio while perform an act of kindness that helps local businesses.

Pet-sitting poster redesigned by Max Kolomatsky shared on TikTok @cool_lookin_bug (via SWNS)

Hundreds of people have reached out to Max after seeing his TikToks, asking him to work his creative magic on their signs but he declines to work that way. He will continue picking random posters that grab his attention (or lack thereof) on the streets of New York.

LOOK: Whimsical Street Art Catches Everyone Off Guard and Delights Downtown Boston at 16 Locations–LOOK

“I prefer to do this slowly—quality over quantity— telling the stories on TikTok in a compelling way.

Max uses Adobe software and the company took notice of his viral social media presence, and they now have a paid partnership that allows Adobe to posts Max’s content on their TikTok page.

Max has also enjoyed meeting a few of the flyer-makers in person—like the goth band that was looking for a guitarist and drummer. They did complete their band and they’ve released new music.

Max Kolomatsky’s reimagined sign ‘We’re open’ – SWNS

“They had actually seen some of my videos beforehand and someone had made a joke to them like ‘what if that guy redesigns it?”

“I gave them copies of the flyer and it was good promo for them.”

WATCH: Woman Brings Joy to Wyoming Town by Creating Hundreds of Personalized Snowmen–One for Each Citizen

Max has never put his contact info on the public posters but it is something he’s considered changing.

“I was attracted to that idea of it being anonymous—just thinking about the moment a stranger discovers it. But the ones with small businesses, I want to try and see if I can attach files or something like that.”

Despite the reaction to Max’s artwork being overwhelmingly positive he has received a few negative comments.

“A lot of people in the goth community who commented on that video said they liked the original flyer better, because it was janky and homemade.

ART FROM THE DIRT: Artist Creates Stunning Portraits Using Just Pebbles in Amazing Time Lapse Video-LOOK

“It was a turning point in the project for me because it made me very aware (that) I don’t want to make an image more corporate or take charm away from the street.”

Perhaps the best part about his viral videos is that they’ve given other people the idea to do the same thing in their cities, like Berlin. It’s a win-win for the gig economy and freelance designers everywhere, no matter the language.

WATCH a wonderful compilation by SWNS…

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